Follow > this Link < to Visit and PLAY with 
the Weekly Photo Challenge

The challenge beginning January 14, 2011 is:

“It’s not everyday you see one of these“
suggested by me:  PhotoGraphics

Depending on where we live in the world and what our photographic interests are,  we may or may not notice things to photograph that others might notice right away.  Sometimes our brains are so busy multitasking projected jobs for the day we are blind to things right in front of us that might make very interesting photos.  Sometimes I/we aren’t fast enough to get a shot and so need to practice looking ahead of us at and through the obvious and the not so obvious so we increase our chances for a really good photo. 

A few photos of some things I don’t see everyday so was glad I noticed them at the time so I could add them to my collection when I had the opportunity.  CLICK ON THE IMAGES FOR LARGER

1-   2- 

I have a lot of interests but I don’t always see what’s in front of my eyes.  I love the light green and grainy look of hedge apples and I look for them in places where I know trees are still growing.  Photo #1 was taken November 2007, Paw Paw, Illinois on a huge parcel of land that is home to MANY windmills.  It’s a favorite place to stop for photos when we are in the area.  Photo #2 was taken November 2006 at a local Hamilton county park, Woodland Mound.  Even if you have a tree of Hedge Apples in your own yard, it is impossible to see them every day as they are like all tree fruits, they only happen at a certain time of the year.  They are not edible though one page I read says squirrels love the seeds that reside in the large fruit.  Exactly what God’s plan was for them is hard to say, maybe it was to give the squirrels a work-out.  The tree itself used to be planted thickly, here in the states, as a barrier or natural fence to keep cattle in.  More info here:  http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/pest/nebline/hedgeapple.htm

 

 

3-  4- 

It’s a definite you don’t see either of the items in photos 3 and 4 everyday.  The caboose has all but disappeared from trains, the one above is sitting in the lot of a restaurant.  The pay phone is also nearing extinction because of cell phone use.  I was really surprised to see this one on one of our trips to Virginia.  I look for the unusual but only luck brought me to the pieces shown.

 

 

5-  6- 

These little guys just pop up in my garden or on the walk.  Number 5 is a Slug and #6 is a Snail in it’s shell upside down eating a flower in my garden.  I’m not real happy as they eat my plants but they are actually as interesting or more interesting than the plants are. So, as I don’t see them everyday I take time to get lots of photos when they show up. 

 

 

7-  8- 

Most of us probably see a MacDonalds about every day.  But, the drive-in, at the right, is fast becoming a rarity.  The two shots above are available to any photographer who wanders the way of the eateries, and in fact, everyday.  I prefer to get out in the evenings to get the lighting I like to catch.  The drive-in, photo 8, is called Sonic and if it goes under it will be the last of its kind that I have available to me for photos.  When I was a teenager drive-in restaurants were all the rage.  Frishe’s/Big Boy and Carter’s and A&W Rootbeer stands were all around us and kids loved them as they were park/order/eat in your car drive-ins.  They were the popular meeting place for after the theatre or skating rink.  It’s a part of my youth I would like to see return.  Drive-ins were colorful hang-outs, always exciting as all the restored hot rods cruised through them regularly with their familiar souped up rumble of engine and glass packs and, of course, the boys who drove them.  

 

 

9-  10- 

Anything out in the country is wonderful for my photographic interests.  As I live in a small city, I don’t see any country scene everyday.  The fact is, I have to be on a drive traveling through farmland and fast with the trigger of the camera, as most of my photos are taken on the fly.

 

11-   12-

I will probably never see the obelisk in photo 11 again.  I took the photo from our car while traveling the highway to a funeral in Louisiana.  I don’t have a name or exact location for it though I have tried to find other photos of it on the Internet.  Obelisks are all over the world and are popular with the wealthy as headstones.  Really big monuments sit in cities from Rome to Cincinnati.  See a lot of images here http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/obelisk.html and information about the oldest in the world here http://rometravels.net/roma/roma_obelischi.html  The chimney is in Friendship, Indiana.  It is a historic relic and I’m not sure what it was for but is has some impressive size to it for an interested photograher. 

 

13- 

This really big metal sculpture is called “Symbol” and unless you live in Rockford, Illinois, you won’t see it everyday.  It sits in a lovely river park and it’s available any day of the week but you have to be there.  Here is a link for information about it and its creator, Alexander Leiberman:  http://rockfordsymbol.com/bykevinschwitters/description.html

 

What amazes me is how much there really is to see and how much I miss seeing because my eyes aren’t coordinating with my thought waves.  I wonder how much I’m missing at the present because I don’t feel up to getting out in the cold.  My thought waves are willing but refusal is in the bones.  Window and indoor shots of the cat will have to suffice. 

Have a really good week everyone.

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the Weekly Photo Challenge

The challenge beginning January 7, 2011 is:

“Totally Abstract”
suggested by:  WhatAWonderfulNewWorld

Some subjects need good clear clarification to get the photos for the challenge right.  I did some searching and found some links that were very helpful. 

From this link:  http://www.ehow.com/facts_5142721_definition-abstract-art.html 

Definition

Abstract art is a very wide genre that contains many, many art forms. Essentially, any art that doesn’t try to realistically portray something, and instead uses texture, colors, shapes or space to represent that thing is considered abstract.

 

A LINK to see examples considered ABSTRACT:  CLICK HERE and another CLICK HERE with 60 images, (some abstract, some still life, and some abstract still life) just click on the arrow on the page to travel through them.

 

As anyone playing in the challenge has a camera but may not play with editing software, I decided I didn’t want to do anything with software but just go with color, lines and shapes as best as my camera could see it.  The photos may not conform to the definition but its as close as I can do the photos without editing.

 

My Photos

 

 

1- Our cat stands out in this photo with his lines and patchwork texture of his coat and the overall of the photo.  The rusty texture in our bench looks pretty groty.  It needs a good scrape and paint job.

 

 

2-  The door mat made from old tires.  Lines, color and texture in the cement beneath it.

 

 

3-  This is reflection in a mirrored building.  Lots of lines, color and texture and I actually like the image.  It is only a portion or a cut out from what the camera photo actually is.

 

 

4-  A cigarette filter caught in the bushes.  I hate cigarette polution but the filter attracted me and I imagine birds used it in their nest eventually.

 

 

5-  I take a lot of photos of water hydrants.  I’m not sure why they catch my eye but they do.  Maybe it is the form, line and color.

 

 

6-  A lot of us photograph old barns and buildings.  The dilapidated hodge podge of board and roof are eyecatching and photogenic.  Lots of line and forms and space in this.  I think I would like it in black and white, too.

 

 

 

7-  This is probably the only real abstract I actually took with my camera.  It is a night shot on the expressway with my camera speed very slow so catching the bumps in the road and the color of the lights.  It’s fun to do.

 

After visiting the links and going through the photos on the pages I gave above, I thought most of these would work for the challenge. 

 

There are times our lives feel abstract and this entry sort of moved me in that direction.

I hope everyone is staying warm and comfortable.  We are expecting 5 or more inches of snow again this week.  This is a very snowy winter in our area.

 

 

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the Weekly Photo Challenge
The Christmas season challenge runs the month of December until after the holidays. 

The challenge beginning December 3, 2010 is:

“HOLIDAY”
suggested by:  Cybernene

We enjoyed Christmas at home this year.  It was different and much less hectic and we probably avoided snow in the pass going through the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia.  Snow has been a major part of the weather reports worldwide this year.  Staying home we saw snow earlier than we usually see it (December 1st week) and it managed to be on the ground the total month of December with new snow falling every few days including the day of Christmas.  A White Christmas with snow falling the day of is an event.  I am always thrilled when it happens and it seldom does.  It was really beautiful.  

I have too many photos  for the holidays so will post more than normal but smaller.  Bring up larger images by clicking on what you see.

1-This is a small portion of my window looking out into our yard with patches of the first snow of our winter. 

 

2-  We have a heater in one of our bird baths, for the birds of course.  A good thing we did as it froze for a few days but a puddle stayed unfrozen in the pool of it.  The float is a Canadian Goose I like to keep in it but took it out later on to keep it from being ruined.

 

3-  Montgomery, Ohio is about 10 miles from us (Loveland) and much more well planned than our little city.  Montgomery is always beautiful for the holidays.  It’s a lovely place with lovely shops and it’s fun to drive for photos.  They have lovely brick walks, bronze statues around the walkways in the city portions.  Gorgeous planters hanging and otherwise.  Always lovely and well kept and expensive I might add if you want to buy a home there. 

 

4-  More snow and from my window it is very pleasant to view while wrapped in blankets reading. 

 

5-  Even more snow and a view of one of my birdbaths winterized, not well, but the bath part won’t freeze and break this way.

 

6-  My rain chain frozen solid.

 

7-  The cat goes out in this kind of weather but not for long.  He prefers to climb into a bare spot I leave for him to view the outside world.  He makes some very wild noises when he sees the birds at the bath.

 

   

8-  On the left my second Paper White planting in bloom and on the right, the third planting and it bloomed exactly right for Christmas.

 

9-  I don’t know where this is but the view caught my eye so I took photos.  Snowy and dark of night and a very slow speed with a wide aperture gets me what you see.

 

10-  I thought this was a really pretty Christmas view.  I have no idea where it is, we just drove past.

 

11-  This is in Montgomery, some apartments that sit over the hill and they really are a great view with darkness and snow.  I just can’t help but picture Santa on a rooftop.  See a different view of this scene here:  http://photographics.xanga.com/737802737/2010-merry-christmas/

 

12-  Just driving about and we saw some very nicely lit trees advertising trees for sale for Christmas.

 

13-  We buy our cat food here and you can see he sells a variety of things, in the summer, plants for setting out and more.

 

14-  This is Christmas day and the cat is playing with a toy we got for him.  He wakes me every night about 3 in the morning playing with it.

 

15-  Our Christmas room is very cozy / small but we really enjoy it.  We eat breakfast in here and read and some movie watching.

 

16-  Lots of food for the holidays, this is a cake custard and it was really good.

 

17-  Fruitcake, I did a search for the worlds best fruitcake and found the recipe for what you see.  It is very good.  No raisons which pleases me.  It is a good recipe, im not sure the worlds best but very good.  AND EASY

 

18-  Breakfast sandwiches and tea.  I make garlic toast under the broiler then topped it with ham slices, turkey slices, swiss cheese, maonaisse and mustard then back under the broiler just long enough to melt the swiss cheese SLIGHTLY.  Very yummy.

 

19-  This is an asparagus casserole and it looks good but if I had to pay for it at a restaurant I’d be upset it was that bad.  I double checked the recipe and I did it right.  I doctored it the next day and it was very good.  I’m not one to trash food.

 

20-  A view of the window in the south, in the Christmas room.  In the Winter, the sun comes through at a certain time of day and lights the crystals and they send rainbows all over our walls.  It’s a good time to be in the room.

 

We have enjoyed the month and it isn’t over yet.  Twelfth night is tomorrow so a meal is under way.  Food is a pre-requisite for any special day.

Happy Christmas, Happy New Year

 

Merry Christmas Xanga

May each of you be blessed with the joys meant for all of us through the birth of the Christ Child.

If your color settings on your monitor aren’t in good shape you may not be able to appreciate this photo.  It’s the favorite of all I have taken this month of December, so far.  You can see the anticipation of the season, the quiet waiting.  I hope everyone can view it.

Merry Christmas,

 

Follow > this Link < to Visit and PLAY with 
the Weekly Photo Challenge
It runs for one full week from Friday mornings to late Thursday nights. 

The challenge beginning November 26, 2010 is:

“Tools of the Trade”
suggested by:  Jaynebug

 

On any of our drives, I see lots of tools pertaining to tools of the trade of shipping and otherwise.  Quite a few trades use trucks and big equipment.  So some views of biggggggggg tools of the trades.

My Photos

1- 

Roadwork, new roads and road repair, it goes on all the time and these tools of the trade always slow us down.  I’ve always felt if we are slowed or stopped by these workers, it may be that we are saved from something happening to us by being in a hurry.  It’s a big relief to think our lives may be extended by these fellows who slow us, sometimes to a stop.  Thank them very much!

 

2- 

This photo was taken not too far from our house and he is smoothing out an area to be blacktopped in a new widening of road with this particular tool of his trade.  You can’t tell from the photo but the depth it is working on is a couple of feet lower than it used to be.  I hope some of the dirt eventually fills holes, somewhere.

 

3- 

This rail car tool of the trade is doing double duty.  It travels the country carrying whatever it is that it carries and when sitting still, it’s the backdrop or canvas for graffiti artists.

 

4- 

I caught this sanitation (tool of the trade) truck as it was driving out of our street.  They are pretty much on time every week and work hard to keep our trash from building up.  Great guys on these trucks as most of the time one man drives the truck, gets out and collects our cans, dumps them into the recepticle end of the truck then gets back into the truck to drive to the next house.  I wonder how many times he gets into and out of the truck every day.  I’m betting he has great legs and strong arms, and I know from watching, HE REALLY EARNS HIS MONEY.

 

5- 

This firetruck is from the Loveland department in our small town.  I really admire the people who work on it and on the emergency vehicles.  These particular tools of the trades are well cared for under the hood as well as their shiny body parts.

 

6- 

I have no idea what this machine (tool of his trade) is but it was really big and I never did catch the front of it with my camera.

 

I have wondered over the years if I could drive a big rig, envious of going places, seeing things different every day.  I got to know some trucker families and like any job it isn’t always what you think.  Home in one spot has its benefits.  As for some of the other trade images shown, each one is so important.  What would we do without the sanitation workers, the firemen, the trains that travel the rails, the trucks that carry our groceries and the big equipment that works on the roads and more.  Our world revolves around them or maybe they revolve around each of ours.

I hope everyone is doing well.  

 

 

Follow > this Link < to Visit and PLAY with 
the Weekly Photo Challenge
It runs for one full week from Friday mornings to late Thursday nights. 

The challenge beginning November 19, 2010 is:

“Flowers”
suggested by:  Zeal4Living

 

Both of my sisters plant the most wonderful gardens and they always have lots of flowers.  The two of them urged us to get on track and plant more of what you can really enjoy inside and out, things that make life so much more worth the living, FLOWERS. 

Some Photos of some of the flowers that blossom in our yard.

1-  I imagine most of us have plantings in our yards that we grew up with or around that made impressions on us.  We did not have Vinca in our yard but the house directly across from us was on a steep grade and the hillside was covered with this plant.  I loved it so when we planted years ago this was one of the first plants I chose to be a part of our surroundings.

 

 

2-  I love dogwood and it grows in the wild near us as well as on Dogwood trees in other yards.  This particular little tree planted itself beside our drive.  It’s more beautiful every year.  They also come in pink but white is the original color and my favorite.

 

 

3-  Wisteria is another plant that grew in abundance across the street and down one house.  It covered the rock face of the house and would travel across the electric lines.  I love it but ours is planted in a poor choice of spots so threatens our gutters and roof and other plants and in fact the neighbors yard.  It is more like a wild animal than a docile plant and recalling it crossing electric wires, I should have known better when I planted it. 

 

 

4-  I don’t recall seeing Peonies grow in any particular place or spot near us but I’ve always loved Peony.  My start came from a church yard.  I’ve read articles where lots of people say their Peonies don’t require any attention but mine need to be fed or they bloom less and less.

 

 

5-  This is an annual, Purslane, and I’m familiar with the wild variety that grew profusly, considered a weed, in our garden at home.  It’s an edible, info here, mild in flavor.  I had no idea it was available with wonderful flowers until this last spring.  I found it at the garden center and bought what they had left of it.  I think its lovely and I’ve brought what I had growing outside in, for the winter, to see if I can save it.  It isn’t blooming now as it likes sun which it isn’t getting (I am using grow lights) but the succulent leaves are green and firm so I guess it’s doing okay.

 

 

6-  Xanga’s Fauquet posted photos of the geraniums his wife cares for and they were so pretty.  When I discovered some at our garden center at a really good price I bought them in several colors for me and some for a neighbor.  They were beautiful all summer outside and I am keeping them inside for the winter.  Some are still blooming.

 

 

7-  These are Paper White Narcissus I set into the pot just after Halloween.  I have two pots started and will plant bulbs in a third pot in a couple of weeks.  They will mature to bloom at different times so will bring spring into the house for a longer period of time.  So far both planted pots look healthy and my fingers remain crossed.  This is my first time trying to plant them myself.  The pot you see in the photo came with paper whites in it.  I’m a green person and when I saw the paperwhites blooming in this pot I asked my hubby to buy it for us.  The paper whites looked so beautiful in it I couldn’t resist.

That’s it for this week.  I’m feeling like spring viewing these floral photos.

Have a great week.  The seasons holidays begin here this next week on Thanksgiving USA.  I hope everyone has wonderful and safe holidays wherever it is you are.

 

Follow > this Link < to Visit and PLAY with 
the Weekly Photo Challenge
It runs for one full week from Friday mornings to late Thursday nights. 

The challenge beginning November 12, 2010 is:

“Photo of a Photo”
suggested by:  Chatamanda

 

It’s Short and sweet this entry,  with lots of memories brought to the forefront going through some of my old photos.  Without having saved photos, I might not remember I was once a child, or a teenager.

 

Have a super week everyone.  Thanks for visits, comments and the fun.

 

 

Follow > this Link < to Visit and PLAY with 
the Weekly Photo Challenge
It runs for one full week from Friday mornings to late Thursday nights. 

The challenge beginning November 5, 2010 is:

“Rocks and Stone”
suggested by:  WhatABeautifulNewWorld

 

It’s amazing to think about the creation of this planet.  Born from who knows exactly where, to spin and twirl through space, for billions of years, cooling its outer surface from molten to conditions that finally allowed the growth of plants, which eventually sustained animal life of all kinds.  Underneath our earth’s surface the molten still exists, sometimes erupting with such force, mountain tops can all but disappear.  Never having witnessed volcanics in action but only seeing photos and video’s of her amazing but terrible power I can be glad to live in a portion of the world I feel is relatively safe.  I have witnessed expressions of nature’s powers in mountains and valleys that are now  eons old like the Grand Canyon south rim, Arizona, the huge bolder arrangements climbing the pass during the to drive to El Cajon, California, the Sandia crest in New Mexico and the minor cut out beside our home where the setting can be as dry as a bone or as violent as the water is deep when it rains and water washes to and through the branch from miles around.  It’s all amazing.

 

Photos

1-   You can cover a lot of ground over the course of a few visits to relatives.  Our travels take us to views of flat city inhabited land, green farmlands and some mountainous ranges.  Underneath the highways we drive lies the foundation of all the roads, and all the cities, bedrock.  It’s the underlying strength builders rely on for any building or road they want to survive.

 

 

2-   It’s been years since we were in some of the caves in our area but they are huge, damp and cold holes in rock.  The rock we see most of, without trying, are the dynamite cuts in roads, made to drop uneven shelves of rock so a road does not have to twist, turn and climb as it would if the blasting had not been done.

 

 

3-   The cuts are visible summer and winter and the views are interesting as it’s as close as most of us get to the construction of roads.

 

 

4-   We also get views of a lot of rock, hidden in the scenery in mountainous areas we drive.  We may not actually see the rock but it’s always there.

 

 

5-  Some of us do get first had views of what can happen in the cuts made as rock is loosed in blasts and the freeze and thaw of winter through spring causes water in the cracks of the rock to freeze then expand and the rock to crack off and fall.  On a previous entry it was mentioned in a comment that to the viewer, windmills mar the landscape.  Personally I find the fence they put up to stop falling rock to be much more offensive but then it may save some hospital bills and law suits due to its existence. 

 

 

6-   This is a view of the creek beside our home.  It is about 80 feet or so from our door and the drop into it may be 35 feet.  The rock is limestone.  The creekbed is in its “dry as a bone state” as we are way below our average rainfall.  The creek can, however, be treacherous.  It swept the concrete barrier into itself a few years ago.  We heard it fall, like a mini earthquake with it’s thud, on Christmas day.  This creek is part of the reason we bought our house.  It afforded my children an environment to play in similar to the one I and my husband had while growing up.  I valued the woods and trees and the rock and stone of the creek as a friend nearly everyday of my growing up which left me with some rocky but really great memories.

 

 

 

Follow > this Link < to Visit and PLAY with 
the Weekly Photo Challenge
It runs for one full week from Friday mornings to late Thursday nights. 

The challenge beginning October 29, 2010 is:

“Beautiful Views”
suggested by me:  PhotoGraphics

 

The world is a beautiful place in spite of how man attempts to ruin it.  Each and every part of it has something unique to offer in the way of beautiful views, some are grand and some are less demanding of notice.  Here in Ohio, USA, there are wonderful hills and valleys, beautiful parks, caverns, expansive farmland, rivers, lakes, smaller branches and many a blue sky, lots of snow in the north and rain when it chooses to come.  John and I travel within Ohio’s borders most of the time but on occassion we leave Ohio for Illinois crossing the state of Indiana and sometimes during holidays we drive south to Virginia to visit our daughter.  Photos for this challenge are from our most recent trip to my sister’s home in Rockford, Illinois, taken on the road to, from and during our stay there October 2010. 

It’s fall and leaves are changing and farmlands are golden browns.

Photos
Click on them to see larger.

1- I can get excited about a view even if it isn’t of a recognized landmark.  I saw this view from the distance and thought all the colors were the makings of a beautiful view.

 

 

2-  I take a lot of farmland photos.  The tilled soil or growing crops are always amazing to me and silos always set a farmland photo off.  Beautiful views are, of course, in the eye of the beholder but to me, this stretch of tilled land I saw in the distance, was a really beautiful view.

 

 

3-  Bunny always likes to take us on drives of the surrounding countryside and to spots she and Dan enjoy going to.  This particular image is on the return trip from visiting an Amish store and the Amish builder of her potting shed.  I thought the image was beautiful on 4 different levels, 1- its a really beautiful sunshiny day, 2- the bike riders are enjoying themselves on their drive to view the sites, 3- the fall foliage is colorful in this spot and screaming for attention and 4- there are men at work, something a bit scarce in some sectors of the population U.S.A. due to major stupidity by politicals in charge.

 

 

4-  This is a portion of an image.  I love trees, fall, greens and browns and golds and so, in my mind, this is a particularly beautiful view.

 

 

5-  In the fall the drives everywhere are colored with the crowns of Autumn.  You can’t help but notice the views if you are awake during the drive.  This beautiful view repeats itself over and over during our fall drives whether it’s in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois or the balance of the 50 states especially in the eastern portion of the country.

 

 

6-  Another parcel of land turned over before winter sets in.  I love the soft browns that show up at this time of the year making nearly all views, beautiful views.

 

 

7-  I never visit my sister without stopping to see the windmills.  This photo is on the drive to Rockford taken as we drove, October 5, 2010.  They are so amazing and to see them with the geese who were flying over was especially beautiful.  What you see is a combination of a flight that has been going on for thousands of years and the coming back in popularity of an innovation that has been being ignored, windmills and windpower.  Illinois has been developing some really wonderful wind farms and I feel a thrill everytime I see them in operation.  If windpower, solar power and waterpower were harnessed across this country as they should be, not wasted but done in a manner protecting the natural resources around them we could eliminate so much of our dependence on oil.  I would call that a blessing and the photo a beautiful view.

 

 

8- This photo is from the actual visit to the windfarm on October 16, 2010, on our drive back home.  I have never talked with anyone on the property.  Someday I will to tell them how amazing I think windmills are and how beautiful I think the views are everytime I get to see them..

 

Have a great week everyone and thanks always for visits and comments.

 

 

Follow > this Link < to Visit and PLAY with 
the Weekly Photo Challenge
It runs for one full week from Friday mornings to late Thursday nights. 

The challenge beginning October 15, 2010 is:

“KeyChains”
suggested by:  Chatamanda

 

Keychains are something I’ve never collected.  I do have two sets of keys on keychains.  Because I drive and need to access different doors, I carry both, regularly.  I lost a keychain once.  If it had landed on my toe it would have broken it.  I think that is why I’ve never gotten over the loss as it was so big I still can’t figure just how I lost it and this was years and years ago.

A photo of my only sets of keys on keychains.

1-  My keys are of more importance than my keychain.  The leather keychain is about 45 or more years old.  I made it years ago when first playing with leather.  As you can tell I’m not the most careless when it comes to misplacing things.  I imagine there are not a lot of people with keychains of that age in their pockets.  Both of my chains have tape measures on them and I also carry a small pocket knife and a multi tool that has tiny scissors etc on it.  I figure you never know when you may need to be snipping away on something or other.

A Photo Story: 

“The Key to a Chain of Events” 

My sister was with us for about two weeks.  The arrangement we made was she came here for a while then we would drive her back home and stay for a while.  The key to the visit is in the photo above, she had something she was excited about that she wanted us to see.  So, when we took Bunny back home we got out the camera the next morning and visited her domain in back of her house and also at the side.  She had designed a potting shed that she had built on the side of her house where there had been a huge willow tree that was destroyed by lightning.  The potting shed is something she has wanted for a long time and the tree being hit was the clue that it was time for the shed.  The photos run in a circle inside the shed and I forgot to take one of the door from the inside.  The Outside is finished but the inside is still a project in the works.  It really is nice.  I could love having one myself.

An from the outside look sort of tells you where I was standing in her lovely sanctuary.  It’s a heavenly spot full of flowers and fruit trees and a vegetable garden in the back.  There are bird houses and feeders all around and birds are plentiful.  It all sits in a sub division filled with little homes and lots of children but its very private and the potting shed makes the spot even more personal.

I mentioned the above was the “key” and so it was, to the chain of events which always follows a visit with Bunny.  We ate out, shopped favorite spots, took a train ride into Chicago (I’ve never been on a train before) took hundreds of photos of farms and farmland, clouds and shady spots, windmills (a favorite photo target) and even people.  It was a nice time.  I hope to do it again.

I am aware there are serious keychain collectors in the world.  Here is a major link that may be of interest:  Keychain Collectors International Home

I hope everyone in Xangaland is well.  Thanks for any visits or comments.