Cat Thursday

   Freddy is my next door neighbor.  His Dad taught him that he could come out on the deck if he stays on his  swing ... so, Freddy out on his Swing :)

Wordless Wednesday

World Bird Wednesday

It isn't often that I get this close to a family of Mute Swans.  They knew I was there and seemed fine with it, so I continued to take shots as they casually took turns searching the lake bottom for food and minding the cygnets.  But, the time came when Dad had had enough.  You will note him moving in my direction in the last few pictures ... it was time to pack up my camera and RUN!
Have you ever met up with an angry Mute Swan ... I have and it is no picnic :)

Tuesday Tweets ...

My handsome muscle bound boy ... Red Wing Blackbird

Manly Monday

Mark Harmon fits naturally in the Manly Man genre.  We all know him now in his TV Series NCIS and most of the women I know watch it because he is on it :).  Many of us also remember him when he played the  doctors on "St. Elsewhere" (1982) and "Chicago Hope" (1994).

He is a Manly man for other reasons as well. 

He was a football star (following in his father's athletic footsteps was the starting quarterback for the UCLA Bruins football team in 1972 and 1973  ^] He received the National Football Foundation Award for All-Round Excellence in 1973 In his two years as quarterback in coach Pepper Rodgers' wishbone offense, UCLA won 17 games and lost only 5.);

He was a college graduate (graduating from UCLA with a B.A. in Communication cum laude in 1974.); 

He was a Hero (In 1996, Harmon saved two teenage boys involved in a car accident outside of his home. Harmon used a sledge hammer from his garage to break the window of their burning car, then pulled them free from the flames.).

All in all, he is a man of many talents complimented by rugged good looks ... a Manly Man for sure.

Join in on the fun of Manly Monday:

This is supposed to be a fun exercise in how different people see different men as Manly. Your “Manly Man” can be anybody. You could even insert a little humor in your choices, if you like. The idea is to have a good time, both in seeing what others post and in your own exploration into who you want to post. Join me every Monday and we will all learn what a Manly Man is ... or isn't.

Add the logo with your post.Then leave a comment and a link to your blog with my post. It would be nice if you could spread the word to some of your followers as well. Hope you will join in. Thanks ...

 

Macro Monday

                         The Life Span of the Poppy ...

Sunday Selections

I am going to take a shot at something different this week.  I love old buildings.  I think I love them because they are artistic. They are not just something thrown up to serve a purpose, but something to be noticed ... beautiful, if you will, if only in the eyes of the beholder.  The craftsmanship that went into the old buildings was remarkable ... a lost art, I am sad to say.

The above pictures were taken on a college campus ... an old Land Grant School, so you know how long it has been around.  Below are pictures from some of the row houses in the adjoining neighborhood.  They are mostly rented to students ... I hope they appreciate how beautiful they are :)

Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Six Word Saturday

Happy Birthday to my Friend Annie ...

Friendship Friday

I don't ask for advice or give it for the most part.  I may suggest something like what to wear or a good place to eat, but advice is what you get when you have a serious issue to contend with.  My father taught me that advice from the outside is pointless ... decisions need to come from within yourself or they won't work.  We always went to our father for advice anyway because he knew so much about so many things.  But, the answer was always "well, lets talk about this".  He would discuss the issues, pointing out different points of views, listen to us discuss our points of view, suggest possible results of different approaches, but he never said "this is what you should do".  He never solved our problems for us and the result was that we learned to solve our own problems. We made our own decisions and win or lose, we lived with the results.  I am sure secretly when he saw us taking a wrong turn he wanted to reach out and say "no, no, not that way!", but he didn't and I am greatful.   We owned our pride in our successes and the disappointment in our failures.  I am sure I am a better person for it and hopefully my children feel the same way, as that is the way I raised them.


Now, of course, there are exceptions to this rule :).  As a nurse I often had to give advice or point out solutions (nothing personal guys, but men are the worst at accepting lifestyle changes). Hopefully I tempered my "suggestions"  by leaving the decision up the them, or giving them choices so they could feel like they had made the decision.  That kind of conversations is an art ... many times a life saving art, which I feel is well worth the infraction of my rule of not giving advice.  My bottom line though is,  if you need advice, don't come to me ... if you want to discuss something, I am all ears as, in the end, it is listening to yourself talk that often leads you to the right answer.

Cat Thursday

There is nothing sacred to Diva.  When my hair dresser comes to the house she throws a sheet under the chair to catch the hair.  So much for that idea, Diva Devil Child :)

World Turtle Day

As Annie reminded me of World Turtle day only after I had posted a Frog on Wordless Wednesday,  I decided to do a little feature on some of the turtles around me.  They are wonderful, surviving creatures which we should all respect and enjoy.  Be careful though, because some of them can be pretty nasty, but then, that is why they survive.    I won't claim to be an expert, but I can give you the common names of the few that I have pictures of.  For more information go to McGuffy's Reader where she has posted information from Animal Planet. Enjoy ...

This is the well known smile of the Blandings Turtle.  This turtle is endangered, so I was very lucky to have come across a family of them in the irrigation pond on a perennial

farm.   

Every spring we see the female Painted Turtles in the area, leave the water and make a trek to where she will lay her eggs.   Weeks later the eggs hatch and all of the baby turtles start making their first journey to the water.  This little one is on his way ...

We placed a quarter under him to show how small he is ...

There are many obstacles the babies have to overcome, not the least of which is the rugged terrain they have to travel over ... 

The temptation is great to step in and help him on his way, but this trek is necessary for his development and to interfere could cause more damage then good.

The painted turtles are the most commonly seen turtle in our area.  They seem to thrive in our Midwestern environment.

The only other turtle I have encountered here is the snapping turtle ... they are generally ill tempered and it is best to leave them alone.  This turtle, however, is at the Rehab facility and has become rather tame.  He will eat out of my hand, but his movements toward the food are so rapid that it is a little scary.

All for now ... Happy World Turtle Day everyone ...