Cat Thursday

 

 

Hello there ...

Sunshine Award

Oh my goodness, Miss Edna, you are so kind and such a real person.  I love that you picked me for this award.  (Don't be fooled by the fact that it has taken me forever to respond ... I am so far behind on everything blog wise, and I keep telling my self that it is okay, but in this case, maybe not :)  I have so much fun reading your daily blurbs.  You think a lot like me and it is nice to be validated by someone else's successes.  Thank you for thinking of me, I will do my best to make you happy with your choice.

The Rules are: 1)  Thank the person that gave you the award.  2)  Answer the questions about yourself.  3)  Choose ten of your favorite blogs to give the award to, and leave them a comment letting them know about it.  Last, be sure to paste the award to your blog.

Questions:

Favorite Color   Green ... actually Blue and Green together.  The color of nature and has been my choice since I was a kid (way back when ... ).  Now that I am older and my hair is fake blond instead of auburn, I am liking reds, pinks and oranges for my shirts, but bottom line Blue and Green win every time.

Favorite Animal  There is no answer to this question.  If it has a little heart (or big) that beats, I love it.  There isn't any animal that can't make my heart skip a beat or bring tears to my eyes ... I love them all.

Favorite Number  The number thirteen is my favorite, believe it or not.  As a lucky number so many people are afraid of it that it leaves more chance for me to have luck ... and believe me I need it.  I am a cantankerous old poop and I like to do things my own way ... maybe that is why the number 13 works for me.

Favorite Drink  My current favorite drink is Starbucks Mocha Latte.  I know, shame on me, but I am hooked on it.  My day never seems to get started if I don't have one. 

Facebook or Twitter  I really am not big on either.  I have a Facebook page, but rarely post on it.  What it does for me is to notify me when my friends have posted so I can keep up with them.  Twitter ... haven't even attempted.  I find it difficult to keep up with my blog, I don't need any more demands on my time.

Good Book or Good Movie  One of my favorite things to do is see a movie about a good book that I have read.  I like to see if my imaginary characters are anything like how the author (or movie director) perceived them.   I think a good book is my preference, but I am not a fast reader so it takes me awhile to digest one.  I am reading one right now that I am LOVING:)

My Passion  For as long as I can remember I have been passionate about nature and animals.  My life has been permeated with the joys and heartbreaks of loving animals and even at this age my passion grows.  I love being creative though I doubt my abilities.  I grew up with a mother and sister who were exceptional artists ... me, I do stick figures.  But, being around art all of my life has taught me to love it,  especially somebody else's art.

Giving or Getting Gifts  Giving a gift is getting a gift ... it is one in the same.  It is the joy that you give and seeing their joy that you receive.  The challenge is finding a gift that will give joy ... that part is fun because it takes me shopping in very interesting places :)

Favorite Day  My favorite day is a day that spares me from frustration.  Life is full of frustrations from serious issues to petty disturbances.   I have had enough of both in my life, so if I can spend a day feeling free of them ... I count it as a favorite :)

Favorite Flower    Oh good grief ... I have so many favorites I can't count them.  Some of my favorites are weeds, but only called weeds because someone else doesn't want them in their yard.   At my age, there is no way I could retrieve the names of the flowers I like, so suffice it to say, I love them all.

This part of an award is difficult for me.  I have a number of blogs that I read regularly (One of which is Miss Edna's place) and most of them don't accept awards ... so how to pass this on.  This is the part that slows me down when responding, so be patient with me.  I will give the award to those I think deserve it and would want it ... but there won't be ten of them.  My choices are:

1.  Abi @ Snaps http://abisnaps.blogspot.com/2012/08/love-other-drugs.html?showComment=1346274572196#c8567204091755510430     Abi is an extrordinary photographer and mother of two beautiful children who are the center of her creative efforts.  You will be stunned by the beautiful pictures she takes and shares on her blog.

2.  Kaylene @ Gum Nut Photography   http://spaceandtimecreativity.wordpress.com/Kaylene is another talented photographer and photo artist.  Her work is varied and beautiful ... full of new ideas and multiple versions.  Well worth a visit ...

3. Teri @ Teri H. Hoover Photography http://terihoover-crystal-iris-images.blogspot.com/ Teri is an artist of many dimensions including photogrpahy and writing which is often the interpretation of her photos.  She sees with a creative eye flavored by her faith and her intellect.  You will find her blog peaceful and interesting.  I would go there when you have time to browse.

4. Kathy @  You'll Shoot your Eye Out ... http://youllshootyoureyeout-kathy.blogspot.com/2012/08/laundry-day.html#comment-form Kathy also takes great pictures, but what is most endearing about her (to me) is her sense of humor.  I seem to leave her blog chuckling  and with a better outlook on my day. Stop in to see her ...  

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wild Bird Wednesday

 

Wild Bird Wednesday (7) 

Join the fun @ 

 http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.ca/2012/08/wild-bird-wednesday-07-flame-robin-and.html 

 

This was an exciting day for me.  I have lived in this area for ten years and, though I have been told that the Green Heron is around, until this day I hadn't seen one ...

 

My friend and I took a walk in the state park and stopped by a small pool back amongst the trees and we were greeted by this handsome fellow ...

 

 

Then he moved back into the shadows ... But wait :)

 

There is another Green Heron Fishing further up on the edge of the pond ... two in one day.  How exciting ...

Gulp ...

Then the first one came back into the open so I finally got a clear shot ...

Icing on the cake ... we spotted a third Green Heron across the pond.   And before the day was done we had seen another on a different pond, but he flew before I could capture his picture.  What fun ...  :)

Macro Monday

 

 

 

House Fly

 

Germs, germs everywhere,

      Thousands stuck on every hair.

Swat that fly

No one will care.

 

Hunt that fly

You silly cat.

Swat him, eat him

Smash him flat.

 

But he's God's creature

Don't you know.

Treat him kindly,

Just let him go...

 

Are you kidding?

Aren't you aware?

He spreads diseases

 Everywhere ...

 

Swat that fly.

No one should care ...

 

                          author unknown



Mandarin Orange Monday

 

The Crown Imperial or Kaiser's Crown is a member of the genus Fritillaria. It is native to the Middle-East. While the wild form is usually orange-red, various colors are found in cultivation, ranging from nearly a true scarlet through oranges to yellow.

I used PSE magic extractor on the flower and placed it on pdpa Dusy Rose Bokeh for a background.  Then I overlayed it with pdpa Light Rising and erased out the flower.  For the Framing I used KK Dream it over orange background and covered it with 49% Sun Shine overlay. 

For my second picture, once again, I used the Crown Imperial flower picture and PSE Distortion filters ... just for fun :)

 

Orange you glad you joined the Mandarin Orange Meme?

Shadow Shot Sunday

 

Since I featured the Calla Lily in "Sunday's Best", I decided to stick with the theme and use a Calla Lily Shadow.  Have a wonderful day!

Sunday's Best

Calla Lily

The calla lilies(Zantedeschia aethiopica ... common names, Calla lily, Arum lily, Varkoor, an Afrikaans name meaning pig's ear);   grows from bulbs, or rather rhizomes, and will therefore, as most other bulbs, spread by producing even more bulbs. These bulbs can be dug up, and replanted in another location. The calla lily is a very hardy and strong genus that will grow in more or less any soil as long as it the climate is humid enough. In many of the countries from where the calla lily originates it is thought of as a weed and is ferociously cut down to make way for agriculture. The calla lily can also be propagated through its seeds but it takes a little more finesse than to just dig up those extra bulbs.  

 

 

Cat Thursday

 

Since today is my husbands Birthday, I thought I would let him take center stage :)

Wordless Wednesday

 

The Dog Days of Summer ...



Macro Monday

http://lisaschaos.com/?s=macro+monday

Barred Owl ... up close and personal :)

Mandarin Orange Monday

Today I am working with an orange Lily .... This is the original

In PSE I added a Victorian Texture and Accentuated Edges.  Then I took it to PicMonkey and gave it a Boost and used the Urbane filter.  Then, of course, the frame.

Finally, just for fun, I put the picture through the PSE filters Polar Coordinates and then Twirl.   From There I took it to BeFunky, used the cross process filter, Lomoart, Cartoonizer and I added a grunge frame.   Voila ... do you see what I see?

Hope you all have a wonderful day, week and forever ... :)

The Bird D'pot

I went to the State Park last week with a friend to get some walking in and take in some nature.  We drove to this section of the park in search of ducks which are usually hanging out in what is a swampy wetlands in a normal year ... but our drought has dried everything up.  We were lucky to find a pair of Sandhill Cranes walking amongst the weeds that have taken over the swamp ... they were probably searching for amphibians that are still in the swamp area (their normal home) trying desperately to survive. 

My Sunday Best

This is the last of my Goose neck Loosestrife ( Lysimachia clethroides).  I planted them in my garden last summer (a gift from another friend's garden) and this year they were magnificent.  They continued to bloom throughout the summer,  but now all that is left is a clump of rich greenery.   I think this is one of my favorite finds for my garden.

Shadow Shot Sunday

http://shadowshotsunday2.blogspot.com/

This is an ornament on the side of a house.  It didn't seem to serve any purpose except to provide me with a beautiful shadow.   It is a beautiful decoration ...

Weekend Reflections

http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com/2012/08/cool-pool-reflections-weekend.html
(Weekend Reflections # 151)

There is a small pond along the trail at the state park and it always has something to offer in the way of reflections and wildlife.  Here you can see the blue sky and the drought struggling trees along the side of the pond.  A beautiful site to behold in spite of Natures stresses.

Six Word Saturday

6WS">

Happy Birthday to my Finky Husband :)

Photo Art Friday

Container  n.  a thing that contains or can contain something; box, bag, crate, can, jar ...

To us a container is a utilitarian object.  A place to store, keep fresh, transport or save something.  But, there is another perspective ... To Diva (The Devil Child) a container is a place of mystery and surprise.  A place to explore or hide in.  A source of some of her greatest joys ...

I apologize ... I started keeping track of all the steps I took in making these versions and then I got confused as to which step went to which version and by the time I was finished, I didn't have a clue (This happens when you are an old poop).  Suffice it to say that I used PS, PicMonkey, FotoFlexor and Be Funky somewhere in all of my pictures.  On this one, I did use my own background.

Again, my own background with a little PS fix up and Foto Flexor for Limoish and framing.

In this one I used a PS background with a little tweaking then went to Be Funky for "cartoonizing" and grunge framing.

Sometimes art is strictly an accident (at least my art).  I tried something on Foto Flexor that didn't work so I went back to the original picture and tried to frame it ... this is what I got.  Now, I don't know if I can take credit for it, but I thought it was sort of interesting ... how about you?

I could fill pages of pictures like this of Diva ... she is forever a source of our entertainment with her container fetish ... hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful rest of August.  See you all in September.