Pages

Friday, November 30, 2012

A Week in Pictures (#10)

Cribbage (Board Game) 11/23/2012

We played Cribbage over Thanksgiving holidays. I forgot our board; so, we borrowed my Sister-in-law’s board to play. This board is not ours. Ours actually is bigger – it has four rows (instead of three). Everyone in the family played at some point or another. It is a fun game and a wonderful way to sit together with family and friends. The last game we played was unique as we played in teams of three. It was interesting and the best part was that we all sat just played cards.

Morning at the Lake 11/24/2012

We went to the lake. I got up as the sun was rising and it was just absolutely beautiful.

Christmas Tree 11/25/2012

We put up the tree -- first time in over five years! Opening up the box of ornaments was like Christmas. Wait, it is Christmas!

Beads and Sequins 11/26/2012

Ornament kit. Crafts. Enough said.

Chrysalis 11/26/2012

I was thrilled upon discovering this Chrysalis. I am hoping to witness the butterfly emerging from its hibernation. I have been checking on it daily (along with the other two I have found).

Monarch Butterfly 11/26/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I was outside with Gracie and, as always, I had my camera with me. I didn’t expect to take pictures though. But, this critter fluttered by practically in front of my face. It was big and beautiful. When it landed on some yellow flowers, I dropped Gracie’s leash to see if I could capture a picture or two. I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to discover it was a Monarch butterfly. It posed for me fabulously and was a very hungry fellow.

Beaded Christmas Ornament 11//22/2012

This is an ornament I made from the beads and sequins mess pictured above. I really love how it turned out. I am currently working on a second star and it is almost finished.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A Week in Pictures (#9)

Note: This post is several days late due to the holidays and being busy. Posts will be sporadic due to it being Christmas time.

Becker’s White Butterfly 11/16/2012

I saw a rather sizeable white butterfly fluttering about the tiny yellow flowers late in the afternoon. I dashed inside, dumped my stuff and grabbed my camera. This is a rare butterfly sighting for me. By the way, another link to Becker’s White Butterfly is here.

Butterfly 11/17/2012

I spied this little critter resting on the siding of our house. It is missing a sizeable portion of a wing. However, it is still able to flutter/fly. By the way, this is the only picture I took on this day.

Ugly Fly 11/18/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

This critter was resting on the concrete slab of our back porch. I decided to take a picture to see what it may look like up close. Ugh! It is worst up close! Ha! By the way, I suspect that these critters mature into one of those ugly dragonflies. I have not had much time to do research.

Hairy Caterpillar 11/19/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

These critters are so cute! They do vary in coloring and markings and I believe they eventually become moths. I am keeping an eye on two chrysalis formed from these types of caterpillars. It is interesting to know that the hair becomes a part of the chrysalis. I am hoping to catch one coming out as a moth. By the way, my advice would be to never touch a caterpillar with your bare hands. Some caterpillars have toxic defenses.

The Annunciation Catholic Church in St. Hedwig, Texas 11/20/2012

The first time I saw this church was at sunset. The steeple looked blue. (This picture was taken late in the morning in harsh sunlight. I will have to go back late in the evening to get a better picture.) This is actually a beautiful building in a very tiny town established in 1855 by a group of Polish immigrants fleeing poverty, cultural harassment, and religious persecution. One of these days, I am going to go inside the church – it supposedly even more beautiful inside.

Satsuma 11/21/2012

These Satsuma were harvested by my nephews. The plant was given to my Dad by whom I call my dad-in-law years ago and it was planted at the lake house. The boys brought over 230 of these fruits!

Spices for the Turkey (Rub) 11//22/2012

A variety of spices to rub on the Turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. Dan cooked the bird. By the way, it turned out delicious.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Wordy Wednesday (Smiling Spider)

Smiling Spider 11/09/2012

I hastily took this picture as I was out with Chessie on the leash. The lighting was poor as the sun was setting and the jumping spider was on the shade side. I did not think this picture would be worth anything; but, when I opened it up, my immediate thought was that this spider has a smiley face on its abdomen and it looked kind of a like a clown face. Do you see it? At the time I saw it, I shuddered. It gave me the creeps especially since it was also feeding on a critter.

Thanksgiving Holiday in the States is November, 22, 2012.

For everyone who celebrates this holiday, may you have a wonderful day!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Water Diamonds

I normally post DIY, Crafting, Quilting stuff on Tuesdays. But, since I have not done much in the way of these things of late, I have decided to do a few posts on a series of pictures I have taken that I feel just need to be shared.

I first posted a picture of the Water Diamonds in A Week of Pictures (#7) along with this description: Imagine if you will upon seeing heavy dew as the sun rises. At the right time, you begin to see what looks like thousands of glittering diamonds on the ground.

I had captured many images and loved quite a few. It was hard to pick and choose among them. I am sharing five pictures without using words. I may share more in the future. Enjoy.

{To see a larger image, go here.}

{To see a larger image, go here.}

{To see a larger image, go here.}

{To see a larger image, go here.}

{To see a larger image, go here.}

Monday, November 19, 2012

Macro Monday {Fly}

{Participating in Macro Monday, I heart Macro, and Your Sunday Best.}

Tiny Beautiful Fly 10/10/2012

I was out back wandering when I spied what I think is a fly buzzing around a very small flower. I am hesitant to call it a fly because it was constantly around the flowers; but, it is what I will call it at the moment. This particular flower gets about 1 inch across. One petal is probably ½ inch. So, can you imagine how tiny this fly is? I was curious to see what it looked like through the macro lens and shot some pictures. Imagine my surprise at seeing the little beauty when I opened up the image. It is amazing how critters seem boring and irksome to the naked eye; but, in reality, is cute!

Thanksgiving Holiday in the States is November, 22, 2012.

For everyone who celebrates this holiday, may you have a wonderful day!

Friday, November 16, 2012

A Week in Pictures (#8)

A Face Only a Mother Can Love 11/9/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

When Dan was leaving on this morning, I spied a tiny moth on the driveway. I decided to get down on his/her level to take macro pictures. My goodness! That is one ugly face!

Dewdrops on the Head 11/10/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}.

I went out this morning and spied quite a few caterpillars out and about this morning. This one collected tons of dewdrops on his/her head.

Garden Spider: Orb Web Weaver (part I) 11/11/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I was out front with the cats who were required to stayed on the front porch as I did not want to do much today. I decided to explore just a tad while keeping an eye on the cats and spied this tiny little spider in the grass. I knew it was an Orb Web Weaver (Garden Spider); but, it was missing its trademark signature on the web. I zoomed in on the white object and it is actually a very tiny grasshopper he/she is feeding upon.

Bonus Image: Garden Spider: Orb Web Weaver 11/11/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

While taking pictures, I must have scared the spider because it dropped down to the ground and played dead. This is what the spider looks like on its other side – kind of boring, huh?

Orb Web Weaver (part II) 11/12/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I checked on this friend of mine this morning and discovered that he/she added its trademark signature on the web. This is what I expected to see the first time around.

Gracie 11/13/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

My little girl was acting very bored and depressed this morning. Individual attention and toys did not help. So, I asked if she wanted to go outdoors and showed the harness to her. Her whole body perked and she sat there patiently while I put the harness on her. She was so happy to be outdoors. She would wiggle her butt, dash and pounce on moving grass. She even went after grasshoppers!

FYI: I got her the harness because she has brain issues. Whenever she panics, she would run forgetting where the door is located. We could potentially lose her. I never had a cat like her before. All my other cats would head straight for the door. Not my Gracie. I tried a normal harness and it just did not work. So, I purchased this type of harness and it works beautifully. I do not worry about her hurting herself should she panic and run away. With a collar, she could potentially choke and/or hang herself on the leash. So, this harness gives me peace of mind that she will not hurt herself should she panic and dash with the leash.

Caterpillar 11/14/2012

When I first spied one of these caterpillars, the first word in my mind that popped up was “devil”. So, now it is the Devil Caterpillar to me whenever I see one. Ha! You should see what it does when it feels threatened. I was so surprised when I first witnessed what it did. And yes, I took pictures and will show those in a later post. Anyway, I do know this critter will most likely turn into a swallowtail butterfly.

Chrysalis (I hope) 11/15/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I am keeping an eye on the caterpillars around the house and the detached garage in hopes of catching one turn into a chrysalis. What are the odds that one of them would turn up underneath the windowsill on our front porch? This is day one as it was a regular caterpillar the night before.

I am hoping to see it turn into an Estigmene Albida Moth. There are plenty of these types of caterpillars around here and in my research; these caterpillars turns into moths. The darker caterpillars are very similar to the ones that into the moth I mentioned. I will constantly check on this chrysalis in hopes of witnessing the change.

PS I took a picture 1 ½ hours earlier as the sun was rising; so, it is a very poor picture. However, I needed to make sure it was the caterpillar I was keeping any eye on as it had moved from its original spot the night before. You can clearly see the caterpillar in the picture link. I was amazed to see it densely covered about 1 ½ hours later when I went back out to take some good pictures of the chrysalis.

Thanksgiving Holiday in the States is November, 22, 2012. For everyone who celebrates this holiday, may you have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Wordy Wednesday {Gracie}

Gracie 10/15/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

.

While unpacking dishes, cups, plates and more, I used a cloth basket designated for paper recycling to dump the papers used to wrap the fragile items. Well, Gracie hopped in this basket while I was slaving away and decided to make it her home. I kept working away and just piled on the papers on top of and around her. She did not mind me doing this at all. She laid there contently snoozing until I decided to try to capture a picture of her. I disturbed her peace by calling her name and snapped this shot of her gazing through the air hole I intentionally created for her. After all, I did not want her to suffocate. Ha!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Macro Monday

{Participating in Macro Monday, I heart Macro, and Your Sunday Best.}

Life isn’t Always Pretty 10/20/2012

I first posted a picture of a jumping (or daring) spider in A Week in Pictures (#2). Here is one of the mighty hunters with a prey that looks larger than itself. Sometimes, Life isn’t pretty hereabouts.

Friday, November 9, 2012

A Week in Pictures (#7)

Hazy Morning 11/2/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I saw a white wall early on this particular morning which was just both beautiful and creepy. I thought to self, “Self! This would make a wonderful photography practice session and a great picture!” I grabbed my tripod and ever ready camera and proceeded to set it all up. I was amazed at how this picture turned out. This particular shot was taken at 8:03am in the morning. If you want to see what the land really looks like in the light of day without extremely heavy fog, go to this picture taken at 10:00am on the same day.

Sunset 11/3/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I am continuing to practice taking pictures at sunsets to learn about lighting. This picture turned out pretty close to what I was actually seeing. So, I am making progress on understanding – things are finally clicking in my brain!

Bee Among Flowers 11/4/2012

These are very tiny yellow flowers that I normally do not bother with as they are ever plentiful upon the land; but, when I spied this bee fluttering among them, I had to try to snap a picture. It is not a honeybee. I am not sure what it is. It could be a brown bee fly or a carpenter bee. Nonetheless, it is still a very vital critter that collects pollen and more.

No Image for 11/5/2012

I had taken some pictures that I was absolutely thrilled with and ended up with two for this day. For some mysterious reason, all the pictures disappeared without a trace. They were not in the recycle bin nor could they be recovered via a deletion recovery tool. They just flat out disappeared and both Dan and I have not figured out why this occurred. Needless to say, I was very sad as the pictures were the only ones I had. It has also taught me a very valuable lesson and made me paranoid. I now backup files immediately onto a portable Hard Drive. I am also going to back up the portable Hard Drive more frequently onto another Bigger Hard Drive. See? I told you I gotten more paranoid. Ha!

But, you know what? God graced me with another photographic opportunity the morning after the discovery of the missing files. Those pictures, according to Dan, turned out even better than the ones I took on this particular day.

Butterfly 11/6/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

Early this morning, I decided to go hunting for butterflies. Whenever there is some dew on the ground, butterflies often spread their wings to dry while the sun is rising. I managed to capture pictures of several different butterflies. But, I am loving this particular butterfly simply because he/she is a well-traveled critter with ragged wings.

Butterfly 11/7/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I went hunting again for butterflies this morning and found this little one that has an odd I do not know whatchamacallit on the front of his/her head. I am drawing a blank on the terminology while writing this at the moment. It is still a very beautiful critter.

By the way, I took many pictures on these two days that turned out great and I will have to do a special post on all the favorites.

Water Diamonds 11/8/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I mentioned earlier that I was blessed with another photographic opportunity. Imagine if you will upon seeing heavy dew as the sun rises. At the right time, you begin to see what looks like thousands of glittering diamonds on the ground. I was very fascinated the first time I witnessed the scenery and I am extremely grateful it happened again on this day. The pictures I took did not do justice to what I viewed; but, they are still amazing to me. I will have to do a separate post in the near future on the variety of pictures I have taken on these water jewels. Dew is very precious hereabouts as rain is not plentiful.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Wordy Wednesday

We have a minor problem here on our land. At first, we thought maybe it was ants or some black beetles causing the problem; but, in the back of my mind, I knew it had to be something else.

{To see a larger image, go here.}

For the longest time, we would see these hills of dirt pop up; but, we never saw an entry or exit point and we never saw evidence of critters. Until now. I looked out and saw this new fresh hill. And, of course, I went investigating.

{To see a larger image, go here.}

Much to my surprise and shock, I finally see evidence of an entry or exit point. And, in my mind, the hole seemed huge. I still do not know what is causing this; but, I do suspect gophers or moles.

This means we are going to have to be aggressive when we start gardening. I will be putting down the tiniest chicken wire I can find in the ground before building up the garden areas (beds). In the meantime, I need to do research on how to discourage moles or gophers from coming onto our land.

Oh joy. Fun. NOT! Ha!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Macro Monday {Gracie}

{Participating in Macro Monday, I heart Macro, and Your Sunday Best.}

Innocence 10/29/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

Gracie was lying on the floor sleeping on a catnip “kick stick” I made some time ago. I thought it would make for a cool macro shot and decided to get down on the floor on her level. Let me tell you, it was hard work for this old lady to lie down on the floor to snap this picture. Ugh! But, the result is so worth the effort.