PhotoHunt #103 High

This is a scanned picture (the resolution isn’t the greatest, but this was before my digital camera) of a shot I took from the top of the 520 foot high Skylon Tower on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Notice the buses in the bottom right hand corner for scale. The squarish looking dot in the center of the Falls is the famous The Maid of the Mist. As fascinating as the Falls were the first time that I saw them, the emerald color of the water at the bottom was stunning. Everybody should see The Falls at least once in their life.

PhotoHunt Metal

This picture was taken on Sanibel Island, FL in 2005. I’d never heard of a metal lighthouse before learning about this one. Made entirely of iron, it’s 98 feet tall and was first lit in 1884. There’s a lot more history behind it and if you are interested in reading about it, CLICK HERE.

If you ever are in that area and would like to check it out, parking is at a premium. The best way to see the lighthouse is to rent a bike. We rented from Billy’s Rentals. He has bikes of every kinds at and reasonable prices. The link has lots of other information if you are interested. Also, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge is at the other end of the island and is a great place to bike also.

March 15th Photo Hunt I Spy

I took this on a road from Alamogordo to Las Cruces, NM a few years ago. I got a few comments that the rock climber couldn’t be seen, even after clicking the picture to enlarge it. I’ve put another pic down below this one so they can be seen.

PhotoHunt #99 Party

This week’s prompt made me think of my favorite topic of conversation, my GrandDolly. She turned one in September of ‘07 and of course there had to be a party. Lots of food, family, friends and OMG it was hotter than blue blazes that day!!

One of the better results of my marriage was the ritual of biting a birthday cake, something I’d never heard of before, living back in the sticks like I did. I was glad to see my daughter want to keep that tradition.

This is a shot of Josie and her cousin Izaak enjoying her cake — and stop looking at their grandmother’s cleavage!! (Not mine, Josie’s other grandmother)

This year, my daughter and Izaak’s mother have decided to combine the kid’s birthday parties. Josie will be two in September and Izaak will be three in August. They each had their individual parties for their first birthdays and combining them from now on will be a lot less stress for both moms. Smart cookies!

PhotoHunters #98 Wooden

This wooden rocker was the first thing that popped into my mind. It was given to me by my grandmother about 35 years ago. (At the time, my grandmother was in her 70’s, and this chair was given to her when she was young by her mother in law, so it is probably close to 100 years old.) Perhaps given is the wrong word — her exact words were, “it’s a mess, but if you want it, you can take it.”

So I took it and she wasn’t kidding — the caning was ripped out, it had 4 or 5 different layers of paint on it (one of which was red — almost impossible to get completely out) and one rocker was off. I took it and stripped it, sanded it, glued it, polyurethaned it to within an inch of it’s life and then learned how to cane so I could cane it. Very hard on the hands, I don’t recommend it. The wood is maple (birds eye in spots) and the color was very light when I first finished it. The color has aged quite nicely and it’s a gorgeous chair now. I just love to look at it.

It’s also the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever sat in. So I don’t.

Thanks anyway, Nanny.

PhotoHunt #97 Free

This is my first foray into PhotoHunt. If I seem to need guidance in any way, please let me know.

This pic is from about 4 years ago. Sweet Baboo and I spent a week in New Mexico (a state that I highly recommend you visit, if you are into minimalism). The trip coincided with the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta during October. This picture is from one of the dawn ascension events. (It’s not a great photo, I admit — I’d had my new camera just a few days and I hadn’t figured out the resolution part of it yet.) It was a chilly morning and we sat in a traffic jam for almost an hour trying to get to the fairgrounds. Once the balloons started rising, it was worth it all. Watching them ascend in the beautiful light, so quiet except for the roaring sound when the burners were firing, created a free and dreamy feeling.

And then I had this other memory flit through my mind. Shortly after my separation and subsequent divorce, I remembered removing my wedding ring, looking at the indentation it left behind, and thinking “free, free, free” with a smile on my face.