Black and White Wednesday

I'm sorry I've been absent so much lately, but as predicted, the baby did finally arrive! She's healthy and beautiful and amazingly sweet. I'm going back to see her (and her parents) as soon as I can. Aren't babies wonderful?! It's unreal to me to realize that my little guy was nearly that small this time last year.

Anyway, I thought I'd get back in the swing of blogging by joining
The Long Road to China for Black and White Wednesday. How wonderful for Lisa to finally get to be with her daughter!

Here is one of my first "babies." This is my birthday beagle, Hardy. He's one of the sweetest dogs ever. And for some reason, he nearly always smells like Fritos.
Good dog.

-Susan

Miscellany Monday and No Mom Talk Monday

Well, it's Monday again. Let's see if I can manage the "no mom talk" part of this. . .
Being random will pose no difficulty whatsoever!

(1) I must apologize for being absent so much lately. In addition to all the usual stuff (or people) that keep me from blogging, I have been not very patiently awaiting my sister's baby. So, I feel like I have gotten nothing done. I'm just waiting for the call and trying to be totally prepared to leave the house at any moment. I'd elaborate, but I can't without mom talk.

(2) This negative scanner, while wonderful, is a real time sucker. And editing the photos it scans. And sharing them. Fun and time consuming.

(3) Fall is such a brief time. The leaves were beautiful, but are now falling quickly due to the dry weather. I can see into the woods now. I like that and I don't.
I do miss being able to see the creek from my deck.

(4) It's still been in the eighties in the afternoons. That's Kentucky for ya. Heat in the morning, a/c in the afternoon. Looking forward to the next electrical bill! NOT!

(5) I don't think I have taken ten photos in the last week. Really. And my tree frog has been back. Okay, maybe I took ten shots of him. Seriously, I have hardly taken any photos lately. It's all been going through old ones and scanning an editing.

That's all I can manage without telling you what my kids have been up to. Hope you have a good week. I'm hoping to be absent soon because of my sister's baby. So, if I'm gone for a few days, know I'm having a great time cuddling a new baby and pampering my sister.

Don't forget to check out
No Mom Talk Monday and Carissa's Miscellany Monday .

Well, I know I've been missing in action the last few days. I love Macro Friday, as you may have guessed, and I didn't even have time for that this week. I've been anxiously awaiting my sister's baby and trying to make preparations here so I can leave the instant she tells me it's time.
And this new scanner is awesome! I've been playing with it.
This is also sinus headache season here. You look fine, no runny nose or anything, but your head is in a vice. Makes me want to crawl under my bed and hide.
Enough excuses. I came across this Victorian funeral card. We have several, but I liked this one particularly for a couple of reasons. One, it has a photo of the young woman. It's nice to put a face to the name. Second, her card says, "Gone but not forgotten." I figured, what better way to remember someone who has been deceased for 110 years than by putting her funeral card on the internet?
I have done a bit of genealogical research, and, as far as I know, M. M. Crabtree was not a family member. She must have been a family friend or neighbor.
Cousin Joyce, correct me if I am wrong about this.
Hope you have a great weekend!

-Susan

Black and White Wednesday

I have had some wonderful tree frog encounters lately. There was one that was almost white with sea foam green on his back. Another was light gray with distinct patterns on his back. Well, even after trying to edit to make the color look like it really did, I thought these would work better in black and white. This is a Bird-voiced Tree Frog with sea foam green on his back. He's a tiny little thing, no bigger than an inch.

Also, this week, I got a Canon Canoscan 8800F. The scanner hasn't been working on my printer for a while, but the big selling point for me is that this thing will scan negatives, several at a time. How cool is that?
It would be a lie to say it was easy to set up on my computer, but that's Hubby's department. It's still really easy to use. I have been going through a shoe box full of pictures and negatives. Grandma left massive amounts of photos, but few of her.
I didn't take the next two photos, but I did get permission from the photographer's next of kin.


Here is my beautiful mommy on her second birthday.
Notice the icing on her fingers and the cake showing.


Here she is with my beautiful grandmother. Losing my grandmother was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. I'm glad she left so many photos behind.
If you still have a grandmother, go hug her now.

Stop by The Long Road to China for more Black and White Wednesday.

-Susan

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I'm trying something new again. For the last few weeks, I have been enjoying looking at Scavenger Hunt Sunday at Ramblings and Photos. But, weekends are a busy time for me with Hubby home, so I haven't ever attempted to try my hand at it. Until today. I saw today's list, and I couldn't believe how easy this week would be for me! So here is the list:

1. Pink
2. Books
3. Fall Colors
4. Leaf
5. Orange

1. Pink- Autumn Joy Sedum

2. Books- Some of my much-loved paperbacks

3. Fall Colors- my yard

4. Leaf- Sassafras leaves are some of my favorites

5. Orange

Let me add my condolences to those of you in Florida. I'm sorry you don't have your orange now, but you will have your oranges in December when we are all freezing our rears off up here in Kentucky!
At least I can order my band oranges from Florida then.

-Susan

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Well, I'm finally embracing autumn. I do love autumn, really I do. I just really don't like winter. And, clever person that I am, I know winter will invariably follow fall. Around here autumn seems to be about three weeks long. Then, the leaves are all gone and it's cold. But yesterday, the kids, my mom, and I got out a bit to enjoy the weather. Here are some of the resultant photos.


This was taken at one of my favorite cemeteries. I love a good cemetery. They are like well, manicured, historical parks. This one has some old gravestones and beautiful maples and oaks.


This is a tree that lines my driveway.



We went to the park and had a car picnic. It's easier to eat without Bonus wandering off if he's in his car seat. This is part of the sign that announces the walking trail around the park. I can't believe I never noticed the pattern in the wood on the sign. To me, it looks like a Barred Owl with a little Barn Owl beneath it. It is completely natural except the Barred Owl's "beak" is wood filler.


We found the most beautiful White Oak Acorns! They actually looked like they were ripening like an apple! I have seen acorns with a touch or red before, but I'd never seen any like this.

Well, the weather is beautiful again today. I'm off to the Farmer's Market. Hope you all have a great weekend! Enjoy the lovely weather if you're someplace that has some!

-Susan

Macro Friday

Well, it's Friday! It's also an extra special day! Today is both my sister's due date (Baby will be here soon!!!) and my dear friend's baby's first birthday! Happy birthday, Belle! So, I'm excited and happy and just waiting for the call from my sister! But, I haven't taken any macro shots of babies, so these will have to suffice. As I write, I'm still undecided as which photo should be my entry. I suppose I'll embrace autumn.

I have always loved acorns. Every fall, I collect acorns, butternuts, walnuts, hickory nuts, and even pig nuts. Sometimes I eat some of them, but mostly, I'm compelled to collect nuts in the fall. Maybe an ancestor of mine was a squirrel.
I've even eaten white oak acorns; I must be nuts.

This is my I'm-not-ready-for-summer-to-end photo. My strawberry bed has produced more this month than the rest of the year! That's still not much, mind you. I guess this is what they mean by "everbearing." I do love fresh strawberries! Maybe next year we won't have a moldy spring and drought-filled summer.

Visit blogging from bolivia to link up your own Macro Friday post!

-Susan

Black and White Wednesday

I have seen more Bird-voiced Tree Frogs this year than any year I can remember. As a kid, these were simply "tree frogs." We'd occasionally see them on the window screens in the summer. This year, hardly a week has gone by without a sighting. The color variation is amazing. Some are quite green, others are nearly brown, and one individual is a dovey gray. He matches our house. I saw my little gray frog on a cold morning this week. I don't know how cold is too cold for tree frogs. I suppose, as long as there are bugs about, they'll be okay.

So, here's my black and white Bird-voiced Tree Frog for Black and White Wednesday.
Originally, he was one of the green ones.

Above is my gray one.
Below is the gray one blending in on my house.


And this is one of my green ones.

Now for a little confession. About 95% of all my blogging and photo editing is done while holding Bonus. So, if anyone knows of a good tutorial for making a real watermark with the GIMP, I'd appreciate it. There is only so much I can figure out while holding a one year old.
Any good "intro to blogging" tutes would be welcome, too.

So, today, I'm linking up with The Long Road to China for Black and White Wednesday. Hop on over and see what black and white goodies today brings!

-Susan

Miscellany Monday and No Mom Talk Monday

Well, here's my list for today, staying with the above themes.

1. I have experienced a new annoying problem with blogger this morning. I was composing this post and it got posted, just as I was starting! What fun! (Yes, I have had my coffee, and no, I did not click the "publish post" button!)

2. I got to go to a friend's wedding this weekend. A great time was had by all. I don't think I have ever seen a bride and groom so giddy for each other! The groom was even glowing! Not just the bride!

3. One of my dearest, but not nearest (she lives 1000 miles away) friends was at the wedding. I cherish every moment I get to visit with her. I love you, M!

4. Boy, do I appreciate the work a wedding photographer does! I tried to take some "good" wedding pictures and pretty much failed miserably. I know the real photographer has the advantage of being able to tell people where to stand and getting to stand up close during the ceremony, but it's still a much tougher job than I ever realized. Two or more happy people both with good expressions is really quite hard. The couple were chatting with one another sweetly and my photo turned out with her eyes closed and him looking like he's about to spit a wad of tobacco. Great.

5. Kentucky weather is irritating. Last week, was pleasant. The week before was in the 90's. Today, right now, it's 32 degrees.

6. I did get one post-able picture from the weekend. We traveled through
Possum Trot on the way home. I had never been before. So, I got a picture:


I still need to take a trip to Monkey's Eyebrow.

Have a great autumn week, and don't forget to check out
No Mom Talk Monday and Carissa's Miscellany Monday .

-Susan

Macro Friday, Skip to my Lou, my darlin'

So, for this week's Macro Friday, I have a photo and a story. Stinkerbaby has a unique way of singing the song, Skip to My Lou. Instead of "fly's in the buttermilk," she sings, "fly on the butterfly." She's big enough to know those aren't the real words, but she persists. When I saw this photo, that is exactly what I said to my self.

Fly on the butterfly, shoo fly, shoo!


Okay, I had to edit this post to add this shot of a Red Admiral. I had completely forgotten about it. I shouldn't be allowed to post before I have any coffee!


Hope you all have a great weekend! I'm planning on a great weekend!

Visit blogging from bolivia to link up your own Macro Friday post!

-Susan