Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Glory Revisited...(See Yesterday)

Tiny Dancer... 


Whirling and Twirling
(the before of the after shot...)

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!

Monday, September 29, 2008

G'night Glory!


Her dance has ended...
Her lovely colors remain,
Tho changed, grown darker.

Just a little preview of what comes tomorrow...

~~~
xoabb
expect anything! 

The Night GB Almost ~Left~ Me....

I was rudely awakened last night because my left arm was entangled by something to the point that my circulation was being cut off. Lo and behold, it was the edge of our top sheet that had ripped away from the rest of the sheet. OK, I admit it, I like my sheets soft.  Obviously I like them too soft...heck if it tears off, ya think maybe it's time to retire said sheets??? Anywho - I tore off the rest of the sheet and went back to sleep. 

In the AM I was telling GB about being tangled up in the sheet top.  "Yeah", he replied, "I was only almost strangled by that damn thing twice - what kind of sheets are those anyway?!?!?"

I could've been a widow!  

OK, I'm throwing away that sheet set, softness be damned! 
Not worth losing my GB. ;-)

xoabb
expect anything!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Sunday Serenity



"Said a blade of grass to an autumn leaf, "You make such a noise falling! You scatter all my winter dreams." Said the leaf indignant, "Low-born and low-dwelling! Songless, peevish thing! You live not in the upper air and you cannot tell the sound of singing."



The autumn leaf lay down upon the earth and slept. And when spring came she waked again - and she was a blade of grass. 


And when it was autumn and her winter sleep was upon her, and above her through all the air the leaves were falling, she muttered to herself, "O these autumn leaves! They make such a noise! They scatter all my winter dreams!""



~~~
xoabb
expect anything!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Possibly why Trey-You has Issues with Stella...



and...


I'm pretty sure this is Stella's way of saying "thank you" to Trey-You for sharing his canned cat food. (You cannot even imagine what this does to Stella's breath - buzzard breath has taken on a whole new meaning.) I'm also pretty sure Trey-You isn't overly appreciative of this kind of "thank you".  But it sure is fun to watch!

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!

Friday, September 26, 2008

SKY Watch Friday


See the summer sky
Soon supplanted by Autumn
The blue sky remains

~~~
xoabb

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Morning Irritations....

Driving to work each morning at 7:15 am, I parallel the Saugatuck River. Usually the view is wonderful and unobstructed by idiots who get up before the butt-crack of dawn to exercise, for God's sake! by anything other than the passing duck or goose. It's a very beautiful and peaceful five minutes before I reach work.

Well, that has certainly changed, much to my irritation. For the past several weeks I have noticed unacceptable activity on my river. Can you imagine??? Did you know that there are women who get up at some unGodly hour in the morning and are actually out ROWING before 7:00 am? How dare they do something so reasonable and rational as exercise on my river? My peace is disturbed!
Look at those twits! 
Don't they know they could be snuggly warm 
and sleeping in their beds?
It's 7:00am for cryin' out loud!
I tell you, the definition of what to do with 
quality time needs a major makeover!
Where are my breakfast hash-browns???

See you on the river! ;-)

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Johnboat


 Anyone from the midwest with a smallish to biggish body of water on their land knows what a johnboat is. For the rest of you Midwest-wannabes, a johnboat is a small rowboat with a snubnose. Perfect for navigating a small lake or pond. And as you can see, it works!  Below, the adventures begin...

Cody-dog:
"Uh, excuse me, Auntie Nanas, I'm really not sure this long-haired human truly knows what he's doing. Hello?? AUNTIE NANAS, HELLOO! Ya think maybe you should be in here with us, just maybe??? Directions, here!?!?! Pretty please??"


Cody dog:
"Uh, oh, well, never you mind, Auntie Nanas, that Dodgie boy is with us and he knows everything so we are very safe and I am OK, and thank you very much!!"


So off they went on their grand adventure.
(Even though the end of their adventure
 was all of 100 yards away...  ;-) 
~
The ~gift~ of imagination...
I have it in spades....
...oh well.

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

People in Bryant Park

Yesterday, as you might recall, I joined my birthday celebrating sis-in-law, and friends in NYC. We were to have birthday brunch at Bryant Park Grill. To get there I passed by the east end of Bryant Park. What a gorgeous oasis! Another incredibly beautiful spot in NYC. Aside from the people, who are just fantastic (look at that little old man), can you even believe the size of those begonia planters???

OOPS! Looks like guy in front doesn't want his face to be seen! Little old man has turned the corner, purple girl and friends are still chatting....and do you see that strange man on the side walk straight ahead that seems to be doing strange things???

Walking through, walking through!
A slice of life amongst the ginormous begonia bouquets...

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Monday, September 22, 2008

An NYC 40th Birthday Moment...

My Sis-in-law decided to celebrate her 40th in grand old style. She's NYC born and bred so back to her home-town she decided to come! Most importantly, Chrissy (even more importantly to me, she's my Dodgie's mom and my bro's wife) was joined by her FL-living mom, Ann, and sis, Marnie and also her NJ sis, Ann-Denise. I understand the four of them had simply fabulous club-hopping, dancing times, tho Ann-Denise did admit to me the dancing part of their evening wasn't as active as it once was. Sunday at noon we all gathered for Chrissy's birthday brunch. I do think I can declare that a most perfect time was had by all.

In your honor,
An NYC bouquet for you, Birthday Girl! 
In this big city, the plantings are just amazing!
Chrissy, I can think of a no more appropriate 
bunch of flowers that you would love.
Happy happy birthday 
my dear sis-i-l!

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sunday Serenity


Happiness is like a butterfly which, 
when pursued, 
is always beyond our grasp, but, 
if you will sit down quietly, 
may alight upon you.
~Nathaniel Hawthorn

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

It's SO easy! Just Hit the Ball!

A swing at the ball -
Unsuccessful contact. Hmmm...
Golf lessons perhaps?

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Contrails...


Sky Watch Friday...Join us!
Trailways,
Tailways
Where are you going,
What place will you know?
~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Just an Ordinary Rock...

My Dodgie has the uncanny ability (very likely inherited/learned from his dad) of finding fauna in places that most of us would totally miss seeing them. Case in point, the turtle Dodgie pointed out to me in the creek bottom. (Yup, our parent's Missouri creek bottom.) I thought I was taking a photo of a lovely rocky creek bed. Dodgie immediately told me he didn't think it was a rock, but some living thing. I believed him because there was no way I was going to find out in an up close and personal kind of way what exactly it was. (Can you spot it in the photo below?) 

Dodgie told me that finding out what it was wasn't a problem as he would wade in and pick up that rounded "rock" to really see what it was so I didn't have to. He said it was all well and good because he had already fallen in the creek and was wet; and besides, he liked to be wet and in the creek so he could discover all new things. I couldn't argue with that kind of logic...(neither could any of you!)

Gently he lifted the "rock" and proved what he thought all along - a turtle!  Specifically it was a  a ~Red-Eared Slider~, (We know this as over the years, because of his insatiable curiosity, Dodgie's dad (my brother) has developed a first-name-basis relationship with the folks at the Missouri Department of Conservation. I'm sure he's bugged the heck out of them, but it has resulted in lots of good identifying info.)
I, of course, thought it was a common snapping turtle which would turn and bite my beloved Dodgie's nose off.  Dodgie, of course, told me I didn't know my turtles and there was no way this was a snapping turtle and it would not ever bite his or anyone else's nose off...thankfully he was right!

(Mr. Turtle was released, unharmed, back to the wild 
soon after this photo was taken.  Dodgie hiked up the 
hill, took a shower, ate dinner, and went to bed to 
dream the dreams boys do of turtles hiding in streams) 

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Incognito

Incognito....
I've never seen a green zinnia so thought it would be a good idea to take a photo or two of the ones that are growing in my parent's MO garden (yes, their garden really is that wonderful - I think I've said that before;-). Took this first photo - that isn't well centered or anything else - and thought all was well and good, it just needed to be finessed. 

Second photo....hellooooo, Mr. Spider! Incognito you were before! Didn't even see you the first time, but certainly couldn't miss you the second time! I left him to his spiderly way and we both benefited - me with a lovely (to some) photo and him with an undisturbed spiderly life. 

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Road Home


Of all the places you've lived, where is home? 
Where is the place you go back to whenever you need a safehaven?
What are the memories that make it your home?
Home...where the heart is. 
Home...where the good memories are, whether new or old.
Did you find home early in your life or in just the past few years?

No matter when in your life you found it... 
There's no place like home. 

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Monday, September 15, 2008

A Little Red Suitcase

While traveling home, I happened to spot the above lady who was taking the same flight I was on. She looked like a perfectly lovely gray-haired grandma kind of person (and probably only 5 to 10 years older than me, if I'm honest - BLAH) in sensible clothes and shoes. 

Her carry-on was an old fashioned red suitcase with one little old handle on top. I haven't seen one of those in years - I didn't even know they were still made or sold! Uhh..wait! That suitcase could be 20, 30, 40 years old! Maybe she just takes really good care of her possesions. Didn't think of that. 

I wonder if her laptop is inside...
 

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Just No Productivity

I'll be back tomorrow...just not today...blah!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Somethin's Blowin' In...


Can you say ~storm front~???

This is the sky that greeted me through my 
windshield as I left work last week. 
So ominous!

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Holes to Heaven

Thanks to the great Jack Johnson for that so appropriate song title...

Connecticut Holes to Heaven



Discovered (way too) early last Thursday morning...


~~~

As a bonus, here's a little video of
Hanna's Havoc in Connecticut
(would have been perfect - for this post at least -
had she been a Hurrricane. Glad she wasn't, tho!)


~~~

xoabb

P. S. I'm postin' early so I can GO TO BED!
Happiness to you all!
P. P. S. (8 am Wed.) Just changed post date to Wed.
(To be consistent - it's the OCD/AR side of me rearing its head.)

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Busy Bee...

Work is never done when your a buzzing bumblebee...

Achoo! 
Bless You! 

Photo from the Missouri creek bottom.

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!


Monday, September 08, 2008

What's Your Focus?

Do you focus on what's close at hand?


Or what's far away?

~

Either way, focus on something.

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Sunday Serenity

Honor the Sacred
Honor the Earth, our Mother
Honor the Elders
Honor all with whom we
Share the Earth -
Four-legged, two-legged
Winged ones
Swimmers, crawlers
Walk in balance and peace.

~Native American Elder

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!


Saturday, September 06, 2008

You Lookin' at Me???


~~~
xoabb
expect anything!

P.S. Inspired by Country Girl Kate!

Friday, September 05, 2008

Sky Watch Friday




In black and white...


and color...

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!

Thursday, September 04, 2008

The Flight ~Path~ Home

On our flight home from Columbia, GB and I flew into Westchester County Airport. It's fairly close to where we live, but I never thought we'd loop around our area of the northeast during our descent. Guess what? We did!

(click on photo to enlarge)
I was sorting through my many (try thousands of) photos, editing the better ones, trashing the worser (that's a word - my word) ones when, lo and behold, I came across the above photo. Never in a million years did I expect to find what I did, (once I bothered to really look). It was a perfect aerial photo of the area I live in!

That's I-95 cutting a path across the photo, and just to its left, (until it branches off on the other side of the river) is the Amtrak/Metro North rail line. The golf course in the foreground is Long Shore; the one on the far side of the river is Shorehaven Golf Club. Our home is somewhere on the far side of the river between the golf course and railroad tracks. Considering where we live, isn't it amazing we have an ~infestation~ of deer, a worrisome number of coyote, and a bothersome amount of wild turkey, never mind our plethora of squirrels and rabbits?

You know, I really must write a note and request USAir pay more attention to the condition of their jet windows! Dirty windows certainly affect the quality of photos taken!

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!


Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Godson

Godson...(aka Nature Boy)


As my brother wrote: "When this kind of thing is going on,
it is inevitable that he'll end up in the pond.
Sure enough, he was fully submerged about 10 minutes later."
Thanks, little bro, for letting me share your photo...
tho I didn't even ask...uh-oh...


Godson Dodgie with a small ringneck snake he found on our
first walk to the valley below our folks MO home.
Photo courtesy of my brother, also Dodgie's dad, Bill. Thanks!


Wading in the creek - and staying dry - isn't as easy as it looks!
(And this one is my photo.)

This one's easy! G is for Godson, (aka Nature Boy). Dodgie is my Godson, and to this day I am so honored to have had that title bestowed upon me. While we were all in Missouri, we went on several hikes to the creek bottom down the hill from our folk's home. Needless to say, it's beautiful there and there's always something new to experience. On our first foray, Dodgie found a ring-neck snake which his father captured beautifully, as you can see. Our second trip wasn't quite as dry. We hit the rock slabs of the creek bed and off came Dodgie's shoes. Despite numerous warnings from his dad (my brother, Bill) that the immersed rocks were mighty slick, Dodgie just knew wading was something he had to do. And, no, Dad, I won't get wet! That lasted all of two steps into the water. You can see the results in the second photo.

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

We Didn't Start the Fire...

But GB sure did...

Because of the above activity,
we have had the fire department at our home.
Twice.
(click on comic to make larger.)

~~~
xoabb
expect anything!


Monday, September 01, 2008

Flawed Beauty

Here's to a fun-filled Labor Day Monday!
The summer's been wonderful - short - but wonderful. 

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!