273/365...A Foggy Morning...

Any one got a fog horn?

Riding down the freeway on a Tuesday morning...

Highway 16.
Somewhere between Port Orchard and Gig Harbor.

Calma

273/365: By the lake

I may have posted this shot once before, so if I did, I apologize. This is one of my favourite shots from my family's vacation up north -- I think I took it, but it's possible my brother did. It was on his (really nice) camera, at any rate. I have a blown-up version of it framed and hanging on my wall--it makes me think of summer and vacation every time I see it. :)

Lake Charlevoix, MI

~Sil

272/365 Fruit weirdness

Our little Magnolia tree has developed fruits this year! This is the first time I've seen Magnolia fruits and aren't they just the weirdest things? Love them! :D

(I don't think they are edible, though. ;) :) )

272/365 SPARNFARKLE!

 Sparnfarkle is German for 'pig roast'. This area is heavily settled by people of German ancestry, so some of the old words and traditions have stuck.  I did not make it to the Sparnfarkle in time to see the pig on the spit, but I did get there in time to photograph it as it was just removed from the spit. This particular pig was stuffed with chickens that were stuffed with onions, but the pig is often stuffed with bratwurst, a German sausage.  The Sparnfarkle was a get-together with some of my husbands co-workers & their families. I don't know if you can tell by this photo, but the pig was huge.

This is what a typical roaster/spit looks like.

Some of the kids in a huddle with the dog.

I took this photo by the bonfire later in the evening. The little girl moved as I took her photo resulting in a double exposure. I thought it made for an interesting effect.

Dawn/RoseMorninStar

271/365: Fall Veggies

Community Garden!!

At my current apartments we have a community garden every year.  This year I didn't participate but the folks who did kindly shared some of their bounty with me.  I snapped these two photos last Tuesday for the fall colors.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!!

 Scotch Bonnets/Jabanero Peppers

Jules

Vancouver, WA

271/365....Look Ma I done caught me one!!!!.....

A different way to catch the boat...

The guy sure looks like he lassoed the Hawaiian Chieftain, huh?

Sorry to be dipping into the camera archives, but nothing jumped up for a shot at stardom this week. 

Calma.
Sinclair Inlet Port Orchard, WA

270/365 And now for something completely different.....

A still life!!!

The weather has been too blah for good pics outside, so here is a sample of my harvest.....

~Tooks in Southcentral PA

269/365: Tomatoes!

We don't have much of a yard around my house, so my housemates have taken to growing a row of tomatoes in large pots next to the driveway. Their crop came in really late this year and is, surprisingly, still coming! I snapped this on my way past this morning and managed to resist the temptation to eat them afterwards. :D I looooooove cherry tomatoes.

Ann Arbor, MI

~Sil

268/365..Last Sunset of the Summer....

As the sunsets on yet another summer we at least got a very colorful show to send us off into the fall. It was a  very warm and humid night and yet the beauty was not lost by any distractions.

Vana
Photo taken from our porch in Bow, WA.

267/365 - Summer colour

Okay, so today I spent most of it in bed due to picking my parents up at the airport at silly o'clock this morning and also working a night shift tonight. As a result, I don't have any photos. In fact, I haven't taken any all week. So I present to you a photo taken earlier in the year. :)

About a month ago, my car was (once again!) making funny noises, so instead of driving it up the hill to my house after work, I parked it at the bottom of the hill in an empty car park (which also happens to be where I leave it when it snows) so that I could take it to the garage the next day without having to negotiate the bumps and lumps on my local road.

I've only really seen the car park covered in snow, so seeing all the greenery was a bit of a surprise. There was this beautiful rose bush flowering impressively, and I had to take a photo. (Sorry it's a bit blurry - I took it on my phone.)

266/365

I forgot it was Friday. Let's see what I can find...






My roommate's little girl was a cheetos/chocolate mess couple weeks ago while we were running errands.

266/365 - Pandora's London

Hello all!  As my first photo here I thought I would share with you one of my favourite views of London!  This was taken two nights ago from the tallest bar in London - and possibly the UK - Centre Point.  If you look closely, you can even see the curvature of the Earth!  See how many landmarks you can spot :D

And then, carrying on the city theme, here is a photo from just this afternoon, of Trafalgar Square - an event celebrating Malaysia.  Unfortunately the photo doesn't convey the sounds and scents of the Malaysian cooking stalls lining the edges of the square, but it was fabulous - and on stage you can just make out the dancers in traditional dress.

~ Pandora ~

265/365 Vision through Humidity

At the weekend, we visited the Botanical Garden. The gardens are free to visit.

Initially, it was a bit cloudy, but later the sun came out for a bit.

It was a lovely walk there, although there were fewer blossoms than I'd expected. We took lots of photos, of course. :D

When we entered the high-humidity hothouse, not only our glasses steamed up, but also the lenses of our cameras, and it took ages for them to clear up again. Far from being disappointing, though, this made for some really cool effects. :D

Here's a passion-flower variety, seen through the fog of a steamed up lens, making it look like an unreal vision. D:

265/365 Tea for two or two for tea?

Recently I picked up some Primula brand 'flowering tea'. The tea ball 'blooms' as it opens when boiling water is poured over it. Each tea 'flower' makes several pots. I thought it was rather novel and something pretty to serve when one has guests.

I sent a glass tea pot with some flowering teas as a gift to the family in Japan that hosted my daughter for a few days. (I hope they like it!)

The tea pictured is a green tea &Jasmine. Some of the flowers also have vanilla flavor, etc..

I found this teapot at the local resale shop for $3.00. It looked brand new.. I believe the characters are for Good fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity, but I am not sure.

The other items pictured are some things our daughter brought home from Japan; a fan, and two hand made traditional tea cups. In the foreground are two 5 yen go-en coins.. worth about 5 cents. They have a hole in the middle and are often considered good fortune for relationships because the word for 'good relationships' is also pronounced 'go-en'.

Dawn/RoseMorninStar

264/365: Wednesday photos by Vanaladiel!!

 

We took a walk at Coronet Bay the other day and got these shots. One was a seal that came looking for someone to play with and the other is the back side of the Deception Pass Bridge. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable walk. Next time we plan to walk to the point of the bay.

Vana

Photo taken at Coronet Bay on Whidbey Island.

264/365: Hobbiton?

Not so much???

Close up of one "mound"?

There is a street corner that I have to go by when I do one certain chore, usually on the weekend.  At the first photo, there used to be a small sign that said "Hobbiton",  I don't know how long it has been gone.  But with a bit of imagination, I can see it. :D  Minus the big round doors.

The interesting thing?  This work was done by the city and it sits next to a power supply station.  I believe they are trying to make something that is pretty unattractive, easier on the eyes.

Jules - Vancouver, WA

263/365 - Juxtaposition

Oh, the irony! You'd really think that by now someone would have created a job with the sole responsibility of making sure billboard postings don't wind up in awkward pairs.  Like an ad for a 99¢ piece of garbage-food next to plea for helping hungry children.

-Krawler

263/365 A corner in Middletown:

Sunday morning is the best time for a looooong bike ride.  There is very little traffic, and I can go meandering through towns without getting wiped out.  

This weekend I meandered through Middletown, PA.  I stopped to take a few pics at this corner with the Brownstone Café (notlistening and I had lunch there a few years ago!).   There is the fancy clock on the corner, and the building right next to it.  There are many neat old houses in the area, but quite a few have been divided into apartments. 

~Tooks

262/365: At the castle

Took this at the Renaissance Faire a few weeks ago -- can I have a house that looks like this??

Michigan Renaissance Festival

~Sil

261/365...Dave....

Dave's unveiling

Last November we lost our voice.

Dave Niehaus was the radio voice for the Seattle Mariners.
My baseball team.
He was with the M's since the very first pitch and the way he called the games was just about as close to perfect as anyone can get. He threw out the first pitch when Safeco Field was opened, an honor he cherished and the fans went wild when he was given the ball. He was inducted into the broadcasters wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Ford C. Frick award winner and was given nearly a hero's welcome when he returned to Safeco. 

The team commissioned a statue of him it was unveiled Friday the 16th.
It's Dave.
Right down to the baseball tie.

We all loved him and his voice.
That wonderful, wonderful, voice that was suddenly silenced last November.

RIP, Dave.



A closer look.

In case you're wondering....
The game in his scorebook before him is the game against the Yankees 10/8/95.
The game that is forever known in Mariner Lore as... The Double.


Taken off Calma's tv in Port Orchard, WA

filling in for Vana today. she'll post on Wednesday.

260/365 - Sheepdog Trials!!

I love sheepdogs (which here in the UK essentially refers to Border Collies) and have been fascinated by sheepdog trialling ever since I religiously read Shadow the Sheepdog by Enid Blyton many, many years ago.

We used to have a television show called "One Man and His Dog" that regularly showed sheepdog trials from around the UK - generally the Home Countries competing against each other, but it was cancelled a few years ago.

My mum in particular has always loved Border Collies and where they live now a lot of trialling goes on (in fact, they've made an acquaintance of the assistant harbour master where they keep the boat who also breeds (and trials) working sheepdogs. Mum's hoping for a puppy at some point).

Anyway, the International Sheepdog Trials World Cup is happening this weekend in Cumbria and I've managed to catch some on the television.

Here's an English competitor, Tom Lawrenson (the dog's called Clyde) just convincing the sheep to go into the pen. :)


And here's Clyde, just itching to set off on what is known at the "out run".

259/365 Fish Habitat

While out on a day trip to spread my grandparent's ashes (supposed to be kinda a secret, but none of you would tell my family to stir things up), we stopped at a small, man made lake. A tree had been cut down and left half in the water to create this "fish habitat". My brothers wanted to climb on it, but Dad wouldn't let them. LOL! The rest of the pictures from that day are here, and should be viewable to everyone, even if you don't have facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150807115310790.738498.535280789&l=09b3f3c281&type=1

259/365 Out & About

 As I was out & about I stopped to take a photo of this.. this.. I have no idea what it is but I thought it looked kinda funny.. like a proto-type for a Transformer character.

This photo shows how dry it has been here.. It's a picture of cracked & caking mud. I thought it made for an interesting photo.
I posted this in a (mistaken) attempt to fix a day with a missing post.. and then found I messed things up even more!
Dawn/RoseMorninStar..
Making a mess of things since 1961. :P

258/365 Grape season

The photo is from early September last year, but we harvested our grapes yesterday, and they looked pretty much the same. :D

(What was left of them, that is - we 'shared' a good part of them with insects or birds or something - whatever critter got them, I hope they enjoyed them. ;) :D )



 

258/365 Waiting.. waiting.. FINALLY!

I have been trying all summer to get photographs of a hummingbird. I sat & waited many hours trying to get a decent shot. I had a few that were OK, but I kept trying. These were taken through the patio glass door, so there is some reflection. 

You can see it's tongue!!

Dawn/RoseMorninStar

257/365: More Greece

 

Ewer, Pitcher - I use it for flowers.

I got this at Mt. Lycabettus, which is in Athens.  I was there for close to six months

in 1986 with my mother.  She was getting treatment for cancer.

I remember it like it was yesterday and I only have a few items to show for the trip.

Very happy this has survived many moves.

Jules

Soon to be old apartment in Vancouver, WA 

257/365... A Moment of Peace....

Sinclair Inlet.

I've been busy so I went into the camera archives and found this for you.
It's Sinclair Inlet looking back toward shore and Port Orchard. The building is an apartment building. I took this picture while I was taking some of the Tall Ships. It was so calm and peaceful that morning.

Calma
Sinclair Inlet at 7:30 am.
Port Orchard, WA

256/365 Water water everywhere…

Last week southcentral PA had some flooding that rivaled the flood caused by hurricane Agnes back in 1972.  The only good part of it was that only 5 counties were affected, rather than the entire northeast US.

You may remember the minor flooding I posted about back in March. 

http://torc365.blogspot.com/2011/03/74365-good-ol-swatara-creek.html

It was a photo of the Swatara Creek bridge that I cross on the days I ride my bike to work.  It is rather calm and serene compared to the current view.  I couldn’t get near to take a photo during the flooding, but this is the aftermath:

There is about 5 inches of very soft mud all over the intersection, and a roof and a large tree trunk barricades the bridge.  You can see where the high water mark is on the building to the left – about 2/3 up.   Sadly, the plastic duck is gone, as well as the wooden steps. 

This next photo was taken two days earlier, about a mile downstream:

The lower part of the corn field is completely covered in water.  Behind the tree line are some railroad tracks, then another tree line, and then the ‘usual’ creek bed.                                

I DID see a Monarch butterfly in the yard yesterday, but of course I didn’t have my camera with me at the time. *sigh*

So you get flood pics instead.  :P

-posted by Tooks in Southcentral PA