90/365 Any Time is Naptime!

A kitty happily snoozing on the seat of a motor-cycle (probably nice and warm with the spring sunshine) parked on a busy street. :D We were in Paris at the weekend, which is where we spotted this. I thought of posting a more traditional architecture shot, but in addition to not being able to decide on one, I also couldn't resist the cuteness of this one. :D

90/365 No Water at Whitewater!

Ridin' the waves?

Birge Waterfountain, Whitewater, Wisconsin

When I took my daughter back to University this week I decided to take a photo of the water fountain.

I love all of the colors that are to be found in the copper.

The fountain was donated to the town on July 4th, 1903 by Julius Birge.

At the time , it was one of the largest fountains in the country.  I find that especially odd since
Whitewater is a very small town.

This photo is a part of the bottom section.

Perhaps I'll take another photo in Summer-when there is water in it!

Dawn/RoseMorninStar

89/365: Spring is Springing!!

FINALLY!!

Getting to see some signs of spring in our area.

 

This is a maple tree outside of the apartment units where I live, in Vancouver, WA.  Took this on Monday afternoon.  There are maples that run the length of the apartments, but the one closest to my unit has yet to bud out like this one.

Today it is very breezy, so I will probably see tons of pink blooms all over the grass and drive area.

Happy that spring is finally showing itself.

Jules 

Waiting for my Babyman....

Reflections of life.... LOL

Yeah, here I sit everyday waiting for my husband's bus.
It's not a long wait and when this was shot, the bus was about one minute away.
This is a small strip mall across the parking lot where I wait.
It's called High Point and you can see the Dollar Tree. One of my favorite stores.

Location:  Calma's car in Port Orchard.

88/365 - Pretty With A Bow

Took Shadow to the groomers last week and they gave her a pretty little bow to put on her collar.  Really one of the most adorable things I've ever seen, but this was the best picture I thought to get before she destroyed the bow.

-Krawler

88/365 Twisties.....

This is one of those photos that didn’t turn out how it was originally planned.  But… I think it turned out better.  LOL.

These are some twisty vines growing along a trail near my house.  The township and a private property owner have it designated as a foot trail only (no ATVs allowed, thank you).  You get to see some interesting plants and you usually run across wildlife as well (deer, squirrels, box turtles…).

~posted by Tooks in Southcentral PA, which is slowly beginning to show signs of Spring

87/365: Tea time!

Taken at the Tea Haus in Ann Arbor, where I had tea on Friday with two of my friends from undergrad. We all live in the same area now, so we try to get together fairly regularly, although between school and jobs and stuff, it's rather hard.

Anyhow, this place was really nice--loooots different tea flavours to choose from, as well as some really good-looking soup and scones and other such things. I can't remember what flavour tea I had, but I really liked it and should probably buy myself some (not that my tea collection needs any more tea!). They brought us each a cute little tea pot and teacup and made me realize I should use my own tea set more often.

Tea Haus, AA Michigan

~Sil

86/365 - A Faery for my garden!

This is the birthday present that I truly wanted. A Faery for my garden. She is sitting in a small circle in the front yard where the former tenants had something like a large pot of flowers. They say there is something very special and magical about Faery Circles and now I can say I have one. She looks so calming sitting there waiting for our guests and Spring. I love Faeries and anyone who comes to visit will find this out. I have a Faery door in the house that is so the faeries can come and go to the garden at their leisure. Also there are many Faeries in several rooms of the house.

Vana

Photo is taken from my driveway facing the front yard just off the front porch in Bow, WA.

86/365 - First plant for the new house garden!

This is a new Jasmine plant that Ryan bought for me for my birthday!! How sweet! We both love the scent of the Jasmine plant and this one is just starting to show the new buds that will bloom this spring. Now we have to find where we want to plant it so that it can thrive!!

Vana

Photo taken on our front porch in Bow, WA.

85/365: Drowning Marzanna

Marzanna is the ancient pagan Slavic goddess of Winter. On the vernal equinox, we make an effigy of her, set it on fire and then drown it in the river so that Spring will come.

Although Christianity in Poland has worked hard to assimilate and conceal the multitude of wonderful pagan traditions within its Catholic celebrations, the drowning of the Marzanna persists despite many attempts to eradicate it. In fact it's traditional for pre-school children to make the effigy in class and then have a little field trip to drown her. The burning of Judas which was meant to replace it somehow never really caught on...and I am glad. Marzanna must die as the Winter cedes to Spring, but she will return next season to live again. Her burning is a symbol of the natural order, while tormenting a straw effigy of Judas only serves to translate guilt into angry righteousness.

I suppose the Church has to be content with the fact that we no longer greet Jaryła, the god of Spring, with dances and orgies...

So. I haven't done this in a while, for lack of good company, but this year I found two friends who thought it was a great idea. We made our Marzanna from wood, rags and hay, so she should decompose well. The Ner river is pretty dirty already, but there was no need to contribute to the pollution.

Photos taken by the Ner river in Konstantynów Łódzki, Poland.

~Rodia

85/365 - Starling line-up

This is the view from my work. I was actually taking a photo of the starlings which line up on the fence, waiting to swoop in and grab any bits of food that the people walking along the promonade drop. But I took this photo with my phone, and was obviously shooting through the window, so the quality isn't the best. But you get the idea. :)

This was taken on Tuesday of this week.

84/365: Mystery toy

My daughter makes things like this all the time. I don't know what it is but I think it's hilarious.

~GlassHouse

83/365 A Few of My Favorite Things II

OK.. so I didn't get out this week to take a photo and I am punting. =P
             
This is a shelf to the left of my computer.

On this shelf are a few things that always make me smile.

Snoopy was my very best friend as a child. I had a stuffed Snoopy (no longer with us)

that I carried around for.. oh.. probably from the time I was 7 or 8 until I was about 12.  

Snoopy was always there for me when I needed him. 

My daughter had/has the same relationship with raccoons.

She has a stuffed raccoon puppet, Rocky (not in this photo) that she's had since she was about 3 years old.

The drawing is one she made of Rocky when she was about 7 or 8.  :-)

And of course.. there is Frodo! Defending the safety of the shelves precious residents!

Dawn/RoseMorninStar

83/365 Remnant of the previous year - beauty in fading

I found this leaf (and many like it) in the garden while spring-cleaing in the flower bed, and I was intrigued by the beautiful filigree of the veins - the skeleton, so to speak - which is all that is left of the substance of the leaf after winter has rotted away the majority of the material - apart from a few bits that add interest to the pattern.

And trying to find a place to take a photo of it (it's pretty much invisible if held against most backgrounds), I saw what a beautiful shadow it casts, too. :)

82/365: Ole!!

  

I have two favorite Mexican restaurants where I live.  One is Cisco's, the other is Los Jalepeno's.  Rose gave me the idea to take a pic of a favorite restaurant, so here you have it.

They have the very best chile rellano's there.  LOVE THEM.

Oh and the car facing the restaurant in the reflection is my sweet Volvo, that I am still paying on. 

Hasta la vista, baby!!

Jules

82/365...My Mother's Talent...



My mother passed away two years ago, but her talent lives on.
There was nary a day that went by that I didn't see her crocheting.
Afghans, doll dresses, vests, etc.
One year she won best of show at the local county fair and was thrilled.
This is the dress she made for my doll, Autumn

Location:  Calma's kitchen table in Port Orchard.

81/365 - Afterglow

Taken just after sunset.  Would've been during, but I was a couple minutes late. ^_^;

-Krawler

81/365 Another sign of Spring!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take a walk along a path by the Conococheague Creek in Franklin Co. (yeah, near Scotland, PA).  I noticed some ‘flighty’ activity nearby, and found a crabapple tree was a lure for a flock of Cedar Waxwings!  Here is one pic that came out pretty well.  We don’t see these birds around here much, and this was the first time I had my camera with me to take a photo.   w00t!!111

~Tooks in Southcentral PA

80/365: Pipes

Taken from the choir loft of my church. We have a really beautiful pipe organ up there--the choir director frequently complains that it's too loud, to which the organist responds that it's as quiet as he can possibly get it... good times. :) Either way, it has a gorgeous sound that really fills up the church--can I get a pipe organ installed in my apartment??

Ann Arbor, MI

~Sil

79/365 - Water Views from Samish Island, WA.

These are both shots from the island out to the water from the little road that I was driving on. The first one is back sort of to the area just south of where I am living and the second one is from the area of the arbor out to the refinery that is behind that small island you see. At night the refinery looks like a small city all lit up and sparkling in the night. I promise to get a picture of it some night so you can see it too. :D


Vana

Photos taken from Samish Island, WA.

79/365 - An interesting Arbor

This interesting arbor is in the front yard of a house on Samish Island. It is a small island that I can drive to from my home. It is a very wealthy area and many of these homes have views of the water. Behind me when I took this shot is the water and a view of the refinery and bay by Anacortes, WA. It is a beautiful area and the homes are remarkable and very cool!!!

I just took a drive the other day and ended up on the island so I took some pictures of pretty and interesting things. :D

Vana

Photo taken on Samish Island, WA.

78/365: Rainbow Rocket

The Palace of Culture and Science is the tallest building in Poland, and a controversial Warsaw landmark. It was built between 1952 and 1955, the materials and 3500-strong Soviet workforce provided as a kind gift by Joseph Stalin. In hindsight, we know the true meaning of such gestures- there are several similar skyscrapers in other Eastern countries which were under Soviet control. It's like a stamp of ownership; a brand, and hated by many since the blueprints. I've heard people call it very rude things indeed, I wouldn't dream of repeating them here.

It didn't help that in order to secure space for the construction, one of the most vibrant and quickly recovering parts of the city center was torn down anew (note: Warsaw was utterly destroyed toward the end of WW2, and that is not a hyperbole). Many surviving citizens claimed the appearance of the Palace disrupted the original flow of their city.

Today, there are still people who want the Palace destroyed. But it has been with us for so many years, and has been adapted for many useful purposes. A viewing terrace, a concert hall, a cinema, several museums, theatres, youth workshops, book fairs, the Palace has seen all of these, and though its design doesn't lend itself well to any of these events, tearing it down would be a logistic nightmare. And after fifty-six years, doesn't it deserve to be left alone?

At least we no longer call it the Palace of Joseph Stalin. His name was removed from the front entrance a long time ago.

Oh, and the rainbow hues? They are part of a new illumination system set up last Christmas. Since the Palace is in the very centre of the city, and the tallest building besides, it's often used as a canvas for art, announcements, and commemorating historical events.

More about the Palace on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science,_Warsaw

and at the Official Site:

http://www.pkin.pl/historia

with some great archival photographs of the construction where you can see the ruins of other buildings in the background:

http://www.pkin.pl/historia/galeria_zdjec_historycznych


From Warsaw, with love,

Ro

78/365 - Free tarts

At work this week, we had a private company that is developing a huge wind farm in the area using our conference room. They had a buffet laid on for them by a local bakery called Satterthwaites and after the meeting there was lots of food left that was going to be thrown away. I brought some sausage rolls, mini pork pies, mini quiches and these tarts home. Delicious!

77/365: Guest poster: GlassHouse

This isn't what I set out to do, but that didn't work out, so I just took a shot of this stream in the woods.

~GlassHouse

77 / 365 Leprechaun Lass

Yes, these are of me in my St. Patrick's Day get up. I didn't get to get the other pic I had planned this week. Maybe next time.

This is the little badge I wore. It's a little blury, so I'll translate.

"Yes, I'm Irish.

No, you can't kiss me."

76/365 Spring!

Grape hyacinths coming in my balcony box. It's back from some bulbs I got last spring. There are also violets and sorrel, coming back from previous years, plus some primulas I bought new.
We had a couple of wonderfully sunny days earlier this week, which made all the early blossoms all around spring into bloom. :D

76/365 HAPPY ST.PATTY'S DAY!!

This is Pippin.

Although Pippin is Scottish, she would like to wish you a Happy St. Pat's because 

EVERYONE is Irish on St. Patty's Day!

Our daughter named her Pippin because she is little and has furry feet. 

Also, because she's Scottish and her father's name was Billy & her mother's name was Daisy (no lie!)

and Pippin is one of her favorite characters.

Sláinte!

Dawn/RoseMorninStar
(I did post this on 3-17 in my time zone)

75/365: Bring Him to Work

 

I think that pretty much says it all.  One of my worn copies of The Hobbit is on my desk every day.

Jules

75/365.....A little bit of Spring?

Pine cone anyone?

This is the tree at the corner of my driveway.
Kinda pretty, I thinkl

Location:  Calma's Driveway in Port Orchard.

74/365 The good ol' Swatara Creek.....

......she didn’t disappoint, and had some minor flooding after the heavy rains.  The bridge at Fiddler’s Elbow Road was closed Saturday morning when the road on the far side was under water.

Nearby, the duck who hangs out along a tributary barely escaped!!!!!

73/365: Nessie

Taken outside the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, MI. She's in the pond during the summer, and I've seen pictures of her there in the winter, so I'm not sure why they took her out, but she's sitting nearby right now, waiting until it's warm enough to go swimming again! In the meantime, she's surrounded by a net of unattractive red netting--sad!

This was an entry in the 2009 Grand Rapids Artprize contest, which gives artists a chance to display some really amazing artwork of all different media in all sorts of venues throughout GR. Nessie, for instance, was installed in the Grand River (you can see pictures if you do a search for "Nessie Grand Rapids" or something similar) before she was adopted by the John Ball Zoo. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the actual structure is a series of bumps meant to be spaced out so that it looks like she's snaking through the water. Maybe I'll get another picture sometime this summer.

Location: Grand Rapids, MI

~Sil

72/365- More of the flooding in our area

This is a cool picture of some of the flooding of the fields and property in our area. I thought this photo looked cool the way the tree and shrubs reflect in the water. Actually this is someone lawn along the road but it was water all the way to the road. It looks so different now and I will have to get another picture of it so you can see it without the water. The fence in back is green with moss growing in the wood grains.

Vana

Photo taken in Bow, WA. along highway 11.

72/365 - SiSi looking like her wild cousins

This is our little SiSi growing up. She is bigger then China now and looks rather like her wild cousins in the face. We are surprised by her daily, with her growth and the things she is thinking of doing. Cupboards are not an obstacle to her. She can open anything and you can almost see the thought process going on in her head when she looks at things. She is only about 8 months old at this time.

Vana

Photo taken through our front window in Bow WA.

71/365 - Sunny view

So, all that was done today was to finally take our Christmas tree to the tip (it's been sitting outside for the last month and a half) and then go food shopping (which I hate doing over the weekend, as that's when everyone else does their shopping!). It was raining too. Due to all of this (and the morning spent watching the cricket) I forgot to take a photo.

So instead I give you one that was taken just over a week ago from our living room window. The large hill you see opposite (behind the house) is Pendle Hill. It is a lot bigger than it looks in the photo. :D

71/365: Horse lunch

Argo the horse nibbling on a felled birch. Choice twigs, from the very top of the tree!

-Ro

70/365: Grillin'

This is my brothers gas grill, he uses it all spring and summer long.  Dang good cook too, I must add.

Random picture, but he was out cleaning the grates a few days ago and it reminded me that even though so many of us are still covered with snow, spring is indeed on the way and we will get there.

Jules

69/365 Shrove Tuesday Parade

The main parade in the city centre was on Monday, but many of the suburbs have their own parades, often on the Sunday, but sometimes on the Tuesday, as has always been the way in my suburb. It may make it harder for people to attend, but the true carnival fan takes the carnival days off anyway, and, to my mind, Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Tuesday or Mardi Gras, depending on where you live) is the right day to celebrate the carnival.

So, here's a shot of the parade going down the street past my balcony - I was watching it from there.

I picked this shot because you can see a float, and the candy/flower storage on top of it and how people on the float throw the candy, plus a view of the costumed crowd and the view I have from my balcony. :D

And as it's Lent now, that'll be it with the carnival photos from me now. :D ;)

69/365 Wisconsin Powder Keg

Some of you who follow the news may be aware that there is a great deal of political unrest in Wisconsin.

Last Saturday we drove to the State capitol in Madison to witness & be a part of History in the making.
These photos were taken after things had started to clear out a bit.

Things have 'ramped up' since last weekend .. and tomorrow the protests should be of phenomenal proportions.

Dawn/RoseMorninStar

68/365: Kids will be kids!!

Okay, so I still can't figure the "other photo" thing, but I had this cute black fellow with the white ears that I also wanted to post.  The first one is a kid kicking up and jumping, which is adorable to watch.

In the pasture right across from my brothers house they usually have the baby lambs, but this year there are baby goats all over instead.  So far six. 

It is pure entertainment to watch them being so silly and jumping and playing. 

Jules - taken across from my brothers home in Brush Prairie, WA - Yesterday

68/365....The Sentinal....



The Sentinal.

 I've watched this tree for over 30 years. He lives across the street from me. He stands like a sentinal over the neighborhood, braving all sorts of weather with only one broken limb to show for it. It's such a cool tree I had to take his picture and show all of you. [His hair's a bit wind blown, btw. ;)]

Calma 
Location... Port Orchard, WA.

PS... Be careful if you click to enlarge him. He's REALLY big.

67/365 - Tree

I like it when a tree makes an effort to stand out from the crowd.
-Krawler

67/365 Daffodils a-growing…..

Nothing can stop ‘em!  They grow through snow, sleet, and downpours of near-biblical proportions!

Oh... and nothing eats them.  Not even teh evil bunnies.  ;)


As seen in Southcentral PA..... 

~Tooks

66/365: Gazebo

I passed this several times while I was home on "spring" break and finally had to stop and take some photos of it because it was such a cool contrast of winter and summer. This is in a field next to a local church; it's where they do their summer sharecrop garden, and I assume the gazebo here is part of that, but it's very clean and doesn't look like it's been buried under all the snow, so maybe it was meant for something else?

Location: Hudsonville, MI

~Sil