In the Spirit of Things ...

I was in the abandoned mega church taking some pictures.
Minding my own business.

Then I heard voices! I backed into a dark alcove, and leaned out to see who it was. Just then, a girl came around the corner ... saw me -- and screamed. I backed into the shadows.
Her friends came running. 'I saw it - RIGHT THERE! - But it's gone now!'

Huh? Did they see me? Or maybe ... a spirit?

I heard whispered voices. 'Maybe we can communicate with it'.
Tap, tap on the wall.
Tap, tap on the pipes.
Whispers.

Okay, what else could I do? I snuck back through the locker room to the torn up swimming pool, and threw in a piece of board that was just laying there. Crash!

Reverberations through the building!

'Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh'

Silence.
They never came back.

Tiffi Update

Tiffi's surgery went well.

She is in a regular room today,
And will probably be released later this afternoon.

The doctors are optimistic
That this will correct the problem!

Tiffi is in excellent spirits, just frustrated because
The hospital staff ...

"Won't let me sleep"

Thank you all for your prayers!

Prayers for Tiffi

This is my beautiful niece Tiffi.
She helps me find hearts sometimes!

She is going to have surgery today,
to correct a spinal problem she was born with.

Surgery is always scary,
But she is excited!
This will be to correct a problem
That has brought her pain and embarrassment her whole life.

Thank you for your prayers.

Attack of the Green Slime!

I went for a walk and found a dried up puddle.

Well, mostly dry.
The area was covered with algae
Some dry, some still bubbly.

The patterns and colors captivated me.
Green slime indeed!

Newts on the Loose!

The newt population in this area has skyrocketed in recent years.

Close-up of newt egg cluster.

They lay their eggs in clusters attached to underwater stems.

What the Horse Ate ...

No words really needed here, right?

Snicker.

It's a Swale, Not a Creek!

I captured these tiny waterfalls while on a walk with Sissie ...

This tiny creek, er, swale, is seasonal ...

Bubbling, burbling, splashing, singing.

Into a pool of quiet and reflection.

Making Lemonade ...

In December, 2008, we had a major snowstorm hit. Trees fell down all over.
My neighbor at the end of the road had a beautiful little grove of mature trees that all snapped off halfway up.

Instead of removing the now-dead tree trunks, he turned them into art!

He left the trunks where they were, and used the parts that broke off the trees to carve these beautiful sculptures! You can't really tell by the photos, but they are at least 15 feet tall.
I admire them every time I drive by.

Blue Heron - Up Close

I saw him in the field at the sheep farm down the street.

I had to park in the middle of the road and jump out to get these photos.

He's such a poser!

Rag Rug

Well I promised I would show you my rag rug after I finished it.
It is made completely of old "raggedy" t-shirts and things that we cut up and weaved on a handmade loom (i.e. picture frame with string!).

It took a long time, and still has some work to be done. My daughter Victoria is planning on putting beads onto the end fringes.

More Reflections

This brave clump of grass caught my eye this morning.
The heavy overnight rains left it stranded in this puddle.
But you can see ... from the reflection -
The clouds are breaking up!
Soon this will be just another ...
Random clump of grass.
Growing through cracks in the pavement.

Two-By-Frogs

A cute couple ... on Valentines Day.

They were taking advantage of a sun break.

No wonder the pond is filled with frog eggs!

Rainy Day Reflections ...

When I get tired of the rain ...
I reflect ...

Without it, there would be no puddles.
No green grass.
No trees.

What a wonderful reflection of a rainy day!!!

Nature Barbie, or Barbie Nature?

Barbie is not my role model.
Never has been.
Thank goodness!

I found her in the old blueberry patch,
Slowly becoming one with nature.
and nature is slowly becoming one
With Barbie.
(Enlarge to see "nature" becoming one with Barbie's eye)

And no ... I didn't even see it when I was taking the picture. I didn't know it was there until I enlarged the picture to make sure it wasn't blurry ...

For Trina!!!

Trina is from New Orleans. I met her in Colorado.

She is one of the nicest, funniest, FUNNEST people I know. She has helped me through some of the bleakest times in my life.

She has had some very hard times herself, including Hurricane Katrina (she lost everything except what she could fit in her car) and the loss of her parents.

Her wonderful spirit and sense of humor remain strong.

I'm trying to talk her into starting a blog. I know she checks out my blog, so how about working with me to convince her that it needs to be done???

Soooooooo ... Today, in honor of TRINA and the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS Superbowl Champions --

I hereby declare this to be International "LEAVE A COMMENT FOR TRINA ON CLYTIE'S BLOG" Day! Let's get her on board!

"pigs have flown, hell is frozen over, geaux saints!"

Bug House Face

Do you see the old man's face in this squashed bug house I found on the road? He has a large nose, and appears to not be very happy ...

Face in Tree -- With DRAMA

I saw this face in a tree in Canby on my way to Gleaners.
So on my way home you KNOW I just had to stop, park, walk over and take his photo. It would take just a minute or two ....

I should have known better.

On the way back to my car, I noticed a loud monsterous truck tailgating a small black car, vrooming and weaving back and forth, while the car tried to dodge him. "Crazy teenagers" I thought to myself.

I got back in the car and pulled out. I heard sirens in the distance so I sat and waited. Cars pulled over for whatever emergency vehicles were converging.

Of course ALL 3 sheriff cars, 1 state police car and a motorcycle cop converged right in front of me. A woman jumped out of one of the pulled-over cars and yelled "that's him! Over there! In the big black truck!" Uh oh, had I witnessed part of a hit and run? I pulled back to the curb.

Turns out a woman's ex-husband had (allegedly) tried to take their kids from the local middle school and when the ex-wife and current husband tried to intervene he punched out the drivers side window of their car. Then he chased them down the street, trying to hit them with his truck. That was the part I saw.

I ended up having to stay and give my statement to the police.

This all happened just hours after Dad had a small stroke. He was still in the ER and I had been in a little bit of a hurry to get home ... in case I was needed.

WHAT. A. DAY.

DAD IS GOING TO BE OKAY. He had a minor stroke, and it seems to have only affected his face and speech - he slurs a little. We just have to watch him to make sure this wasn't the warning before a big stroke.

Oh, and they caught the "bad guy" -- He went to jail.

It Happened in Colorado ...

It was probably 15 years ago ... I was driving down the street and noticed a Sysco truck pulling into traffic. Overnight, someone had broken into their truck yard and, with a can of spray paint, modified the slogan on their trucks.

Above is what the slogan SHOULD say.

Enlarge the photo below to find out what made me laugh hysterically ...

No Trucks.

As I exited the train station parking lot, I had to wait for a semi to make a turn across the street. I had to laugh and snap this picture ...

Could the sign be any clearer?

"The Scream" Tree

This is the original "The Scream"
by Edvard Munch

Below is MY version!