Who Do I See in Dad's Tree? (332/366)

TIME: 4:17 pm

PLACE: My Dad's
SUBJECT: Fake owl

*~*~*

This picture is from yesterday - I had no time today to take anything of value - work was the worst!!!!

Dad hung this plastic owl in the tree to scare away the squirrels. Now that all the leaves are off the tree we can finally see it.

It didn't work - according to my dad the squirrels were still very abundant and annoying this summer.

Sticks, Sides & Wires (305/366)

TIME: 11:50 am
PLACE: Yard
SUBJECT: Scully and stick

*~*~*

Scully tried to help me out a bit as I moved a large branch that had fallen, from the front part into the fenced-in area of the yard. 



She was determined to carry that branch for me.

It didn't happen.

*~*~*

TIME: 4:24 pm

PLACE: Local tavern
SUBJECT: Side of the building

*~*~*

We decided not to hand out candy at home this Halloween - we figured with all that is going on, we wouldn't get many trick-or-treaters.  As an alternative, HH and I sat in the parking lot of a local bar and participated in a "Trunk or Treat" from 3 pm to 6pm.

There was actually a large turnout. We went through 4 large bags of candy! (about 500 pieces total)  It was nice that the kids were able to collect a lot of treats despite the stupid COVID.

*~*~*

TIME: 4:36 pm

*~*~*

And, just because I liked the pattern made by these power line wires, I am including this photo today as well.

Consider it a bonus!

A Tale of Two Trees (190/366)

TIME: 9:40 pm

PLACE: Backyard
SUBJECT: My neighbor's trees

*~*~*

Two trees, illuminated from the alley security light.  

Branch End (152/365)

TIME: 8:13 PM
PLACE: Backyard
SUBJECT: Tree branch

HH got a new toy from the Home Depot.

A Ryobi Lithium-Ion Cordless Pole Saw.

He has raised the canopies on the trees in the backyard.

Branches, Clouds and Power Lines (033/365)

TIME: 4:20 PM (Tee-hee!)
PLACE: Front yard
SUBJECT: Branches, clouds and power lines

The Husband and I are officially old people.

We left the house to eat before 5pm so we could miss the crowds, get back home and go to bed early.

He went to bed. I let the dogs out.

They escaped the yard and SD, DQ and I had to go searching for them.

After about 15 minutes SD and I located them about 2 blocks away. She shoved them in the car and we brought them home. They showed no remorse for their behavior.

A wild Friday night!

Last Year’s Nest (065/365)

“There are no birds in last year's nest.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American, Poet,1807-1882)

TIME:  4:02 PM
PLACE: Work
SUBJECT: Bird’s nest

How much longer before the birds start to nest?
I am so ready for spring.

Natural Van Wrap (295/366)

Homer Simpson: I can't believe I'm in Cheech and Chong's van, the van made out of weed!
Cheech Marin: This van is not made of weed.
Homer Simpson: Then what's it made of? Hash? 'Shrooms? Lysergic acid diethylamide?
Cheech Marin: No, the van is just made out of... van.
Homer Simpson: Ohhh!

The Simpsons: Season 22, Episode 16, A Midsummer’s Nice Dream, 13, Mar 2011.

TIME: 2:48 PM
PLACE:  Backyard
SUBJECT:  Shadows on van

The sunlight and the neighbor’s tree made interesting patterns on HH’s work van this afternoon.

It’s Fall (281/366)

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October."

- Nathaniel Hawthorne (American short-story Writer and Novelist,1804-1864)

TIME:  11:49 AM
PLACE:  Outside
SUBJECT:  Tree

With the drought we had this summer, I didn’t think that there would be much color to see his fall.  Shows how much I know.

August Night (237/366)

"How sociable the garden was.
We ate and talked in given light.
The children put their toys to grass
All the warm wakeful August night."

- Thomas Gunn, Last Days at Teddington

TIME:  8:42 PM
PLACE:  Swimming pool
SUBJECT:  Tree

Dad joined us for supper at the Elks this evening.  After we ate, MB and SD went swimming, I drove DQ to a party and then returned to join Dad on the deck by the bar and concession stand.  The deck lights lit up the underside of the trees, illuminating them against the black sky.

Foggy Morning (037/366)

“Let us go in; the fog is rising.”

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), U.S. poet. Quoted in W.H. Auden, A Certain World, "Words, Last," (1970). Her attributed last words.

TIME:  8:44 AM
PLACE:  On the way to the junior high school
SUBJECT:  Tree in foggy field

It’s Monday and of course that means that one of my children *cough, DramaQueen, cough* forgot an important item that they needed for school this morning.  Since it had to do with registering for her high school classes, I drove it to the junior high before I went into work.  The upside?  A photo opportunity with this morning’s cold fog.

Winter Twilight (007/366)

“I stand penciled against the winter twilight, a silhouette for dreams.”

Anonymous

TIME:  5:16 PM
PLACE:  South of town
SUBJECT:  Fence & Tree

HH and I abandoned left the children in DramaQueen’s capable hands this evening to attend an annual membership dinner for one of HH’s clubs.  On the way, I snapped this silhouette while we were sitting at an intersection, waiting for the light to change.

Crab-Apple Branch (334/365)

“We are born believing. A man bears beliefs as a tree bears apples.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher. "Worship," The Conduct of Life (1860).

TIME:  3:37 PM
PLACE:  Work parking lot
SUBJECT:  Crab apples on tree

We saw the sun today!  The crab apples on the tree at work looked pretty against the bright blue sky.

Eyes Turned Skyward (317/365)

“The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher. Journal entry, May 25, 1843. Journals (1909-1914).

TIME:  11:31 & 11:38 AM
PLACE:  Freeburg, IL
SUBJECTS:  Corner of building (101 S. Belleville St.) and trees in the park

HH and I drove to Freeburg, IL to eat at a Wurstmart (one of his favorite things to do).  It was a rare day in November - bright blue skies and warm winds.  The clouds were dancing and racing across the sky with the wind.  All I wanted to do was keep looking up and taking in all the beautiful blue color I could while we were outside.  Rain is in the forecast tomorrow…I've got to enjoy it while I can.

Rorschach Test (275/365)

“But my dear man, reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.”

Alan Watts (American Writer, Thinker and Interpreter of Zen Buddhism, 1915-1973)

TIME:  9:51 AM
PLACE:  County Park
SUBJECT:  Tree branch in lake & its reflection

We dropped the kids off at Sunday School, then HH and I played hooky.  We went out to eat breakfast, then stopped by a county park for some picture taking before we had to pick them up from class.  Later this afternoon - after MB’s soccer game and a parish Wurstmart early supper - HH and I abandoned left the kids in DQ’s capable hands and went to see a movie (What’s Your Number).  I don’t think we went to the movie theater by ourselves since December 2009.  Yes, we were selfish parents today.

The Devil Is Beating His Wife (172/365)

"I know well
that the June rains
just fall."

- Uejima Onitsura (1660-1738)

TIME:  7:37 PM
PLACE:  Looking off the front porch
SUBJECT:  Sunshine on tree branch & raindrops

The first day of summer has arrived.  It was also take-the-three-kids-to-the-dentist-day.  Such a plethora of excitement!  After the appointment, we went to Target to pick up a few things for DQ who is going to the Ozarks for five days with her second cousin.  There was a thunderstorm while we were in the store, it cleared up after a bit and the sun shone again.  After supper, while I was sitting on the porch, we had a sun shower – a weather phenomenon I always find fascinating.
~*~*~

TIME:  8:42 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Sky, looking west

My dad called me at 8:22 to tell me that the sky was looking pretty spectacular this evening.  Yes it did…even with the pesky power lines in the way.  Thanks for the photo tip Dad!

A Tree (123/365)

“A tree's a tree. How many more do you need to look at?”
 
Ronald Reagan (b. 1911), U.S. Republican politician, president. speech, Sept. 12, 1965. Quoted in Sacramento Bee (California, Mar. 12, 1966). Reagan later denied having made this statement.

TIME:  6:16 PM
PLACE:  Little League field
SUBJECT:  Tree

MonkeyBoy had his first, not-rained out, out-of-town, baseball game tonight.  He really wanted me to watch him play (and I wanted to as well.)  Unfortunately, StellaDella also had t-ball practice at the same time.  So I took SD to practice while HH (the coach!) went with MB.  It was chilly at practice, so I sat in the car.  I took this photo through the front windshield while I watched SD practice.

White Blossoms (094/365)

"Beneath these fruit-tree boughs that shed
Their snow-white blossoms on my head,
With brightest sunshine round me spread
Of spring's unclouded weather,
In this sequestered nook how sweet
To sit upon my orchard-seat!
And birds and flowers once more to greet,
My last year's friends together."

William Wordsworth, The Green Linnet, 1-8

TIME: 6:25 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Capital pear blossoms against sky

We didn’t have much blue sky today…after 6 this evening we were treated to a quick peek before it went away.  It was a very chilly day…it started out warm, then the temps dropped to the low 40s.  Tomorrow we are promised high 50’s, then 70s on Wednesday.  I’m so looking forward to it.

Spring Snow (085/365)

"Sprigs of plum by the corner of the wall
Are blooming alone in the cold;
If not for the subtle fragrance drifting over
Who could tell this from snow on the boughs."

Wang Anshi, Plum Blossom, 1060

TIME:  5:50 and 7:00 PM
PLACE:  Longacre Park and down my street
SUBJECT:  Forsythia bush and Magnolia tree in the snow

Ha!  And I thought yesterday was snowy.  Today it started snowing around 10am and kept at it all day.  We picked up about 3 inches of snow – and it was all very fluffy and wet.  Check it out – we have a 50 percent chance of more snow on Sunday evening.  Then, Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be in the 40’s with the possibility of a bit of light snow on Tuesday evening.  It looks beautiful, but we better be done with all the white stuff after Tuesday.  Although…I do remember getting snow as late as mid-April back in 1998 or 1999 so it could happen.  I hope not though.

The Fat Lady Is Still Singing (084/365)

“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.“

Doug Larson (English middle-distance runner who won gold medals at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, 1902-1981)

TIME:  8:49 AM
PLACE:  Work parking lot
SUBJECT:  Snow on tree bud

Someone needs to make sure Mother Nature takes her meds ‘cause she is going from one extreme to another this week here in the Midwest – she had us at almost 80 degree temps earlier in the week to waking us up to a layer of wet snow this morning.  Oh well, at least she is keeping us on our toes.

Super Moon Through Branches (079/365)

“The moon, the anchorless
Moon go swerving
Down at the earth for a catastrophic kiss.”

Philip Larkin (1922-1986), British poet. "The Dancer."

TIME:  10:00 PM
PLACE:  Off the highway
SUBJECT:  Moon

It was too cloudy last night to see the pinnacle of the Super Moon (where the moon is closest to the earth in its elliptical orbit), but I was able to snap a picture of it tonight instead.  According to NASA and contrary to popular belief, the closeness of this moon will not create any giant catastrophic events…the most it will do is could pull some tide waters a few centimeters higher than usual.  The best thing that happened today is that the spring equinox occurred at 18:20 hours – Hot damn and Hallelujah!