This buds for you

I've had an ugly, wild rose bush in my front yard for as long as I can remember. I should just dig it up but I'm too darn lazy. The roses aren't all that pretty and they smell horrid. It does have one small redeeming quality though.

It does have pretty little rose buds on it. That's the only time they look good as far as I'm concerned.

Dueling bloggers

Sandra from Mad Snapper and I are in the midst of a duel. Before I proceeded I sent my trusty sidekick into Snapper territory to scout out the competition.

Duke flew into Florida on Saturday and when he first arrived Baby Girl tried to chase him off suspecting that he was there to spy.

Exhausted from the heat, he took refuge under a shady bush and explained to both Baby Girl and Jake that even though I had sent him for the purpose of collecting information he had no intentions of doing anything other than vacationing and getting to know his blog pals.

It wasn't long before the three of them were enjoying a rousing game of London Bridge

Duke had such a good time that he almost hated to come back home but he knew he was needed here and couldn't ignore his responsibilities. He did come back with 2 wonderful portraits oh himself with each of his new friends.
One with Baby Girl who he says is quite attractive for an older lady

And another with his new buddy Jake who Duke says is much smaller in person than he is in pictures.

The purpose of this duel was for each of us to snag pictures from the others blog and without telling what we were doing, create edits of the dogs. I can't wait to go see what Sandra has done. Hopefully my day at work goes quick so I can get home and see.
To see the other half of the duel go visit Sandra at Mad Snapper. 
I hope you had as much fun with this as I did Sandra

A happy boy and the storm warrior

We have had such gorgeous weather here lately so we had plenty of opportunity to work on the pool. You know what that means don't you? That's right Duke is a happy boy because he got to take his first dip and float of the season on Saturday.

Of course this means I will no longer have any piece while we are out on the deck because he will be constantly barking to either get on a raft or get pulled back in.

As for the storm warrior, that would be me. You see after Duke had his float I decided it was time to vacuum the car and wash it. By the time I began washing it was looking like rain but I was determined to finish. I was about half way through and the wind kicked up and I could see a wall of rain approaching. Fearlessly I turned and aimed my trusty garden hose directly at the approaching storm and gave it all I had. Though the sound of laughter could be heard from behind me on the deck I stood my ground. I continued to shoot the storm in between soaping and rinsing the car. I was able to hold the storm off until my mission was accomplished and I could retreat to the safety of cover.
I kid you not, I really did that. I fought the rain storm with a hose and I won. Wade who normally rolls his eyes at me in sheer annoyance at my antics found it hysterically funny and I felt quite proud of myself.

A day of remembrance

Today in the United States we celebrate Memorial day which is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nations service.

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

 

Moina Michael

inspired by the poem In Flanders Field

Wishing you all a safe and Happy Memorial Day and to those of you outside of the U.S. happy Monday.

Love at first sight

Have you ever gone into a store and been instantly drawn to a particular item? You can walk away from it but it keeps pulling you back for one more look. Resisting the purchase is futile, especially if you have someone standing over your shoulder urging you to reach out and grab what you want.

I loved the color, the texture the wording. It was simply perfect and I had to have it.

A closer look at what it says

Bird Watching

I was hoping we would have the large amounts of Goldfinches that we had last year visiting our feeder. It was amazing to see dozens of them flying in and out of the tree in the front yard. No such luck but we have had a few of them.
Unfortunately I was only able to get them through the rather dirty basement window and with my point and shoot camera.

Since it's a holiday weekend here in the U.S. I've got three whole days to have fun. I have no plans at all other than to do whatever I feel like doing.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Locked

You can lock in, lock out, lock up, lock down.
You can also lock on, lock away or lock horns.
If someone has lock stock and barrel they may want to put it under lock and key.
Always beware of those who lock and load.
Now I think I'll just put a lock on it and end my post for today.

Random

Even though it's no weekend day, Thursdays aren't such bad days. It is pay day so at least it has that going for it. It's a close neighbor to Friday and that's always good.
It really has been a very busy week and my brain is just a bit fried so rather than babble I'll just show you some random shots from a recent walk
See the little chipmunk in the upper right corner. He was so nice to sit still and let me get his picture.

A Thank You

Today I want to thank a dear sweet blog pal. I recently won a giveaway on Marie's blog and my lovely prize arrived yesterday.
Isn't this little vase pretty?

Marie is not only one of the nicest people but she is very crafty and talented. She makes the most adorable things. I follow her boards on Pinterest and she loads me with inspiration. I just wish I could put some it into motion. Aside from all of that she posts pictures of her cute grandchildren and their adorable little faces always put a smile on my face. So thanks again Marie. I really love it.

The lilac bush

So my lilac bush from last year although it did survive the winter may have taken a bit of a hit on a few of those extra cold and frosty nights we had a while back.
We have lilacs and they do smell good however they aren't the prettiest ones I've ever seen

I've given up on the hibiscus returning. One of you mentioned the last time I posted about it that there are two types. I'm thinking maybe mine was the tropical and not the hardy because that sucker is deader than a doornail.

Play time

We had the most beautiful weather here over the weekend. The sun was shining, it was warm and best of all my lazy mom took me outside for some play time.

Catch me if you can.

Ok I won't push it I'll bring it back to you.

Of course since she was outside with me she wasn't inside reading blogs too much. It's all good though because we had a fantastic weekend.

Gardening tips

I'm sure that I have confessed on more than one occasion the fact that I do NOT have a green thumb. Just because I kill every plant I ever touch doesn't mean that I don't have a few handy tips to pass along to anyone interested in gardening.
Now mind you, these are pretty basic tips so you may already be aware of them but it never hurts to have a reminder now and then.
First off I suggest that you always keep your garden tools in good working order. Proper care and maintenance can save you time and money.

Consider irrigation. You'll want your plants to have plenty of water but be careful that they are not getting too much.

Decorative borders not only define your gardens edge but increase curb appeal. 

Last but not least don't forget to fertilize. In other words spread a load of bull crap just like I did in this post. Oh I crack myself up.

Just because

Every time I take a trip to Volant Pa. I always take pictures of the same things. For example I always take a picture of this

and then I do things like this.

In the original picture I didn't like the fact that you could see a part of the building that was right next to this. I copied a section on the right side of the picture and pasted it on to the left side to cover that up. Then I did all kinds of crazy stuff that I can't remember and it ended up looking the way it does. Originally I liked the way it looked. I was rather tired though when I was doing it and now I'm not so sure I like it any more. This may require more wasted time spent with photoshop elements. It's a rough life I tell ya.

Stumped

Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you just can't figure things out and your completely stumped. Then there are the times when you have no particular thoughts going through your mind other than I need to take a picture of that...




...tree trunk

and of course the pretty flowers that were growing by it.

I used to know what these were called but I can't seem to remember. I know one of you will have the answer though.

techy gadgets

Are not friendly to people with less than perfect eye sight.

Wade's phone was giving him problems and since our contract was up and we were eligible for an upgrade he decided to order us new phones. We never get the latest and greatest model out there, we just go with whatever is free at the time.

We ended up with the Droid Pro. For as much as I use a phone this has way more than I need and way more than I will probably every figure out how to use.
The worst part was that when we got the new car it came with Sync (or whatever it's called) that allows you to make hands free calls. When we were at the dealer they set my phone up in the car and I was good to go. When we got the new phones I figured no problem, I can do this. I pulled out the book and read the directions, easy peasy. NOPE. couldn't get it figured out. We went back to the dealer and begged for help. The girl took me out to the car and got the new phone all set up and we were on the road again. As we're driving along Wade decided to call me and test it. Guess what? Yep, didn't work. When I tried to answer through the car it just made my phone ring. We turned around and went back to the dealer. Boy do I feel like a real idiot. Turns out my phone needed me to give my car permission to access my phone book before it would work.
I think maybe I want my old rotary style phone back

Antiques

Sunday when Amanda and I were out we stopped in an antique shop. I couldn't resist taking a picture or two while I was in there.
This display on an old dresser was quite nice.

Of course the room we were in was a little on the dark side so the lighting isn't so good on this. I knew I could make this look even better. Or shall I say my version of better.
A little texture, brighten it up a bit, add a bit of a sepia tint and lower the saturation and this is what I got.

Did I ever tell you how exhausting yard work can be?

Technically my mom was the one that was doing the yard work. I was out there in more of a supervisory position but somebody had do make sure she was safe.

Dad's riding mower is on the fritz until he can get a part for it and he hates using the push mower because it isn't what he calls self propelled. Any way, mom thought she was pretty tough and got the push mower out and started it up. Let me tell you she was doing an awful lot of huffing and puffing out there. She took a break and dad said don't worry he would finish it. Then he said something about it being too hard for mom and she shouldn't kill herself trying. Well the next thing I know mom

jumps back up with that "I'll show him" look on her face and she finished the mowing.  

I don't have real sleeves but I do have green furs. 

To get me through

I've got the Monday morning blues but thinking about the weekend and all the activity will get me through.
It sure was a busy one. Saturday was running errands and then some yard work. Yesterday I spent the day with my daughter and my son stopped with a wonderful card and gift.
Time is short on writing a post for today and who knows when I'll catch up on emails and blog reading.
I'll leave you with a picture I took of my daughter while we were out yesterday. That smile can brighten anyone's day

Happy Mother's Day

Duke and I would like to wish all the moms out there a Happy Mother's Day. 

Whether your children have two legs or four we hope you that you have a splendid day.

Sorry about our absence yesterday. It was a bit of a busy day and no time for blogging. Now I have an inbox full of emails to respond to and a reader full of posts. Looks like it's going to be a while before I get caught up again.

therapy

We all need a little distraction from daily frustrations some times. One of the best ways I know how to distract my mind from what is bothering me is to go out and snap some pictures.
On one of those days when someone (no, wasn't Wade) had me a little riled up I hit the front yard with the camera and snapped my stress away

A lone dandelion in the middle of the iris

water drop in the middle of the lupines. 

I liked it so much I took several but I'll only show you two

Sitting back watching the grass grow and contemplating getting out the mower.

Yep, works every time. By the time I finished snapping I was calm, cool and collected.

Get him while he's not looking

Wade does not like me pointing my camera at him so I have learned to be very sneaky. I get him while he's distracted. Looks like he's deep in thought there. Must really be focusing on something important. Or maybe he's contemplating the meaning of life.

Or maybe he's just clipping some coupons while I sit innocently by playing with my camera.

Lucky for me he thinks the whole blogging thing is silly and doesn't read mine.Somehow I know he would be less than thrilled to see his face here.

Dam

From Wikipedia

The Kinzua Dam, in the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County, Pennsylvania, is one of the largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi River.
The dam is located 6 miles (10 km) east of Warren, Pennsylvania along Route 59, within the 500,000-acre (2,000 km²) Allegheny National Forest. A boat marina and beach are located within the dam boundaries. In addition to providing flood control and power generation, the dam created Pennsylvania's deepest lake, the Allegheny Reservoir, also known as Kinzua Lake.

Wade grew up in Warren Pennsylvania so we take a drive up there now and then. He loves the area and likes to show me the sites. I'm always thrilled to have something new to take pictures of.

The dam from one side

and a view from the other side

And just one more view from the area.

Half of something...

...is still something. When I was getting the picture ready for yesterdays post I did a little something else to it.
I cut it in half.
I really liked the way the wagon wheel looked leaning against the fence so I took that half and did this

A whole divided by two equals a whole. Math never did make much sense to me.

Lions and tigers and bears

OH MY!!!

We didn't see any lions or tigers but we did see a bear when we went for our walk the other day. By the looks of this guy he was just as surprised to see us as we were to see him. He welcomed us any way so we weren't afraid.

A little further up the road and we came upon a moose. He must be a rather wealthy fellow because he had his very own lodge. I'm guessing he has several of them and this one is number 38.

That was the end of the wildlife sightings for us. No telling what we may spot in the future though.