Let There Be Light! – A WordPress Photo Challenge!

This week’s photo challenge asks that we show sources of light! One light came to mind that I simply had to share, and as we are coming close to Christmas you might remember this lamp from the movie “A Christmas Story.”

A lamp to light the night

So, there you have it! One heck of a source of light! Check out other posts by clicking here!

Have a great Saturday! Thanks for visiting!

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The Jigsaw Puzzle – Friday Fictioneers!

All is Quiet! – Photo Copyright by Ted Strutz

The last of the commuters departed from the ferry. The summer sun was setting and Jake made one more sweep of the inside deck to ensure that the decks were clear.

All looked good. He had a table that was reserved just for him. As they were still running, the number of folks that traveled “after hours” would be few. This was the time that Jake would work on his jigsaw puzzle.

“All is quiet,” came over the loudspeaker system.

Jake looked at the table. He sighed, happy that he could now sit down to work on his puzzle!
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Thank you goes out to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for this flash fiction challenge! Be sure to check out some of the other posts by clicking on the Links In collection button on her post!

Now go out and have a great Friday, and thank you for visiting today!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Whether you celebrate this holiday or not, may you make this day, November 28th, 2013 a day of thanks and one of giving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May this day be filled with love and joy! Have a terrific Thursday! And, thank you for stopping by!

Hugs to everyone!
B

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A Splash of Red

The colors this fall season have been pretty spectacular! Before it all disappears, I decided it was time to take the camera in hand and see if I could capture more of the amazing colors. Today’s focus is on the color red that surrounds us here in the Sierra Foothills!

I found this flaming red tree and was captivated!

Chinese maple

Then I found these berries on some Heavenly Bamboo!

Berry, berry red!

I found these little seedlings showing off their colors amongst the green of some evergreen plants! Such a lovely contrast of colors!

Contrasting colors

I just have to include one last shot of that amazing Virginia Creeper!

The creeper

The pistachio trees this year really displayed some amazing colors! Check it out!

Show me the red!

Finally, I just had to include the amazing colors on this native plant: The Toyon!

Toyon berries look like tiny apples

I hope that you enjoy your day today! May you have a wildly wonderful Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

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A Melange of Photos

Cruising through photos this morning, I decided to feature a mixture of photos. Random shots if you will. Photos that caught my eye….I hope that you will enjoy what is featured!

From along the side of the road…

Make my day!

One lovely bark…

Textures

Inside the house…

Glass

One sticky subject…

Spirals

The gentle glow of the rising sun…

Dappled light

Just hanging around…

Star shine

What are you up to today? Would love to hear about it! Thanks for visiting, and I will see you later!

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Thanksgiving is Almost Upon Us!

With the Thanksgiving Holiday almost upon us, I wanted to share with you photos from two possible dinners, and links, that you can make for the holidays. They are a Roast Turkey or a Maple Glazed Rotisserie Ham! These are the two most popular dinners here in the U.S. for dinner on these holidays! Today I will share photos with you and share ingredients and tips!

This year, I was very lucky to be given a turkey for the holidays! Thank you again C and N for the beautiful bird that will grace our table!

Here is the link to the recipe that I posted in the past:   Roast Turkey…Here is a preview!

Preview!

This year I am changing up the recipe and here is my ingredient list:
18# Organic Turkey
5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 sage leaves
Cornbread stuffing made with carrots, onion and celery (make this ahead of time and make sure that it has cooled down before you stuff the bird!)
2 cups of Chardonnay (not overly oaky)
1 stick of butter

I will be creating a pocket under the skin on the breast and placing the herbs in this pocket. My baste will be a butter and wine combo!

My rotisserie ham dinner is also something a lot of folks love to do for the holidays! This post is the #1 article on a Google search of Maple Glazed Rotisserie Ham! What is exciting are the number of views on this recipe which always goes up near the holidays! Pretty cool, and unexpected! It is one of my top posts with close to 2,000 views! Here is the link to this recipe: Maple Glazed Rotisserie Ham I am really jazzed that folks love this recipe!

The ingredient list for this recipe is:
8-10# smoked ham
1 cup of real maple syrup

Check out how amazing this looks as it cooks!

Ham on the spit

There is nothing like the aromas of either of these dinners cooking!

Some tips:

* If you stuff your bird, make the stuffing ahead of placing it in the bird so it has time to cool down. Hot stuffing placed in a bird will give you trouble!
* Do not over stuff your bird. Give that amazing stuffing room to expand!
* If using a frozen bird, defrost it by allowing one day in the refrigerator for each 4 pounds of turkey.
* For a smooth gravy, add flour and water to a jar, shake it well combining the two, then add it to your pan juices slowly! Stir this continuously so that it does not clump or burn.
* When cooking a ham on the rotisserie, allow 15 minutes per pound for cooking time.
* Baste your ham in the last 45 minutes of cooking, basting every 15 minutes to get a lovely sugary glaze!
* Be safe in the kitchen and keep your eye on what you are preparing. This holiday has the most kitchen fires, so make sure you have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen…just in case!

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! Now go out and have a splendid Monday, and week too! Be safe on the roads!

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Why Not Pigeons – Sunday Photo Fiction!

Pigeons – Photo by Alastair Forbes

It was 1961 when Alfred obtained a copy of a particular book written by Daphne du Maurier. He had a plan, and was looking forward to its fruition. Pulling all the pieces together would not be easy. And, he had to top his last project to stay on top.

It took him three years to get all the pieces to come together for this project at a cost of $3.3 million dollars. He was using live animals in this project, and that cost a bundle. What he needed had to be specially trained.

When the project was complete, and Alfred satisfied with the way it turned out, it was released. The project was a movie entitled, “The Birds.”

When questioned by a reporter about his choice of birds, Alfred was asked why he used seagulls and crows and not pigeons. He explained how they used ground meat and anchovies to attract the birds to the actors. “The pigeons,” said Hitchcock, “would simply not fly off the fence.”
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Thank you Alastair for the challenge! To take part in this challenge, check out Sunday Photo Fiction!
Now go out and have a great Sunday! I hope that you enjoyed this bit of flash fiction! And, of course, thank you for taking the time to stop by today and read!

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Unexpected Moments! A WordPress Photo Challenge…

When I saw the subject of this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, a number of photos came to mind. Without further ado, let’s go see what I find that is unexpected!

Going out on my deck and looking down towards the vegetable garden, I noticed a fresh mound of dirt. Cursing the gophers, I decided to do a post on them. Coming back out on the deck with camera in hand, I captured this critter! While they do damage to plants in the garden, he really is kind of cute! I named him Fang for obvious reasons.

Fang – the gopher!

Again on the deck, and being disappointed that my strawberry crop was disappearing from right under my nose, you can imagine my surprise when I discovered the unexpected in my garden! I captured a shot of the strawberry thief!

What is that in my garden?

On a trip to one of the southern counties, we came upon some goats in a field. Thankfully my friends stopped so I could take photos. I think this one was trying to either eat the camera or give me a big kiss!

Lay one on me!

Here in the foothills we live with bats. They are one of the most beneficial critters here as they feed on those nasty biting bugs! On a hot summer day we were opening one of our umbrellas on the deck for much needed shade and discovered we had company!

Finding a bat under the umbrella

After a night out visiting with one of our neighbors, we came home to find this visitor on the frame of our door!

One big spider!

When I looked at this next photo, which was after a morning of shooting photos of the bees on the lavender, I was surprised by the detail I am able to see in this wasp’s eye. Totally unexpected!

Eye see you!

Want to see more? Then I suggest you take a visit through some of the other posts for this challenge! To get there, click here!

Have a fantastic Saturday, and thanks for stopping by to visit with me today! 🙂

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Closing Their Doors – Friday Fictioneers

Closing Their Door

Marshall Boya, the Turkish paint company, closed their doors after 59 years in business. Not wanting to be forgotten, they plastered the entrance windows with bumper stickers they used to hand out to their customers.

As they cleared out the accumulated years of stuff found in the back room of the business they came across a single mannequin. Remembering from days gone by this mannequin had been named Berker, which translated means “solid man.”

As they locked the door one final time, they set Berker on the stoop, in pieces. He, like the company, was solid no more!
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Thank you goes out to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for this flash fiction challenge! Be sure to check out some of the other posts by clicking on the Links In collection button on her post!

Now go out and have a great Friday, and thank you for visiting today!

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Evidence of a Mountain Lion

While I still have yet to see one fully, and really do not care to, mountain lions live here right along beside us here in the Sierra Foothills. The other day I actually came across a footprint of one of these large cats and photographed it hoping to capture something to share with you today.

The face of the mountain lion

Some facts about this creature. They are territorial creatures and can have a range of 10 to 370 square miles. The range of the male is greater than that of the female. In our area they feed on deer, raccoon, squirrels and rabbit. When they attack they approach from the back of their prey and attack the neck. Mating season for them begins in December and continues through March. The size of the litter will be between 2 to 4 kittens, who stay with Mom for 1 1/2-2 years. There are approximately 30,000 of these critters here in the western U.S.

Now when I found the footprint of this cat, there were some distinguishing features that let me know that the track was not a dog. Dog footprints always include the toenails, and are much narrower than a mountain lion track. The pad on a dog has two lobes where on a big cat there are three.

Here is the first shot which I have marked to indicate the toes and the pad. If you click on the photo it will fill your screen allowing you to see the details!

Mountain Lion Footprint

Amazing isn’t it?

Here are two more shots…

Another view

One more shot

In our time here, I have not seen a big cat in full. Just the other day while driving home at dusk I did see the tail of one disappearing into the woods. We have also had them in our yard as we have seen their tracks…We are careful at dusk, dawn and at night when we go outside…These times are the prime feeding hours for these cats!

Thanks for taking the time today to stop, read and view my post! Have a great Thursday!

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