Day 91 - Weeping

Even though the wet weather is getting a bit tiresome the past two days, I couldn't help but notice how pretty nature's "teardrops" were on our weeping maple today. Kind of gave new meaning to its name! (a crying tree - not real funny, but a little humorous...) ;)

Day 90 - Dandelion Days

Not nearly as spectacular as yesterday's cherry blossoms, and certainly not as welcome, another rite of spring is the inevitable appearance of that all-too-familiar weed, the dandelion.

Day 89 - Cherry Blossom Time

Around our part of the country, the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which started today, announces that spring has arrived. Against our better judgment, we decided to brave the masses and drove into DC to check them out. There's more, along with more photos, on my regular blog and over at Lews Pics.

There are newer weeping varieties along with some of the original trees from Japan at East Potomac Park/Hains Point.

Delicate, flufffy mounds of pink and white.

Since it hasn't really been overly windy, apparently the weight of the blooms on this original specimen was enough to cause it to break. Over the years, most of the original trees have developed disease and are being replaced as they weaken and die out.

Y'all know I can't resist close-ups and these beauties were perfect candidates for my camera.

All in all, a beautiful jaunt into the city, and very much worth the effort and traffic.

Day 88 - Spring things

As noted on Lew's Pics, Baker Park is in full spring greening mode and there was much to enjoy and photograph. From the willows and covered bridge to...

...the always hungry, people-friendly ducks who populate the lake. These two meandered across the street (protected by their personal crossing signs) begging for food before we even got out of the car!

The early flowering shrubs, trees, and flowers are showing their beauty, so in spite of overcast skies and a bit of wind, it was a lovely visit to the park.

Day 87 - Recovering kitty

Poor kitty! My beastie girl, Zoey, is feeling a bit poorly after scheduled declawing surgery and then some unexpected dental surgery on top of that. After two days at the vet, she was happy to be home and has slept most of the day in her favorite spots. She didn't even put up much of a fight when it was time to give her her medicine... I feel so bad for her. :(

Day 86 - Grazing

The peaceful spring scene I see from the back of our house. I'm thinking the cows are enjoying being able to munch on tender new grass for a change instead of a steady diet of winter hay.

Day 85 - An original

A different take on the spring theme, this is the grandaddy of them all - an 'original' Slinky from back in the day when they were still made of metal. This one, complete with box and still untangled and working, not only withstood my son's rough handling, but has survived the grandkids too.

Day 84 - Bulging bud

New leaf buds covering the bushes and trees show us that spring is here and a welcome sight it is! The dark area you see inside this bud is an itty bitty lilac flower getting fat and ready to burst into fragrant delight in about a month or so.

Day 83 - Easter flowers

It's only fitting that the daffodils should be blooming on Easter Sunday...

The Daffodils
Aileen Fisher

The daffodils, the daffodils.
They plan it all ahead:
They bottle yellow sunshine up
To take along to bed.

They know that they will sleep for months
Till cold and snow are gone,
And so they bottle sunshine up
Before they start to yawn.

And then when Spring is not-quite warm,
And days are not quite mellow,
They poke up little goblets full
Of yellow, yellow, yellow.
~ ~ ~

Happy Easter!

Day 82 - Odd sightings

Unable to decide on which photo to use today, I decided on both...

Usually around this time of year, we see a lot of Easter bunnies. Frederick, however, celebrates their own way... betcha don't see too many Easter bears where you live!! ;) This dapper dude, in all his sartorial splendor, welcomes you at the Frederick Fudge and Ice Cream Co.

I'm betting not too many of us have green claw-footed bathtubs full of greenery sitting outside our front doors either! This one adorns the sidewalk in front of an antique/garden shop.

Day 81 - Green time

Feeling less than inspired and needing to stick around the house waiting for a package, this is all the green I mustered up today. Not much of a story here, just one of those mundane objects included in my day-to-day doings.

Day 80 - A Patch of Green

On this first day of spring, we went for a drive on an old country road and discovered a creek running alongside. As we stopped to take a few photos, I spotted this bright green mossy rock just begging to be my subject for the day. :)

I also have a couple of Easter-related photos on my regular blog.

Day 79 - Green writers

It's rainy, cold, and dismal outside so I decided to scrounge around inside for something green. Since I'm not particularly fond of the color except in nature, I didn't think I'd find much, but it's amazing what we see when we really start looking. This beribboned pen (a thank-you gift from a scrapping supplier) and pencil were right under my nose, in the pencil cup on my desk.

Day 78 - Green Pepper

Not quite what I had in mind when I tried to duplicate an idea I saw in Flickr, but it was fun playing in the water. Afterwards, it ended up tossed with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, S&P, parmesan, and other veggies, and roasted for our dinner. Good stuff!

Day 77 - Green, green grass of home...

First things first - wishing you all a most Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

May your day be touched

by a bit of Irish luck,
brightened by a song in your heart,
and warmed by the smiles
of the people you love.

Alrighty then, on to today's photo. The greening of the fields behind our home has been calling to me so I was tickeld to see green would be this week's theme. (Somehow I just knew it would be, Karin - probably because I'm Irish myself!) ;)

Day 76 - Green fueled

Wrapping up this week's theme, I chose a familiar sight in these parts. Through the ages these magnificent creatures have served us well as beasts of burden, transportation, and beloved pets.

And then there're these cutie llamas, not something one expects to see in the foothills of Maryland but rather in the heights of the Andes of South America.

These particular critters were curious and stopped grazing and feeding long enough to stare and pose pretty for the strange lady with the camera! ;)

Word Verification

Sorry folks, but due to a recent influx of spam, I've had to enable the word verification option again. I know it's a pain in the behind, but I hope it won't prevent comments. Hopefully I won't have to do it for long. Thanks for your understanding!! :)

Day 75 - Purple Pretties

On this beautiful sunshiny day we're having, I couldn't resist the pretty upturned faces of these crocus as they posed in the sunlight for me.

I also couldn't resist another collection of yellow for this week's theme. I can't get over how much yellow I'm aware of now since taking the photos of the yellow motorcycle - there are yellow vehicles everywhere, just everywhere! I took these earlier in the week from the car window as we rambled around town taking care of business.

Day 74 - Friends in Legoland

A fleet of creative transportation vehicles for the Legolanders who live and travel around our house... especially when 2 grandsons visit. ;)

Day 73 - Warning Signs

Since posting the yellow motorcycle photos earlier this week, I've noticed yellow stuff all over the place. Soooo, I thought it would be fun to shoot a collection of transportation signs and signals that we see as we wander about. There's a lot of yellow signs out there!

Day 72 - The Big Red Machine

The beast that transports some of the high-priced gasoline we all need to get where we're going. I wonder if they think that if they deliver that liquid gold in a fancy-dancy pretty red truck, we won't notice the price??

Day 71 - Kiddie Car(t)

They sure don't make shopping carts like they used to! Saw these little toddler transports outside a grocery store today and couldn't resist taking a shot. They're so cute, they even have little steering wheels to keep the little one occupied while mom fills the basket. What will they think of next?

Day 70 - Bright Bike

When I saw that transportation was the theme for the week, I knew exactly what I was going to use for one day's photo... the cutest little pink motor scooter that I've seen parked in town. So, into the car we got for a quick jaunt into Frederick. Well... you know what's coming, right?... of course, the pink motor scooter was nowhere to be seen. Arrggh!

Okay, fine, sez I. On to Plan B - I know where a purple bus is parked. So off we go to photograph a purple bus. That done, we're roaming around looking for something a little different for Lew to photograph, when Hello! I spotted this little baby! So much for the bus - I'd rather ride a yellow Harley any ol' day! The bus or scooter will have to wait. ;)

Day 69 - Painted Lady

Historical Fredericktowne has its share of Victorian homes, including some Painted Ladies. Most, however, are not quite as well-maintained and, uhmmm... colorful... as this one. It really grabs your attention as you pass by - you just can't miss the vivid green/purple w/matching gingerbread trim and those three purple-shuttered windows!

Day 68 - Tire fun

The little munchkins have fun crawling over and through these three over-sized tires in a local daycare center playground.

Day 67 - Rainy day threes

Another cold, rainy and dreary day in our parts but I still managed to grab some trios from inside the car as we drove about. The green shutters/lights (and raindrops!) are on the back of a Popeye's restaurant; the empty chairs looked mighty lonesome outside Starbucks; the 3-pipe culvert runs under a mall parking lot; and the windows are on the top front of the Casa-Rico Mexican restaurant.

Day 66 - Rainbow play

Favorites of our two beastie babies, we're forever finding these and other of their toys scattered 'round and about the house... if I could just figure out a way to get them to pick them up!

Day 65 - Spring threesome

Yes!! We're finally having a beautiful sunshiny day today and lo and behold, we also have some concrete evidence of spring. The crocus under the cherry tree are opening and I even found a group of three for our theme - I just love when nature cooperates!

Day 64 - Grommets

This tarp-covered wood rack has been sitting outside our patio door all winter but for some reason these 3 grommets jumped right out at me today. Not terribly inspiring, but wasn't feeling all that motivated today so having the weekly theme definitely helped... thanks Karin!

Day 63 - Three + 3

Three books with "three" in the title by three different authors - can't get any three-er than that! ;)

Day 62 - Running out of time

I literally ran out of time with this. I was going to try and get a better series of shots but when I picked the timer up to reposition it, the silly thing shattered in my hands! So, this is all there is, there ain't no more... timer.

Day 61 - Half time

Not a complete sequence of years, but a different way to illustrate the progression of time. You can see the difference between the top three and the others - back when they were still made of silver.