There really is a bird in this photo!
Nothing says freedom like a grandly soaring hawk. I was only able to get one shot of this one looking for something to eat in the wheat field before it disappeared. It's not the best shot, and I actually thought I'd missed it, but when I looked at it on the computer, there it was. It's a little hard to see against the green in the first photo, but I cropped it a good bit to give a better view in the second.
A gift from Lew, my pink pen/pencil set has held up well under many years of use, abuse (unintentional) and non-use. It's pretty tapestry holder keeps it nicely protected.
My mother loved her earrings and wore them all the time. She had several styles - dangle, flower-shapes - but her favorites were button earrings and she had them in almost every color. These have yellowed with age over the years, but back in the day, they were a pretty Pink pink.
The mystical properties attached to rose quartz make this special heart-shaped gift from my daughter-in-law even more special. Historically, it is a symbol of love and beauty. I keep it on my desk and periodically run my fingers over its cool smoothness when I think of her.
When she was still a lil bits, my granddaughter had long, silky, golden hair and loved having pretty, girly things in it. Her mommaw (aka me) loved brushing and combing that long hair and helping her put those pretty things in it. She's 22 now, and has outgrown her little girl hair pretties, but they (for this photo, the pink ones) still reside in her dresser drawer at my house... just in case. ;)
I took a picture and shared memories of my granddaughter's dolly stroller about a year and a half ago for a Saturday Photo Hunt. Since it's one of the few pink things around the house, I did it again. :)
Had to contort myself a little to get this shot, but I really liked the results. 
One of these days maybe I'll get a "big girl" camera with a super duper macro lens. In the meantime, my little point and shoot doesn't do such a bad job with the water drops on our front yard pink impatiens.
Now I'm really pushing it... toothbrushes. I'm down to taking pictures of my toothbrushes. Arrggh!! ;)
*sigh* Well, it's certainly not one of my better efforts - a spur of the minute shot just to get it done - as good as it gets for today.
Karin was right - we just have to coordinate our weather better! With the exception of that heat wave we had about a week or so ago, the weather has been anything but hot. Soooo, out of ideas, almost forgetting to take one at all, and nearly out of time, I raided the kitchen cupboards for today's photo. This is as hot as it got today.
(taken with Lew's Nikon D40X SLR)
(taken with my Nikon Coolpix 4800 point & shoot.)
This bright, vivid orange lily in our front yard almost looks too hot to touch, doesn't it?
Since the computer occupied a good bit of my time today, it seems only apt that it should be today's subject. You'll note that the "S" has entirely worn off, the "A" is almost gone, and the "D" is well on its way. The "K" and "L" are in the same condition. Weird.
When the weather gets hot, the last place I want to be is in the kitchen, so grilling gets real popular around here then. This season's fare will definitely be more interesting with the bucket of "good ol' boy" bbq goodies Lew got for Father's Day from #3 daughter and family.
This week's hot theme would have worked perfectly last week when we were frying, but as you can see, hot just wasn't happening here today. I'm not sure our temps even went much over 80. Not that I'm complaining, mind you... I just wish I could bottle some of our cool and send it on out to my AZ pals for some relief from their 108 degrees! *gasp!*
He's the only guy I know who would decide to interrupt his Father's Day relaxation to go out and cut the grass at 7:30 pm... when the light was rapidly declining... on an otherwise beautifully cool day. Go figure, huh? ;)
While Lew was getting his shot for the day (in his sexy baggy-ass shorts,) I got mine of the photographer in action. See that pretty little iridescent gazing globe? It wasn't until he showed me his shots later on that I noticed the gooey, slimy slug sitting on top!! Ewwwwww! Jeez, I hate those things!
One of my greatest pleasures is reading in bed. My nightly routine is to crawl into bed, get all comfy cozy, and switch to my reading glasses. Then, curl up with my book and read until I get sleepy.
Lew did some more weeding today and came across this critter sitting on a piece of mulch. It didn't try to fly away, as a matter of fact, didn't move around much at all. I'm thinking it must be injured... somewhere... but how do you tell? Anyway, it was very accommodating and let me photograph it from several angles and wing positions.
I thought its fuzzy, wooly little head was fascinating and almost wanted to reach out and scratch behind its - ears? - but figured I'd leave well enough alone. Besides, at this point it was looking a little perturbed and ready for me to get out of its face.
The mighty dandelion hunter returns victorious! 
We got a lovely break from the heat this evening as a thunderstorm rolled through. I was pleased to see that the water seal is working...
Some of this season's New Guinea impatiens are planted, mulched, watered and all ready to display their talents in the back yard.
And, while trying to get today's shot, I inadvertently caught this reflection of Lew for this week's theme - father to his and step-father to mine.
Ugh! It was blistering hot again today - 97 degrees in June! - so needless to say, I didn't stray far from the AC. I poked my nose out the patio door long enough to take a picture.
Hoping to mimic the showy performance of the verbena basket on the deck, we made sure the new ones had plenty of ready-to-pop buds.
In our travels yesterday, we stopped at WalMart to see if they had discounted any of their seasonal flowers. WooHoo! - we hit the jackpot - they had small hanging baskets of impatiens, verbena (we got one for the front,) and these little pretties (3 for the deck) for $4.00 apiece! Normally they'd sell for $10-12.00. Don't know what they are (I should!) but I was enthralled with the different shades of yellows and coppery pinks as the flower matures. Anyone know what it is??
With the temperature climbing upwards to almost 90 today, and the humidity climbing right up there with it, we stopped by the Frederick Ice Cream Co. to enjoy a refreshing ice cream cone. Lew had a German chocolate cake cone and mine was a p'nutty cone - butter pecan ice cream with various nuts, chunks of chocolate, and caramel mixed in. Yumm-ee!
You may remember the chicly attired bear that greets you at the entrance; keeping current with seasonal trends, the dapper dude is now ready to beat the heat in his fashionable shorts/swim trunks.
Looking up over the door, you'll also spot an oversized model ice cream cone.
Those new to the Frederick area probably don't expect to see a giant Coke bottle sitting on top of a building when they look up. This one adorns the old Frederick Coca Cola bottling plant, which now serves as a distribution facility for Coke products.
"...The clustered spires of Frederick stand
Since I totally blew an opportunity for a really interesting looking up shot today (see why here), the dining room light will have to do. On the dim setting, it casts a nice glow about the room.
I remember when the Blue Mountain Inn (a total misnomer since it was actually kind of a dump) was THE place to go for crabs and crablegs in our neck of the woods. It used to be nothing more than a rickety ol' clapboard bar/restaurant, and nowhere near as nice as it stands now, deserted. 
My first husband and I, along with a group of co-workers, used to stop by after work on Friday nights and pig out on tables full of Maryland blue crab, beer, and various other seafood offerings. After we divorced, my steady guy and I used to spend many Saturday nights there wolfing down pounds of crablegs and dancing to the band. Later on, when Lew and I got together, we too spent many a weekend night eating crablegs and listening to the music at the Blue Mountain Inn. Even my granddaughter used to have her crablegs there.
