Day 335 - Frustration

Grrrrrr! My regular blog has the old template version so I have to mess with the html code a good bit when I want to add or change things. Blogger gave me fits tonight while I was switching it over to a holiday theme and kept removing my changes! What should have taken maybe an hour took a couple, few... grrrrrr!

Day 334 - My blue-eyed girl

At a loss for a photo today, Zoey stepped up to the plate... well, jumped up on a chair... and cooperated somewhat.

Day 333 - Outdoor decor

Time to replace our fall Indian corn, gourds and pumpkins with some winter greenery, pinecones, and... I dunno, maybe berries. This bag of pinecones will get us started.

Day 332 - Sweet ending

One of our traditional holiday desserts is Watergate salad, a mix of mini marshmallows, crushed pineapple, pistachio pudding, nuts, and Cool Whip. It's decadently sweet and outrageously calorie-laden, but oh, soooooo good!

Wishing you all a very...

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
~Author Unknown~

Day 331 - Pre-prep the day before the day...

I got smart this year and planned ahead for more and better gravy/soup base. Bought some turkey wings (they were ginormous!!) which I roasted until nice and brown and then simmered into a delicious stock.

p.s. oh my! the gravy was wonderful!!

Day 330 - Gobble gobble

Since it's just the two of us this year, our Li'l Butterball will be more than enough. I see lots of turkey leftovers in our future!

Day 329 - Still going strong

Amazingly, my birthday bonsai is still blooming in November! Must be doing something right. :)

Day 328 - AAACKK!!!

I don't believe it. I totally FORGOT to take a picture today!! Never even crossed my mind!! Must have been my preoccupation with my friends.

Shot the hell out of my perfect two-year record, but... oh well! Missing only one day out of 693 isn't really all that bad, is it??

Day 327 - Kompany Kitty

Sorry to have been MIA - it's been a full, though photographically unproductive, week. First I wasn't feeling well, then we had weekend company, and then it was time to get ready for the Bird Day.

Anyway, dear old friends (we were pregnant together!!) stopped by for a visit on their way from Tennessee to Massachusetts, along with their kitties. Pretty and very well-mannered beasties, that's Mr. Blue above but I didn't get a good shot of his companion, Precious.

Day 326 - August stone

per⋅i⋅dot  /ˈpɛrɪˌdoʊ, -ˌdɒt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [per-i-doh, -dot] Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun Mineralogy.
a green transparent variety of olivine, used as a gem.

Day 325 - Popping pills

Been feeling poorly and popping pain pills the past couple of days so my productivity with the camera has been shot all to hell. I'll be back to my regular self soon.

Day 324 - A red pot

I've wanted an enameled cast iron dutch oven for years but refused to pay the exorbitant prices these things fetch. After finding a good deal on a Lodge pot on Amazon, I finally broke down and bought one. It arrived today and became a pretty good mineral camera subject.

Day 323 - Country horses

A lovely horse is always an experience....

It is an emotional experience of the kind that is spoiled by words.
~ Beryl Markham ~

Day 322 - Backyard beasties

For this week's animal, vegetable, or mineral theme, our resident critters were very accomodating.

In addition to the normal squirrel and blue jay activity, a couple of occasional visitors showed up...

the little guy on the left is a downy woodpecker,

and this red-headed beauty is... are you ready??... a red-BELLIED woodpecker. Go figure, huh?

Lew captured some great bird shots on Lew's Pics.

Day 321 - Somber stone

The gloomy, overcast day made a fitting backdrop for b&w photos of solitary buildings along the country roads of Frederick.

This forlorn run-down structure might have enjoyed a lovely pastoral setting...

...back when someone cared.

Day 320 - Moody sky

Though outwardly a gloomy shroud,
The inner half of every cloud
Is bright and shining:
I therefore turn my clouds about
And always wear them inside out
To show the lining.
Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler

Day 319 - Old friends

Lew's comfy old shoes now relegated to yard work since being replaced with a new pair.

Day 318 - Light and shadows

The soft shadows cast and the glisten of reflected light off this stein brightened up an otherwise drab, dreary, and sunless day.

Day 317 - Egg white

I have GOT to get me some kind of lightbox! Playing around with reflection and shadows of white eggs on a black plate, I had a devil of a time keeping reflection of the ceiling out of the picture.

Day 316 - Smoky marbles

The streaks of color inside some marbles remind me of wisps of smoke...

Day 315 - Game pieces

I rarely use the black & white option on my camera... I just forget... so this week's black & white theme will give me good practice.

Day 314 - Fall perspective

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
~ Albert Camus ~

Day 313 - Snack

I'm doing my part with leftover Halloween candy...

Day 312 - Cycle of color

As it progresses from gold to blushing orange to a leathery russet brown, our maple delights us with its array of color.

Day 311 - Sneaky little bugger

Our resident squirrel was up to its antics again today. Apparently, it had hidden an acorn in my flowers and got hungry ...

so dug it out and proceeded to sit a spell for a munch or two.

Then it unceremoniously went on its merry way, leaving a mess of soil and shells behind.

Day 310 - Curvy

When shot in macro, the curves and swirls of a contemporary vase take on a totally different perspective. (You can get a peek at the entire vase here.)

Day 309 - Election Day

None of the predicted lines at our polling place. Most of the people you see above were electioneers. At 11:00 am, the whole process took us about 15 minutes. I'm sure the after-work crowd will have a different story to tell.

Day 308 - Hurry up shot

Totally a last minute shot -- I was busy watching the Redskins lose to the Steelers. *sigh*

Anyway, for this week's theme, this was taken from a different perspective than I usually do. I just sat the camera down on the flat surface of a book, focused, and snapped this table decoration. Kinda interesting angle.

Day 307 - Munching

The squirrel was busy munching on a found acorn...

while Zoey watched and wished she could do a little munching herself.

Day 306 - More fall colors

This past week of chill has really brought out the colors and today the weather was just glorious, so we took off again looking for more fall eye-candy. This little pretty lives right up the street from us.

Back in Cunningham Falls State Park, we found a spot where we were able to get down closer to Hunting Creek.

On the way back home we stopped near Buckeystown to enjoy the scenic Monocacy River.