TODAY'S ATC: ANTLER PEOPLE

I'm baaaack! With another swap from Swap-bot.com.

This time I want to just share the ATC I finished this afternoon. The theme was "antler people", and the concept, if somewhat odd, was simple: Take a person or persons, and put antlers on his/her/their heads.

Being somewhat (I admit it) odd myself, I took great pleasure in this project, with the following result:


In another vein, I'd been wondering what I would do when I ran out of flowers to photograph on my walks, and mildly concerned. The answer was right in front of my lens. Winter, too, hath its charms.





I suppose it's appropriate, with Halloween so close, that we should be finding beauty in what remains. Aren't these "dead" blossoms lovely? (And even more so if you click on the photos to see them full-size.)

I'm enjoying an unexpected day at home today, having been every day this week at our dear friend Bruce's for a number of hours. I've been helping him get organized as he faces the loss of his home. He is 58, lost an eye in a fall several years ago, and has been unemployed ever since. His unemployment has run out, Social Security says he could still work (I seriously doubt it), and he has no money left to stay afloat. Please pray for him, if you're moved to do so.

SUNDAY RERUN: Catsup Flowers

It's time for a Sunday Favorite, hosted by Chari! Do you have favorite blog posts, too?Just click on the badge in the left-hand sidebar to see the directions for joining this meme.

These are not mustard flowers, but I like them!

This favorite of mine is from May of 2002, titled Catsup Flowers:

Grace (the three-year-old I take care of on Tuesdays) and I were walking to the car, and passed a leggy plant with yellow flowers dotting the end of its stems.

"What kind of flower is that?" she asked.

"It's mustard," I answered. "And when the flowers make seeds, you can grind them up, and that's how you make mustard. They're very small seeds, though, and it takes a lot of them."

She thought it over for just a moment, then asked, "Do they make catsup from catsup flowers?"

WALKING THE CAMERA, WITH DOG

What? You want to see the dog, too? She can be hard to photograph! (Unless you want to see her little hiney trotting along in front of me, lol.) Here's what she's like when we're trying to get out the door:

And some of the sights we saw:




This was our first "spooky" sighting, but I'm sure it was unintentional on the part of the owners. This rocking horse has been outside long enough that most of the paint is gone, and the underlying plastic has faded to white. The sun shining behind and through it made it look positively spectral:

Other Halloween-ish views:





We walked rather farther than I'd realized, and the day was warmer than I realized. By the time we were a few blocks from home, we were both thoroughly ready to Be There. About a block and a half from the house, Ceili took advantage of a handy lawn, and lay down.

I told her, "We're almost home, baby. Let's go home," and she gamely got to her feet and trudged on, but the next house had another lawn, and she lay down again, panting. So I stood there, and let her rest for a few minutes, and then told her, "We're almost there. You want to go home? Let's go home." That time we made it all the way to our own back yard, where she promptly walked up onto the grass, and lay down, tummy pressed against the cool lawn.

I decided she was on the right track, chose the nearest bench, and took off my socks. Ahhh.

Ceili was So tired.


I mean, Really tired.


She was not the only tired "dog" in our yard, either!

I'd been sitting there for a few minutes, enjoying the late sunshine, when I looked down at the base of the rosebush I was near. What is my little cherub doing there?


Doesn't she look like she's resting her nose on the base of that wire table, and sighing?

SHOW & TELL SATURDAY: The Things That We Saw

I'm trying really hard to get up and out and WALK. So far, it's easy, because the weather is so beautiful. Ceili and I walked two and a half miles today, according to my pedometer.

Here are some of the things we saw:








It sure is October!

AND WE'RE WALKING....

There was an article on the front page of the newspaper this morning on the value of walking. Like we didn't know walking is good for us, right?

According to the article, though, walking not only keeps you fit, it keeps your brain healthy. Women who get in a couple of miles a day have a much lower incidence of dementia, and a smaller pants size. Okay, they didn't actually say that last bit, but the woman they profiled wears a size two. You are allowed a certain amount of inference, I do believe.

Also, our little dog has been gaining weight since we switched her to canned food. She has half an acre to run on, but will sleep most of the day, left to her own devices. She needs to walk, too.

So we both turned over a new leaf (I hope) and took advantage of a day of purely glorious fall weather and set out.

We have a new harness for Ceili that puts pressure on her chest when she pulls, rather than her neck. She's an eager little thing, and I have known her to pull so hard on the leash that she walks on her hind feet while her front paws paddle through thin air, so I was willing to try something different. Sure enough, that chest pressure calmed her right down, and walking with her was pure pleasure!

I took my camera. Of course. Here are some of the day's photos:

Mahogany Red

Shhh! I'm hiding.

The Curl

On the Sidewalk

Furled Again

As is my habit, I played with filters on several of these, and clicking on them will give you more detail. And do you see the bug in the one I captioned "Shhh! I'm hiding."? It's there, and you'll see it if you do click.

SHOW ME SOMETHING SATURDAY #2

I thought I knew what I was going to show the world today on this second excursion into Show Me Something Saturday land--the art I've been working on since I got home from Hood River on Monday.

I was out in the yard with my camera, setting up a shot, when art from a much more practiced and professional Hand grabbed my attention. Can't compete with the Divine, and ain't gonna try.

And I'm suddenly put in mind of an old, favorite, saying: "Earth laughs in flowers." My garden is fairly burbling with joy right now if that is the case!

The pink and white roses next to the yellow cottage grabbed me first:





And then the honeysuckle against the fence:



And the love-in-a-mist, which I think is also called Devil's claw, at the base of a birdbath:


By then, I was just wandering around, looking at all the beds. There's an enormous buddleia (butterfly bush), which I guess we aren't supposed to grow anymore, now that Oregon has declared them an invasive species. My husband hacks it to the ground every year, and every year it just comes back stronger. It's taller than the peach house now, but smells so deliciously of honey, and is draped so beautifully with purple spires that I can't resist it. Neither could this bee:

Click on this one for sure. The bee's amazing.

The foxgloves are everywhere. Very few white or cream ones this year, though, but I've been wanting to shoot down the throat of one forever, and never had the right light. Aren't they fantastic? (Yes, Deb--I'm looking at the sex organs of flowers again! I should be blushing, but I'm just fascinated, lol.)



Then, as I took the path to the bed next to the porch of the peach cottage, this perfection in pink lit up the shade:


And last, the lavender and curry blooming together, one of my favorite combinations, and one I wait eagerly for every year:


So now, what have you got to show me this Saturday, or next? Leave a comment with a link, and let me know, so I can come see!

PS Clicking on the photos makes them bigger, and even more amazing. And here's one of my favorite computer tricks: After you've clicked on a photo, push the F11 key. Everything at the top and bottom of the screen will go away, and the picture will get even bigger! When you want your stuff back, just push F11 again. It's a wonderful way to see more screen on any page.