feel like you are in a Fog?

Not moonlight, but sunlight! It has been pea soup foggy since last night, not much artsy fogfrost, but an unusual view of the 4 o'clock sun, with Black Hills spruce, Burr oak and Ponderosa pine for company. Last day of February, 2010

portrait of a Lady

 

sky or not Sky?

At first glance on the screen it was almost an optical illusion. Is it late afternoon shadows on wind sculpted snow, or is it blue skies with white wind driven clouds?

shadow Dance

I was looking for the Siberian squill that are sleeping in this part of my wild garden, of course it is way too early, I know, I know. One can hope. The pine cone dancing with its shadow beside the rotting birch log caught my eye, I love the low angle sun in late afternoon.

for my Moonchild

friendly moon

with silver gaze

watches over my sleeping child

the C.E.O.

 

Captain Jack Sparrow, chief executive officer of Schnauzer Snowplow, Inc. There is all kinds of interesting stuff under freshly fallen snow, even for a couch potato. 

houskeeping Week

The week of my birthday (mid-February) I make a habit of cleaning and repairing my birdhouses in anticipation of the spring arrivals. Although I won't see the house wrens or violet-green swallows till late April, the intrepid mountain bluebirds will arrive back soon! The earliest return date for our neighborhood is March 4, a good landlord needs to be ready for prospective tenants.

does your hair have a Cowlick?

Here is the genuine article! I watched her create this lovely chili pepper 'do on her winter furry hide. No gel or other styling products needed. :o)

mood Indigo

 

What in the world did my digital SLR do here? The next two photos were perfectly normal, for a dreary winter afternoon. It chose to record this image the first shot I took, no change in settings on the camera. I think it is kind of cool, even if the camera trolls were playing tricks 

birthday Present

 

Susan B. Anthony, Galileo and I all celebrate birthdays on the same day, February 15. Not, however, the same year! Neither of them got a gorgeous phalaenopsis orchid from a daughter, son-in-law and grandson. Lucky me, sorry Susan and Galileo! 

frost Feathers

fern frost forms when very cold air is on the outside of a single pane of glass and moderately moist air is on the inside. This was decorating the storm window on one of our  north windows this morning. If there are scratches or imperfections in the glass, or bits of grit, it influences the shape the frost crystals take. Ma Nature forgives dirty windows, I guess. :o)

 

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Art Alley Red

 

I just love Art Alley, I can always find just what I need there for a photo. 

shiny Red

 

shiny red hearts, friendly pine tree embrace 

aquilegia canadensis Red

wild columbine or rock bells

harlequinade: play or scene, usually in pantomime, in which Harlequin, a male character, has the principal role. Derived from the Italian commedia del arte, harlequinades came into vogue in early 18th-century England, with a standard plot consisting of a pursuit of the lovers Harlequin and Columbine by the latter’s father, Pantaloon, and his bumpkin servant Pedrolino. In the Victorian era the harlequinade was reduced to a plotless epilogue to the main pantomime, which was often a dramatized fairy tale.

(from Encyclopedia Britannica online) 

rachel Red

 

Macrophotography 

crossbill Red

 

red crossbill male (Loxia curvirostra)

A crossbill's odd bill shape helps it get into tightly closed cones. A bird's biting muscles are stronger than the muscles used to open the bill, so the Red Crossbill places the tips of its slightly open bill under a cone scale and bites down. The crossed tips of the bill push the scale up, exposing the seed inside.

 (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website)

wren house Red

 

Ok, I confess to playing with Photoshop, this is my birdhouse gourd wren house. Jenny Wren does not normally live in a "red light" district, she is a very proper citizen. 

celebration Red

 

Elks Theater, 6th Street, Rapid City, South Dakota

Exit Stage Left

Congratulations cast and crew of

Stevens High School Drama Department

production of 

R.I.P. Van Winkle!

A Superior play award,  3 outstanding ensemble, 3 outstanding individual performance awards.

A shout-out to Mr. Bill Lytle, playwright, drama teacher, director  for providing the kids with an original script to work with!

South Dakota State One-Act Play Festival at Brandon Valley High School

Feb. 4-6, 2010

RED for Valentine's Week

 

from the Anniversary Garden at Musket Point, Saxe's Landing, Chazy, NY 

well, here it Is

 

4 pm 2/4/10 

Punxutawney Phil prognosticated, Ma Nature produced.

The "6 more weeks of winter" is currently covering the cars and the crossroads and the cows and the watering cans.  

hey! they grow grapefruit in South Dakota???

 

 Another visit to Jolly Lane Greenhouse, my favorite purveyor of plants for more than 30 years. (This is for you, Beth and Becky).

They let winter weary customers come and just smell the flowers and the wonderful earthy scent of a spring garden.  They will happily send you home with lovely plants you didn't know you couldn't live without when you walked in the door.  

:o) 

Punxutawney shadow Rabbit...

 

...also saw his shadow today, sigh...

6 more weeks of winter here, too. 

what do your living room curtains look Like?

No boring damask draperies for this apartment window! It faces Art Alley, just down the way from the bison and fits right in with the scenes around it. Wondering what the inside of the room looks like and who lives here.