Thematic Photographic - #309 - In The Pink

Just beyond our doorstep is a sun-filled world waiting for us!

and for this week's theme Carmi is calling for, In the Pink.

First and only day to bloom pictured below.

Pretty in Pink.

In the Pink, brings sunshine to our eyes.

THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." - Annie Dillard

As it begins to fold.

How about a little evening, In the Pink?

Six Word Saturday - 13 September 2014

Somebody quick bring summer back please!

SIX WORD SATURDAY

Spreading some words we enjoy hearing!

PLEASE DON'T WORRY

 I'VE GOT YOU!

YES, THIS IS MY HAPPY FACE!

Before the howl of winter sets in, call your friends, grab your boat and let's go boating one more time!

"Now this is not the end.  It is not even the beginning of the end.  But it is perhaps, the end of the beginning." - Winston Churchill  

I hope this is the ending of the hint of winter beginning in so many of our worlds this week.

Good Fences #25 - 11 September 2014

Never forget.

Today especially.  Tragedy, has a way of

 bringing people together.

Join me in a perfect place where,

Public Parks are People Places

bringing people together.

The next step is ours.

GOOD FENCES

"No good thing is pleasant to possess without friends to share it." - Senca the Younger

"Every animal leaves traces of what it was; man alone leaves traces of what he has created." - Jacob Bronowski

In everything that he creates.

"Man is in part divine, A troubled stream from a pure source."- Lord Byron

Together we share the earth.

Earth! We're in it Together video/song can be heard here.

"All peoples are created equal." - Anonymous

Introduce yourself as often as you can.  Make new friends.

"Admire, exult, despise, laugh, weep, -for here 

There is such matter for all feeling - Man!

Thou pendulum betwixt a smile and a tear." - Lord Byron

For more Good Fences go here.

Can I Make You Laugh

What makes you laugh?

(think about it and please share)

This not a test, it's a quiz.

How does this photo below make you feel?

You may think he's sad, but in reality, he's just hanging out, according to the artist that designed him.

Photo from October 2012

The sculpture Companion (passing through) by the artist KAWS (Brian Donnelly) at the Modern Art Museum Fort Worth, Texas photo by Carol Highsmith

About this piece with artist, KAWS, Philly interview here.

For me, someone falling down and getting hurt, emotionally or physically, isn't funny.  How can pain, or humiliation ever be funny?  What makes me laugh or at least smile, is something like the photo below.

Ballerina Clown read here.

Pre Quiz Question- "What has to be broken before it can be used?" (answer at the  bottom)

How about this very creative, artful piece?

 Imagine that you just happened upon this.  Did it make you smile?  I know you'd be worried if you've had a couple too many at the local pub, and you're stumbling around not sure if you're seeing double or just having trouble finding the road.

Ant Farm Cadillac Car Art along Route 66, Amarillo, Texas

read here about Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas

This little guy is a riot!

Somebody has a good sense of humor.  Could you pour me a cup too please?

From a human perspective this is funny.

How about that quiz I promised?  Thought I forgot?  

As promised this is not a test.  It's a quiz, in fact there are two.  Take your pick, or try them both.  You can post your results on Facebook, if you dare.


So, do you want excitingly, defining and exhilarating fun?  Or, some scholarly-learn-about-me fun?

Either way, both are very short.


Are you students ready?

About this Photo and story from MinnPost read here.

Quiz# 1
For a scholarly-learn-about-me fun quiz try this, "Discovering Yourself Quiz" just for you.


Click here to take the "Discovering Yourself Quiz" don't be shy, you might enjoy it.

Okay how about some excitingly, defining and exhilarating fun, try this quiz "Can I Make You Laugh?"

Quiz # 2 (rather clever too)
This next quiz is worthy of a go.
By trying this quiz, Can I Trick You?

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you've enjoyed my unharmful, humorous kind of post today.  

This has been an Alphabe-Thursday assignment for the letter
"Q" as in Quiz.

The Mag - 7 September 2014

Magpie Tales 236

THE MAG

neque tinea demolitur

What is your destiny this day

Oh cosmic moth?

Shall you live or die?

Do come inside my tent

escape your demise,

 as thunder echoed

and rain hammers.

Be safe beneath my tent

cozy by my lantern light

as rain splatters

in a symphony of judgment.

Nerves gratified

yet blissfully aware

and oddly content.

Cozy are we by lantern light

this rainy night.

and so the moth lives to see another day.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - 7 September 2014

"What I'm looking for is a blessing that's not in disguise." - Jerome K. Jerome 
There were many blessings waiting at the Edina Fall into the Arts show too!

It was perfect for my hunt of-

Color, view, stroll, outfit, and blocks.

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY

COLOR

VIEW

STROLL

It was easy peasy catching folks on a stroll today.

OUTFIT

Yesterday was my day to start adding more Scarecrows to my collection.
ONE SCARECROW, THREE PERSONALITIES 

Or

And

BLOCKS 

Six Word Saturday - 6 September 2014

Until this post, I've put off using the word September. As if that simple action, might stretch summer a bit longer. 


SIX WORD SATURDAY

NEVER LET PAST EXPERIENCES HARM YOU

We need not justify our insecurities or past mistakes. 

 Always trust your feelings.

Appreciate memories, and find opportunities to learn

every step of the way.

Two views of the open road within the Badlands of South Dakota.

"Never let your past experiences harm your future.  Your past can't be altered and your future doesn't deserve the punishment." - Maya Angelou

True Delights One Day at a Time!

One of my Many favorite bloggers, is author, R. Mac  Wheeler, (and exquisite photographer, proof here) and here, and today he posed an interesting thought that really resonates with me. 

"Themes are okay, when they don't take you away from the true delights."-  R. Mac Wheeler

Ironically, that very thought has been heavy on my mind lately. 

He's right.


Okay, I know Mac is one of my Gnome's biggest fans, because he often gives Mr. Gnome a mention.  Mr. Gnome and I like that.  So, it's time to take Mr. Gnome (down from his shelf) for another journey around our world.

Mr. Gnome's Hood.  

Yes, he lives tucked away behind glass for safe keeping, and away from little munchkins.

"Though the roads been rocky it sure feels good to me." -  Bob Marley 


You may think this is silly, but Mr. Gnome and I go way back.  Sure he's a silent buddy usually, and yet, he has his way of sending messages.

"I could use a little help here."

It's hard to beat a person who never gives up." -  Babe Ruth

Even for Gnomes.

"After all, the true seeing is within." -  George Eliot

I always take time to visit my cousins.  How about you?

"Almost nothing need be said when you have eyes." -  Tarjei Vesaas

"Really?  They name the darn boat after the dog?!"

"It figures."

"Back to gardens, and bugs and delicious drinks, oh yeah."

Never be scared of Gnomes playing tricks on you.  They may have a lot of tricks up their little sleeves, but it's all in fun.  However, beware of the wine-drinking Gnome.

"Oh hello, Mr. Gnome here, I came to help plant some new seeds."

"If our destiny stems from our name, then I weep for the flower named Wilt." - Jarod Kintz

"If only I could get more gas money, I'd really hit the road!" 

So, don't let this quote become common place in your world.

"We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are." - Bill Watterson

Instead-

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

Kerry Says, Where do you go to?

From Imaginary gardens and real toads, Kerry is challenging us to consider the theme of Dichotomy for our poem.  Of course, we can take any form and are free to explore any subject matter.

My first choice was to write a poem about mammals, involving those that live on land and those that live on water.   

I thought the Jackalope, (a mythical animal of North America Folklore) also called a fearsome critter would be a worthy poem, but you'll see that homo sapiens took control.

So, my poem encompasses, what you see, isn't always what you get, and what you've come to know, isn't always so.  

Even Small Stars Shine Bright

Diamonds we believe, are a girl's best friend.

Or so we're told.

Except, those diamonds which steal 

our loved ones time.

In a game of innings and outings 

where time

runs by batting and fielding.

Do, however accept in time 

those diamond knives for eye surgery 

down the line.

Did you know,

On Jupiter and Saturn it rains diamonds.

Yes, it does.

We believe

If all the Paris Hiltons 

and Kim Kardashians

of the world had poor fathers

and no connections

they'd go from riches to rags

in minutes.

There are more stars in our universe 

than grains of sand on all our beaches.

There really are.

We know, right is better than wrong.

Yet who determines wrong from right?

We idolize those from rags to riches-

But run from those in battered stitches

and clothes torn and tattered.

As if their lives never mattered.

There's a rainforest in your belly button.

Truly there is.

Why must beggars be choosy?

Because evil lurks in places you'd least expect.

Shouldn't every one's dreams come true-

like mine and yours too?

Is that too much to accept?

Isn't fate really up to you

in all that we do?

All humans share 50% of their DNA with bananas.

Thematic Photographic - #308 Vegetation

Did it come from the earth?  Did it grow from seeds? Or from a branch?  That's what Carmi is challenging us with this week. 

THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC

So Vegetation it is.

Okay, how about did it grow after being cut off from the top of a pineapple?  Sounds really vegetation like to me.

Yes it did!  At first it looked a bit sad, but it's growing well from my greenhouse right now.  

Video (3:36) on growing your own here.  Worth watching, and totally worth planting.  As the video mentions, I will be bagging mine with an apple soon.  The children's project book where I originally discovered this idea, described that it would eventually grow a pineapple in the center.  The apple on top and covered with a bag overnight, will speed up the process.  

After trying this method out, (yes at home) at Bachman's I saw this plant (already growing a new pineapple) so, this past Easter, Peter Rabbit brought my daughters one of these as well.  

From my daughter-in-law's deck- The top is the new pineapple growing out of the original plant.  Neat right?

As for this veggie, not so sure where you'd say he grew, or fell from!  He's just so darn cute he had to play along too.  Which by the way is what you should do too!  Bring your vegetation to Carmi's Thematic Photographic party here.

The Mag - 31 August 2014

Another post for Magpie Tales.

THE MAG

Dark Harbor 1943 N. C. Wyeth
image challenge 
by Tess Kincaid
for Magpie 235

Just another day at sea?

Knobby clouds of  mixed-up Sea Gulls, jump over lazy fish, upon quiet waters.

NOWCAST

Another
bleak
confused
day
exclusively
fleeing
grey,
heavily
intense
jarring
knots
leeward,
making
nobody
overlook
precipitations.
Quickly
releasing
scattered
thunderous
unstable
vexing 
winds,
xeroxing
yelping
zealously.


My poem plays with the alphabet.  Beginning with one outlining sentence using every letter from the alphabet at least once.  Finishing my poem in an ABC style poem, with each line beginning with a letter in the alphabet starting with A and moving in order to Z.