Critter Release and Surprised Sunday

Plan To Be Surprised Sunday!


"Everything we do,
every thought we've ever had,
is
produced by the human brain.
But exactly how it operates remains 
one of the biggest unsolved mysteries,
and it seems the more we probe its secrets,
the more surprises we find."
Neil deGrasse Tyson


and
Happy squirrel release for 
SATURDAY'S CRITTERS

Here's where squirrels should be nesting.

If squirrels could talk,

Gosh darn it I know there's got to be a way out of here!

It was a happy ending (finally) to catching our trapped-in-the-bathroom squirrel.

Just so you all know, these photos were taken on his/her ? way to the car for a free-first-time car ride to a woods about nine miles from our house.

Stay away squirrel.

Do Not find your way back here.

Never. Ever.

Ah, excuse me, where are we going?

Can you see his little face looking at me?

I can't look anymore!
It was just a few minutes later that we opened the gate and set him free.

A couple of photos from our squirrel's handy work.

Good-bye blinds.

Naughty, naughty!

He/she was mighty destructive indeed.

Note, always take heed that they mean 

a destructive sort of business

 and get rid of naughty little squirrels, immediately!

What once was a nice wooden window frame, changed drastically!

Okay, enough doom and gloom, 
how about some pretty pictures for my

Surprise Sunday post?

Swinging on a Sunday afternoon.

Surprise, surprise, not yet,
 but ice out on area lakes coming soon.

How many more days until the boats return?

Too many!

It's no surprise that views like these below will be arriving soon. Really.

"If you don't know where you're going any road will do."

Lewis Carroll

"The world is so full of wonderful things

we should all

if we were taught how to appreciate it,

be far richer than kings."

Ashley Montagu

"The moments of happiness we enjoy

take us by surprise

It is not that we seize them,

but that they seize us."

Ashley Montagu

"One of the secrets of life is

all that is really worth the doing

is what we do for others."

Lewis Carroll

and your visits mean the world to me!

Have a happy week and take good care of you!

Footwear - TP

Welcome 
to another

THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC 
post with our theme of

Footwear

Time to give an intruder the boot!

Once upon time a pair of shoes running wild and free

were thought to belong to human feet.

But they were not human feet at all!

"It doesn't matter how great your shoes are
 if you don't accomplish anything in them."
Martina Boone

On with my shoe story-

In what's becoming a squirrel house far from Paris

that's not even all covered in vines

lives two dogs, two humans and one cat

(put in a (locked bathroom away from my pets) where we thought the squirrel left through an opened window, but was too stupid to leave gracefully-

oh squirrel number 2 you are causing much anxiety!

Dear squirrels, cute as a button in statue form or in nature
 and you may eat from my garden, (I might be changing this come spring)
trample through my flowerbeds but never, ever enter our house!

What is allowed in our house of two dogs,
 one cat and two humans are possibly

In the middle of the night tiny little feet

in red sneakers scampering about

and in case somebody turned on the light

you might spot something else that's not quite right

Oh no, more critters?

A moose (stuffed) wearing my brand new winter boots!

But, never ever any other kind of rodent!

"We are not trapped or locked up in these bones.
No, No. We are free to change.  
And love changes us.
And if we can love another, 
we can break open the sky."
Walter Mosley from Blue Light

So take heed squirrels follow the blue light into nature!


Please remember all squirrels in my neighborhood, 
Mr. Moose is a welcomed critter, even if he steals my boots.

Just in case you were wondering about the owner of those red sneakers,
here he is!

Thanks for stopping in dear friends, 
and if you have any ideas for getting rid of squirrels
inside our house do let me know!

Critters Rejoice

Happy Saturday!

Welcome to

SATURDAY'S CRITTERS

"Whether you think you can 

or you think you can't

you're right."

Henry Ford

"Act as if what you do makes a difference,

it does."

William James

"Coming together is a beginning,

staying together is progress,

and working together is success."

Henry Ford

"The quality of a leader is reflected 

in the standards they set for themselves."

Henry Ford

The last eight years in America is proof of that.

"The art of being wise 

is knowing what to overlook."

William James

and simply walk away.

"Whenever anything seems to be going against you

remember, that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."

Henry Ford

Be kind first and
"Let us read and let us dance,
these two amusements will never do any harm to the world."
Voltaire

One thing nobody can take away from us-
our memories.

Yes we can.  Yes we did.

Way back when.... memories.... rejoice!

Happy is as happy does!
Enjoy your weekend all!
Thanks for sharing some of it with me.

Messy

Welcome to another

THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC 

 our theme is Messy

Nature can be messy.

"And at the end of the day
 your feet should be dirty
your hair messy
and your eyes sparkling."
Shanti

Beauty amidst messy.

Need I say anything?



"Amidst the confusion of the times,
the conflicts of the conscience,
and the turmoil of daily living,
an abiding faith becomes an
anchor to our lives."
Thomas S. Monson

Follow as many squiggly lines as you can
 and enjoy messy anew, 
a most thrilling journey.
Me

"Declare this smite time,
extracting precious gems
and wholly hours you share
to fruitcake a friend so dear."
Bradley Chicho

"The friendship we share grows amidst
the craggy rock pond;
reeds of water spray fireflies
scented with bonfires."
Bradley Chichco

I'm thankful for our friendship!
Enjoy your day
and take good care of you!

Critters the day after Saturday

Good morning everyone!

Welcome to 

SATURDAY'S CRITTERS

Everyday I miss this sweet puppy Allie!
She went blind at an early age, but she lived on for many years after
and most the time you never knew she was blind.

"We must accept finite disappointment,

but never lose infinite hope."

Martin Luther King Jr.

"Yes we can. Yes we did."
President Obama

"There is no psychiatrist in the world 

like a puppy licking your face."

Bernard Williams

Another photo of sweet Allie.

"There was never a night or a problem

 that could defeat sunrise or hope."

Bernard Williams

My nephew and a lost puppy.

This bunny loves you!

"What a strange world this would be

 if we all had the same sense of humor."

Bernard Williams

Enjoy your day!
Thanks for stopping by to say hi!

Joshua Secrest and Cow Hollow

Joshua Secrest's octagonal barn is near Herbert Hoover's birthplace in West Branch, Iowa.  It's only about 290 miles from my own house.

Do you have a favorite octagon house?

The architecture of an octagon house is my first interest,
and second is the story surrounding the place,
and there's always a story.
Third is the name of course.


"It is good people who make good places."
Anna Sewell

I'm not quite sure why I've always been fascinated and drawn to anything with the word hollow in it, but I am.  Hence my story today begins with a curious and historic house from Cow Hollow.

Cow Hollow

San Francisco, California
San Francisco - Cow Hollow - Neighborhood tour here.

Built in 1861
by first owners, Harriet Schober who married William C. McElroy
and they built their octagon house 1861 story here.

Octagon House in the Cow Hollow Neighborhood
of San Francisco.

The house became a museum operated by the National Society of  Colonial Dames and displays decorative arts from the Colonial and Federal periods.


Cow Hollow, is well-to-do but has a small town charm feel in this neighborhood located between Russian Hill and the Presidio and bordering the Marina District on one side and Pacific Heights on the other.

The next series of photos are courtesy of the Library of Congress and Joseph A. Baird Jr. photographer

McElroy Octagon House

New location

it was moved from the east to the west side of Gough Street 

to a plot of land donated by the Allyne sisters.

Never underestimate women with a mission at hand.

2645 Gough Street

This photo above is a copy from Arnold Genthe in 1906.

Taken in 1960 below are photos taken inside during 1960

Details of door, at the entrance north wall.

Remodeled Living Room

Remodeled Upper Hall

Circular Stairway and ceiling medallions. 

West Entrance at 2645 Gough Street San Francisco.

But as many of you know, there are so many beautiful and interesting places just waiting for you to visit, from the west coast to the east coast, and right through the north to the south.

America the beautiful

"When you leave a beautiful place, 

you carry it with you wherever you go."

Alexander Stoddard

Learn things. That's what keeps us alive!

I sure enjoy seeing you stop by

take good care of you.