February Events

Well you all know I went on vacation for 3 weeks at the beginning of February. I posted the beginning of the trip yesterday, and I have lots more to post. Since I took 4053 photos I will be sorting through them for a while yet. We arrived back home Saturday evening the 21st. We woke up to snow the next morning and I couldn't get out of the photographing mode so off we went to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I have already shared those photographs this week, because I figured (hopefully) we are going to be out the cold weather real soon and won’t be wanting to look at snow photos.

The good news when we both returned to work on Monday was we both do still have our jobs. The bad news was they are still so far apart from each other. Jimmy's job still being 92 miles from home. The 2nd home bought for that reason (in Rockwood) is progressing. Jimmy finished the kitchen floor this week.

Do you know how long it takes to do the laundry after a 3 week vacation? Neither do I, because I am not done yet.

I really enjoyed all the comments from everybody visiting while I was gone. Before I left on vacation I promised when I returned that I would catch up with all of you to see what you had been doing while I was gone. I did not think about how time consuming looking at all the blogs for the last month would be. So please be patient with me, I have been working on it a little each day and try to post to my own blog. I am glad I decided to do this because I have seen some real interesting post since I returned.

After that cold welcome home it has been fairly nice this week, with Thursday feeling like spring outside. I did wander around the yard and take a few daffodil photos on that day. The only ones blooming here are on the bank at the front of our property, the sun hits that bank so direct that they always bloom first. I have lots of daffodils so you will be seeing them soon. Jimmy arrived home early Friday afternoon and it was another pretty day so as I left to go to work he cleaned out my flowerbeds. So now they will be ready for photography when the blooms start. I have not been to Rockwood since we returned (too much to do here) but Jimmy says the daffodils are in bloom all over the property there. That is probably what got him in the mood to cleanup the flowerbeds here. I hope to get to Rockwood next week to see and photograph them along with my birds I have missed the last month. The photo above was taken at Rockwood, in the backyard.

I am not a winter person so it was great to be close to the equator during winter, just so hard to come back to 17 degrees the first night. I am ready for spring.

Aruba Scenery

I think Aruba is the only place we went that it was not real run down close to the port.

The first 3 photos were taken from the ship.

This is what all the buses looked like. They didn't all have bananas on top, but they had something, one had a lizard, one an aligatar. I thought the banana was the best. Sorry for the pole right in the middle here, the bus was moving and I did the best that I could.

Submarine trip in Aruba

The first country we went to while on our cruise was Aruba.

Our excursion there was a trip down in a submarine. This is the submarine as it started down with the next group. There were lots of these blue fish. Sorry I don't remember the names of any of the fish.
To see much you will need to enlarge.

One of the 3 ship wrecks we saw. 2 of the ships were sung by the Atlantis company, but it has been several years ago.

I was very disappointed in the quality of pictures down there,

but at 130 ft down the light was not always the best.

This photo is even darker than the rest, but if you enlarge I hope you can see the green eel. He is about center of the photo, just his head is sticking out.

Can you imagine spending the weekend here?

Bare necessities, shelter overhead, nothing else.

This last photo was taken from our cruise ship, looking out at port.

Carter Shields cabin and deer at Cades Cove

As usual I stopped at the Carter Shields cabin. As we pulled in I told Jimmy to keep an eye for the deer.

I had photographed a buck and doe here on December 2, 2008.

I just wandered around and photographed various snow covered things.

Came back to the cabin, for one last photo, and then started to get back in the vehicle when Jimmy showed me the buck.

He was crossing at the exact spot that I had photographed him before.

Without any doubt it is the same buck, because his antlers still don't look real good. This time he had 2 doe with him. One crossed the road before him, and one after him.

Click here and here to see the 2 earlier post of this buck. It was exciting to see the same buck at the same exact spot. You can bet I will always keep a better eye for deer in this area on future visits.

Deer enjoying the snow at Cades Cove

There was not a lot of snow in Cades Cove Sunday,

but the deer seemed to be enjoying what was there.

Coming into Cades Cove Sunday

This is what we found when we arrived in Cades Cove.

Not a lot of snow, but enough to make it pretty.

The last photo is of the Methodist Church in Cades Cove.

Left the sun, came home to snow

We got home from 3 weeks of sun on Saturday evening.

Woke up Sunday morning to SNOW!

So I decided I was not done taking photographs. We took off to Cades Cove.

These were all taken on the road going to Cades Cove.

All but the first one were taken from inside the vehicle as we traveled.

Pay It Forward - Join in????

Well, I am not sure who started this, but I got it from Darla. She had a post about paying it forward back on January 23. I received my package when I returned from my 3 weeks of vacation. I received some awesome candles and soap that Darla actually made herself.

Click here for Darla's post. I may not make the gift myself as Darla did, and do not require that you do. Just a small gift you think would be good to pass along.

"It’s based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward" where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness pass it on. So here’s how it works. I will send a gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on the blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.Now remember you have to be in the first three that sign up to do this (you can comment without signing up!) and you have to pass it on. Be sure I have your e-mail or your blog address so I can get in touch with you."I am very excited to participate in this. So if you would like to join in this Pay It Forward, please leave me a comment and tell me that you would like to join in the fun. The first 3 people will receive something from me within the next 6 months!!!

Join the fun and watch how Blessings will come your way!

Great Egret at Lake Seminole Park - Feb 2009

Happy Birthday to my daughter - Wendy

Today my 'little girl' is 29 years old.

I wish I had been using digital when she was little so I could show how precious she was as a child. I will have to settle for how precious she is as an adult. I am using 3 photos from her wedding, because of lack of other digitals.

Wendy and Lukas together on their wedding day.

Then later. This was taken 2007 at a family get together to celebrate Father's Day.

This is the most recent photograph I have of Wendy. Taken January 31, holding Mason at his first birthday party. Mason is John's son, Wendy is expecting her first child (also a boy!) in early May.

Happy Birthday, Wendy!!!!!

Ruddy Turnstone at St Pete Beach

You know I struggle sometimes when I first see a bird. I thought this was a Wilson's Plover, but with Hap's help it has now been identified as a Ruddy Turnstone, which I even had a hard time finding in the book after having the name. Thank you Hap, yet again. The beak does not match the gulls, and notice the yellow legs.

Aren't those feathers just beautiful?

These photographs were taken October, 2008 at St Pete Beach, Florida.

My husband keeps telling me they are just gulls when I stop to photograph the shorebirds, then I get home to the computer and see a bird in the crowd that is different than all the others. I am sure all of you have somebody that has to tag along as you stop and photograph everything in sight. My husband is real patient with me, didn't mean to sound like he isn't. He just thinks all shorebirds are the same.