July 19, 2009 Sunday Recap Six

I love watching and photographing clouds.


from my front yard


and a little closer

The clouds grow thicker and darker...

and finally a silver overcast

clouds at sunset the next evening

July 12, 2009 Sunday Recap Six

Things that are Wild...

These Phoebe nestlings will soon leave their home under the carport roof at our church. Phoebes have nested here for the past few years.

Blackberries--only one is ripe
The vine came up in the yard and grew quickly before I got around to cutting it down. Since it has berries I let it continue to grow.

This knot has formed on a goldenrod plant. In elementary school we called the dried ones "knot knockers" and tried to knock each other on the head with them. Not too hard, of course!

Here is a tiny blue wildflower. It was growing in a weedy field so maybe it is a type of grass.

These tiny spiders are in the leaves of one of my flower plants.

When I went for a walk, I annoyed this deer in the meadow. It made that cough-grunt-snort noise they make when they are trying to intimidate something.

July 5, 2009 Sunday Recap Six

Geranium on Mom's front porch

Ivy in the Tulip Poplar tree

Spirea

Our neighbors had their own fireworks show on the fourth of July. We saw some of them over the trees.

On Sunday there was a going away party for my oldest daughter, who is headed to college in a few weeks. It was also a surprise 40th birthday party for my friend's husband. His relatives had a good excuse to make the trip over for the day--his sister's new baby. I think we managed to surprise him, especially since his birthday was a week and a half away. He and my friend will be gone for the summer so the party had to happen now.

Yumm!!

June 28, 2009 Sunday New Six

I took a walk to the pond in hopes of finding something for my Sunday Six today.


Yarrow

Locust seed pods

Milkweed blossom

This little frog is catching the last few rays of sunshine for the day.

The snake has the same idea.....or is it waiting for froggy to come closer?!?

When I got home I took this picture of Queen Anne's Lace and our cat, Rainy. I like the way she is out of focus in the background.

June 21, 2009 Sunday Recap Six

Black

and White

These shy young skunks visited the trash cans near the condo where I was working. I tried to get a photo of the whole animal, but they were more interested in running away from me.

The rest of these photos again come from Grandfather Mountain.

Jane enjoys her birthday cake, complete with carrot "candles"

Construction continues, even in fog, on the new Top Shop.

My friend commented that this area of the mountain looks like a natural bonsi garden. High winds on the top of this rugged mountain cause the stunted growth.

the fog rolls in

June 14, 2009 Sunday Recap Six

We had a birthday party for a lady in our "Thursday Lunch Group."

The cake and a few of the gifts await the birthday surprise.

Here is a closeup of the cake adorned with cute little chocolate mice.


After the party my older daughter and I went to see the new location for Genesis Wildlife Sanctuary. Not all of the animals and birds have been moved here to their new homes.

The entrance gate leads to a trail that winds through the forest to the different habitats.

These two pictures show different angles on the hawks and owls cage. The taller structure is actually inside the shorter one. This setup allows the two species to be housed separately, but enjoy the same habitat.

I've been looking at this abandoned home for years and it finally occurred to me to get a picture of it before someone tears it down. It's just across the highway from the post office. If I had gotten out of the car I could have obtained a better angle and the wire across the top of the picture would not be in the frame.

June 7, 2009 Sunday Recap Six

As we were driving through town my daughters and I spotted a double rainbow so I quickly pulled into the first parking lot possible. The rainbow was more faint by the time I got the car stopped and the camera aimed but I clicked off a couple of shots anyway. I downloaded the photos and --no rainbow!

This shot is ever worse than the first one. I kept it because I got a kick out of the way the light poles appear to lean toward the center and the building seems to fold in on itself!


The following four photos are hand-held attempts to photograph a sunset from our yard. Whatever I did this time, it didn't work. In the past I have had some success with similar attempts. None of my photos this week are good ones, but at least I managed to get six.

May 31, 2009 Sunday Recap Six

All photographs this week were taken on the grounds of Lake Junaluska Assembly near Waynesville, North Carolina.


Morning fog over the lake is common in late May.
This was taken just after 8 a.m.

About three and a half hours later the fog is just a memory.

This is the foot bridge shown in the previous two photographs. On the other side ducks and geese like to gather for handouts.

Once across the bridge we discovered these three seemed to be tying out a balancing act.

This male Wood Duck is strutting his stuff!

This Coot seems to be trying to decide where to put that big foot next.

The Canada Goose just seems bored with everything.

May 24, 2009 Sunday Recap Six

This week's Sunday Six were all taken at a friend's home. My daughter, on the left, occasionally helps this lady in her vast flower gardens.

Here they are headed to the back gardens where many of the Daylilly plants grow.

I'm not sure what this shrub/tree is, but I liked it's blossom.

A chair waits along side potting supplies near one of the flower beds.

Poppy

A bottle tree is one of her garden features.

one of the larger Rhododendron bushes in her gardens