Photo Hunt: Plastic

I seem to have a theme going here today.  These are metal and plastic containers of chemicals — fertilizers, insecticides and miscellaneous farming chemicals.  When we first moved in, they were spread over a much larger area.  Now they are stacked neatly (?), next to an old refrigerator and roller contraption.  Just beyond you can see an old Model T.  They are on the neighbors property, although they appear to be in our yard.

In my world view, this is just plain irresponsible.  The refrigerator needs to have the door removed, and then be taken to the dump.  The roller contraption and old car are too valuable to let rot in the severe weather.  They should be taken to a museum somewhere so nerds like me can ooh and aah!  And those chemicals should have been responsibly stored and removed when they were done using them.  There is a shed with a lock on the door, currently being used, right on the other side of this photo.  Just on the other side of that is a field.  Even though the farmer has tried to level it out, there remains a large depression that fills with water every Spring.  Guess where the migrating birds hang out?

All of those things mentioned above will probably happen mysterioiusly someday.  Still working out the logistics and researching disposal of the chemicals in a responsible and annonymous manner.    And luckily for anyone who stops by, my computer crashed right in the middle of typing this, so you were saved from one of my rants!

To join in the Photo Hunt, click on the photos or badge above.  You will be taken to TNChick’s place.  All the information you need to participate or follow other participants is available for your perusal.

Three Beautiful Things

1. The past couple of years have been filled with many more sleepless nights than I ever thought it would be possible for me to survive. On those rare occasions that we had a break, it was just enough to make you realize that your mind and body REALLY needed a break! Then miracle of miracles, we’ve been provided with a respite care provider. Yay, yay, yay, is all I have to say. I desperately miss the boys when they are gone, and think of them constantly, but I sleep straight through the nights. Last weekend was our long weekend, here in Canada, and it was glorious to just sleep. Then this weekend, we have two more days for sleeping. I am actually beginning to feel rested. It is a beautiful feeling!
2. Today is a warm, sunny day. Flies are buzzing and clouds are slowly moving across the sky. Tora is snoring beside me and the cats are exploring outside, then running back in the open door to safety. It’s a perfect lazy Saturday afternoon. Now if I only had a maid.
3. I love my pets and I love it when they go exploring with me. Angel is in the picture above. Someone moved an old wagon into the front yard, then left it here when we bought the house. It’s made out of wood, so it is slowly disintegrating, but in the meantime, it is providing shelter for new spruce and fir trees to grow. I love this piece of history in our yard, I love that the cats play on it, and I love that it functions as a nursery. It’s a beautiful thing.

Click on the photo above to visit the original Three Beautiful Things site.

Photo Friday: Shiny

There aren’t many shiny things in my preferred photo op locations.  There is usually a large assortment of odds and ends that have been dumped since the beginning of the last century, AND, much to our shock and chagrin, recently!  Shock and chagrin because we ask ourselves, “how can folks be so irresponsible, in this day and age, with all the knowledge we have?!”

There is another side to that though.  We find ourselves drawn to these areas.  We are curious about what was considered junk and what was considered worth saving (just have to look in the old grain sheds.  They are full of “treasure”.)  Some of these things are fun, and if in a safer location, we’d love for the boys to play on/in/with them (the old schoolbus, for instance.)

Today’s contribution is very shiny.  It was dumped here since we’ve moved in.  Someone parked a relatively new F250, took it apart, and left it that way.  I always wonder how they manage to do this without our being aware.  Perhaps we should pay more attention when the dogs bark?

I believe this is the front bumper to the F250.  There are so many other cars over there that it might be from one of them.  Who knows?  The chrome is still shiny enough to hurt your eyes, on the rare occasion that we get bright sunshine. 

To visit other participants, or to participate yourself, click on the logo or photo above and you will be taken to the Photo Friday website.

Friday Fill-Ins

And…here we go!

1. Moving my aching joints is so much easier in my dreams.
2. We are never truly free.
3. My best quality is also sometimes described as my worst quality.
4. Gimme details.
5. In nearly 10 years, the boys will be pre-teens.
6. Loud laughter and frivolous play is what I need right now!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to sleeping all night, tomorrow my plans include idle wandering, snuggle time, napping, taking pictures and being lazy and Sunday, I want to play outside with the family!

Many thanks to the lovely Janet who keeps us going on Fridays! To participate, please click on the badge above. It will also take you to other participants, so you can visit them.

Sky Watch Friday

We had a brief warm spell last week and this was taken then. I was wandering with the dogs and enjoying the new green growth against the blue sky. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen much of the pretty green against blue skies this week — too many cloudy, snowy days! Will summer ever get here?

Many thanks to our Sky Watch Hosts! To visit other Sky Watchers, click on the logo or photo above.

Life Photo Meme

I found this meme a while ago, but haven’t had an opportunity to participate until today — one boy asleep, and one not home for a few more minutes!  I love the concept of this meme — ANYTHING LIVING qualifies to participate.  This fits my way of observing the world, though it may stress my camera and little men a bit. 

So this pic was taken a few days ago, when we were having sun and warmth (that sure didn’t last long!)  As I moseyed in the woods with the pups, I was looking at all the new growth happening.  I’ve gotten a new book to help me identify the native flora, but haven’t had a chance to look this up yet.  The moss grows on anything that has been left undisturbed.  The other little plant always reminds me of strawberries, but it’s not.  It has little yellow flowers and stickers.  One day I’ll look up the names.

If you would like to participate in the Life Photo Meme, click on the logo or picture above and you will be taken to the site. If there are any other participants, why not visit them too?

Wordless Wednesday

Watching the May snow through the living room window.

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Three Beautiful Things

1.  According to Smithsonian’s Field Guide to the Birds of North America, this is a female, yellow-bellied sapsucker.  Who knew?  Definitely not us!  We have three different books that we were comparing pictures in to make the final decision.  For some reason, I always thought a YELLOW bellied sapsucker would have a much yellower belly!  Go figure.  Anyway, this girl has been working like a demon today, which is remarkable because we’ve been having a freaking blizzard!

2.  Took the dogs on their run tonight and as we reached the beaver pond, we frightened a breeding pair of geese with their gosling!  I don’t know if it was the kiddo’s first flight or not, but he did a fine job!     And to top it all off, the beaver was cruising around the pond.  Since I’ve never actually seen a beaver at the beaver pond, this was a fine treat.  Especially the part where he slapped his tail on the water.  lol  Guess he doesn’t enjoy our company.

3.  When I returned from the dog run, I heard, “Moo ooo ooom”, being yodeled from the upstairs.  I went upstairs to see what was going on.  My adorable little man asked me to rub his head for him — or so I thought.  He’s been having earaches and headaches lately, so I ASSumed that was what he wanted.  What he really wanted was for me to put the palm of my hand over his eyes so he could give me butterfly kisses!!!  He just giggled and giggled when he tickled my hand.  It’s so easy to bring him joy when we can understand what he wants!  I sure do love my little man and treasure those moments of shared joy.

Click on the above photo to visit the original 3BT site.  To see more pix of the yellow-bellied sap sucker, visit Wub’s blog.  She’ll get around to posting them eventually! 

Book Review: Shimmer

Shimmer by Eric Barnes

My review

I’m so lucky to be a member of the Library Thing Early Reviewer’s Club. Occasionally I will receive free books in the mail, which is the best gift ever, and then I have the opportunity to review them. They actually want to know what I think!

So, I think this is a book worth reading. It’s a book about morals, set in an ultra-modern world. If that makes it sound preachy or moralistic, let me clear that up. It’s NOT. It’s about a young man, responsible for his employees, and he finds himself in a difficult situation. We are privy to all of the quickly played out actions, reactions and counter-plays, and we learn about his motivation as the book progresses.

I’m an action/adventure, sci-fi fan and this book kept my attention all the way through. Even in my totally sleep deprived state (keep in mind that I have two little boys, still not sleeping through the night.  That may have had an influence on my opinion!  ). So I would definitely recommend this book to those with an interest in similar genre’s.

Three Beautiful Things

1. This began as a three beautiful things post, early yesterday. The computer has been uncooperative since then. BUT, the beautiful thing is that it is now working with me again. That sure reduces my frustration, and that is a beautiful thing! To continue to reduce my frustration, I’ve decided to combine two posts, so I don’t make too many demands on my poor computer.

2. As I mentioned the other day, with the boys gone for the weekend, I had the morning to wander aimlessly with the pets. They love it and I love taking my camera along to see what I can see. One of the things I saw was this young grouse. I almost stepped on him, poor thing. He just hopped up in this tree and proceeded to pose for me. How often does that happen? Never! Definitely a beautiful thing.

3. The clouds bringing the snow were just beginning to arrive, but overall, it was a bright, sunny morning. We were fairly deep in the wooded area, so I had to be careful of shadows and clouds. The grouse didn’t seem aware of that in the beginning, but by the end, I had coaxed him into turning his face into the light for me. Yay! And the darn camera, which usually focuses 3ft behind, or 3ft in front, but seldom on what I WOULD LIKE to take a picture of, it actually cooperated. Again, Yay! All in all, a beautiful experience.

This is a ruffed grouse. He looks young and immature to me. The family that has been under my kitchen window all winter has moved to the woods so my contact has been reduced to listening to the strange vibrating sound they make when I hear it coming out of the woods. They are similar to spruce grouse, but the eye markings are different, and they raise their ruffs.

The link to Camera Critters is in the above logo, so please click on it to visit other interesting animals from around the world. To follow others who stop and notice the beauty in their days, click on the bottom photo and it will take you to 3BT. Thanks for stopping by.