It will be interesting to see what the groundhog sees tomorrow. What should we wish for? Another six weeks of the winter that wasn't or spring around the corner? Is there any difference at all this year? My lawn is full of big fat robins hopping all over the place and my indoor paperwhites are still going strong as you can see from my photo taken in this morning's sun.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
While we are on the subject of SWANS
Will it fit? Don't you wish we knew why this swan needed to be driven somewhere? And on the passenger side too! via
Ex-libris with Swans Circa 1907
From A collection of book plate designs by Louis Rhead, Boston, 1907. via
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Webster on The Timeout Porch
"I promise not to make the lady sick."
I had a really good turnout at an open house I hosted today. I was doing it alone in an empty house so I decided at the last minute to take Webster along. It turned out to be a genius idea. He was Mr. Meet and Greet and [almost] everybody loved him. One lady said she was allergic so I put Webster on the sunporch. He did everything imaginable to keep this from happening. He made himself small and put on his dog brakes. He was in there for 10 minutes at most out of a 3 hour stint. He licked babies, played with little boys, kissed men and women both young and old. He was a great ice breaker too. From now on, he's my new assistant. He is exhausted from all the excitement and has already gone to bed after his early dinner.
Almost February in NJ or The Winter That Wasn't
We had winter in New Jersey in the fall during Halloween and since then it has been unusually mild. Maybe this is our reward for all the damage we suffered when we had a blizzard while all the leaves were on still the trees. Our poor mature trees are still suffering and losing branches and even whole treetops because of their October injuries. I took this iPhone photo at a friend's house yesterday. I know I sound like a broken record mentioning the camera source in my posts but I still can't believe the capabilities of my mobile phone that's always in my pocket. Enjoy this beautiful Sunday!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Following the Already Traveled Path
I think these sheep are very wise to travel in the path made by a big vehicle instead of wasting calories forging a new one. Maybe it will take them closer to the barn filled with hay. via
Snowdrops in January
Mine haven't come up yet but few leaf tips are just barely poking through the earth. I usually don't get them until February because they don't get any direct sun where they are planted at my house. I photographed these this morning at my friend's house. Snowdrops are always the first sign of spring.
Garden Passage
Hidcote Gardens -- Cotswolds, England. Absolutely wonderful! Actually it's almost too lovely if that's even possible. Maybe that's why the French doors are there...so you can block some of it out when you can't absorb the enormity of it all. Wouldn't you love to sit on one of those benches and soak in the beauty? via Have a great weekend.
Friday, January 27, 2012
The Imperial March- Barked and Classical?
The Bark Side -- It's not the only Super Bowl ad evoking past hit movies. Volkswagen, which had a hit last year with its little Darth Vader ad, will be tapping into the Force once again with dogs barking out the Imperial March.
Darth Vader's Theme -- I wasn't sure what I was listening to at first with the dogs until I heard it played by an orchestra. I think they did a good job after I listened to the barking version again. It is going to be a Super Bowl hit!
iPhone Photos of The Day
Countess of Grantham and Lady Mary are to release a record album
Are you watching Downton Abbey? I read two press releases recently saying Maureen McGovern and Michelle Dockery costars on this wonderful PBS Masterpiece series were pairing up to release an album.
I must confess I wasn't that impressed with Lady Mary's voice in last week's episode. We will just have to wait and see.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Mudroom in Waiting
I do like this mudroom off the kitchen in New Hampshire. The fine woodworking is wonderful. I love the built-in boot bench and the paint color too. Designed by Smith & Vansant Architects. via
Big Beautiful Dried Leaf
I have a tree on my property with giant leaves and I must remember to gather some this summer for still-life photography. I love this a lot! via
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Audubon's Birds of America - One Page Per Day
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – One of the world's rarest and most valuable books is out of the vault and on public view as part of an unusual daily ritual at the oldest natural history museum in the United States.
Every weekday at 3:15 p.m., a white-gloved staff member of the Academy of Natural Sciences lifts the locked protective cover from 19th century naturalist John James Audubon's influential book, The Birds of America, and turns a double elephant folio linen-backed page to reveal the bird of the day. More than 180 years after Audubon created the life-size illustrations that now link his name with ornithology, their vibrant watercolors and fine details are still remarkable.
Full article here. View the birds being unveiled day by day.
Full article here. View the birds being unveiled day by day.
A Beautiful Frost
This is not my photo but I really wish it were. I think it's so lovely. When I posted a view of a dusting of snow in Scotland, a commenter said it looked like hoar frost. I asked google images to show me what hoar frost looks like and this was my favorite photo of all. via
English: Hoar frost, white frost or rime is the tiny solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air which occurs when the temperature of the surfaces is below freezing point. It occurs generally with clear skies. Air hoar, surface hoar, crevasse hoar and depth hoar are all types of hoar frost or technically: Radiation frost.
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