3-1-11 Grillin' Season Returns

WOO-HOO!! Grillin' season has returned. With the weather getting warmer, I can now return to the outdoor grill. I'm so excited!

2-28-11 Ummm.....Squirrel!

This little guy was teasing Keilo today as he was foraging for food. By the time he jumped to the second tree, Keilo had either lost interest or lost sight of where he was.

2-14-11 Happy Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day. A day to remember the ones that you love. Some say it's a "Hallmark" day. I believe it's a day to celebrate those who mean the most to you.

2-13-11 Warm(er), Sunny Day

Today was beautiful! With the temperature in the lower 50's, Keilo & I couldn't stay indoors. We went for a walk at a nearby park. Althought the ponds were still frozen, there were still lots of fellow "warmth worshipers" out, jogging, walking their dogs, and just enjoying the sun. With the temperatures we have been experiencing over the last couple of weeks, it was not surprise.

2-10-11 Feed the Birds

I cussed the fruit from the Bradford Pear tree in our front yard this fall. The berries covered the yard and the driveway. You couldn't walk across the yard without the bottom of your shoes being covered with smashed berries. Now that winter has come, and we have had so much snow, I have rather enjoyed watching the birds feed upon the berries. At one point, they would pick the berries, then come onto the porch, out of the wind, to eat them, leaving the stems. With the winter we have been having, I'm glad the tree full of berries has been there for them.

2-9-11 Snow, Snow, Everywhere!

We had 9 inches of snow in the past 24 hours. This is the third storm since the first of the year. Glad the forcast says "sunshine" the rest of the week.

2-7-11 Looking Through

The Daily Shoot suggests using a window or door frame to "frame" the shot. I thought this brick fence would "frame" the shot just as well.

2-6-11 Circular United Church of Christ

Another one of the many churches in Charleston, SC. This one has a "castle" feel to it.

2-4-11 Local Southern Wildlife

As we were walking by in Charleston, this little guy was watching!

2-3-11 The (Original) Citadel

This is the side view of the Embassy Suites in Charleston. This also used to be home to "The Citadel". The Citadel is "the Military School of South Carolina." The hotel is located in the original Citadel Military College and is on the National Historical Registry. When they converted it to a hotel they didn't change much of the building. Some of our group said they had "gun turrets" visible in their rooms!

2-2-11 Southern Art

While I was walking around Charleston, I found this class sculpture in the window of an art gallery. Didn't catch the price, but I'm sure it was expensive.

2-1-11 Southern Homes

I LOVE this porch! This is representative of some of the homes in the historic district in
Charleston, SC.

While in Charleston, we went to Kaminsky's, a dessert shop. When I was leaving, I spotted this great looking gargoyle.

1-29-11 Charleston Firefighter Memorial

In the Charleston, there is a small firefighter memorial park, honoring those firefighters who have died in the line of duty. I noticed that in 2007, nine firefighters from differing stations lost their lives. Upon further digging on the internet, I discovered the reason. On June 18, 2007, there was a very large fire in a furniture store, the roof collapsed, covering debris over about two-dozen rescue workers. Nine of those workers, firefighters, lost their lives. The fire was investigated and three days later..."The store had been converted from a 1960's era grocery store with a metal truss roof system. The fire and smoke spread rapidly and the firefighters became lost and separated from their hoses. With air in air-packs running out, they could not find their way out. They died from smoke inhalation."

1-28-11 Kaminsky's

Here in Charleston, if you want an awsome dessert, you head to Kaminsky's. That's all they sell are desserts--banana pudding cake, apple-carmel spice cake, key lime mousse, double chocolate fudge cake (pictured). Y-U-M-M-Y!!

1_27_11 Charleston, SC

I am in Charleston, South Carolina, for a technology conference for the next few days. After we arrived (yesterday) we "hit the streets" to explore this lovely city by the bay. Over the next several days, you will be seeing some of the sites we explored. This is one of the many homes we found along Charleston Harbor. You can just imagine what it must have been like in the mid-1800's, sitting out on your porch, drinking mint julip with your friends and neighbors.

1-22-11 Old Telephones

I was looking at pictures on my phone today and forgot I have taken this picture. A coupd of weeks ago I attended a "Technology Lock-In" at The Hotel at Old Towne in Wichita. The "lock-in" was an excuse for a bunch of us "tech geeks" to get together and play on the Internet. Anyway, this hotel is located in an old warehouse in the downtown area. The hotel had a 1940's motif, right down to the phones in the room. The hallways had pictures of Wichita back at the turn of the century. It's a neat place!

1-20-11 Keilo

Haven't posted a picture Keilo recently. He's so fun to shoot!

1-17-11 Antiques Collectibles

I see antique shops and junk shops as a journey into the past. I love looking at what has been collected, then think about what stories that item can tell.

1-16-11 Blue, Blue, My World is Blue....

Turned to "The Daily Shoot" for inspiration today. They suggested making a picture that has the color blue predominate.

1-15-11 Dutch Mill Bakery

This has to be one of the best bakeries in the state of Kansas. The Dutch Mill Bakery is located in the Amish Town of Yoder, just north of Hutchinson. Here, Amish ladies bake the freshest breads, cookies, and nothing beats their homemade cinnamon rolls. Yummy!

This was a storefront in the Amish town of Yoder. I love antique, old-looking shops. I didn't have time to go in, but looking through the window, looks like it's an art gallery of sorts.

1-13-11 Machines of the Past

Last week when I was in Hutchinson, I had to pass through the town of Yoder. Yoder is an Amish community where some still drive horse and buggies. As I was driving through, I spotted these old thrashing machines. By the look of the rust, I don't think they had been used in quite a number of years.

1-12-11 Wonder What It's Thinking?

Ever take a picture of an animal and want to put a speech bubble above it's head? That's what I wanted to do with this bovine I saw in a nearby field.

1-11-11 Perspective

When I was in Hutchinson last week, I stopped at the grain elevator to take some pictures. These are some railroad tracks that run next to the grain elevator.

1-10-11 First Snow of Season

Two months ago today, I took a picture of my neighbor's tree, full of beautiful orange & red leaves. Now, in a different season, the same tree is covered in snow, laying dormant until spring comes.

1-9-11 Sun Peaking Through

Yesterday, on my way to a tech meeting in Hutchinson, the sun decided to shine through the clouds for a moment. It looked like a flood light was shining on this farm.

1-8-11 Ridin' the Rails

Took advantage of the sunshine today to find some pictures before the snow hits later in the weekend. I was able to position myself so sun reflected off of the rails.

1-3-11 Underwater tropics

With it being so cold outside, I looked for something more "tropical" for today's picture. This is the castle in our fish tank. The fish seemed to be uncooperative in getting their picture taken.

1-2-11 Racing into 2011

This is how I feel heading into 2011. Snoopy, you'd better watch out!

1-1-11 Happy New Year

Happy New Year, from me and my friends! Hard to believe it's been a year since I started this picture blog. I've learned alot, and hopefully, have improved a little on my photography skills. So I resolve to keep watching the world around me and continue to improve taking pictures.

12-31-10 Last Sunset of 2010

Tonight was the last sunset of 2010. As I look back at my blog posts, I reflect about this past year and what fun and adventures I had. Sometimes we get caught up in our everyday lives, and forget to notice the little things around us. As I head into 2011, I resolve to try and keep my blog current, keep working on my photography skills, and most importantly, continue to discover the world around me.

12-27-10 Wally

This is the newest member of the family. Meet Wally! He is an 10-week old Golden Retriever that belongs to my brother. Keilo (my sheltie) wasn't impressed. All he wanted to do was "herd him."

12-25-10 Why We Celebrate Christmas...

Christmas, 2010, has finally arrived!! This is the reason we celebrate this wonderful holiday. We celebrate His birth. As the Irish blessing states, "May He keep you in the palm of His hand." Merry Christmas!

12-24-10 Santa Is Getting Ready...

On the 12th day of Christmas, now that the house is decorated, I spied Santa getting ready for his annual trip.

12-13-10 A Decorated Tree with....

On the 11th day of Christmas, as I was decorating my house, my husband decorated the Christmas tree with lights, garland, ornaments and a minature Disney monoral.

12-22-10 The Bouncing Snowman...

On the 10th day of Christmas, as I was decorating the house, I found "The Bouncing Snowman" spreading "magic everywhere."

12-21-10 May You Truly Believe....

On the 9th day of Christmas, as I was decorating my house, this Santa from "The Polar Express" stated, "May you truly believe!"

12-20-10 Snow Family Ready..

On the 8th day of Christmas, as I was decorating the house, I spotted this snow family patiently waiting for the weather to change.

12-19-10 A Train Pulling into Town...

On the 7th day of Christmas, as I was decorating my house, the train pulled into Prairie Hills town, bringing passingers home for the holidays.

12-18-10 A Town of Snowpeople...

On the 6th day of Christmas, while decorating my house, I found a town of snowpeople hanging about.

12-17-10 Five Hams Ready for Smokin'...

On the 5th day of Christmas, I decorated my house with the smells of freshly smoked hams.

12-16-10 Four Children's Holiday Books...

On the 4th day of Christmas, I decorated my house with 4 children's Holiday books.

12-15-10 Three Stockings hanging...

On the 3rd day of Christmas, I decorated our house with 3 handmade stockings and hung them on the mantle.

12-14-10 Two ceramic reindeer....

On the 2nd day of Christmas, I decorated my house with two ceramic reindeer the I set upon a shelf.

12-13-10 One Elf Hiding in a Wreath

From now until Christmas, I thought I would post about different items we decorate our house for Christmas with. Kind of in a "On the first day of Christmas, I decorated my house with..." (take off of the "12 Days of Christmas"). So...On the first day of Christmas, I decorated my house with one elf hiding in a Christmas wreath.

12-7-10 A Charlie Brown Christmas

It wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on TV. I have watched it every year since I was little.

12-6-10 1st Anniversary Cake

This past July our daughter & son-in-law celebrated their 1st wedding anniversary. Since they were out of town for their anniversary, they didn't share in cutting their "anniversary cake." This past weekend, I decided it had been the freezer long enough and thawed it out. It still looked pretty, but the taste.......I'm not sure where this tradition was started.

12-5-10 Child Labor

Son came home from college this weekend and we put him to work. Our neighbor had cut down a couple of trees in his yard over the summer and gave us the wood. Some of the logs were too large to use, so we enlisted the muscles of one more suitable for the work.

11-30-10 The Crossover Season

Fall is the crossover season. It's the only season that allows trees to have more than one color of leaf. It's the season where we get used to wearing short-sleeves, then Mother Nature reminds us that She is "in charge." Fall is the colorful season. What other time of year can we see yellow, red, gold, tan, and all shades in between?