Simple Thanks

Four days off work...Im very thankful for that-at the same time Im very thankful for the job I have!
I hope your time reserved to give thanks is more than just rushing here and there, spending too much money, overeating, and over indulging in this way or that--I hope you have something you really do give thanks for if you have not taken time to think about it...why not do that right now!!!

Ive had this Thanksgiving cactus for a very long time Im thankful its still giving me joy after all these years!! ITs not big or flashy its not even in a pretty pot its in an old black plastic pot but every year I get so much joy from having it in my life.


                                                          

       
So we put pretty paper around the pot...

 A very simple vegan meal here tomorrow...we will eat good food, drink good wine, and enjoy good conversation....
ENJOY YOURS------

PEACE

Ten Things...

10 Things Ive learned so far..

1. Never allow exposed flesh to come in contact with channel lock pliers.
2. Do not rake leaves on a windy day.
3. Dont try to convince meat eaters to become vegetarians on Thanksgiving Day.
4. Dont look up at a flock of blackbirds.
5. A potato will roll when you try to chop it.
6. Turn around before the road gets so narrow you cant go forward.
7. The check engine light is important.
8. Horses kick and bite.
9. Cowboys dont know jack about cows.
10. The biggest a** pot holes are in Texas.

PEACE

Eleven, Eleven, Eleven

11-11-11

Well I forgot it was one of those mathematically magik days....for me it was extraordinary.
First off while working and riding in the delivery van with my boss driving we crossed the Wateree River Bridge and I saw a pair of beautiful mature Bald Eagles landing in an ablaze of orange oak tree along the river's edge..that was wonderful. No photo of course..but to see those awesome black birds with white heads n tails against that Orange WOW...

AND later-- on the way home with the dying glow of the Sun in my rear view mirror and the HUGE orange sherbet MOON just barely above the horizon through the windshield in front of me... well I was in awe, what a cosmic end to the day-such a scene...I felt like I could reach out and touch it..no Photo of that either...but didnt matter I filed it away under Perfecto in my memory banks.

and....Yesterday as I drove to work a beautiful fox squirrel ran in front of me,...he has a terrific black mask, like a raccoon....and a long fluffy grey tail...he hopped along with that undulating motion like a Chinese dragon in a parade....I was in awe of his beauty... Special moment replay....I saw him again today....YEAH...no photo...

I dont like bringing my camera to work with me, because there is a chance it will get stolen outta my car....I have my little Konica with me, its useless up against the Moon, a quick fox Squirrel, and a fleeting pair of Bald Eagles, its great for flowers, landscapes and other non moving objects tho.

but when I was not driving and had my camera with me...I did capture these special moments this week, like this sunset...

And this full Moon...

And these oak trees in full color

and a pretty fall reflect at the lake ....

Tomorrow Im headed to yet another cemetery in a small town about half hours ride from me....and there is always an adventure waiting around every corner....can't wait to see what it is...
oh and it was FRIDAY and PayDay...can life get any better than this??

PEACE

Study of an Egret

Visiting my friend Keith's Blog brought this trip to mind, a visit to the Huntington Beach State Park near Myrtle Beach, SC. Its a wonderful salt marsh and there is a great camp ground there and just one hop over the dune and there is the Atlantic Ocean! But what I really love about it is the wading birds and of course the alligators! I stalked this egret who was stalking his dinner-- but didnt allow my presence to put him off his game...he spots something toward the brush... 

  He heads toward it... 
 Then he zeros in...  He jabbed into the water so quickly I missed that shot..but he came up with this huge shrimp!  He repositioned...  Then down the hatch!...No melted butter-- 

 Lots of other wading birds can be seen there but many people come to this park to see these guys...this shot I took some liberties with some exotic framing techniques!  If you are ever in the area this is a "gotta see it" spot!

Grave yarding...

A beautiful weekend here highs in the 60's andlows in the 40's perfect!!
So today the girlz and I went for a drive in search of a grave!...WELL It is Halloween a time when we recognize the dead...

I go to graveyards--- a lot ----as Ive blogged before I am a volunteer photographer for the Find a Grave Website..it helps families find ancestors and ties up loose ends and it really helps with genealogy research..
SO this is the stone I was in search of today..its like geocaching with a twist...

Its pretty hard to read but he was born in 1826 and passed away in 1900...so this grave was hand dug and he was probably brought here by a horse drawn hearse!
Kinda morbid---I don't know-- visiting these cemeteries has helped me to understand life and death better...especially with families laying in rest around each other...and yes they are dead but  SOMEONE is alive due to their having lived and they have moved on to make room for those that they have left behind...doesn't that make it feel better when you think of it that way?

SO anyways its HALLOWEEN weekend, I didn't buy any of that delicious p-nut butter candy that I love so much instead I bought yogurt covered raisins--although I did have my eye on a Honey Bun at the 7-11.



The girlz and I saw these rolls and Ive never seen this before...or just never realized...this is not hay....its fodder---or rolled up corn shock.

Used for animal feed...and look at this brand new calf---how cute he is..I watched him stagger to his feet, he was aware of me, but it was too hard for him to turn around and watch me...so he gave me this sweet backwards glance.

Here is more of the  family--

There is  history everywhere around this area...

No pumpkin on my porch but....

Tomorrow is wide open...

PEACE

Do Possum's Holler?

Took at ride upstate Friday afternoon and spent the day Saturday hiking and enjoying the beautiful fall weather and the fall colors...the leaf color is great but still off a wee bit--this is a shot of Table Rock..

There is always other things to see in the upstate Appalachia area...like this fellow.

 we stopped at a road side vendor for Hot Boiled P Nuts...yum--if you've never had these you are missing out on a tasty southern style snack...

The hike was great Oconee County near Wahalla --not hard about 2 miles round trip, the day was AWESOME, cool tempts blue sky majestic forest...mossy logs

Our Hike was to see Pigpen Falls which is a really pretty falls that has quite a few drops however you cant see all if for the foilage...probably a better time to see most forest enclosed falls is in the dead of winter after all the leaves are shed..

Im so glad I got this shot...because right after this shot my batteries DIED...yes I had back ups they were DEAD TOO...(even tho I did plug the charger in overnight?)

So I have a witness since my sister was with me that we also hiked on down the Chattooga River trail to see Lickloc Falls a really nice one that can be seen from the ridge line trail...father down is the Chattooga River the movie Deliverance was filmed...NOT necessarily in this exact spot but in and along the Wild n Scenic Chattooga River between SC n Georgia. (google it)

We passed a road sign that said Possum Holler--I know they called the valleys Hollers since you can "holler" and hear your echo so that does sound better than Possum Echo--right? Funny enough this area was originally settled by Irish and Germans! (Lickloc and Walhalla)

Then from there we stopped at the Pumphouse Tunnel...

Taken at a later date...the roof of the tunnel


and the Issaqueena Falls ---NOW I gotta go back with batteries because its really something...and there
are many more falls in this area

SO I X'd off 4 more waterfalls from my waterfalls of SC Hiking list...the Pigpen Falls, the Upper and Lower Lickloc Falls, and the Issaqueena!!! A fun weekend...and I took the DLEX on her first weekend trip I traveled 264 miles and used 1/2 a tank of fuel...so not too bad! roughly 17.5 MPG for the size of it thats not so bad. There is camping in Oconee St. Park near these falls area so that may be a good place for our Maiden Camp Trip...

Today Im gonna have a go at getting the brakes hooked back up on the Mower!

PEACE

Trick or Treat???

SO 3 weeks ago I took my riding mower to a guy because it stopped Moving forward...Was mowing great then just stopped moving....SO I pushed it onto my trailer and took it to this guy....
AT first he said it cant be fixed then I begged so he tried...and like I said it was three weeks ago...he works out of his back yard...

SO Finally he said its DONE...hooked up my trailer after work, went to get it...he had me drive it onto the trailer OK, fine...as We raised the tail gate ramp of the trailer up to latch it a largish washer fell to the ground...hmmm

SO I got it home pushed it off the trailer put the gate/ramp up on the trailer started the mower had my foot on the brake, put it in gear and IT TOOK OFF and smashed into the back of the trailer!! NO BRAKES..

SO it wouldnt move now it wont stop..
Sometimes I ask myself "WHY?" SO much of daily life is just things to aggravate, annoy, and just in general piss us off???---
SO Im assuming this GUY didnt put a particular COTTER PIN  back in a particular HOLE that HOLDS THE BRAKES ON>>>>and said WASHER was a clue of events to come...

I think I need a nuclear cocktail...a very large cocktail or some kind of alcoholic beverage-

PEACE

A brutal life...

The lights are bright

The anthem rings

The crowd roars

The loudspeaker blares

My eyes roll

My fear rises up

The gate opens fast

I jump, I stomp, I twirl

The cowboy holds hard

His spurs dig my sides

The blood pours

The crowd roars

I buck I jump

He finally falls

I run for my life

They rope me hard.

The old paint is next

Fourteen years old

He’s been doing this

Since he was three

His old eyes roll

His terror flows

He feels the spurs

Another weekend

Pack up the trailer

Head to tail

Our legs throb

Our sides raw

Our backs sore

We live in terror

We tremble with fear

Its Friday night

All week we dread

Another night of panic

Another rodeo…


-----------------------------

Rodeos are animal cruelty please don't support rodeos!

PEACE

Family Picnic

I know after all the complaining Ive done about how hot it is...you're not gonna believe how COLD it is right now...Last evening it was 39 degrees! We had to put the heat on...ONE thing about the weather here if you dont like it, just wait it will change!! AND FAST...but I think this is only a passing front.

Over the weekend we ALL (me, my mom, both my sisters and our 4 dogs) jumped in the DLE (Dixxeland Express) and went on a Birthday Picnic...3 of us had birthdays only days apart so we normally celebrate all together..( I had my 58th last thrusday, my Mom has her 87th on Tuesday, and my "baby" sister had her 55th on Saturday)

That's my visiting sister Em  exiting the van...she returns to Colorado this weekend...AND my MOM is planning to go with her...SO a big trip for MOM!! I dont know how long she plans to stay, as long as she wants since my sis retired this year!

                 so....It was a drive up to my favorite wildlife refuge, Sandhills...

We had a nice picnic although it was cool n windy...this sky was dotted with huge puffy white clouds and it was super for a nice walk to admire the wildflowers, which to me is more beautiful in fall than in spring!

We saw some great ones like the blanket flower up there...
and we saw some  critters...it is hunting season but I dont think its turkey hunting YET..

The water was really beautiful...

                                             

sisters

                                               A great weekend now its back to work!!!

PEACE