Stranger in a strange land

I ventured out tonight to take photos of the parched earth. I’ve seen worse, but not this early in the summer.

We’re really hoping for some promised rain tonight. Our grass is a lovely shade of taupe.

I’ve never really liked the shade of taupe on its own. I do like it paired with white or with some rich color.

But back to the earth.

As I walked under the hickory tree, I noticed that it was laden with nuts.

Come autumn, if I was a real hardy country girl, I’d be picking them off the ground and then shelling them to use in a pie. Or to mix with wild rice. Or any of [these recipes]. Can you imagine how much work that would be?

I think I’d have to be really hungry to do all that.

Continuing the walk, I see George, in a Gaussian blur, framed by the branches.

But wait, is that Blackie back there that I see?

What is that cat doing?

Oh, I want to be a Gaussian blur, mom! Take a picture of me. Here, I’ll pose.

*Snort*. You can’t be a Gaussian blur, you silly cat. You have to POSE PROPERLY for the camera.

Yer doin’ it all wrong!

I am bored with this now. Please go away.

(Note: She always does this when the camera comes out.)

Mom, can I show her how it’s done? Can I? Can I please?

Sure, George. Go ahead. But please don’t gloat.

I’m showing you how to pose here, cat. So listen, ok?

There.

Yeah.

I’m a celebrity.

I’ll pose however you want, just say the word.

Either this really happened just now or the extreme heat is giving me the vapors.

Until tomorrow, I hope . . .

Parchment crumbles, my words fade

Brittle grass crunches under my feet as I make my way to the garden.

At the gate, soft swirls of pink rise up to greet me, thirsty for rain.

When bright flowers bloom

Parchment crumbles, my words fade

The pen has dropped ... - Morpheus

Spent morning glories from today. There are plenty more to take their place tomorrow and for months to come.

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. - Anais Nin

These photos were all taken with my Nikon 60mm macro lens, the lens closest to my heart. (Please don’t tell my other lenses). A macro (micro) lens allows you to get up close and personal, much closer than you would with a normal lens in the macro setting.

It was worth every penny I paid for it. In fact, I began my blog the night I bought it in December 2007 and this was my very first real post. (Don’t worry, it’s short).

If you click here, you’ll see the very first post I wrote on George. I think he looks like he’s wearing a baby bonnet. He looks very different today.

He looks like a

SOOPAH – STAH !!!

Until tomorrow, then

Something new

My new lens from B&H Photo came in the mail today. I bought the Nikon 70-300mm lens that I’ve been wanting. I’ve been using a Quantaray 70-300mm and it’s always been ok. But I couldn’t pass this up. And best of all, it only cost me $19.

You see, B&H was having a sale for affiliates and the lens was priced to us at $119. So I used the gift card I’d won last December in one of Pioneer Woman’s photo assignments and I got the lens for a steal.

I tried it out in the yard tonight while my husband was watering the garden.

Well, hello my lovely.

Hello, mommy.

George, have I told you lately how photogenic you are?

George?

A baby cantaloupe grows along the garden fence.

I don’t think there’s any chance of me stepping on this. What do you think?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After work today, I went to Hoitytoityville to get my hair done. I was going to let it go, but it really needed a cut (and a little color), and besides ~ my niece pretty much made my mind up for me over the past weekend.

We had been playing in the pool for awhile, and as we were taking a breather, floating on the water in the bright sunshine, she looked at me and said, “Aunt Katy, why are a lot of your hairs all grey-looking?”

I told her it was because I was ever so much more than twenty.

She thought for a second, then asked, “Then how old are you, Aunt Katy?”

I told her I was 53. And the way her eyes became the size of saucers, I knew I’d perhaps scared her a little bit. She said, “But . . . but . . . but you like to play!”

I took this as a high compliment and told her I hope I still like to play when I’m 73. And then I showed her how to swim like a mermaid.

I’m ashamed to say that this was my dinner tonight. My husband had already eaten by the time I got home, and I was hungry so I made this real quick. Although it was a healthy hot dog (as far as they go), and the salsa was freshly made {recipe here}, I wouldn’t exactly call this a healthy meal.

It’s certainly not the kind of meal a mermaid would eat.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Things that made me smile today

My husband calling me to dinner and sitting down to a yummy surprise. (I have this at the top of the list because it means that much to me).

Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia Fro-Yo.

My air-conditioned oasis of a living room. (It went up to 102 today).

My frog and turtle sprinklers. (See, I told you I had a froggie).

Jack Johnson singing this song. (Today was the first time I heard it).

George. Every day.

How great I looked when I tried on my bathing suit this afternoon.

That last one was a lie. I just wanted to make sure you’re still out there.

You’re still out there, right?

 

Being able to take a photo of my cat this afternoon, who was too hot to get up and run away. (For a change).

Rescue Me is on tonight.

Knowing that in just 8 days, I’ll be spending a long weekend with good friends that I met through blogging.

I am so looking forward to that.

And that’s my list for today. I may have more before the night is through.

So what made you smile today?

What I watched this weekend: The Legend of 1900

I was born on this ship and the whole world passed me by . . .

two thousand people at a time.

The Legend of 1900 is a cinematic feast, rich in old-world elegance, and begins in the year 1900, when an abandoned baby boy is found by an engine worker on a luxury liner. The child grows up on the ship, and develops a natural ability for playing the piano, becoming something of a virtuoso in his early twenties and attracting recognition from the outside world. It is a masterpiece by acclaimed director Giuseppe Tornatore and is available for instant viewing if you have a Netflix account.

The ship travels back and forth between Italy and New York, bringing thousands of new faces into the country and Tornatore explores the immigrant experience aboard the liner. On the upper decks, luxury reigns and young 1900 can be found every evening in the ball room, playing with the house band.

One of my favorite scenes is when the title character, played by Tim Roth (from the television series Lie to Me), has been asked to make a recording so that others around the world can listen to music ‘that’s never been heard before’. Because he refuses to set foot off ship, the recording must come to him. Listen to the beauty of the piano in this scene, where a young woman appears, played by the lovely Melanie Thierry.

I can’t recommend this movie more. It’s an engaging story with interesting and unique characters and the music will leave you swooning.

Here’s the trailer as well.

Hope you enjoy.

Love,

My Fourth

I never did make it to my friend Adrienne’s house, but here’s how I spent my day on Saturday. It was great to see my family.

My nieces (Em & Sam) made this dessert and it’s one of my favorite Pampered Chef recipes. It’s got a cookie bottom and a cream cheese & Cool Whip top.

Sort of like me, come to think of it.

Sam’s nails. Fun!

Snails and pails and puppy dog tails.

Sugar and spice and everything nice.

Aunt Katy, are you coming in the pool?

As soon as I get hot, Joshie.

When will that be? Aunt Katy?

Soon, honey.

Aunt Katy, I’m in the pool and I have my swimmies on. Are you coming in yet?

Soon, Josh. I’ll be in real soon.

Aunt Katy, are you coming in the pool?

Aunt Katy, are you coming in the pool?

(repeat sixteen times)

Aunt Katy, I think Josh wants you to go in the pool.

Aunt Katy, we all want you to go in the pool. Please make Josh stop asking.

(Just so’s you know, I did go in the pool. I was in there for over two hours and played almost the whole time. I was exhausted and needed a nap afterwards.)

Ok. Now a question for you, and my brother is going to kill me for posting this. But it’s not as if he reads my blog. Or ever checks his e-mail. So here goes:

This was sitting on a table on the back porch. It’s a little backpack that you can see is made of denim. It belongs to my brother, Steve. We could tell it was Steve’s because of the hat. But the bag? We began questioning him as to why he would still carry such a thing, with it being such a long time since middle school and all. I don’t know, maybe it was the mojito’s talking, but suddenly it was like an episode of ‘What Not to Wear’. And this bag, as well as Steve’s freshly cut-off shorty-shorts were at the top of the list.

Because he’s been sick and has been in and out of the hospital for the past several months, we thought maybe we should take it easy on him.

But, nah.

Steve attempted to defend the bag. “But it’s DURABLE", he said loudly.

“Wait a minute. Did you say ADORABLE?” we asked.

“It’s SOFT”, he said. “I like my backpack.”

“Steve,” we said. “It’s gotta go.”

So what do you think? Is it time for another duffle bag for Steve?

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Caprese Salad

I love this salad and was craving it today after I began thinking what I’d do with the two tomatoes that my husband picked from his garden this morning.

The only ingredient I was lacking was the mozzarella cheese. A quick trip to the store fixed that.

When I bit into this delightful medley of summer flavors, it was like a party in my mouth. It tasted so good that I felt like laughing but I had a mouthful of food.

It started with my husband’s tomatoes, fresh from the garden.

Arrange tomatoes in a single layer on a plate. Top with sliced mozzarella cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle kosher salt and some freshly ground pepper, then toss on some shredded basil.

It’s a wonderful combination of flavors that’s perfect for summertime.

To all my friends in the States, hope you have a great 4th of July Weekend!

Until next time, my friends . . .

I am a bold, brazen article

Growing up and attending Catholic school, I constantly heard this expression being used by the nuns. “You bold, brazen article!” they would shout. But it was even scarier to hear it quietly: “Well, aren’t you the bold, brazen article?” This happened to me one day.

But when you see something that you want to photograph, say on someone else’s property, you have to be a bold, brazen article.

But I always ask permission.

It was two weeks ago today and it was the last day of our vacation in Maine. I’d gone out to get a gift for the girl I’d hired to care of our plants and our cat. In my travels, I came across a glass shop and went inside.

Angel Antics is located at the northern end of Sullivan on coastal Route 1. As I perused their wares, I looked out the window and saw a beautiful little garden complete with a miniature house and a lily pond. So I asked the owner if I could take photos. I really didn’t think she’d say yes, but she seemed happy that I was so interested. She came out back and busied herself potting hanging baskets, while I walked around snapping pictures and chatting with her and her husband.

This is the entrance to their little garden oasis. She had her husband drill holes into the stones and strung them on thick wire.

It was a beautiful warm day and just that morning, my husband and I chuckled while listening to the weather forecast. Residents were warned of a heat wave that was to last for the next 3 days with temperatures in the 85’s to as high as 90. Suggestions were given as to how to keep cool (wear a hat, stay hydrated, seek shade).

I guess that IS pretty warm for an early June day, but it struck me funny.

I posted a picture of this pond last week on my other blog. You can see the fish, but can you see the little frog? He’s just to the right of that white lily.

He’s a biggin’, isn’t he?

I made the fish nervous.

The lupines were in full glory when we arrived, but by the end of the week, they were really beginning to wane.

The owner told me she’d been born nearby but had spent most of her adult life in different parts of the country, finally returning to Maine after her father gave her a tract of land he owned.

I loved this. I remember her telling me she’d found this bell somewhere and designed the stone display for it.

Sometimes you have to bite back your fear and simply ask if you can take out your camera. And most of the time, people actually say yes.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Plain, honest and upright

The heat wave broke in the middle of the night and a lovely cool breeze greeted me through my window this morning.

When I came down to get my coffee, the thermometer we keep in the breakfast nook read 68 and I felt like I was in Maine again. Oh, happy day! With no humidity, it was even a good hair day, to boot.

I don’t get too many good hair days in the summer around here.

And it was a good day for sunflowers.

I wandered out to my husband’s garden early this evening while he and George were inside watching Jeopardy. The dog doesn’t watch as much as listen when we try to guess the answers.

I was careful where I stepped tonight. The garden is chock full this year of all sorts of growing things: watermelons, cantaloupes, peppers, tomatoes, corn, herbs, and heavens knows what else. When asked what the vines were that were trailing up the fence next to the garden gate, my husband told me he didn’t remember.

This should be fun!

He was very upset to see that something was eating his sunflowers ~ tearing them to shreds it seemed. He found that it was ants. Millions of ants.

I think he’s got that under control now, and these young sunflowers are doing fine.

Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men or animals. Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock. ~Henry Ward Beecher, Star Papers: A Discourse of Flowers

UPDATE: As I was writing this, my husband came in the house and gave me an earful. It seems that when I was out in the garden taking these photos tonight, I stepped on one of his little tiny watermelons. “No”, I told him. “I was really careful!”

Unfortunately, the incriminating evidence left at the scene of the crime says otherwise. I will try to be more careful. I told you that garden was chock full of stuff!

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

All photos taken with a Nikon D80 and the Nikkor AF Micro 60 mm Macro lens.