Monday, May 31, 2010

Memorial Day 2010

Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while serving in the American military
They hover as a cloud of witnesses above this Nation. -Henry Ward Beecher


Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours. -Wallace Bruce


A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. -Joseph Campbell 
The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree. -Thomas Campbell

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.



Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves.


It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers,
During the first celebration of Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery.



Today, Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also, it is customary for the President or the Vice President to attend.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Psalm 119:105

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

For the commandment is a lamp, and the whole teaching [of the law] is light, and reproofs of discipline are the way of life,(A) Proverbs 6:23
 

Yesterday, I walked into our bedroom and the sun was shining on the lamp on the bedside table and it looked like it was lit. It was lit by God's Sunshine, the true Pilot Light of Life.

If you did enlarge the photo, please excuse the dust. It is now minus the dust but no sun is shining through it.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Moonshine

What do you call a crazy moon? A Luna-Tick
How do we know Saturn is married? Because she has a lot of rings
Which Chocolate bars do you eat in space? Milky Ways and Mars Bars
At 4 AM today we woke up looking like Zebra's in the moonlight from the full moon. The light was shining through the blinds and spotlighting us as we lay in bed. We let the dogs out and I decided to try for a MoonShine photo. these are what I got.

Not quite as pretty as my fake moon created by my desktop lamp.
*
How many balls of string would it take to reach the moon? ONE, a very large one 
When do astronauts have lunch? At Launch time
*
What kind of saddle does a space horse wear: a saddle-lightHow does the solar system hold up its pants? With an Asteroid Belt
*
What kind of cartoons do Martians watch? Loonertunes

Friday, May 28, 2010

Mystery Answer.....

 DawnTreader guessed, looking into a lamp at the bulb and that is correct. The photo came from shooting into the top of my desk lamp while it was on.

Squirrel Queen, Addicted to the Click, Photowannabe and Carole guessed light bulb, very close but no bannana!


If you did not read the comments, some were very creative all the way from Aquarious to shiny balls and pearls.

Two other shots that could be anything. Ginny commented it might be a flashlight and said but why would Sandra take a photo of a flashlight?  
the Mystery Photo came from a visit to my Photographer friend Marcie's  web site to look at her newest additions.Check it out at Photography by Marcie Glass. We have the same Coolpix and she was using macro. I picked mine up to play and saw the lamp and Voila! a whole post.
YES, Ginny, I would take a photo of a flashlight, a rock, the water pouring out of the hose into the pool and even a couple of X rated photos of my husband (no I will not post them) in the pool and last but not least I have been known to snap a shot of dog poo. OH MY

What is the silliest or craziest shot you have taken?

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Mystery Photo





This is a two post day, I just took these photos, can you tell me what it is?

Osprey Update

Each morning as we drive home from the gym, we take a short detour to look up at the Osprey Family as the sun is just beginning to break. Each day is the same, the babies are crying, the mother is sitting on the edge of the nest and the daddy is sitting on a pole 10 feet away waiting for it to get light enough to FISH for his family. Yesterday we burst out laughing because the mommy and daddy were both sitting on the pole 10 feet away, staring away from the next of babies and waiting for the sun. It was as though the mother said, I can't stand that nest another minute with all that yapping,
 archive photos of Osprey (fish hawk family) I am unable to get a closeup of the current Osprey due to height of the poles they live on. this one rested on a short light pole back in 2007
Facts I found online while researching to teach about Osprey's at the nursing home where I am a volunteer.
* They eat only fish
* A grown osprey needs up to 3 fish a day, when feeding a family, the male must bring 8 or more fish to the nest per day
* They mate for life (no divorce in these families) and use the same nest for years and years.
* Typical nest weighs 1000 pounds, but will not hold anything heavier than the birds.
* Polluting our enviroment with fishing line, plastic bags and baloons kills many of the babies because the parents use it for lining the nest.
* They are on the endangered list because we have fished out the hunting waters and poisoned the water and the fish with polluants that poison the fish they eat and kills them if they eat the fish
*Baby Osprey leave the nest at 2 months old, the mother throws the fish on the edge of the nest and gets them used to standing there, then she throws the food off the nest, litteraly teaching them to fly or nothing to eat. to see the nest, click on links below


If you missed the beginning of this story the first of May Click Here
archive of first Osprey photos from 07 Click Here

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Pretty in Pink!

This pink hibicus is my favorite, because it is a weed and grows wild, it grows up about 20 feet in the air and becomes a very large umbrella with the flowers at the tips of the droopy limbs


We have 3 large ones and bought none of them, 2 are rooted from one we found here half dead when we bought the house 20 years ago.



They are drought resistant, cold hardy and just sit and grow with no assistance needed. Sunny I have never tried making tea with them, but have read we could if we wanted to.

Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul to.
- Henry Ward Beckford (1759-1844)


I was not looking now at an unusual flower arrangement. I was seeing
what Adam had seen on the morning of his creation - the miracle, moment by moment, of naked existence.
- Aldous Huxley

This is the last of the hibicus post unless I get a new one I have to pass on, these are from my archives, we only have a couple of blooms on each bush now due to the drought and the cold from winter past.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Red. Red and there is RED!

Five of our Nine Hibicus bushes have red flowers. All shades of red.



Red is a very difficult color to photograph and I found that taking the red ones just as the sun is not quite up, in the almost dark, I can get better detail. It is also difficult to take red in the bright sun, but I did manage a few.




This one grew through an elephant ear leaf, I took several views









The last photo is the flower one day in the sunshine and the next day in the evening, same flower.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Orange Hibicus

Ginny has requested to see more hibiscus flowers. If you want to complain about several posts of flowers, go to her sight, Let Your Light Shine.


Our back yard has 9 hisbicus, 3 Pink, 5 Red and 1 Orange


Today's post are all from the same bush, Orange. The difference is lighting, time of day and time of year (cold makes them lighter and not as full) because the bloom year round.

the Orange Hibiscus is a natural attractant to birds and butterflies so this plant makes an excellent addition to your outdoor area but it can also be grown indoors.

This doulbe hybrid needs half and half shade/sun. It naturally fights off most insects and needs to be pruned each year. Ours has been as tall as 10 feet, but is now about 7 feet tall

There are people who eat the flowers and leaves, but we do not

We bought this one at a flea market because we loved the color and the double blooms,
Propagation Methods: From woody stem cuttings From softwood cuttings By grafting


 



This little guy grew up in the cold weather and did not get its double bloom.

Coming Soon to a Blog near YOU
Red and Pink Hibiscus