The Round Robin Photo Challenge "On My Table"

I knew you were coming, so I threw something on the table! You must be special because I got out the tin plates instead of the paper ones. We are pretty laid back and relaxed up here in the north woods. The table covering is a quilt my mother made for me several years ago especially for this table. You can click on this photograph to enlarge it..did you notice the reflection of the quilt in the knives? I thought it was pretty cool, it was not in the plan so it is an added bonus! Check out the other Robins and see what they have on their tables:)

EMPS Monday Photo Shoot #13: Turkey Day

Carly said "Show me a Turkey!" Well I found these two of the non edible variety on our way home from our real turkey dinner yesterday. Check out the other Turkeys at Ellipsis! :)

A to Z Photo Challenge:Q is for Quercus alba

Quercus alba are White Oaks, these are White Oak leaves I photographed one frosty morning this fall. We have a few of these on our property. They have a purplish red fall color. Martha at Menagerie hosts the A to Z Photo Challenge..join in anytime. :)

Strange Shots!

Martha at Menagerie may start a new new photo meme called strange shots. To encourage her I am sharing one of my strange shots with you.



I took this in October 2007. Far Guy, Cheesecake or Blaze (they are a matched set and hard for me to tell apart) and Joe. We were visiting our good friends Sue and Joe in Indiana. Joe has a wonderful way with horses and they will do almost anything for him. This photo always makes me laugh out loud, Far Guys expression is priceless:)

Macro Monday:Tansy

Well this is it, this is what the seed head of Tansy looks like in November. Brown.
Maybe someone at Lisa's Chaos has something more colorful to share! Thank you Lisa for hosting this challenge! :)

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #12: Hot Beverages

HOT COCOA! That is what ran through my mind when Carly wrote about this challenge. Hot Cocoa was one of the very first things I learned to cook. First you got out a pan, then you measured cocoa and sugar added a little milk to mix the cocoa and sugar into a syrup and then added the appropriate number of cups of milk. I would turn up the heat and stir and stir, you did not want it to burn on the bottom of the pan, it just needs to be warm enough to almost boil.

This is the recipe I use:

Favorite Hot Cocoa

I heaping teaspoon Hershey's Cocoa

2 heaping teaspoons Sugar

Dash of Salt

Add two teaspoons Milk and stir until smooth.

Heat one cup of Milk: Fill mug: Sir and Serve

You can also add a little vanilla if you wish..and marshmallows. I like mine plain..plain jane..simple but yummy! A word of warning..to those of you who have never made a cup of Hot Cocoa from scratch..if you don't combine the sugar and cocoa and make a syrup before adding the milk..all the cocoa just sits on top of your milk and is impossible to mix in properly. Just so you know..microwaving for just one minute will make all the floating cocoa behave. Just in case you forget ..like I did. What is impossible to forget is that wonderful made from scratch Hot Cocoa Flavor!

Grab something hot to drink and lets head over to Ellipsis to see what other favorites will tempt us:)

Bloggers Community Photo Challenge: Give Thanks For...

I give thanks for my wonderful husband, his dog, the earth, trees and sky. They are all the center of my world. (Just so you know I am not a bit thankful for that snow. I am thankful it is not piled up in huge drifts yet!)

Check out other entries for this challenge here:)

Macro Monday: Black and White

Chances black and white side!
Check out more Macros at Lisa's Chaos :)

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Two Halves Don't Make A Whole

Nancy from Nancy Luvs Pix suggested this weeks challenge. Two halves don't make a whole.
THE CHALLENGE: Photograph two different shots of the same thing, crop them in half and then put them side by side ALMOST touching.

It was a challenge for me..I found a way..but it may have not been the best way. I struggled with Abode Photoshop and the layering..if anyone knows of a really good tutorial web site or a blog about Adobe Photoshop please leave me a comment. I finally just cropped the photos like I would normally do and then imported them to my scrapbook program..success at last!

If you are ever company at my home, I have two old boilers, one is copper filled with magazines, the other stainless steel and filled with blankets..you are welcome to use either or both!
Check out the other Round Robins Entries..I know I will ..I hope they are sharing some of their secrets on this challenge:)

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #11: Windows

WINDOWS! Here are mine.I wear glasses so they are my ultimate window, so that I can read... BOOKS! One of my favorite windows to the world! Especially when the view out my favorite window is gloomy.

A photograph I took through my favorite window on Friday, November 14, 2008. It is gloomy here in Minnesota ..gloomy ..gloomy.. guess I should have raked those leaves. Oh well...

Follow me on over to Ellipsis to look at some other windows:)

A-Z Photo Challenge : P is for Pinus strobus

Check out Martha's Pretty Pink Pineapple! I have never, ever seen one before. Thanks Martha! She will have a linking list up this weekend that will guide you to all the "P's"

My "P" is a bit predictable...Pinus strobus ..or White Pine. Sometimes called Northern White Pine or Eastern White Pine. I captured this photograph last summer while I was supposed to be watching my grandsons. I kind of felt like that Diane Von What's Her Name as I gazed upwards into the White Pines. Do you suppose her photography session was cut short by "Grandma come push me in the swing..right now!" Probably not.

White Pines are scarce in our area, this stand is in a park in the nearby city of Park Rapids, Minnesota. These trees grow straight and true, that's why they were used for the masts of sailing ships on the east coast in colonial times. I love White Pines, they have a "look " all their own..if in doubt you can check the needle bundle..there should be five needles per bundle, the needles are from 2 to 5 inches long and slender. This stand of White Pines were growing so close together that they had lost all the needles from their lower branches. This often happens..because the tree is "so little".. the planters (God Bless them!) did not even stop to think that all trees need ROOM to grow and need room for some sunshine to grow well. Think about that the next time you plant a tree...how big will it be in fifty years? :)

Macro Monday : A Wild Rose

Today I am sharing a photograph of a Wild Rose. This rose has been a thorn in my side for ten tears. It grew next to one of my display benches and looked out of place. So I would hack it out. One time I had Far Guy chop it all out with an axe. This year it didn't matter, the benches were dismantled. I thought who cares? Grow there then..have your way..I suppose now that I have shared my who cares attitude with you..it will croak and never bloom again. This photograph was taken last summer. Check out more macros at Lisa's:)

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #10: Feet

Carly said show me some feet! Well I chose my feet, and Chance's feet. He wore no boots, like normal. I had to put mine on, there is a little snow on the ground!

Then I decided since I was only able to capture half of Chances feet, that I would only show you half of mine too! I love my winter boots, they are lined with genuine shearling and I got them at Cabela's. I never have cold feet!
Check out more feet at Ellipsis! :)

Frosty Capped Coneflowers

Frosty Capped Coneflowers one chilly morning:)

Blogger's Community Photo Challenge: Autumn

I have lots of tree photographs.. I especially like this one! To the best of my knowledge it is a Acer rubrum or more commonly known as a Red Maple. Red Maples run the range of fall color running from an orange/yellow to orange to red. Seeds from the same tree can grow up to be different shades of orange. Seedling selection..a fascinating subject!

This is a Blogger's Community Photo Challenge entry.. I am anxious to view the other entries beginning November 7th, 2008 :)

Photo Challenge: 6X6

I was over at Milahs she picked up on Marlenes Challenge to look in your sixth folder and then your sixth photo in that folder. Publish it and tell something about it. Join in if you wish!

This was taken in July of 2007, Savannah was eleven years old. She is a brown eyed blonde, her sister Madison has brown hair and brown eyes, and then Miss Paige has blonde hair and blue eyes like her Mom. All sisters each with a different look and personality. This was taken at our house when they and their parents were living with us for ten months, I am still tired:)

Just because I like it!

Not sure exactly why I like it? I just do, it may be the fact that it is at a good friends farm. Maybe it just spoke to the Farm Girl in me! :)

Macro Monday: Juniper Berry

Thanks Lisa for hosting Macro Monday!

I am sure many of you have seen these berries before. The berries are actually a fruity looking female cone. Young berries like these are used to flavor Gin!
Junipers are not my favorite, there are way to many species to understand and remember. In my opinion they are way to common in the landscape to be truly appreciated. "Just another Juniper." Seems like when ever a Landscape Architect or Designer needs a "fill in plant" they use a Juniper. However these berries captured my attention:)

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #9 : Happy Halloween!

Carly at Ellipsis said show me Halloween! I took the following photographs last year..2007.. at a Fall Festival some place in Kentucky along the Ohio River.. Brandonburg.. I think..my brother in law had me totally lost. So what says Happy Halloween to me?

A Pumpkin decorating contest! A Scarecrow contest!

A Wicked Witch! On a bike..poor TOTO!

All these say Happy Halloween! I hope you had a Happy Halloween! :)

Round Robin Photo Challenge:Food Glorious Food

Grab your knife, fork and spoon! In preparation for the "eating" holidays..perhaps we should all eat more of this!

Perhaps with a tiny..oops.. bit of Catalina salad dressing..and a French Petit Pain (that's what the label on the bag says)...anyway it was my supper last night!

I did however save a bit of room for some leftovers!

More Robin entries can be found here! I am anxious to see what Food they captured on camera..especially those that can actually cook!! :)