Shadow Shot Sunday

Looking forward to spending time in the new year!

This is the first time I’ve participated in Shadow Shot Sunday.

Yesterday’s Drive-by Shootings

Yesterday, we took a spur-of-the-moment trip to Des Moines.  As we zipped along in the pickup, I randomly aimed and shot.  From I-235, its pretty much impossible to get a clear view of the entire state capitol building, so I zeroed in on the golden dome only. 

My husband and I chuckled over this “Admobile”---a moving billboard!  (We don’t get off the farm very often, so it doesn’t take much to amuse us.)

Unexpected circumstances took us past the Marion County courthouse in Knoxville.

And, near the Des Moines Airport, we saw this plane which appeared to be just sitting there in the air, not moving at all.  I’m not kidding.  Apparently, it was waiting patiently for its turn to land. 

 

In case I don’t blog again until 2012, here’s hoping you have a Happy New Year!

Skywatch

Photo taken on the day after Christmas…

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Visit Skywatch Friday for the rest of this week’s links.

TV Channels

Its yesterday afternoon as I type this and I’m sitting here watching The Green Glove on the TV channel called This TV. 

Here’s the description of This TV from their webpage:

This TV is a free premium channel that brings you award winning films, box office hits, cult classics, retro TV series and all your favorite Hollywood stars! Whether it's on satellite, your local cable provider, or your over-the-air digital signal, it doesn't get better than This!

We get it free via over-the-air digital signal.  When I was a kid, we received only three TV channels---ABC, CBS, and NBC.  Nowadays, out here on the farm we get 16 channels, all for free!   Much of the time, our TV is tuned to one of the three PBS stations. 

Barn Charm

An old barn in our neighborhood…

Thanks for stopping by!  Visit Bluff Area Daily blog to find this week’s Barn Charm photo list.

Recipes

Happy day-after-Christmas!  I have no photos to blog, but am posting links to two new recipes I made to include on the food buffet for the last two days.  One is Cranberry Fudge.  The other is Celery Hazelnut Salad, in which I substituted dried cranberries for the dates and used cheddar instead of blue cheese.  Normally, I don’t try new recipes very easily, but was happy with these two!  

Greetings of the Day

Hi, Santa!

Bye, Santa!

Sunset

Wouldn’t you know, I had to do some last minute shopping yesterday, the day before Christmas Eve.  Christmas Eve Eve, that would be.

While driving home from town, I kept glancing at the evolving sunset, hoping for a possible photo opportunity.  By the time I pulled into our farm driveway, the sky looked like this.  Happy Christmas Eve to you!

Snow!

Obviously, the snow was waiting to fall in a timely manner---on the first day of winter!

I took this photo yesterday morning on my way to the barn.  You can see a couple of farm yardlights still aglow in the distance. 

Skywatch

A colorful sky from earlier this week…

Thanks for stopping by!  Visit Skywatch Friday to see this week’s sky photos.

Another Painting

Happy first day of winter!  Yesterday was so short, I couldn’t find any time to take photos, so here’s another painting from the Pella Library.   

There’s no signature, so I don’t know if it was done by a famous painter or not.

Dairy Air

This photo was taken yesterday.  Sorry about the derrieres pointed this way.  I didn’t have time to wait until the heifers decided to turn around.

We have a bald eagle in the area.  That white speck up in the trees in the background might be him or her.  Either that, or its a plastic sack caught in the tree branches.

**

Yesterday afternoon I made two double-batches of biscotti to give to friends.  I’m not including a photo of the biscotti as I never care for the pictures I take of food.  Click this sentence to go to the recipe.  You don’t have to be a coffee drinker to enjoy biscotti…it can be dunked in hot cocoa, too!

Barn Charm

Seen along a highway in Fayette County, Iowa…this barn wearing a quilt block charm!

To see more barn photos, visit Bluff Area Daily blog.

Tree Trimmer

On that same snowy March morning mentioned a couple days ago here on the  blog, I also saw this tandem tree trimmer at work.

Actually, its sound caught my attention first.  While taking photos of the green bridge, I could hear a clattering commotion in the distance and had not a clue what it could be.  When I got to the railroad track I found out!  

Rubber Ball Sunset

Look out…its bouncing your way!

This photo is from last week.  The day had been gray and cloudy, but in late afternoon the sun made a brief appearance.  It reminded me of that song, Red Rubber Ball.

Cat From the Past

Ho-hum…still no snow, so here’s another photo from a previous winter, January of 2010.  This cat was sitting on a milkcan by the door.  His face seemed to plead, “Please take a picture of me.”  Which I did.

This cat is no longer with us, so I’m happy to have this reminder of him.

Getting Ready

One minute, there were no decorations in sight, and a few minutes later….voila! 

All I did was tear myself away from reading blogs, ran up to the storeroom and grabbed a knickknack or two plus a few pre-lighted Christmas trees to make it look like I’m sort of in the holiday mood.  It was necessary because our two college children will soon be arriving home for the holidays.  The laundry needed to be completely caught up, too, so the kids can have exclusive access to the washer and dryer for a few days.  And, a big batch of cookies needed to be baked---not Christmas cookies, but simply the oatmeal-chocolate chip ones which are the everyday favorite around here.

Skywatch

A sky view from midday on December 5th…

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Visit Skywatch Friday for more sky photo links.

Snowy Bridge

Here’s another snapshot from the morning mentioned in yesterday’s post.  The date was March 26, 2008, by the way, so this is actually an early spring scene!

Red bows would make this snow-frosted green bridge look mighty festive!  Hmm…I wonder if I could Photoshop some bows into the scene?  Oh, that suddenly reminds me of the Colorforms I loved to play with when I was a kid!  Anyone remember those?

Wishing for Snow

On this rainy December day I’m wishing for snow, so here’s a scene from a few years ago when we had some. 

How well I remember the morning this photo was taken.  I was out driving around because my son had called from school to say he’d forgotten something and asked if I could bring it to him.  Good thing I took the camera along, too.  Big, gloppy flakes of snow were silently falling, providing great atmosphere for taking photos.

Mama Pig & Piglets

Here’s another snapshot from an old photo album.  When I was growing up, we farrowed pigs twice a year, in June and in December.   

How well I remember the wiggly, wriggly, squealy piglets! 

Round Barn

Yesterday’s post prompted me to unearth an old photo album to find this scene from the farm I grew up on:

I snapped this for a 4-H photography project, probably in 1970.  Taking pictures was a whole different ballgame back then.  Relatively few photos were taken as film was usually used quite sparingly.  The round barn was built in the early 1920’s.  It was badly damaged by a tornado a few years ago and had to be torn down.  I regret never taking any photos of the barn’s interior up in the haymow.  The roof’s wooden support structure was quite amazing to see.

This post is linking to Barn Charm at the Bluff Area Daily blog.

Sledding Scene

Here’s another painting from the Pella Library:

I’ve never parachuted or bungee-jumped or even skied, but I have ridden a speeding sled down an ice-covered hill, in the dark, no less!  The experience was simultaneously exhilarating and frightening!  And, very stupid.  It was back when I was maybe twelve years old.  A winter storm had left an unusually thick coating of ice everywhere.  After evening chores, I took a sled out to a snow-drift-covered field and went hurtling down the slope.  The sled picked up some serious speed and I held on for dear life.  I hadn’t told my parents what I was doing, so, if I’d have been knocked unconscious, they’d have found me frozen out there in the field the next day. 

Doing a Link in a Comment

You may already know how to do a link within a comment box, but in case you don’t, here are the instructions:

 

1.  Type <a href=”

2.  Copy the web address you want to link to.  (To copy, right-click on the webpage address at the top of its page and then right-click on the word “copy” in the box that appears.)

3.  Paste the web address right next to the quotation mark.  (To paste, right-click next to the quotation mark and right-click on the word “paste” in the box that appears.)    

4.  Type “>

5.  Type the phrase that you want to appear as the highlighted name of the link.

6.  Type </a>

 

This is how it would look if I were doing a link to my blog:

<a href=”http://midlifebyfarmlight.blogspot.com/”>Midlife by Farmlight</a>

 

Midlife by Farmlight would then appear as a highlighted link when the comment is posted. 

Your assignment, should you accept it, is to do a link in a comment to this post!

Cats Pose

They noticed me stalking them with the camera… …and, agreed to pose for a prim and proper portrait…

…as long as a silly shot was part of the deal, too!

Skywatch

Sunrise yesterday at our Iowa farm…

 

Visit Skywatch Friday to find the rest of this week’s links.

Round Building

On Tuesday I decided to go Christmas shopping.  I took the camera along in hopes of finding something halfway interesting to post on the blog.  While driving across town from one shopping area to another I remembered that there used to be a round barn in the vicinity and wondered if it was still there.  It used to sit along the main route through town but that road had become a dead-end a few years ago when a new four-lane was constructed. 

A quick detour down the dead-end street showed me that sure enough, the round building is still there, though not part of a farm anymore.  And, someone has added artwork to fit all four seasons!    

The Astronomer

Here’s another photo of a painting I saw at the Pella Library.  Thanks to a Rick Steves travel show about Paris, I actually know something about this painting.  It is The Astronomer  by the Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer.

It was painted in 1668 and is on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.  A related painting by Vermeer is entitled The Geographer and can be seen here.

Street Scene

Here’s another painting from the Pella Library.   

It might be a street scene from Holland, as Pella was founded by Dutch settlers.  I don’t know the name of the artist. 

Borrowed Scene

There was wintery weather forecast for yesterday so I was hoping to have a snowy photo to put on the blog today, but, alas, the snow amounted to a barely visible dusting.  Rather, I’m posting this photo of a painting I saw at the Pella Library a couple months ago.  (The artist’s name is H. Hargrove.)

Amongst the bookshelves there were framed prints donated for library patrons to borrow and hang on their walls for awhile.  A nice idea, I thought, and you may be seeing more of them on the blog if the scenery around here remains un-photoworthy.

Family Picture

Miss Kitty and her current brood…

Skywatch

This photo was taken earlier in the week.  Thank you to the jet airplanes for contributing to the scene!

 

Visit Skywatch Friday for the rest of this week’s links.

Capitol Building

A recent trip to Des Moines offered opportunity for a drive-by shooting of the state Capitol.

I’ve toured the golden-domed building on several occasions, the first being a class trip in sixth grade.  We trooped up into the rotunda and cupola that time, amazed at the dizzying view.  In subsequent years, I accompanied my own children’s sixth grade classes as they toured there, also.

New Arrival

On the way to the mailbox the other day I found an oversize parcel being delivered!

The tractor is not new, but will be new to us.  The arrival of farm equipment is always a momentous occasion, so I was happy to have been carrying a camera along on this walk to the mailbox.

Colorful Spirea

Last spring when I planted this Magic Carpet Spirea bush its leaves were yellow-green.  During the summer, it was covered with lovely tiny pink flowers.  Throughout autumn it colorfully competed with its neighbor, the Burning Bush.  This photo was taken yesterday.  I wonder how long the color will last.      

Photo of the Day

With Thanksgiving over with, I should be thinking Christmas thoughts.  Instead I fret over which photo to post on the blog today.  The weather is cold and windy, so I chose a warm-looking scene from back in mid-October: I need to somehow get in the mood to start holiday baking and decorating.  It sort of goes against my grain, though, as I’d rather just curl up and read books this time of year.  Or, sleep.   

Skywatch Friday

These two photos were taken around the same time last Sunday afternoon, looking in opposite directions.

 

Visit Skywatch Friday for the rest of this week’s links.