This & That

Yesterday as we drove to town I snapped a photo of an old bridge that I try to get a picture of every time we drive by it, but the photo turned out blurry as usual.  Eventually I hope to get a clear one.  Our lunch was very good and then I sat and read a book while my husband went into farm stores and implement shops to get supplies and pay bills.

Since I didn't get any usable photos from our drive, I'll show you this photo of the baby gift my younger daughter assembled to give to her new nephew recently:  

In the upper right corner of the photo is that picture I blogged about on Thanksgiving Day and in the left corner are a couple of angel figurines my mother has given to me over the years.

I've been trying to catch up on blog-reading.  I had fallen way behind.  If you use a Google Reader to read blogs you'll know what I mean when I say that my tally of unread blogposts had been at 1000+ for quite awhile.  We'll see if I can manage to keep up.

Skywatch

Sunset this evening...

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Another Autumn Photo

From my October file, here is the photo that directly follows the one I blogged yesterday.  I remember I was snapping photos left and right that day while traipsing through a field near where my husband was helping a neighbor harvest corn.

Right now I'm waiting for him to finish up the midday livestock chores.  Earlier this morning he mentioned that he needs to go to town for some supplies and he also said that we could eat lunch somewhere.  Hooray!  I am all ready to go.  I plan to take a camera along in case of photo ops even though this isn't a very good time of year for any.  

Today

This photo was not taken today, but is one I found today in the October file.  I had taken a photo of cornstalks today while I was out for a walk, but it didn't turn out to be blogworthy.  

I'm determined to not do any Christmas decorating until November is over so there are still some autumn colors around the house similar to what's in this photo.

Geranium

Just now I was hunting for a photo to blog and found this one from late October.  My daughter gave me this geranium for Mother's Day and it bloomed faithfully for many months.

 

Barn Charm

Just another old barn dressed up with a quilt block...

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Thanksgiving Scene

Greetings of the day to you!  Here's a Thanksgiving picture I bought at a second-hand store several years ago...

Thanksgiving Eve

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!  Here's a recent photo I should use for Skywatch Friday, but chances are I'll be too busy to blog then...  

After yesterday's grocery-shopping I think I'm all ready to cook the Thanksgiving meal.  It will be the traditional fare including turkey, dressing, potatoes and gravy, cranberries, and pumpkin pie.  I like the fact that I never have to think of any new food dishes to fix for this particular holiday.     

Silo Charm

A sight you don't see everyday is five silos in a row...

While preparing this post, I'm also trying to get in the mood to do the Thanksgiving grocery shopping and am not having much success.  

Barn Charm

Couldn't see much of the barn but I liked the stars...

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for this week's Barn Charm.

Widened Blog Template

I just did it!  I widened my blog's template by going into the HTML and changing a few numbers.  Now the XL size photos will fit.  I located the instructions I've used before.  CLICK HERE to find them on a blog from Norway.  There is a translating button at the top of the page.  ( To get to your blog's HTML page, click "Design" at the top of the blog and then click "Edit HTML".   The number combination I used is 1000-720-240.) 

'Tis the Season

'Tis the season for photos like this...

'Tis also the season when I find myself wishing to hide away and hibernate (read books, watch movies, take naps) until mid-January.  Every year I feel the same way.  Can't help it.  Don't want to do the holiday stuff, but have to.  I'm sure this mood is triggered by the shorter hours of sunlight.  Somewhere along the way the balance gets tipped.  Would love to pinpoint the exact moment it happens!

(I sized the photo at extra-large on Blogger.  I like the size, but it looks like I need to widen the blog.  I've seen that it can be done with the new Blogger templates, but I don't want one of those.  I like to be able to change the blog's background color occasionally.  Guess I'll have to get brave and go into the HTML to do the widening.  I did it once a few years ago and need to find the instructions again for doing that.)    

Birds of the Day

This morning my husband and I went to another "open barn" to view robotic milkers in action.  I don't think we'll ever buy such a thing (they are VERY expensive), but its fun to see how they work.  Afterwards, I was sitting in the pickup reading a book and bemoaning the fact that there's nothing much to take pictures of right now when this gang of sparrows landed on a nearby pile of old fence wire...

Later, we saw this floating flock of Canada geese as we crossed the Cedar River in Waverly...

In the Dome

Hooray for the home team!  They won the state football championship the other day.  The game took place at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls and my daughter and I were there.  She took this panorama shot with her new cell phone...

Skywatch

A sunset sky from last week...

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Green Stamps Memory

I rode along with my husband to the sale barn in Waverly again yesterday.  As we passed by this restored old gas station I realized I'd never snapped a photo of it and immediately rectified that...

I hadn't thought of S&H Green Stamps for ages.  When I was a kid my mom would get them when she shopped.  We'd stick them in those booklets and later redeem them for various items.  I think there might have been a store just for that somewhere.  Here's a photo of the stamps courtesy of a quick internet search...

Speaking of my mom---today is her 75th birthday.  Best wishes to you, Mom!

Eagle Pair

My husband noticed these two eagles sitting out in a field as we were driving along on Saturday...

Earlier, I had seen a group of wild turkeys and managed to shout, "There's some turkeys!", but didn't have time to aim the camera to get a picture.

Barn Charm

Here's a drive-by shot from this past weekend.  I like the cow on the weathervane.

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CLICK HERE to go to Bluff Area Daily for this week's Barn Charm.

Old Farmstead

On Saturday, I went along with my husband and son to an "open barn" event to view robotic milking machines at work.  As we drove along, I once again happily shot photos from the back seat.  This one intrigues me.  If you look closely, you'll see an old house way on the right with an almost-hidden barn nearby.  

The original photo is below.  For the makeover above, I adjusted the temperature, making the colors warmer.  

I liked the wooded landscape in the distance which adds dimension to the scene. 

Squirrels

I had fun shooting some squirrels last week when I was at my son and daughter-in-law's.  We hardly ever see squirrels here at our farm and when we do they are red ones.  Here's a gray one...  

See if you can find him or her here amongst the leaves...

Not sure if this is the same one or not...

They also have these almost-black squirrels there, too...

(You can make the photos bigger by clicking on them.)

Busy Week

It was a busy week.  I spent a few days with my new grandson and family.  What fun to hold a little baby again!

The photo above was taken while my grand-daughter and I were out for a walk one morning.  I liked the shadows on the leaf-covered slope.  I turned the scene to black and white, increased the contrast, and then gave it a blue tint.

Barn Charm

Here's another barn with a quilt block.  Photo taken in mid-September.

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CLICK HERE to go to Bluff Area Daily for this week's Barn Charm.

Milkweed

Here's a milkweed photo from early in October...

For quite awhile I've been using LiveWriter to create blogposts, but for the last three blogposts I've used Blogger again.  One difference is sizing the photos.  In LiveWriter you can stretch them to whatever size you want, while in Blogger you choose small, medium, large, or extra-large.  This photo is extra-large.  The photos in the previous two posts are in size large which looks rather small to me.  They do enlarge when you click on them, though, while the LiveWriter photos do not.    

Deer Crossing

A couple weeks ago on a Sunday morning I was walking to the mailbox to get the newspaper and spotted a deer in the distance...

Pretty soon I learned that he or she had a companion...

Then I found out that they knew where to cross the fence without jumping over... 

I don't think they knew I was there.  They just sauntered slowly across the field and out of sight.

Apple Leaf

Part of our yard is covered with apple leaves.  It was a difficult decision, but I chose this one to take photos of...  

Skywatch

Early this morning the sky was literally littered with clouds!

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Mystery Theme

Here’s some more shots taken during our drive last Sunday.

The theme is not cows…

It is not barns…

Nor is it trees…

The theme is shadows…