I'm caught in a Groundhog Day winter loop!
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We awoke again to a winter world this morning.
Yet again, the E.P. Terry had to travel to work
on treacherous, icy roads in a bitter wind.
He is not feeling Ever-Patient about winter
coming back over and over,
let me tell you!
Groundhog Day Movie Poster
We awoke again to a winter world this morning.
Yet again, the E.P. Terry had to travel to work
on treacherous, icy roads in a bitter wind.
He is not feeling Ever-Patient about winter
coming back over and over,
let me tell you!
Sunrise on Today's Winter Morn
I had to stop right in the middle
of making the E.P.'s egg salad sandwich
for his healthy and made-with-love lunch.
(I'm having a good day!
On a bad day,
it might be seasoned with grouch!)
it might be seasoned with grouch!)
I had to race for my camera
and catch the sunrise, Groundhog Day or not!
A Beautiful New Day Begins!
And yes,
some of my neighbors are beginning to stir.
I haven't seen them in the past few days.
Cold, hungry, cautious...
they are stepping out.
Bunny Tracks on Our Windswept, Icy Patio
Bunny tracks are an every day event!
And so are the bunnies!
I was most happy to see
these reclusive neighbors again.
I was worried about how they were faring
in our schizophrenic Springtime in the Rockies.
Did you spot them in an earlier photo?
Cautious Muleys Venturing Out
This is way more fun than making a lunch:
running around the house
from window to window,
upstairs and down,
snapping pictures.
I know I'm supposed to live in the moment
and appreciate the is-ness of everything,
but this is-ness is way more fun
than spreading mayonnaise on bread
and peeling carrots!
Of course the E.P. is looking for
his finished lunch and coffee because...
It's time to go!
The roads are bad!
There will be a long line of immigrants
outside my office door
wanting to get out of the cold!
Just one more shot, Honey!
Right Outside Our Bedroom Window
As soon as the E.P. was out the door,
it was downstairs to play with Picasa.
Jim of Ocean Breezes had clued me in to a new technique,
and I couldn't wait to try it out!
Since I'm living in an altered state
of Groundhog Day reality,
why not mess with reality?
This is a very handy trick.
When you've had to zoom to max
to get the shot and the focus didn't quite ~ well, focus ~
you can posterize and fade the edges!
Thank you, Jim!
I'm always ready to stea...
err, learn a good technique!
Altered Muleys!
I tell you,
I can entertain myself endlessly.
Don't ask me what I did to my muley neighbors.
I can't remember it all.
Oh So Groovy!
Trippy Muleys!
And the E.P. wonders
how my days get away from me!
Sunrise in an Alternate Universe
Take this all you Artistic Sibs!!!
You didn't know I could draw, did you?
Here's a little sketch I whipped up in ~ oh,
thirty or forty seconds ~
give or take a few!
Sibling rivalry lasts forever!
A Talented Artist ~ Moi!
I am having way too much fun!
The universe is opening up!
Lousy Photo ~ Great Fun with Picasa!
I'm in big trouble!
I have thousands and thousands of
not so great photos
that suddenly have potential!
It's not looking good for housework!
Since I'm caught in a Groundhog Day winter loop,
I'm going to listen to Back to December ~ again!
"Back to December"
by Taylor Swift
Oh no!
Spring's back,
and it's the afternoon!
I need an intervention!
What a fantastic post! You are quite the artist! Great photos! Looks freezing your neck of the woods! How wonderful to have such nature at your doorstep!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words, Paul! I love stepping out the door into nature! Hope things are well in your corner of the world!
ReplyDeleteTrippy indeed
ReplyDeleteHere at your feed
And does beat making lunch
Prob a whole bunch
But if any more crummy snow
Comes near my show
I may be a grouch too
That much is true
It's always great to hear from you, Pat!
ReplyDeleteYou make my day from where you're at!
More and more I'm thinking in rhyme.
Never thought it would happen in my time!
Cold, cold go away,
and don't come back another day!
I'm so ready for April showers
to bring many pretty May flowers.
I've probably violated some copyright law!
Oh well! C'est la vie! Ha ha!
Nice photos! Spring is always slow to come in the Rockies, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question about the maps -- just go to Google Maps (http://maps.google.ca), find your desired location by typing the address in box B, play around with the directional keys until the map is where you want, and then click on the square "satellite button" in the upper right hand corner of the map. That will change the map from an artist's rendering to a satellite image of the actual area, with the street names etc. superimposed on it. Play around and have fun!
Hi Debra! Thank you for your very helpful answer! I'm definitely going to have fun playing with this! Spring in the Rockies is crazy. Today is gorgeous and warm ~ no more snow forecasted for the next few days, so maybe we're through the worst! Have a happy weekend!
DeleteLOL I love your post. I love your pictures. What fun! And oh, yes, these machines can suck the time out of our lives in a nanosecond!
ReplyDeleteHey... I think those were our deer over at your place!
Hi Dreaming! LOL right back at you ~ I'm glad that you enjoyed my post! I had a lot of fun. Today I made myself finish a bunch of things before I could take a peek at my blog. It's a great carrot at the end of a stick. Speaking of deer ~ have you heard about the all white muley hanging out in Rowley Downs in Parker? My friend Nancy showed me a picture of it last Saturday. It's gorgeous! I'm going to be over there Monday to see another friend, so I'm going to see if I can spot it. Have a great weekend!
DeleteI often walk there with the dogs. Haven't been there since before Christmas, though. Maybe I'll have to get back at it so maybe I can see him (her).
Deleteit's been so long since I've seen that movie
ReplyDeleteHi Adam! Thanks for visiting my blog and becoming a follower! I really appreciate it! I haven't seen "Groundhog Day" in forever, but I've never forgotten it. I seem to go around in circles a lot! I hope that you have a fun weekend!
DeleteO wow, I LOVE your pictures! Look at all that snow, and the animals! Sigh, reminds me so of Canada, and that crisp, crisp air -- we need some of it here please!!
ReplyDeleteHi B&R! I'm so glad that you enjoyed my pictures. I had so much fun playing with the images! Learning how to use Picasa has taken me some time. I basically use a process of repeated trial and error until I figure something out. Our snow is all gone this morning. We have had a big melt off since I took the photos yesterday morning. There were suddenly a few welcome, yellow dandelions poking up out of the ground by my driveway this morning. Yeah! I wish I could send you some fabulous fresh air from Colorado. It is just a joy to breathe it. When we were in Hong Kong it was so smoggy - all the way over to Macau. Becky posted a comment on my map post which was so sweet. Have a great weekend with your beautiful family!
DeleteWhat a day, so many lovely photos but you must be over to cold now.
ReplyDeleteHi GT! You're right ~ I am so over cold! Pretty soon it will be hot, and I'll be longing for cold again! My husband hates the cold, but usually I revel in it ~ on bright, sunny, windless days that is! Have a great weekend! Thanks for the kind words!
DeleteHello Louise,
ReplyDeleteNo more snow for us please!! Love the pictures especially the altered muleys one. Hope it melts quickly and you get some flowers soon! We saw a herd of wild deer yesterday (40+) just standing still while we drove through the forest, beautiful but a bit surreal and so sad I didn't have my camera to hand! Have a good weekend.
Ivan
Hi Ivan! Thank you for your kind comment! I would have loved to see your deer. Forty plus is a big herd. I'm not sure how big my neighborhood herd is. I counted 17 yesterday, but I'm not sure if the group had males in it or not. The male muleys lose their antlers in January and February, so it's hard for me to tell them apart at a distance. This morning the snow is almost gone, and I found dandelions poking out of the ground! I did a happy dance when I saw their little yellow faces! I hope that you and Mark have a happy, restful weekend!
DeleteWell, at least you got some great photos out of the whole ordeal! Seems like old man winter just won't call it quits. I hope he's finally retired.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Martha! The forecast is for warm springlike weather in the next few days. No snow on the horizon, but it can snow here into May; April is one of our biggest snow months. Thanks for the compliment on my photos. It's such a joy to finally have fun to play with them. Have a fun weekend!
DeleteI was wondering when "photo editing" was going grab onto you and NEVER let you go. This is what happens to us weaklings!!
ReplyDeleteGreat results!
Little bird with pencil sketch effect...love! Did you know you can use PS and fade the picture to add more colour? So many things!
Sunrise ~~ nice!
60's Acid Trip ~~~ I know someone who's gonna lurve this one!!!
This will open up a new world for you ~~~ perhaps another blog ~~ I've thought about off and on, especially with so many photos that need help!
More please!
Ron
Hi Ron!
DeleteI was glad to hear from you! I was getting a little worried about you and Jim! I wasn't quite ready to start a search party, but it was getting close! Now I appreciate how you felt!
I am such a total weakling now! For the past 50+ years I've studied and worked so hard, and now my backbone and discipline have gone to hell!
I haven't tackled PS yet because there is a lot there, and I'm still trying to master Picasa. I kept doing things in collages, because I couldn't figure out how to edit pictures. Then yesterday I realized all you had to do was double click on an image. Then I was off to the races! I learn by repeated trial and error, and I've always joked that I'm LD in computers!
Right now one blog is enough! My blog is so all over the place that I figure I can work anything in. I'm never sure where I'll go when I sit down at my computer.
I've tossed out themes and schedules because they just don't work for me. I've been a butterfly all my life. Even 25 years of teaching couldn't tame me. I had a brilliant, compulsively structured autistic boy in my class a couple of years ago. They put him with me to shake him up a little. I'll never forget the first day of school, half an hour in, when asked me where my schedule was. I told him we went to lunch at 12:40 p.m., but other than that I thought I'd see how things played out. He tried to keep me on track all year ~ it didn't work too well! Never-the-less he and I got on great! I loved working with all the kiddos who were real individuals ~ outside of the norms in all directions.
I plan to get another northern post out by Sunday. We'll see how it goes!
Have a great weekend with Jim and Sophie!
Sorry for any 'disappearance' ~~ we both contracted the flu bug which has messed my brain up more that you or I could know. Next year (that would be this year) I'm getting the flu shot. I always did get it but decided not to this year ~~~ big mistake!
DeletePHotoSHop keeps looming on my desktop. I got a deal on Amazon last April(OMG 1 year ago now)and got the video + editing for $79 ....yee haaa ~~~ more like Yee HaHa! Hardly ever use it because it's actually intimidating. If you decide to try it and learn anything just let me know how you do! Tks!
I might have told you that I worked with an autistic boy in Vancouver in 1980 ~~~ loved him and the school ~~ entirely challenged school. Not allowed anymore! Oh well, integration/inclusion and all! This schoold was remarkable and I enjoyed every moment.
I missed HR 6 post so I'm heading over now!
Have a great w/e!
Ron
I am so sorry that you and Jim have been through the flu ~ yuck!
DeleteI always get my flu shot! Don't forget the shingles shot ~ I hope you've already gotten it. Pretty soon I'll qualify for the pneumonia shot ~ but I'm not going to whine about getting older. It's way better than the alternative!
I always loved working with the autistic kiddos. I'm always torn over the integration/inclusion model for teaching different types of kids ~ more so the deaf and blind whom I had in my regular classes over the years. I don't know the answers, so I just loved them all and did my best to meet their needs ~ while raising hell with the administrators at different levels. I had to become secretary of our union just to protect myself because I could never shut up and lay low.
I have another HR post in the works ~ I just got distracted by Iguacu Falls at the bar last night!
Have a good weekend, Ron!
Wow you sure caught some great shots! First I was focusing on the sunrise...then I saw the little muleys. I have not heard of these. Are they deer?? Where do they live?
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of posterizing and blurring the edges on the not quite focused shots! Great tip!
I am chuckling of the thought of you running window to window while husband stands waiting for sandwich and coffee.
Peace.
Hi Monica!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind comment! The little muleys are deer ~ much like white tailed deer except that they have large ears. http://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com/2013/01/hungry-neighbors.html I put an address to one of my earlier posts on muleys. There is open land and a ponderosa pine reserve near where I live, and the deer mostly hang out there a lot. Unfortunately ~ and this includes us ~ people are moving into their habitat. We're at the northern extremity of the Black Forest in Colorado.
Terry and I are coming up on twenty-nine years of marriage, so he's adjusted to me somewhat. He just knows that I'll drop anything in search of a photo or other passion.
Have a great weekend!
Louise! So happy you are having fun with Picasa! And there is a lot of 'fine-tuning' that can be done to kinda personalize your photo. I do feel that some 'fixed/improved' photos are much more interesting to view than the original at times. Great job on your neighbourhood critters. I LOVE that pencil sketch of the bird.....looks very doable doesn't it.
ReplyDeleteI noticed you worked with autistic kids over the years. My third year in teaching I was working at the Nova Scotia Hospital and had a small class of kids from 5 to 12 years old. One was autistic and ran to class every morning backwards....out his building, down the stairs, along the path to the school building, down the hall, into the classroom and backwards into his desk. He was a sweetheart as long as 'things' stayed the same. I mistakenly moved his desk one day and he became very upset. I learned a lot that year about these children on the 'spectrum'. My last year teaching before my accident, I had a grade 11 student who was very high functioning/aspergers. I admire everybody who has worked with these children and continue to do so. They require time and patience to move ahead.
So spring is coming to Colorado I hear/read. Enjoy and have fun on Picasa!!
Hi Jim!
DeleteI was sorry to hear from Ron that you two have been tackled by the flu this week! I knew something was up, and I was worried about you two. I'm glad to hear it's pretty much behind you now.
I always found working with autistic kids rewarding. You get so much more than you give. The boy I spoke of was brilliant, and he was also put in my class because I was very successful with gifted kiddos.
He went to fifth grade math and would always check in with me before heading out to recess with the third graders.
He came in one day, and I was putting handwriting practice up on the board. I had carefully written "Doha" because we were working on capital D. He (who adored maps, like me ~ was drawing maps of New York's subway from memory in first grade) said, "Doha, hmm, sounds like someplace in the Middle East. Hmm, not Saudi Arabia or Kuwait. Wait, I know! I bet it's Qatar!" I loved that kid. We had so much fun together! The stories I could tell!
That pencil sketch was awesome, and I am ruined. I need several retirements running concurrently ~ one just for playing with photos!
Have a good w/e!