Standing Into Danger: September 2022

Friday, September 30, 2022

Oops!

Oops! Yesterday, Thursday, I forgot that today would be Friday.

I totally spaced writing a blog post.

We arrived in Las Vegas about 4:30 pm on Wednesday

after a cancelled flight, flight delays, and finally a ground stop

just as we were about to pull away from our gate in Denver.

We made it to Las Vegas finally, but our bags ended up in Phoenix.

Looking Toward the Stratosphere from El Cortez

Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

September 28, 2022

One Spectacular Cumulonimbus Cloud!

Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

September 28, 2022

Not to worry!

Our friend Jon picked us up at the airport, we checked into El Cortez,

had dinner, and met friends at the Vue Bar at the D.

We had lots of fun catching up with our friends from the East and West coasts.

Catching Up at the Vue Bar

Terry with Catherine, Harv, and Little Jacques

Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

September 28, 2022

I faded pretty quickly, went back to our room, and crashed.

Terry gained a second wind and went on for the evening with more of our friends.

Southwest flew our bags to Vegas and delivered them to our hotel at 2:30 am.

I was really happy to be reunited with my suitcase in the morning, let me tell you!

Southwest Delivers

Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

September 30, 2022

I had planned to share some more photos of our Yellowstone trip,

but I also want to visit your blogs.

So I'll save Yellowstone for another time, and post some photos

for Rain's Thursday Art Date and Nicole's Friday Face Off.

The theme for my friend Rain's Thursday Art Date is Hair.

Here are several hair photos:

While in Nova Scotia this summer, my cousin David brought over a box of photos

to donate to the Smith's Cove Historical Society,

which my sisters Donnie and Barb are co-presidents of.

The box contained a lot of family photos which I took the opportunity to photograph.

This photo is of my Great Great Aunt Arietta Cossaboom MacFarland,

sister to my Great Grandfather Kelsey Cossaboom.

She was beautiful and had the most glorious hair.

Arietta Cossaboom MacFarland

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

Date Unknown: Circa 1890?

I find volcanoes endlessly fascinating,

and Pele's hair is a fragile and beautiful phenomenon

of Kīlauea Volcano and the Kaʻū Desert on the island of Hawaii.

Pele's hair is formed by gas during a volcanic eruption.

When a gas bubble bursts near the surface of a lava flow,

it can stretch the skin of the molten lava into long, thin threads.

The treads of volcanic glass can be two feet long and only one micron thick (0.001mm).

The wind can carry Pele's hair and deposit it in thick mats in low-lying areas.

The strands are fragile, brittle, and sharp.

They are also hazardous, because the tiny slivers of glass can lodge

in your skin or eyes. National Park Service

Pele's Hair

National Park Service Photo

My last hair photo is a beautiful sculpture

by globally known, Cape Town, South African artist Daniel Popper.

This lovely piece graces the Beach Club at Resorts World in Las Vegas.

Daniel Popper's Sculpture

Resorts World, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

November 10, 2021

My photos for Nicole's Friday Face Off this week:

While flying to Vegas I had a window seat,

but the plane's engine blocked much of the view.

I did catch a bit of my favorite Waterpocket Fold

in Capitol Reef National Park in Southern Utah.

This amazing monoclinal fold extends for nearly 100 miles (160 km).

Waterpocket Fold

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA

September 28, 2022

But, for the most part, I had to entertain myself rather than shoot photos out the window.

I learned how to edit photos on my iPhone and found some cool faces

among the old family photos that my cousin David donated to the museum in Smith's Cove:

The first is a photograph of my mother's father John MacDonald (front, right).

When his father died, his parish priest told his mother to send him to Boston

to live with relatives because she had too many children to look after.

While the Boston couple in the photo treated him well,

he never got over being separated from his mother.

John MacDonald (lower right)

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Date Unknown

When I was little, a bottle of pop was a rare treat.

My parents didn't have money to spare for treats like this very often.

Obviously, my brother Roy relished this bottle of Coca Cola!

A Rare Treat for My Brother Roy

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

Summer, 1952

I had amazing, loving great aunts and uncles when I was growing up.

Of course, they were older by the time I arrived on the scene,

so I was delighted to find this old photo of my Great Aunt Nan

when she was a high school student dressed up as a fairy godmother.

Annie Cossaboom

Fairy Godmother

Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada

1918

These final faces really captured my interest when Terry and I

were having dinner at the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room.

This glass etching is one of several etchings that separate

the Old Faithful Dining Room and the Bear Pit Lounge.

I did some research trying to discover who created this image,

and I hope I have the correct information.

This was one of several carved wood panels with animals

in a number of nightclub scenes in the original 1936 Bear Pit Lounge (source).

Robert Reamer, the architect for Old Faithful Inn,

requested Yellowstone Park Hotel Company cartoonists to come up with the images

which were sandblasted into large fir-veneer panels.

In 1988 the faded wooden panels were etched onto glass by Jack Herndon in Denver (source).

Regardless of how this etching came about, I find it enigmatic and oddly beautiful.

Glass Etching, Old Faithful Inn Dining Room

Yellowstone National Park

September 15, 2022

I'm sure all our hearts go out to the people of Florida

who have suffered devastating loses.

I'm looking forward to visiting around!

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

My next post will be on

Wednesday, October 5, 2022. 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/nature/peles-hair.htm

Friday, September 23, 2022

Spectacular Yellowstone National Park + TAD and FFO

Terry and I are back home after a refreshing and encouraging

three-night stay in magnificent Yellowstone National Park.

Standing on Artist's Point Overlooking the Lower Falls on the Yellowstone River

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

September 14, 2022

After being pandemic housebound for over two years,

it was amazingly refreshing to hike in the wilderness again.

I love my little park along Piney Creek

where I've been observing nature for seventeen years,

but it is not wilderness, and I have been craving wilderness.

White-breasted Nuthatch Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, USA

April 20, 2019

And the trip was encouraging because Terry and I have improved so much physically

since we had to cut short our trip to Nova Scotia last month for medical reasons.

Terry Sitting Near the End of the Trail to Mystic Falls

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

September 15, 2022

Our hike to Mystic Falls was the favorite part of our trip for both of us.

We chose to take the shortest trail to the 70-foot falls

which drop from the Madison Plateau.

The trail, a 2.4-mile round trip along Little Firehole River,

passes through a beautiful mixed conifer forest.

The Trail to Mystic Falls Along the Little Firehole River

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

September 15, 2022

Well, Hello, Little Guy!

Sharing the Mystic Falls Trail

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

September 15, 2022

The Woolly Bear Caterpillar: specifically, the larva of the Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella)

Mystic Falls

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

September 15, 2022

This year marks the 150th Anniversary

of Yellowstone National Park.

It was created on March 1, 1872

when President Ulysses S. Grant

signed 2.2 million acres of

Wyoming, Montana and Idaho

into existence as America's

first national park.

Lake Lodge

Yellowstone National Park

Heinrich Berann NPS Panorama of Yellowstone

(as an employee of the National Park Service)

1991

Wikipedia

Park Map

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

September 14, 2022

I think Yellowstone National Park is one of the most spectacular places on the planet,

especially for someone like me who is fascinated by geology and volcanoes.

Yellowstone sits atop an active super volcano which was the site

of one of the largest volcanic eruptions ever known

and is potentially the most explosive and deadly volcano on Earth.

The park contains half the world's hydrothermal features,

an incredible assemblage of more than 10,000 hot springs

fumaroles, travertine terraces, mudpots, and geysers.

Firehole River with Hot Springs in the Background

Near Old Faithful Geyser

September 15, 2022

Yellowstone is also known for its abundant and varied wildlife,

beautiful waterfalls, meadows, rivers and canyons.

If you're lucky, you may get caught in a bison jam!

An Inviting Path

North of Yellowstone Lake

September 13, 2022

It's a Bison Jam!

North of Yellowstone Lake

September 13, 2022

******

The theme for my friend Rain's Thursday Art Date last week was Silhouettes.

Here are several silhouette photos:

Bison Silhouetted Against an Autumn Meadow

Yellowstone National Park

September 14, 2022

Hikers Silhouetted Against the Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin

Yellowstone National Park

September 15, 2022

The Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the United States

and the third largest in the world.

Lodgepole Pine Silhouetted Against the Sunset

Near Old Faithful Geyser

September 14, 2022

This week's TAD theme is Harvest Dinner. Here are several harvest dinner photos:

A Woolly Bear Caterpillar Munches Its Harvest Dinner

Norris Geyser Basin

September 14, 2022

Terry Enjoys a Harvest Meal and Mine Awaits

The Obsidian Dining Room in Old Faithful Snow Lodge

September 14, 2022

Woodland Pine Drops Ready for Harvest

Mystic Falls Trail

September 14, 2022

The pine drops red stems can be eaten raw, roasted, or baked under the fire like mushrooms.

It's ground stems and berries can be used to make a cold infusion

to treat lung hemorrhages and nose bleeds,

while infusion of the roots has been used in the treatment of gonorrhea.

******

My photos for Nicole's Friday Face Off this week:

A Chipmunk Looking for Food to Harvest for Winter

Mystic Falls Trail

September 14, 2022

My Favorite Face in the World

Mud Volcano Area

September 14, 2022

These Furry Faces Were Part of a Bison Jam

Grand Loop Road Along the Gibbon River

September 14, 2022

One of the Super Volcano's Many Mouths

Mud Volcano Area Along the Yellowstone River

20-second Video

September 14, 2022

I'm looking forward to visiting around!

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

My next post will be on

Friday, September 30, 2022. 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, September 16, 2022

First Love: The Art of Making Doughnuts: The Latest IWSG Anthology!

The latest Insecure Writer's Support Group anthology was released on September 6, 2022.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading First Love: The Art of Making Doughnuts.

Escaping into a light-hearted book that raised my spirits was exactly what I needed.

It was a delight, as sweet and comforting as Officer Gina McAllister's

favorite raspberry cream doughnuts, but without the calories.

Goodreads

Typically, I don't read romance books.

I'm more into science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, and historical fiction,

but I read the six previous IWSG anthologies, and I wasn't going to miss the seventh.

The ten IWSG authors wrote engaging stories set in a variety of places and times,

and they showed that you're never too young or too old to experience a first love.

******

The Ten Stories:

Story #1:

"The Art of Making Doughnuts" by Linda Budzinski

Could a fiercely independent cop’s heart be stolen

by the guy who makes her favorite doughnuts?

This story deserved the honor of being featured on the cover.

It is sweet perfection with fun characters, a strong narrator's voice,

and a tight, well-integrated structure.

Definitely cops and doughnuts go together.

The surprise was jigsaw puzzles and Impressionist art.

Luncheon of the Boating Party

Story #2:

"My Heart Approves"

by Melissa Maygrove.

Will a maid who used deceit to snare a mail-order husband

get a dose of her own medicine?

A suspenseful and funny story, with an unlikely couple wed by proxy

after a long correspondence. Can Abby and John find love together?

Story #3:

"How to Save a Princess"

by Katie Klein.

Can her handsome neighbor rescue a modern-day "princess" from a tenacious ex-boyfriend??

This over-the-top hilarious story with an unusual love triangle

kept me laughing from beginning to end.

Story #4:

"My First Love(s)"

by Templeton Moss.

Do you remember your first love?

A married couple reminisces about theirs. Two distinct voices

and an unexpected twist make this story memorable.

Story #5:

"The Real Thing"

by Sammi Spizziri.

Can two strangers in a ride share be honest enough to fall in love for real?

You can change your life by taking a risk.

"The real thing" hits Lola when she least expected it,

and it is someone she would never have anticipated.

Wikimedia Commons

Story #6:

"Paper Faces"

by Sylvia Ney.

Can this journalist get the story or will her big heart get in the way?

An awkward position confronts Helen when her employer instructs her

to get the information to bury an up and coming politician.

A fun story with a good ending.

Story #7:

"Oliver’s Girl"

by Michael Di Gesu.

Will star-crossed sweethearts find a way back to each other?

Olivia spends an afternoon with her great-grandfather and learns some surprising things.

This is a poignant and uplifting story.

Story #8:

"Clyde and Coalesce"

by Kim Elliott.

Can an unexpected collision and some embarrassing assessments lead to true love?

Lizzie knows she lost the right guy for her, and she worries she'll never find love again.

This is a relatable and engaging story with a satisfyingly sweet ending.

Story #9:

"Marmalade Sunset"

by Denise Covey.

What is his grandmother up to a grandson wonders when she invites him

to accompany her on an-end-of-life trip to Greece.

This moving love story is set on the beautiful island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea.

It is well-written with a strong sense of place.

Beautiful Santorini, Greece

Wikimedia Commons

Story #10:

"The Castle of Ohno"

by S.E. White.

Can two lonely, even desperate, people risking everything

for a chance to improve their lives find love?

This atmospheric story set inside the formidable Castle Ohno

is a fitting end to the First Love anthology.

I was racing to the end of the story wondering how this possibly could end well.

******

If you're looking for an enjoyable book to curl up on a quiet evening,

this one will touch your heart and bring back memories of your first love.

First Love: The Art of Making Doughnuts

An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology

The sweetness of first love…

Could a fiercely independent cop’s heart be stolen by the guy who makes her favorite doughnuts? Will a maid who used deceit to snare a mail-order husband get a dose of her own medicine? Can her handsome neighbor rescue a modern-day “princess” from a tenacious ex-boyfriend? Can two strangers in a rideshare be honest enough to fall in love for real? Can you remember your first love? How about your second? Third? Fourth?

Featuring the talents of Linda Budzinski, Melissa Maygrove, Michael Di Gesu, Sylvia Ney, Katie Klein, Kim Elliott, Templeton Moss, S.E. White, Denise Covey, and Sammi Spizziri. Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will touch your heart and rekindle lost feelings. Prepare to return to that first love…

Print ISBN – 9781939844880, $14.95

eBook ISBN – 9781939844897, $4.99

Romance - Clean & Wholesome / Contemporary / Historical

186 pages, Freedom Fox Press, an imprint of Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database; articles; monthly blog posting; Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram groups; #IWSGPit, and a newsletter.

Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo /Goodreads /

“…a refreshing read! This is a gem of a book that I highly recommend.” - Rebecca Boerner M Ed., reviewer

“…this collection nailed the little bites of cute romance… recommend to anyone looking for an uplifting collection of sweet romance to fill an evening.” - Hayley Reese Chow, author

“This was a sweet, warm collection of love stories.” – Angie Titus, author

******