Autumn's burning love

Burning bush shrubs make a wonderful backdrop for photos in November. 

I took all these shots last week but now it seems the brilliant leaves litter the ground instead of populating the branches. Such a shame watching the bright colors fade away, knowing what we have in store for the coming months. 

Winston ... a surprise shot for sure!

I love it when Lily's ears flop backwards. Love that.

Although I know I'm supposed to get down on a dogs level to take there picture, every time I did this is what I got . . .

I'm not sure if it was nap time or what but she wouldn't open her eyes for me.

So are you ready? Ready for Thanksgiving and December? Because both will be here before you know it. My daughter is so anxious to go skiing. She talks about it all the time. Me, I'm just anxious for Spring. To see all the bulbs I planted last week burst forth from the unfrozen ground. To see the buds on the trees. To feel the warmth of the sun on a brilliant afternoon. 

Okay, back to reality

One day at a time

Autumn bliss ~ Texture Tuesday

This week I thought I'd do something a little different. For the first time I'm joining Kim Klassen Cafe for Texture Tuesday

This weeks texture is called Phoebe, and I used it on the top photo only. 

I don't know about you but I save older magazines that I cannot bare to part with, especially Victoria magazines. Holiday editions are especially nice to revisit as the seasons come around once again.

During the photo shoot I was so fortunate to have a little help . . .

Awe Phin, you steal my heart

and my prop! Ha!

Then along comes Lily who just has to see what all the fuss is about. Where would I be without my animals *sigh*

I just wanted to leave you with a simple joy I love about this time of year. If you live in a place where the seasons change I know you'll appreciate it too. Don't you just love driving down the road and seeing all the leaves blow around in circles behind you? Or watching them fall from the trees in mass quantity as gusty winds give them wings?  

Although there are bursts of color here and there, November is taking its toll. Before we know it there will be nothing but green pine trees and empty branches. This winter I am determined not to go without fresh flowers of some sort every week!

Sweet floral mosaic ~ Instagram style

Okay, I know Pioneer Woman is doing it, and Lisa Leonard is doing it too, but I really didn't pay much attention until my daughter mentioned it.

Instagram

And now I'm mildly addicted.

Above are a few images I've Instagrammed over the past couple days. It's just so much fun!

Unfortunately it's also an iTunes app so if you don't have an Apple product you're pretty much out of luck. At least for now anyways. Instagram is working on an app for Droids, as well as a desktop version.

The good news is that you don't have to have an app to see someones photos! Here is a link to my images, here are PW's images, and finally these are Lisa Leonards!


Linking up with Mary's Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

Lily's day!

What do you do on a warm, 60 degree, February afternoon when the sun is shining and there's not a cloud in the sky? Why go to the beach, of course! After all, that's where all the cool dogs are hanging out!

When we arrive Lily is so excited she can barely contain herself. LOL! She really loved the yellow lab, but not enough to follow him into the water. Unless it's an exceptionally warm day Lily will have nothing to do with going into the ocean. Maybe a dip of the toes but that's it.

Honestly, I'm not sure I'd be chasing a dog with those teeth!

I want to have this much fun with my friends!

I love this dog more than you could ever know. We adopted Lily as a puppy, in 2004, from a local rescue group after she had been shipped north from Virginia, a common practice in New England. A couple years ago I was so excited to finally have her breed tested with a blood sample using the Wisdom Panel *Professional test. Several weeks later my vet called and left a message saying I was never going to believe the results.

Lily's 2 main breeds are:
Rottweiler and American Eskimo

Her 2 secondary breeds are:
Afghan and German Shepard

I know, it's crazy! But as my vet said, it just goes to show, what you see on the outside of a mixed breed dog isn't necessarily what's on the inside. I can definitely see the American Eskimo in her personality (the girl can dance! and she's a big time barker), and the Afghan in her coat. She's very protective and devoted to me but I think most of those breeds have the same traits. Many people think she's part Wheaten but that breed didn't show up in the testing. Either way, no matter what, I love her like one of my own kids.

After a LOT of running it was time to go back to the car, get a drink, and head home. What a day!

check out that kong flying through the air

In a couple weeks or so I'm going to working in one of the homes on this very beach. I cannot wait! The interior painting job is extensive so I'll be there a while. Glorious I tell you, glorious.

On this day . . .

. . . I awoke to the sound of snow plows going up and down our street. Since I had to bring my daughter to work at 7 am, and there was a fresh inch of snow on the ground, it seemed like the perfect time to get out and take a few photos.

Lily, and a wonderful tractor I've been eying for a while

Hydrangea in my garden, with the lights on the arbor shining in the background

A wonderful old door in downtown Exeter along String Bridge/another hydrangea leaning into the arbor

Although I had planned on posting a bit more this past week, life had other plans. Since the 1st day of the year there have been issues to attend to which has taken all my emotion to deal with. Tonight's post makes me happy, and that's the only reason to ever share any of my photos, because they bring me joy, and I hope in turn they will bring you joy too : )

Linking up with Mary's Little Red House for Mosaic Monday!

In the Pink

I cannot image my life without animals in it. There may be days when they're tearing up the furniture, scratching the floors, chewing up a sock, stealing food, throwing up, or worse, but the joy they bring to my heart on a daily basis far out weighs the challenges.

I love Lily and Winston.

My Girl

Lily's absolutely favorite ball in the world, the Squeaker ball. There can be a whole bag full of tennis balls and this is the one she will sniff out and find . . . every, single, time.
You can buy them in a 4-pack at Target.

. . . and that's the truth.


* Do you feel the same way about your dogs/cats?

A golden glow

Just a few simple photos taken in my own yard. Nothing fancy.

Just a little, teeny hole to let the sunlight through.

It seems there's plenty of yellows and golds this year, but reds are starting to make an entrance.

For the container next to our front steps I used a mixture of left over summer plants and added the Kale and Mum. It looks good to me! I've yet to buy any decorative pumpkins but since my husband is on vacation next week you can bet we'll be making a trip to a local pumpkin grower!

Or maybe we'll go to the church I went to last year . . .

Forever & Ever

 

I bought new Hydrangea’s

They’re called Forever & Ever ~ Together Hydrangea

I fell in love with the double flowers and multiple colors. Have you ever seen anything like them before? They were $11 each at Lowes so I brought home 7 to plant out in front of my house. My husband worked until almost 9:00 at night getting them all in the ground, while I trimmed the out-of-control Wisteria and Double-flowering Cherry tree.

It might be almost July but I think the garden if finally coming together.

 

My sweet Lily

 

A somewhat rustic view of the new Hydrangea’s. Some flowers have more green than others. This particular flower was all pink, though they are all the same variety. Another thing I like about the Together Hydrangea is that it’s low growing. Only 25”.  high. Most are up around 36”, which won’t work for the low windows in the front of our house.

  Winston! You better not pee on the new flowers!

He looks guilty already.

Hey, bud!

Although I should be posting more photos from my trip to Vermont, and I will, I was just so inspired by today's incredible weather that I decided to hold off a bit longer. Hope you don't mind.

Thought I would go side this afternoon and see what's budding. Turns out about everything is! I'm loving the Forsythia. Odd how the only flowers-in-bloom on this bush were right down at ground level. And you know what else? I just noticed there's a bug on one of them!

Bug-ug-ug (it's from a book the girls had when they were little)



The Honeysuckle has a long way to go, but nothing smells sweeter on a warm, early summers day.



Ahh, one of my favorites . . . the Double Flowering Cherry tree. It breaks my heart when the last flower falls.



Spring fireworks: Maple tree flowers



After chronicling some of my 'buds' the dogs and I went out for a little ball time. Oh yeah, run like the wind Lily and Winston! He was hot on her heals! There's no way she's giving up that ball though. No way.

While the dogs cooled down I decided to put up the flag, which has been sitting in the entry since last fall! Unheard of for us. Usually we put out seasonal flags. For some reason that didn't happen this past winter. It felt good to see old glory fly once again.

And finally, I hung my new 'Welcome' sign. After that it was nap-time, then shopping with my younger daughter, and finally dinner. Now a little mending, then off to bed.

What a fantastic day we had, weather wise. Finally Mother Nature dealt us a good, and well deserved, hand. I hope you had as good a weather as we did!

Tomorrow, we wear shorts! Or at least Capri's.

The Sweetest of Days: Let's Get This Party Started

Wet Dog Syndrome (& about those ads)

Lately I'm reminded of the song from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day ...

...and the rain, rain, rain
came down, down, down...

It seems relentless and unending. This is the 3rd week in a row of flooding rain for us here in New England.

When you have ducks in your backyard where you don't usually even have a pond, then you know it's been raining, a LOT!

Lily is not a fan.
She especially hates being toweled down. Hates it. She runs through the house like a madwoman trying to escape my advances.

The rain does nothing for her hairdo. At least she's clean so she doesn't smell. My husband might beg to differ.

These are good days for her to take long naps, basically because there's not much else to do. No going outside to take walks or play ball or even chase Winston. All she can do is follow me from room to room, staying on my heels at every turn. Sometimes she helps me wash the dishes.

Winston is quite skeptical of the rain as well, preferring to do his business inside if he can get away with it. You dirty dog, Winston. Yeah, you!

Come the end of the week it will all be just a bad memory, and a lot of mud. Upper 60's on Thursday, 70's on Friday, and 80+ on Saturday! I can only hope the weatherman has it right. The flowers and birds are hoping the same thing!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I wanted to take a moment and discuss the BlogHer ads that I've added to my blog. I know it's not a popular decision with some people, but, it's a decision I made based on what was right for me and my family.

First of all I didn't put the ads on my page for greed. I'm an interior painter who's been unemployed for 2 months and in a dual income family we are feeling the pinch. Second, after 26 years with the same company we thought my husband could possibly lose his job this month. Plus my older daughter had a minor car accident, and my younger daughter had braces put on. Oy Vey! It's been a stress filled month to say the least! I'm sure you've all been there! So far it appears my husbands job will remain intact, and I actually have a little work on the horizon, provided it doesn't fall through like previous jobs have. Damn this economy!

So often I hear people say I should sell my photos or be a photographer. Thank you so much for the positive words! Your feedback on my progress means the world to me! I tried selling my photos on Etsy. Not a lot of action. And though my photos might look good in the cyberworld, my camera is not good enough for professional use. Therefore putting ads on my page is sort of a compromise. It might give me a little reward for my work but won't cost anyone else a penny. You don't even have to click on the ads, it's mostly based on page impression.

One condition I had when I put the ads on my blog was that I would not compromise the size of my photos. I like the larger format and I believe my viewers do too. I understand if some people are put off by the advertisements but BlogHers ads seem to be pretty tasteful and I didn't go overboard with multiple ads, even though they give me that choice. To be eligible for BlogHer ads I had to fill out an application and be accepted into their program. Though they aren't accepting general applications they liked my blog and felt we'd make a good match.

Just one more thing. I think most (though not necessarily all) women who have ads on their page are doing it for the same reason, they love blogging, spend a lot of time doing building a following, and have worked hard to maintain it. If they can reap a small reward for that hard work then so be it. It's their choice.

I know, I don't usually ramble on and on like this and hopefully I haven't put my foot in my mouth like I tend to do in these situations. I appreciate any feedback you can give me. If you don't feel comfortable leaving a comment, you may email me instead. sharon01@comcast.net

Thank you,
Sharon