All these photos were taken with my point & shoot Canon Powershot SX 110 IS. The feeder is located on my bedroom balcony. Most of the hummingbirds will let me get within 12” of them, and several will let me reach my hand towards them as close as 6-8”. I so enjoy sitting out there with a cup of tea while the hummingbirds chirp and chatter, and zoom around my head.
“When life hands you challenges, be sure to tackle them slowly and carefully.” ~ by Me
Jen sat down in the chair in the chicken coop last night and within seconds a flock of chicks swarmed all around her. I told her she looked like like a human Christmas tree decorated with feathered ornaments.
Hmmm.
We’re missing something.
There…………..Perfect!
From our Coop to yours……….Merry Christmas!
A Father and his Daughters "Strap One On" at the NMMSAR ACTHA CTC at Founders Ranch SASS.
(Hey, is that a Curly Horse over there on the left?)
Please take a moment to watch this video of Olympic Dressage Competitor, Courtney King-Dye. Her touching, sincere words, sharing how her life-changing horse injury happened, just might help you make the decision to protect your brain by wearing a helmet. She brought tears to my own eyes listening to dreams unrealized and so many lives affected, just by the simple decision not to wear a helmet. Please watch:
Link to Courtney King-Dye Video on You Tube
As Courtney says :
“Everyone is a Role Model for Someone”
I just received the Photo CD from the Founders Ranch ACTHA Competitive Trail Ride. Theresa’s daughter, Katherine, was the Ride Photographer and did a phenomenal job taking gorgeous photos…..over 800+ photos! And most of those photos were included on this photo CD. So, as you can imagine I am still going through them, enjoying seeing pics of other riders attempting the same obstacles we tried, and recognizing fellow riders we didn’t get to see during the ride because we were all strung out along the trail.
I am also surprised at the 10 or so photos I’ve discovered that were taken of Apache and I. Some of them I didn’t even know Katherine was nearby snapping photos! Talk about stealth photography! lol!
Anyway, this is my favorite photo of them all. In fact it is my favorite photo of the entire day, and even this year. I love that it’s a candid shot and I think it really shows off my pretty mare. (But not so much, me. Ooh! The hips have got to go!)
Apache was very alert, but calm, while waiting to take a turn at the Slicker/Hat Pick-Up Obstacle, observing what the other horses are doing.
The Bug House is located in Albuquerque on Monte Vista Blvd., not very far from the University of New Mexico. Most people know it as The Bug House but some people also call it The Space Ship House, too. The very creative and talented architect that designed and built this house still lives in it as his personal home. His name is Bart Prince.
Front View
Side View with me standing on the sidewalk across the street.
Another Section on the right side of the House
Different angle of House
Photo that my twinling Jax edited in Paint.Net to make it look more like a Space Ship.
Since I talked about our dogs on one of the recent Sunday Still’s Challenges, and I talked about our flock of chickens just last week, and Apache usually gets in the spotlight on a regular basis, I figured it was time to give our cats a chance to shine, too.
I’ve been playing with a new photo editing program called PhotoScape for the past week and really like it. Last year I would primarily use Picnic if I wanted to do any serious editing, or just use a basic Windows Photo editing program for minor contrast tweaks and to add a signature. But Picnic is an online program that only gives you a few editing options unless you pay for a subscription, while PhotoScape not only gives you lots of creative options, it is a downloadable program, so you can edit photos and play around even when you don’t want to be online….plus it’s free!
Anyway, all of the photos below, I have edited using PhotoScape. Let me know what you think and if you have any favorites.
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We have 3 spayed female indoor cats that are named Javalina, Hopi, and Sage.
Javalina is my daughter, Jen’s cat and we adopted her when she was just a tiny kitten, in Benson, Arizona, 5 years ago when we were pet-sitting for friends.
Javalina is a very special Manx cat that is completely devoted to Jen. She rarely ever let’s my daughter out of her sight and will even sit beside the bathtub while Jen is taking a bath.
Javalina is very gentle, loving, and tolerant and sleeps and cuddles with Jen every night. She enjoys being carried around like a baby and will do just about anything for attention.
Hopi is a pretty Maine Coon mix cat who belongs to my twinling son Jax. Hopi was adopted from our local Animal Shelter 2 years ago as a kitten. She is a little more independant and likes her space, but Hopi is very loving and devoted to Jax and spends every night cuddling with him in his bed and tolerates all of his rough handling and playing.
(Sometimes Hopi will come into my bedroom and take a nap on my entertainment center shelves)
Sage is a beautiful Tabby cat who loves everyone. She was adopted as a kitten from our local Animal Shelter just a year ago and is primarily my twinling son Jem’s cat.
(Jem adores his cat and the feeling is mutual)
She spends every night cuddling and purring beside Jem, but seems to enjoy coming to my room every day to just hang out and be petted. She’d probably sleep with me, too. But my Dobbie Girl won’t allow it…..
Both Hopi and Sage will tolerate Dobbie sniffing around and playing with them, but Javalina always runs away, which gets Dobbie excited and in chase-mode.
(I used an antique filter for this photo of Sage peeking out at me from one of the shelves on my entertainment center)
All three of our cats are affectionate, gentle and treasured members of our family.
(There are quite a few antique filters to choose from, so decided to try out another one. Which is your favorite?)
Well I got a huge smile today when I visited my neighbor friend’s blog Fantastyk Voyage and saw the exact same photo that I was planning to post today. I think we’ve done this before, too. How weird is that?
This art sculpture is located on private property owned by an art gallery, near Cerillos, NM, on the Turquoise Trail on the way to Santa Fe, NM.
This is same location of two other art sculptures that I took photos of for this post Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Anyway, I wasn’t going to post mine, but figured ‘what the heck’. I think Val’s photo is actually better than mine because she zoomed in closer and the lighting was better.
Here’s my photo of the Origami Equine.
Yesterday I was quite bemused at all the questions and surprise garnered by my post: Friday Foto ~ Lofty Views , even more so because the location that Hopi was perched on is a place that all 3 of our kitties visit every day throughout the day, with no trouble at all. Someone even asked if I put Hopi up on that ledge. haha! I couldn’t if I tried. I can barely lift her and especially not up high above my head. She is heavier than my Dobbie Girl. Most cats seem to hide their lean, lithe bodies under layers of fluff, but not our Hopi. She is quite rotund under all that long fur. In fact, the kidlets tend to call her “squishy”, and “chunky monkey” when they are loving on her. Thankfully she is a very sweet, patient, and tolerant kitty.
Anyway, since so many of you were curious, I decided to take some photos of that window ledge and how easy it is for, not only our three kitties, but also our three kidlets to access that area anytime they like.
Jen has been known to carry a blanket and pillow, some toys or a book and just hang out up there. Often times her beloved Manx cat, Javelina will join her, and sometimes Sage, my twinling Jem’s cat, will jump up, too.
The perch is really just a plant ledge, at the landing between two flights of stairs on the way upstairs to our loft, offices and a couple bedrooms
There are no lovely plants gracing the ledge, though, because I tend to have a brown thumb. For some reason, Plants don’t seem to do well when you forget to give them water. Go figure. Only one plant has managed to survive and thrive in my care and that is our ‘Jolly Green Giant’. A spindly banana leaf tree, it’s one of the reasons we chose this house with it’s two story high living room with lots of light, and room for JGG to grow. JGG has been with our family for over 16 years, after rescuing the 12” tall stubby scrub from K-Mart’s garden center toss-pile. JGG has moved with us 5 different times and traveled across country, from NM to SC and back again.
Anyway, it’s probably just as well we don’t keep plants on the ledge, because if we did, our cats would consider it their special vegetarian buffet.
The kitties do seem to like it up there and I imagine their instincts must kick in and they morph into mountain lions, leopards or jaguars, observing the world and their potential prey, ready to pounce!
So there ya go. I sure hope that helped solve The Mystery of The Lofty Views.
