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Friday, September 30, 2011

The Wild Blue Yonder....






The wild blue yonder is getting ready for a wild week...
Snow is in the forecast...

But I'm not ready to give up my flip flops...

Thursday, September 29, 2011

A Hobbit Home???






Wouldn't this be the perfect setting to build a Hobbit home???

"Take one baby, a toddler and a building site.  Mix well with a generous helping of
mud, combine with 6 weeks of solid welsh rain whilst living under canvas.  
Do this in candle light without a bathroom or electricity for three months.  Chuck
in living with your father for good measure.  Top with an assortment of large slugs.
The result is a hand crafted home of beauty, wamth and health for about 
3000."

Check out Michael d'Estries How to Build A Hobbit House
(That You'd Actually Want to Live in!)

For real!!!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Walkin' on Water!!!







Hey mom!!!  How'd they do that???







Right about now...the one guy said to the other guy
"I hate my life..."


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

No Slow Burn Here...




What do you think?

Forest Fire or Lightning???

Definitely a bear's winter home!!!

Monday, September 26, 2011

El Capitan...




El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California

"But no temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite.
Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life...
as if into this one mountain mansion 
Nature had gathered her choicest treasures..."
John Muir

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Path I Chose...






"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path
and leave a trail."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just recently I was talking with my sister about life and living...
she was out of sorts and we were talking about our lives and our choices...
I find it fascinating, looking back, how much my life was impacted
by the philosophies of the times (the 60's and 70's) and the songs..particularly the 
Beatles and the song "All There is is Love".

As the years have gone by, the idealistic views of my life have been
tempered by the realities of life and and a lifetime of work...
when I became a manager of employees and saw the kids that came 
through our school who were products of social promotion...
my perspective began to change...

At this time in my life... I wish I had followed my heart and values more...
I gave up bits of myself along the way...particularly in relation to 
two previous relationships  (ok...previous husbands...)
I look back now and I see opportunities I lost along the way, and yet the path 
that I followed made me who I am today...
(Something the Chief reminds me of when I get philosophical...)

Would I really change the path I took???  

Food for thought...



Saturday, September 24, 2011

Ahwahnee Hotel...in Black and White...



Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Valley, California

"Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and gold
wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space."
Ansel Adams

Friday, September 23, 2011

What do you see???





"i thank you God for this most amazing day,
for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, 
and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural,
which is infinite, 
which is yes."

e.e. cummings



Thursday, September 22, 2011

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Join me in a cup of Java???


"J"



Tuesday was Just that kind of day.

It was a beautiful day all day...then a few Jaunty white clouds rolled in.   
Not long after, the clouds grew dark and covered the sky...

Seemed to me to be the perfect setting for a Cup of Joe and 
some Jazzy Jazz on the stereo...

Join me for a cup of Java???




Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Sun Sets Only to Rise Again!





"It is so small a thing to have enjoyed the sun, 
to have lived light in the spring,
to have loved, 
to have thought, 
to have done."
Mathew Arnold



Monday, September 19, 2011

A Single Flower...





"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, 
our whole life would change."
Buddha

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Yosemite...a Dangerous Beauty...






I just recently read that this year there have been about twice the average number of deaths
 in Yosemite...17 total by mid August...I didn't realize that even half would be a normal number.
When my granddaughters and I were visiting, we saw some news vans and instantly
thought something had happened...but then we realized they were from 
one channel and thought...maybe it's a special interest story about Yosemite...

We found out on our way home that 3 people had lost their lives going over what I believe were 
these falls.  

Yosemite is gorgeous...but it is also wild and can be very dangerous.  
When you visit...pay attention to the signs telling of danger as they may
just save your life.  

For more information, click here.

For more Weekend in Black and White participants...click here!



Saturday, September 17, 2011

Reflections of Another World...





"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
Ralph Waldo Emerson




For more participants in Weekend Reflections...click here!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Thunderstorms and snow....already???






This last winter was an "epic" winter.  Over 664 inches of snow 
covered these mountains....as you can see, some is still there after our short 
but very sweet summer...

For the past week we've had clear blue skies in the mornings with 
beautiful billowy white clouds...only to have it cloud over 
with grey and menacing thunder clouds in the late afternoon.

Yes...we've actually already had snow at 10000ft...
just a dusting, but it's there...
Some say we're in for another epic winter...
Some are predicting 30% more snow than last year...
But then, just how often are the meteorologists right??? 

For more Skywatch Friday participants, click here...

Thursday, September 15, 2011

A Photographer's Dream...





Lately I've been taken with seeing other photographers absorbed in 
their vocation...

I'll bet they got some great photos!!!

"To me, photography is an art of observation.  It's about finding something
interesting in an ordinary place...I've found it has little to do with the things 
you see and everything to do with the way you see them."
Elliott Erwitt

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The most Important spot in Mammoth!!!

ABC Wednesday
"I"




Little did I know that when we moved to Mammoth, the US Post office
would Indisputably become the most Important spot in town...

Mammoth Lakes does not have street delivery...I know...
but apparently the sleet and snow the postal service will go through 
to get our mail to us is strictly on the way to the Mammoth Post Office!!!
It's up to us to check our boxes and look for the yellow card that means
"You've got packages!!!"

The Post Office here is quite the social scene...
generally speaking TheChief runs into someone daily...

Now you've probably noticed that our Post Office is quite 
beautifully landscaped...
that's thanks to Elizabeth Tenney...one of our Planning Commissioners
who took it upon herself to beautify our social center!!!

Indisputably one of the most beautiful Post Office social centers 
anywhere!!!

(I must apologize though...I took this yesterday...quite at the end of our 
summer blooming...it's quite extraordinary when in full bloom...
I promise next year...early spring!!!)


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

It's been a Mammoth summer...






Mammoth got a rather late start for Spring or rather Summer...
and the flowers are still blooming...

Monday, September 12, 2011

Another Photographer!!!





Meet Doris!!!  My stepson Tom's girlfriend...
Also into photography!!!  
Which is a good thing...'cause I didn't pick up my camera much 
when we were in Sequoia :(

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning...






It's hard to believe it's actually been ten years since our world stood still 
while we all watched the horrors of that tragic day....

Since the beginning of September, the National Geographic channel has 
been airing the most amazing footage of one of the most horrific tragedies
in our lifetime.  If you haven't seen them, do make a point to do so. 

As I've watched the various episodes, the emotion of that day and the days following
floods back...and I again wonder how any human being could 
willingly participate in such a horrific attack...knowing that they too, will not survive.
It is unimaginable to me.

What also came back to me...was the incredible realization that so many
throughout the world were as horrified as we were...
regardless of our different ideologies...
and took time to ceremonially honor those who had died in our 
American tragedy.

 God Bless the more than 3000 souls who lost their lives that horrific day.

Thank you to all those who participated in the recovery and cleanup following this tragedy.
You are all heroes...

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

Alan Jackson




Saturday, September 10, 2011

Yep....we're home!!!





I think Sadie and Cleo have finally figured out that this is home!!!



Friday, September 9, 2011

Skywatch Friday....





"Twilight drops her curtain down, and pins it with a star."
Lucy Montgomery




Oops!!!  I thought I'd already posted this...better late than never...

Skywatch Friday...

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Gnarly






Saw this on the hike the other day...

I wonder how it grew this way???

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Happy Hiking!!!


ABC Wednesday...
"H"



Heading out on one of the best hikes ever...
across the river and up the side of the mountain...

We had to walk with our eyes roaming as there had been 
a mountain lion sighting...
No mountain lions, no bears...just gorgeous trees, sunshine, waterfalls...
and good friends and family!!!

For more participants in ABC Wednesday...click here!!!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

It Was a GREAT Weekend!!!






Just got back from our other favorite spot in the mountains...
and the inspiration for our feeling so at home in our new home in Mammoth!!!

Monday, September 5, 2011

A Dichotomy of Life...





"There are two lasting bequests we can give our children:
One is roots, the other is wings."
Hodding Carter



Sunday, September 4, 2011

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Stay on Track...






Frustrated with all the rules and regulations regarding driving cars???

Check out some of these railroad prohibitions!!!

"Putting salt on a railroad track in Alabama was once punishable by death."

"It is considered a misdemeanor offense to throw pickle juice at a trolley on Rhode Island."

"In Seattle, Washington, women who sit on men's laps on trains without placing a pillow 
between them would face an automatic six month jail term."

"In Wisconsin it was once illegal to kiss on a train."

For more railroad prohibitions...click here!!!


Friday, September 2, 2011

Visions of Heaven...






"Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt,
dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth."
Mark Twain


Thursday, September 1, 2011

Restricted Activity??? Bah...Humbug!!!


Yes...as you might remember...Kelly's on restricted activity...




Aw mom....the box of kleenex was just lying there...I figured you put it 
there just for me!!!!