Silk Creek Portal

Happy New Year

2012-01-03T17:51:00.001-05:00

When I arrived at Clam Beach Dec. 30, I saw a short shaft of color stretch out into a beautiful full rainbow, arching between the ocean and the land. It seemed symbolic of my hope for a good new year for all.

Tennessee Trip 2011

2011-11-05T13:03:00.000-04:00

I went to visit my friends in Tennessee again. It was so great to get away from the Texas heat and drought. The fall color was amazing. Every morning I awoke to the amber hues of the Maples outside my window. They own about 100 acres in the Appalachian Mountains. The second photo is a view of the mountains from their house. I spent the days relaxing and hiking around their property, and found plenty of wonderful things to photograph. I've posted more pics here at Metamorphosing.

Hairy Woodpecker

2011-10-22T17:23:00.001-04:00

watercolor

Pileated Pair at ilk Creek

2011-10-01T13:57:00.001-04:00

Pileated Pair, from photos by Scott Carter out the window of his spare room at Silk Creek. Watercolor, by me, Mary Taitt, in Ballookey's Mole. Click image to view larger. The male pileated is perched on the outside of the house, threatening his own reflection, which he takes as another male. Click image to view larger. 5 x 8. Haven't had time to do much blogging because of our two floods. :-(

Apologies to Cole Porter

2011-09-22T20:24:00.001-04:00

Birds do it, bugs do it,

Even California slugs do it.

Skipping rope with kelp

2011-09-22T18:03:00.001-04:00

Yes, there are people in this, but it's human nature to find new uses for natural objects.

Natural Pi

2011-09-22T17:59:00.001-04:00

Nature is witty!

Dry Spring

2011-05-03T18:07:00.003-04:00

tired again
though winter’s rest is over
sun dried chill blows
through a honeysuckle covered
briar patch

Respite cut short
by an early drought

balmy aroma settles sluggishly
among prickles and poison ivy
like artificially flavored syrup
on bleached, deep fried bread

stripped of nutritional purpose
sweet intoxication deteriorates

I don't know what happened to our April showers here in Texas. It's been over a month since we've seen rain, which is unusual for Houston.

Yea Spring!

2011-03-31T22:57:00.005-04:00

I can sit out on my front porch...

without being attacked by mosquitoes.

or in the grass next to Ilma's Garden,...

enjoy a cool breeze,...

and get excited about all my little seedlings that are sprouting. These will be sunflowers pretty soon. I posted more pics here on my blog.

Dragonfly Symbiosis

2011-02-19T21:33:00.002-05:00

Dragonfly Symbiosis

A Story for Gretchen

Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved to go out in the woods and meditate. One of her favorite places to sit in ZaZen was Lycopodium Knoll, a small rise in the sandy woods above Blue Heron Lagoon. The knoll was covered with lycopodia, and the girl would sit with her back to a red maple and her middle finger touching her thumb and resting on her knees. And sit.

One day, however, her serenity was disturbed by deerfly. The deerflies buzzed nosily around and kept landing on the girl’s arms and shoulders. They were trying to bite her.

Suddenly, there was a much larger, louder buzzing and a huge insect landed on her knee. In its mandibles was a deer fly. The dragonfly noisily chomped down the deerfly and a moment later, zipped out and snagged another. When it had eaten that one, it snagged a third, and continued until it had eaten the entire platoon

Then the dragonfly sat calmly on the girl’s knee waiting. Each time another deerfly or mosquito homed in on the girl, the dragonfly captured it and ate it. The girl acted as a food magnet for the dragonfly and the dragonfly protected the girl from insect bites. And this is a true story. Mary Stebbins Taitt The art is a collaboration with Gretchen Owen.

Lynda's Garden

2011-01-28T18:12:00.003-05:00

Lynda's Poem

You embellished my life
with the last five years of yours
Adorned it with stories
from your animal rescue adventures
while I cried on your shoulder
after losing mine
Bejeweled it with bead work
made from our treasure hunt bounty
while helping me blow dust off mine
Illuminated it with photographic treks
no one else had the patience to join
Enriched it with gardens
that renewed environmental wonder
and recycled life

Hours spent in unspoken mirth
or in epic laughter
We shared the same muse
Your diagnosis was terminal
yet you filled life
with life and gave it back
Until the last harvest moon

It’s been a year since then
My camera and beads have
once again gathered dust
But, an overgrown flower bed
outside my door whispered
It’s creator died years ago
A thorny rose stem among weeds
Tiny begonias hidden in the grass
told the story of her love
I thought of you and recycled it

In memory of you
I took a new photo
A huge white bloom
that only opens at night
While inside my house
a bird screeched
A rescue you’d fall in love with
Thank you

Lynda passed away in October of '09. I wrote this poem for her last October. I thought it would be a fitting conclusion for the series I started here. In honor of Lynda, I've started a new garden I named "Ilma's Garden". Ilma was my boyfriend's first wife, who passed away in '99, and who originally started the garden that lays outside my front door.

Waterbirds in flight

2011-01-03T20:52:00.001-05:00

My hiking group went to the Humboldt Wildlife Refuge Friday. There were a lot of birds in the marsh pools. This is the best I could do zooming and cropping some Tundra Swans that landed. Egrets are often seen there (as well as many other places in this area). It doesn't seem to matter how mediocre the photographer or her camera -- if you capture them at all, they are beautiful in flight.

Fall Color in Tennessee

2010-12-22T23:08:00.003-05:00

These are from my trip to Tennessee last year.

This one is actually at Hot Springs North Carolina when were hiking the Appalachian Trail along the French Broad River.

Sunbeam walk

2010-11-09T13:32:00.001-05:00

A walk in the Arcata, CA, Community Forest Nov. 8 was a sunbeam walk! Bundles of beams broke through the canopy, often illuminating showers of droplets from the wet branches. It had rained the night before (as it does almost every night right now).

The Snowy Plover in Galveston

2010-10-24T16:00:00.010-04:00

When I was at the beach the other day, I found myself thinking about Leaf Lady Gail's post on the Snowy Plover. So, I came home and did some research.

Here's a website for The International Snowy Plover Survey. Apparently, this endangered bird's statistics are well documented along the Pacific coast where Gail lives, and now scientists are using those methods to study the Gulf Coast and Mexico where their numbers are thought to be declining also.

I see Snowy Plovers all the time, and never realized they were endangered. The book Bird Life of Houston, Galveston, and the Upper Texas Coast says that the only nesting evidence of these birds here are the fledglings sighted with their parents. No one has actually seen a nest. A 2004 Census counted 491 pairs along the Texas Coast. Counting these little guys seems to be difficult because of the constant changing of their habitat.

They like to nest in dry dunes near the tidal flats where they feed. This picture was taken at the east end of the island along the Houston ship channel, which is considered a bird sanctuary because of all the tidal sand flats and pools.

Hurricanes wipe out huge sections of these flats, washing the sand into the Houston ship channel.

Then we dredge up the sand from the bottom of the ship channel to rebuild the beaches. This is a section of East Beach that is just before the tidal flats. There was a sign saying that they're rebuilding it for sea turtles and endangered birds.

Here's a view of the reconstruction of East Beach from the tidal flats. The ship channel is to the left. The Gulf is straight ahead on the other side of the dunes.

It will probably take a while for the tidal flats to reform. Each time I go, they seem to be growing. I wasn't able to find a more current census to see if the population is declining. The 2004 Census was supposed to be a baseline for future reference.

Dry Lagoon

2010-10-20T00:01:00.001-04:00

I went to Dry Lagoon today for the first time in more than a year!

Blog Action Day! WATER!

2010-10-15T08:42:00.003-04:00

Water is everywhere. It sustains life. It makes our planet livable.

We drink it, we cook with it, we swim in it.

We sail on it.

But water is endangered! We threaten our own lives, our children and grandchildren, by polluting our water.

Yet there is HOPE!

Five facts about water:

Unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Unclean drinking water can incubate some pretty scary diseases, like E. coli, salmonella, cholera and hepatitis A. Given that bouquet of bacteria, it's no surprise that water, or rather lack thereof, causes 42,000 deaths each week.
More people have access to a cell phone than to a toilet. Today, 2.5 billion people lack access to toilets. This means that sewage spills into rivers and streams, contaminating drinking water and causing disease.
Every day, women and children in Africa walk a combined total of 109 million hours to get water. They do this while carrying cisterns weighing around 40 pounds when filled in order to gather water that, in many cases, is still polluted. Aside from putting a great deal of strain on their bodies, walking such long distances keeps children out of school and women away from other endeavors that can help improve the quality of life in their communities.
It takes 6.3 gallons of water to produce just one hamburger. That 6.3 gallons covers everything from watering the wheat for the bun and providing water for the cow to cooking the patty and baking the bun. And that's just one meal! It would take over 184 billion gallons of water to make just one hamburger for every person in the United States.
The average American uses 159 gallons of water every day – more than 15 times the average person in the developing world. From showering and washing our hands to watering our lawns and washing our cars, Americans use a lot of water. To put things into perspective, the average five-minute shower will use about 10 gallons of water. Now imagine using that same amount to bathe, wash your clothes, cook your meals and quench your thirst.

Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Silk Creek Review Values clean water!

Change.org|Start Petition

Camoflage

2010-09-25T15:01:00.001-04:00

These pictures, taken on a northern California beach, may show Snowy Plovers. (I think that's what they are; you may know better.) Their only protection is their camoflage. I will admit I was a bit skeptical when I heard that is the only way they protect themselves from predators (see my other entry). But notice how hard it is to find them among the bits of wood and brush on the sand! Perhaps Nature did know what it was doing.

Snowy Plover?

2010-09-25T14:56:00.000-04:00

These pictures may show Snowy Plovers, a small shorebird that's endangered because it makes its nest right out in the open. It just wiggles in the sand enough to create a shallow basin and deposits its eggs right there ... where predators can easily get at them, and people can accidentally or intentionally destroy them too.

Foggy hike

2010-09-23T13:29:00.001-04:00

My hiking group went about 50 miles north of where I live in Calif. to the mouth of the Klamath River, where there was supposed to be a scenic overlook. The fog hadn't burned off as hoped, but I did get this nice picture of wildflowers! In the woods, the fog gave an ethereal beauty. And we ate lunch on "Hidden Beach" -- which was still grey but not quite so hidden by fog.

Yellow Lady's Slipper

2010-08-16T11:40:00.000-04:00

done in gouache by Mary Stebbins Taitt

The Voracious Predatory Chipmunk

2010-07-17T14:46:00.000-04:00

While We were at Bay Furnace Campground Near Pictured Rocks, and Keith was absent from the campsite, Mary watched a drama unfold. A chipmunk who had been nosing around the campsite all morning suddenly aroused the ire of a little chipping sparrow, who chipped madly and fluttered around sort of like a killdeer trying to lead a predator away from it's nest. The chipmunk paid no attention to it and began nosing around the area of open piney woods where the chipping sparrow was.

The sparrow then began attacking the chipmunk, pecking vigorously at its head. Then, Mary spotted a baby chipping sparrow fluttering about in the tall weeds and sparse tall grass. The chipmunk spotted it, too, and rushed after it and there was some furious scuffling where the baby was trying to flutter away, the chipmunk was trying to catch it, and the mother was pecking the chipmunk vigorously. Then, the chipmunk grabbed the baby by the throat and killed it and ran off about 20 feet and started eating it. Mary, who was trying to reposition herself to see better, accidentally scared off the chipmunk, who left the dead baby under a pine and never came back for it while we were still at camp. The mother chipping sparrow kept
searching and calling and searching and calling up until we left.

When we got back from our expeditions, hours later, we both checked, and the dead baby bird was gone from where the chipmunk left it. Since the chipmunk had already killed the bird, we hope he ate it.

This is not the first time that Mary has observed a chipmunk being predacious. She has also seen a chipmunk kill and eat a large water snake, big enough to have eaten it.

Amber waves of sea

2010-07-05T13:59:00.001-04:00

It was the July 4th weekend, so I naturally thought of this title. The whitecaps were churning up a lot of yellow foam at Big Lagoon (north of Trinidad, CA).

More gold

2010-07-05T13:56:00.001-04:00

And agates too

2010-07-05T13:55:00.001-04:00

And I found a fair amount of agates -- nine of these -- the largests ones -- in one small cache of pale, crumbly dirt.

Dunes

2010-05-24T20:47:00.001-04:00

I walked on Clam Beach yesterday, but the only times I took out my camera were when I was looking away from the ocean.

Fog and flowers

2010-05-11T14:34:00.001-04:00

Both these pictures were taken at Big Lagoon (north of Eurkeka, CA) on the same day last week ... before and after the fog lifted.

In Every Yard

2010-05-04T13:28:00.001-04:00

I think there is a robin's nest in EVERY YARD, at least one--I can't
beleive how many robis you see walking down the street.

Godwits

2010-04-14T17:18:00.001-04:00

There is a Godwit Festival in the Eureka-Arcata (Calf.) area each spring, as the shorebirds pass through here on their migration. I saw some yesterday at Clam Beach.

More godwits

2010-04-14T17:15:00.001-04:00

3 quick sketches

2010-04-12T14:37:00.001-04:00

magnolia, dead robin, pansies

garter

2010-04-12T14:35:00.001-04:00

snake

Erin's bee

2010-03-20T16:39:00.000-04:00

Crocuses with bee, photo by Erin

les petits fleurs

2010-03-17T13:39:00.001-04:00

FLOWERS! The red and silver maples are in flower! YAY!

flowers and buds

2010-03-17T13:28:00.000-04:00

It's coming!!! aconites, tulips, snowdrops, hellebore! Woohoo!

au lait

2010-03-08T13:45:00.001-05:00

Fleeting foam swirled on the sand at Big Lagoon.

Posing

2010-03-08T13:24:00.001-05:00

When I first arrived at Big Lagoon Saturday morning, this heron stood poised and posing by the picnic area. Yes, this picture is cropped a lot. When I tried to move closer, it flew away.

across the lagoon

2010-03-08T13:18:00.001-05:00

The heron landed across the lagoon.

Wave chasers

2010-02-23T17:43:00.001-05:00

These little birds are sanderlings. A book nicknames them "wave chasers." I took these pictures yesterday, and yes, I did crop them. If I actually approached that close, they'd rise en masse and zoom away ... the way they're doing in the photo "Lovers," which I posted a couple weeks ago.

Backdaft

2010-02-13T20:06:00.001-05:00

Walking on a nearby road in late afternoon, I noticed these brightly backlit daffodils.

Daffydown Ditty

2010-02-13T20:03:00.001-05:00

This picture inspired this silly-dilly verse:

Daffy tried to turn and hide

Her petticoat as I walked by.

But Mr. Sun, low in the sky,

Saw right through her, and so did I!

Wondrous waves

2010-01-31T20:45:00.001-05:00

Humboldt County has beaches that are more scenic in terms of cliffs and rock formations, but none match Big Lagoon for the most enormous and most fascinating waves! Here are three pictures I took this afternoon. The tide was supposedly receding.

Pier Park at dawn

2010-01-29T08:44:00.002-05:00

I had a wonderful (if very cold) walk at Pier Park yesterday morning
and took zillions of pix.

I haven't been able to post pix because I used up my quota on Picasa Web.

The pictures were taken before dawn, just at dawn, and just after dawn. They will enlarge slightly if you click on them.

The water is wide

2010-01-28T20:50:00.001-05:00

I went to Clam Beach this afternoon, during a low tide which followed a very high tide. The beach was wet nearly to the dunes, smooth and shiny. Large shells were plunked here and there, forming their own little tide pools. Shells like the one below are rarely found at Clam Beach -- I'm more likely to see them at a beach to the south.

Foam

2010-01-15T01:14:00.001-05:00

We had "high surf" on the north coast yesterday and people were advised to stay off the beach. When I went to Clam Beach this afternoon, I found the foamy residue of the huge swells.

Back light black white

2010-01-15T01:09:00.001-05:00

The pictures I took when I turned back into the sun look almost black and white.

Lovers

2010-01-15T01:06:00.001-05:00

This couple is surely lucky in love -- to walk hand-in-hand on a glorious beach on a glorious day, as a flock of small white birds soars across the sand. (Yes, I deepened the shadows a lot on this one, for drama.)

Silk Creek Review Editor, Scott Carter, Down at the Creek

2010-01-14T16:42:00.002-05:00

Silk Creek Review Editor, Scott Carter, Down at the Creek, Water Color painting by Mary Stebbins Taitt. (Click image to view larger.)

An afternoon at Big Lagoon

2010-01-04T14:39:00.001-05:00

Because my pictures appear in reverse order -- last post first, which I forgot about -- I just wanted to explain that they were taken Jan. 3 at Big Lagoon, north of where I live in Calif. I went there to go agate hunting, picture taking, and mainly to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Leaflady

Beach objects

2010-01-04T14:32:00.001-05:00

Sunset at Big Lagoon

2010-01-04T14:31:00.001-05:00

Reflections

2010-01-04T14:30:00.001-05:00

Even tho I spent most of my time on the beach, I was entranced by the reflections in the inlet in the late afternoon sun.

California agates

2010-01-04T14:28:00.001-05:00

It struck me that you may not know what an agate is in California -- I certainly didn't until my daughter moved here. It's a clear stone that's been polished by the waves and is usually marked by swirls of what I call "white paint." This picture shows my own collection, found since I moved here two years ago. I have yet to find anything very large, but you can get an idea what they look like and how beautiful they are.

For those desiring a more scientific explanation, I copied the paragraph below from an article in a local weekly a couple years ago:

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/issues/2007/09/20/how-did-our-agates-form/

"Wave-polished translucent agates ... are found .... by eager collectors who brave the hazards of being swept out to sea by rogue waves. Agates consist of microscopically crystallized silica (silicon dioxide), called "chalcedony." They often show growth bands. They originate in the hellish conditions of volcanic eruptions, followed by millenia of gentle soaking in warm groundwaters. These "geothermal" waters slowly precipitated the chalcedony in cavities produced by volcanic steam."

Big Lagoon

2010-01-04T14:07:00.001-05:00

Between holiday activities and rainy weather, I hadn't been to the beach in about two weeks. But there was a convergence of great weather and free time yesterday afternoon so went to Big Lagoon (20 miles north of my home in McKinleyville, CA) to walk on the beach and do some agate hunting.

Sign a Great Pettion!!

2009-12-31T15:24:00.000-05:00

Sign a great petition!

Save Steve's Place!

Floral memory

2009-12-29T16:05:00.003-05:00

Leaflady sent this picture back in 2008 in a series from Trindad Beach. I have loved it so much I just had to recycle it!

I call this Orion

2009-11-29T19:32:00.001-05:00

Trinidad State Beach today.

mare's tails

2009-11-20T17:24:00.001-05:00

The wind at Big Lagoon blew the whitecaps like horses' manes and tails.

charging horses

2009-11-20T17:17:00.000-05:00

Sometimes waves can look like thundering white horses! This was at Big Lagoon, north of Trinidad, CA., on Nov. 16.

Sunset from my street

2009-11-20T17:13:00.001-05:00

There are too many trees around to see much of any sunset from my window, but by running across the street .... and then up a short ravine to the next road ... I got these lovely views and photos last week. Someday I hope to see a sunset fill the sky over the ocean! I've seen sunsets at the beach, of course, but invariably they've just been brushed across the lower sky or, conversely, been blocked from the water by a dark wall of cloud at the bottom.

Feeling Crabby

2009-11-17T16:12:00.003-05:00

I would just like to thank this little guy for posing for me. All the rest crawled back up in their shells.

Dinner? ewwwwwww, yuk!

Beach Birds

2009-11-11T17:11:00.002-05:00

I've moved close to downtown Houston now, and the good thing about this is that I'm on the side of town close to the ship channel and all the birding trails. Also, I'm only about 40 minutes from the Galveston beaches [it took me about an hour and a half before]. These pics were taken in Galveston.

I went to hike along the birding trails in Seabrook, but it turned into a mosquito fest. I didn't get any good pics from that trip. My hike turned into a jog, and it was an itchy ride home. I'm waiting for cooler weather before I go back. It's still in the 80's around here.

These last two were taken at sunset. The one above looks like they have pink butts :]

4 horses

2009-11-10T20:36:00.001-05:00

A woman often brings her four horses to run on Clam Beach in the afternoon. They are so beautiful, especially the two white ones who echo the white waves.

More Jellyfish

2009-11-09T23:24:00.003-05:00

These are from Galveston. I'm not sure what kind they are. I've not seen them with the pink markings before.

jellyfish

2009-11-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

Clam Beach was littered with jellyfish one day last month. I don't understand why the waves will bring up an abundance of one thing one day, something else another. This one seemed lit from within.

gourds

2009-11-08T11:31:00.001-05:00

"gourds," postcard-sized watercolor by Mary Stebbins Taitt

misty

2009-10-26T15:29:00.001-04:00

I took these on a misty day (10-9). I don't think I sent them already. I like the eerieness!

It was at College Cove, the other side of Trinidad State Beach. It's only the 3rd time I've been there. Leaf Lady (Gail)

real and lucky

2009-10-26T15:20:00.001-04:00

This view was a little farther down the trail the same day. One pic is how it actually looked, the other is "feeling lucky." Isn't it cool?? Leaf Lady (Gail)

colors

2009-10-21T09:35:00.001-04:00

The fall colors were starting to fade but it actually felt more fallish than it has in the past, for whatever reason. I enjoyed the drive and walking at the river (a different part of it than where I went in the past).

Here are:

1) the one with the most colors in it; and

2) the bottom half of a view snapped from the edge of the highway, which has a weird shape at the side.

Leaflady (Gail)

Oregon coastline

2009-09-30T16:27:00.000-04:00

Taken enroute up the Oregon coast. Leaf Lady (Gail.)

Heceta Head lighthouse

2009-09-30T16:21:00.002-04:00

Heceta Head Lighthouse, near Florence, Ore., at twilight. by Leaf Lady (Gail)

Train Travel #1

2009-09-29T13:42:00.002-04:00

I took the train back down to White Plains a week ago this past Sun. I took several pics along the river. Some turned out nice;) I have quite a few to share, but here's one for today! (Pic taken 9-19-09 through the window of the Metro-North, heading south to White Plains NY, from Poughkeepsie, NY)

Patrick's Pt

2009-09-19T13:16:00.000-04:00

A couple more of Patrick's Point. LL

more Pat's Pt.

2009-09-19T13:12:00.001-04:00

more Pat's Pt., Leaf Lady

seals cropped

2009-09-16T21:03:00.001-04:00

Here are some of the seals cropped. They did look like little baby maggots in the original (also sent again). They were pretty far away. LL (Gail)

Patrick's Point

2009-09-16T12:00:00.001-04:00

Went to Patrick's Point (state park) today. Here are 3 of the many pics I took. Note the seals in 4970.

This time I started at "Palmer's Point," one of the southern-most points on the Rim Trail, and went north along the trail to Wedding Rock. (Previous visits I've started at Wedding Rock and gone north to Agate Beach, where I've looked for agates and enjoyed being on the beach.) It was only a mile but seemed longer cuz I kept stopping and going down side trails to look and take pics.

This is definitely a place to take you and Keith when you come. A lovely trail with tons of scenic overlooks.

When I got to Wedding Rock I turned around and went back and DROVE to Agate Beach, so I didn't have to have the 2-mile walk back at the end. Plus I've heard cars can get broken into at Palmer's Point cuz it is pretty isolated.

At the beach I found a lot of LITTLE agates, size of teeth (baby teeth to molars). Only found 3 of any size at all, and those not very big (but bigger than teeth!). But it was very warm and sunny and I was down to one layer!! Hooray!! I think that area is more secluded from the wind or something. It is always warmer there than other places. Now that I have some free passes, I should go there more often. Leaf Lady (Gail)

Surprise

2009-09-09T12:50:00.001-04:00

SURPRISE!!!

I went to Dry lagoon today. Got there just at high tide so assumed the waves would start receding soon ... but they never really did!!

That guy wearing the hat was reportedly finding a LOT of agates by living dangerously. I found nicer ones than usual in that general area, between waves for the most part, but after I got doused about 5 times (once up to the waist) and even having one of my beach shoes removed (I was able to run and retrive it), I decided to just go sit in the sun for a while.

Leaf Lady (Gail)

otters

2009-09-01T17:44:00.001-04:00

I saw several river otters today while riding my bike along the river. I rode down to the boat ramp and quickly realized some lived under it -- heard lots of snuffing noises and even saw one that was out of the water eating a fish. For whatever reason, they didn't seem to mind my footsteps, but as soon as they heard the camera opening up they ducked! I waited about 15 minutes, but tho I got a few glimpses of them under there, they never did more than poke a nose up really quickly.

It was fun to see them!!

Yes I did zoom in on these pictures, probably the equivalent of 200%.

Leaf Lady (Gail)

beach dancers

2009-08-30T12:22:00.001-04:00

Dancing trees. Leaflady (Gail)

riverwalk

2009-08-26T22:08:00.001-04:00

The first two photos from our walk today. Leaf Lady (Gail)

people on the beach.

2009-08-17T10:38:00.001-04:00

Went to Big Lagoon today, first time in a couple months. The waves were humongous and so incredibly beautiful! I took a lot of cool pictures but nothing really gives the feel of what it was like to be on that beach!

I even found several agates (not big but nice enough for me). However, I left my $19 metal water bottle somewhere I was digging and didn't realize it wasn't in my backpack till I was back to the car. Usually I don't take that good one; I bought it to leave in the car where plastic ones can be poison if left in the heat too much.

A nice young girl saw me taking pictures and offered to take a couple of me. However, they were really backlit, and lightening them up just made them pale. Still, I have next to no pictures of myself on the beach, so here you are!

Gail (leaf Lady)

ghost waves

2009-08-17T10:35:00.001-04:00

Do you see the GHOST hidden in one of the waves??? from Leaf Lady (Gail)

Tetons

2009-08-13T21:57:00.001-04:00

Julie hiking on top of the Teton Range, Wyoming, on 30 July 2009 at a
cirque with a small paternoster lake in view about 10,000 feet. David
Pierce

"Robin's Breakfast"

2009-08-13T11:41:00.003-04:00

This shot by Mary was SO COOOLL that when I went back thru my "Pictures i Love" site I saw it and said, Whaoeeow, GOT to put THAT one up agin, so....
(imperfectnerd/---Michael---)

Just asking...............

2009-08-13T11:01:00.000-04:00

sea creatures

2009-08-11T21:00:00.001-04:00

Went to Trinidad this morning. It was low tide and really cool to walk on the beach for a little while. The tide started coming back in when I spied those green ones!

calm low tide

2009-08-11T20:58:00.001-04:00

from leaf lady (gail)

seal

2009-07-02T21:20:00.001-04:00

I was given another opportunity to photograph a seal!!

Today after getting my cell phone (Radio Shack cheap prepaid thing, I'll see how it works), I went to a beach I'd never been to before. It's probably the closest beach to my house "as the crow flies," but it's way out of the way to drive, the roads require backtracking. But you start kinda near the Radio Shack.

Anyway, there was a seal on the beach and I was able to get closer and closer and took about 10 pictures!! The first picture I sent was not zoomed at all on the computer, tho the other two were a little. That shows how close I was able to get.

I love how he looks a little nervous about the water. Leaf Lady (Gail)

bear!

2009-07-02T14:05:00.001-04:00

Bears have been sighted in my mobile home park, mainly by the manager, Rick, who lives in a regular house at the back of the park, at the edge of the woods. He said he's seen 3 different ones. I asked if he'd been able to take any pictures. I was surprised when he knocked on the door yesterday to give me these, which I scanned into the computer.

I haven't seen any bears myself, though one morning in May I suspected they'd been there. Normally they'd find nothing of interest in my yard, since I don't cook meat for myself and virtually never throw out food, but I'd recently fixed a company meal and had a little pkg of chicken fat, which I'd put in the ash pail with a tight lid. I may not have put the lid on as tightly as I should have. It was pried open and dragged across the yard. My heavy compost pail was also tipped and dragged a short distance, but the vandal didn't seem to have found anything of interest in it. Maybe a racoon could do this, but I doubt it.

Rick also gave me the pic of the baby skunks, which are cute as long as they're in HIS yard. Earlier this spring we often smelled them. I understand the asst. mgr. has been trapping a lot of them since.

Leaf Lady (gail)

stonecrop?

2009-07-02T11:43:00.001-04:00

I think this flower, which grows right on the rock, is a stonecrop (according to a picture in a book). Isn't it interesting?

The light had been real bright on them, so I tried to add some shadows with Picasa, which helped a little.

When I got done taking these pics, I put my camera back in the little zipper bag and came around a big rock to the beach. Was that a dachshund on the beach, I wondered, puzzled for a second.

NO! It was a little brown seal making its way to the water!

Of course, by the time I got the camera out and turned on, it had disappeared into the foam in the surf. But at least I got to see it!

Leaf Lady (Gail)

more pelicans

2009-06-29T10:51:00.001-04:00

That one with the big pelican in the corner -- I did not zoom and crop or do anything to it on the computer. I'm not sure how it happened, but the bird was that close (of course the zoom lens was out on the camera itself).

I took SO many pictures!! It was hard to decide which to download, and harder still which to send! But enuff is enuff. Leaf Lady (Gail)

pelicans

2009-06-29T10:34:00.001-04:00

Went to Stone Lagoon Saturday (only the second time I'd ever been there). It was a beautiful sunny day and I stayed 5 hours. Saw lots of pelicans. Leaf Lady (Gail)

Silk Creek in June

2009-06-27T13:19:00.001-04:00

Silk Creek in June, by Mary Stebbins Tait.

News and Views.

2009-06-26T17:39:00.003-04:00

Weird people come in all flavors, and I guess I'm one of them, officially, because I was told so by a young fellow (about 25) named Walker, who lives in an apartment overlooking mine.

Walker wandered across the parking lot last evening to ask me what I was up to.

"Fixing this table," I replied. "It has a broken leg."

"What for?" the young man wanted to know. (Walker has informed me that he is an unemployed construction worker, by the way. He came over once before and inquired if "I had any work for him". What he meant was, any money... I had plenty of suggestions on things for him to do, constructive things, but what he wanted was a paycheck.)

"Well," I tried explaining, "when something is broken, I just figure, well, fix it."

"I don't see the point to that," Walker informed me. "What's with it with you? You bored? You must be bored doing stupid s--- like that."

"Oh, I'm definitely not bored, " I told him. "Are you?"

"Oh, I just have a need for socializing," Walker said, draining down the last of the can of Coor Light beer he'd brought with him. "You know, the people over my building call you 'Tinkerer.' "

"Is that so?" I responded, working a new dowel into the table leg to fix the glue joint.

"Don't you have a social life?" he demanded lmowing.

It was an accusation. I put down my tools and looked him in the eye. "Not with you."

2009-06-26T16:48:00.000-04:00

Leaf Lady at Smith River

2009-06-14T10:54:00.001-04:00

Along the Smith River -- which is green! Around Ore-Cal. border. Leaf Lady (Gail)

Beautiful Day. . .

2009-06-10T13:32:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, we went to Green Chimneys, (a children's school) where my boyfriend grew up. . . they had Raptor Day there. . . I saw lots of beautiful birds & it was GREAT to be out of White Plains. . . I miss being upstate. . . I don't really like being back in NY honestly, but if I am, I really prefer upstate, at country as I can get, compared to any city living!!! :( LOL

Anyways, here are a few pics. . .

This is Paul. He is head of farm/wildlife at GC.

This is a Barred Owl. On one of my posts in my blogs, there is a blog about them! They are my FAVORITE owl:)))

This is a Eurasian Eagle Owl. They are HUGE:)

These are Harris Hawk babies to the left, & on the other side to the RT there are a couple Barn Owlets, that ya can't see in this pic really.

This here Peacock thinks he is King of the roost;) LOL

roses

2009-06-08T11:05:00.001-04:00

Some incredible roses today. I didn't do ANYTHING to them on the computer either! (Sometimes I have to crop or brighten slightly.) Leaf Lady (Gail)

2009-06-04T16:42:00.000-04:00

3 birthday flower pictures for Mary

2009-06-01T10:59:00.001-04:00

After I called Mary to wish her a happy birthday, the sun came out so I took a walk up Hewitt Road and around the fancy subdivision at the top of the hill. Couldn't resist taking these pictures. I kinda had to go into someone's yard to get those rhodies but aren't they magnificent??!! The color contrast is so lovely. And the pinks look like the top of a birthday cake! Leaf Lady (Gail)