Camera Critter/Green Thumb Sunday

Click on the links for more Camera Critter and Green Thumb Sunday partcipants.

We Have a Winner!

Will Taft of the blog Healthy Living jokingly suggested the name "Itchy" for our lone little chipmunk that is still hanging around. Little did he realize that Princess Cupcake would love it (see comments here), and chose him as our winner of an 8X10 print of the picture at left. I have been following Will's very timely and informative blog on healthy and green living for some time now and suggest that if you haven't already seen it, you should check it out! Congratulations Will!

Photo Hunt Saturday: Beautiful

Beauty is subjective, and I find beauty in so many things, it was hard to narrow it down to only one or two pictures. White flowers always do it for me though, and these are two of my favorites.

Sky Watch Friday

Click to enlarge

August isn't even over, and our skies have looked like this almost everyday for the past couple weeks.

I've had a lot of people ask me how I get such great light in my outdoor photos, and this picture is a good example of a phenomenon I've never seen anywhere else. It was 7 pm when this was taken, and I was facing east with the sun setting behind me. As the sun begins to set, it peeks out from under the clouds, and lights up the landscape. It is some of the prettiest quality of light I have ever seen; we call it "the magic light."

Chipmunk Update, and a Giveaway!

For all of you who have been following our chipmunk tales here in Robin's Woods this summer, (those who have not may search the blog for "chipmunk, and be prepared to spend some time reading/laughing) I figured it was time for an update. Our chief chipmunk caretaker left to go back to California last week, but before she did, the crew had pretty much gone into hiding. Even though it is still August, summer appears to be over, and I am concerned that the premature disappearance of our little friends maybe a harbinger of a harsh winter ahead.

There is one little girl who still comes around; she is not one of the previous group of eight we had gotten to know, but she is content to stuff her cheeks full of goodies and I'm sure she's reveling in the fact that no one else is competing with her for the bounty. The hotel is out of commission, having succumbed to wind and rain, but no matter; she likes to be a little higher up anyways, prefering our second story deck or the roof of the shed behind our cabin. I wish I could come up with a cute name for her. She reminds me a lot of Chiplet in her habits, spending significant amounts of time grooming herself.
So here's the deal. This little chippy needs a name. Leave a suggestion in the comments by 9pm PST August 28th, I'll pass them all along to Princess Cupcake, and the one she chooses will be announced here Saturday. The best part? The winner gets a print (their choice of any size up to an 8x10) of the chipmunk picture of their choice from my archives. I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Wordless Wednesday

I Have Been Awarded...

The Kick Ass Blogger Award again!

"Do you know any bloggers that kick ass?

Maybe they’ve got incredible, original content. Or they’re overflowing with creativity. Is it someone that helps you become a better blogger? Or a bloggy friend you know you can count on? Or maybe it’s someone who simply inspires you to be a better person… or someone else who sends you to the floor, laughing your ass off."

Well, I'm not sure which category I fell into, but a big "Thank You!" goes out to Strider of Life Quest for thinking of me when he was passing this along.

bookMobile Monday: What's On My Nightstand?

I thought it would be fun this week, instead of focusing on any given genre, to give everyone a peek at what's on my nightstand right now. (My only problem is, this isn't all of it!) So tell me, what's on yours?

Camera Critter Sunday: In Memory of

Eb, 2005-2008

Photohunt Saturday: Wrinkled

Two old slips I pulled out of a trunk, (not a wedding dress as many have guessed!) wrinkled up in more ways than one. I just love the play of textures and light.

Round Robin Photo Challenge

Public Art- Every town across America has something artsy about it. Most cities have a public art program, although it may take a little bit of research to find where all the displays are located. My idea is to seek out the artsy side of the towns we live in or near, post the photo or photos and maybe write a short description of the art and the artist. If there is currently no display of Public Art in your area, then show us how your town decorates to invite visitors to your area. Banners, Welcome signs, etc.

This photo challenge was a bit of... a challenge. I live in a rural area where the town art consists of handmade signs and junk in people's yards. Even the official signage is sparse, and boring to boot. Then I remembered this picture I took a ways outside of town a couple years ago. It never fails to make me think about how great it is to live someplace with so much wildlife. (I bet you're wondering how the elk trigger the flashing lights!)

Check out what the other participants came up with for today; I'm sure theirs is more civilized than mine!

Sky Watch Friday

I wouldn't normally post a shot like this, split so perfectly in the middle, going against everything I know to be artistically "proper", but I like it anyways. It suits my mood today (Cupcake has gone home with her mommy), and has a certain "je ne sais quois" about it, so here it is. Click to enlarge and enjoy.

See more Sky Watch here.

Fare Thee Well, Love

Today, I will put Princess Cupcake on a plane from Seattle to California with her mother. It will take 3 hours, two bridges, and one ferry ride to get to the airport, and then I have to come back home to this. Her empty room. Even the chipmunks seem to know she's leaving. There'll be no more bears at the dining room table, the fairies are going to have to make do with the lodging she left for them, and the Easy Bake will be collecting dust for the duration. Yes, the kitchen will finally get a rest (Cupcake likes to eat...a lot), and I won't be tripping over books anymore, but Papa is going to have to wait until next summer for his helper to come back and give him a hand with his projects. I'm going to be lost without my muse. Life sure is going to be dull around here. Hurry back, Princess Cupcake; the clams will be waiting.

Wordless Wednesday

Creative Artist Award

Creativity

Creativity has been attributed variously to divine intervention, cognitive processes, the social environment, personality traits, and chance ("accident", "serendipity"). It has been associated with genius, mental illness and humour. Some say it is a trait we are born with; others say it can be taught with the application of simple techniques.
Although popularly associated with art and literature, it is also an essential part of innovation and invention and is important in professions such as business, economics, architecture, industrial design, science and engineering.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've worked hard over the past few months to make this blog into something that, as an extension of my creative self, gives a bit of joy to those who take the time to read it and look at my pictures. Imagine my surprise when Kim at Laketrees came up with an award for that effort, and sent it along to me and several other deserving artists. Thank you Kim, not just for the award, but for your kind comments as well. (Cupcake says thank you too!)

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Tuesday Edition

Cupcake made her own birthday cake last night, in her Easy Bake Oven. Remember how fun those are? (We ran out of space and letters, so it just says "Princess".) Summer is almost over, and she'll be leaving to go back to California in a couple of days. It won't be the same around here without her!

Weekend Snapshot(s) #50

Princess Cupcake celebrated her 8th birthday this last weekend, and part of her birthday fun was going out on a boat ride with friends. I hadn't been on a boat in years, so I think I had just as much fun as her! I never get tired of the scenery around here, and this was a whole new perspective. Cupcake even took a turn at the wheel!

Camera Critter Sunday

We have our first guest blogger here in Robin's Woods this weekend! Jane and her friend Alicia are here from Southern California, making a stop on their way around the Olympic Peninsula to check out the rain forest and the town of Forks, WA. They are huge Twilight fans ( like me!) and will be checking out the various places on the peninsula that the 4 books in the series took place in.

Jane is a budding photographer with an innate talent, and asked for some pointers while she was here. Here are some of her first shots ever with a "real" camera, a Nikon D200 digital SLR.

Northern Alligator Lizard, held by Alicia.

Be sure and visit Jane's blog if you have a chance, she is a marine biology major, and works at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA, chronicling her experiences working with and teaching children at the aquarium.

Camera Critter blogroll here. Check it out and see all the other critters out there this weekend!

PhotoHunt Saturday: Colorful

It's been a long, full week, and I'm beat, so I decided to peruse my archives for this challenge. These are a selection of some of my most colorful shots. My favorite is the bowl of fruit. How about you?

Brillante Weblog Award

A big thanks to Gail at Juicie Julz for honoring me with the Brillante Weblog Award. No matter how many times I get this or any other award given to me, I still get a little thrill from the gesture. Getting it from Gail is especially neat because she lives in my hometown of Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Pay a visit to the Bell homestead for me Gail!

Wordless Wednesday: Friday Edition

Beach at Fort Worden

Sky Watch Friday

Clouds at Sunrise

For more Sky Watch, visit headquarters here!

The Vendetta: Redux

Awhile back, we had a little problem with some mice inside our vehicles here in the woods, so it came as no big surprise last week when it appeared we had a small pest problem again, only this time, it was in the house. We live in the forest, after all, which means learning to live with critters of all varieties, and even though our home is a very nice, custom built three story log cabin, it has it's flaws, and a gap under one end of the front door finally presented itself as an entry point for some tiny errant critter.

It started out as a few small droppings on the wood floor in the entry way, in a corner right behind the hinged side of the door. I noticed them for the first time about 10 days ago, and initially thought that maybe they had fallen off someone's shoes. No biggie, just sweep them up. Next morning, two more poops. Hmm. This time I try to tell myself that they are not what I think they are; I keep a clean house and leave no food sitting around, so I just sweep them up again. Morning comes again, and this time, there's three poops on the floor, and one on top of the wooden bench that sits behind the door in the corner. Something's messing with me now, and I'm not amused.

By this time, I've looked all over the place, flummoxed by the fact that it is only a few droppings a day, and only within about a one foot radius of the corner behind the front door, nowhere else in the house, not even my kitchen or pantry. Look up "small unidentified droppings" on the internet, and conclude that I am dealing with a mischievous mouse. I set three snap traps baited with peanut butter, and two sticky traps for good measure, and go to bed. Next morning, there is a poop inside the sticky trap, but no evidence of anything else getting stuck there: no fur, no blood, and in fact, the lightweight paper trap had not even been moved. Back to the internet for more advice, and it says to sprinkle flour or powder all over the floor in the afflicted area so whatever is creeping around will leave tracks that I can identify. So, I flour my floor, and set up all the traps again. Another morning comes, and there are now three poops, two in the middle of a relatively large floured area, and one right by the door, but no tracks.

I get out my magnifying glass. I've got to identify what I'm dealing with here before it drives me batty. Another search session on the internet turns up the fact that mice, cockroaches, bats, chipmunks and shrews all have similar (to the naked eye) droppings. Well, it's not a bat, the gap under the door isn't big enough for a chipmunk, and I think a cockroach problem would be more evident, so that leaves mouse and shrew.

I don't want to set any traps outside for fear of hurting the chipmunks, and the ones inside aren't working, so I get down on the floor, look under the door for a up close visual on the problem, and then go get some extra weather stripping to seal the gap. Next morning, no droppings. I gleefully email my friends who have been trying to advise me on how to deal with my mystery intruder that the problem has been solved. Tucking the memory of the whole incident away, I happily assume that I have taken care of the intrusion for now.

I was only partly right. Two days later, I come down the stairs in the morning to the sight of two prominently displayed, fresh poops on top of the bench... and one in the middle of the front door mat.

The good news is, I am now a quasi expert on rodent poop. You've got droppings? I'm your gal. The bad news? It's a shrew. They don't eat peanut butter. I've got to bait with something like dead flies (yuck), bits of earth worm (I don't think so), or bacon (I can handle this one.)

Bring on the bacon, Porky. That little bugger is mine now.

Wordless Wednesday

Award Week!

I am long overdue in taking a day to acknowledge some recent awards and some of my favorite bloggers. I am absolutely overwhelmed (in a good way!) by the number of awards I have received as of late, and while it would be almost impossible to continue to pass them along, I would not want to miss acknowledging the kindness of the givers. From Heidi at Health Nut Wannabee Mom and Bab's at Beetle's Photos, I have received the Brillante Weblog award, and from Chocolate Party, the Kick Ass Blogger Award.







I've stopped counting how many of these I've gotten (blush), but am honored as much as ever by the fact that they considered me worthy of receiving them. Thank you all!

In lieu of passing these along in the traditional manner, I'd like to acknowledge all my favorite blogs, and some of my regular commenters as well, as they are, for the most part, fellow bloggers too. I don't get to read these blogs all everyday, but they are all bookmarked in my favorites and I visit whenever I have a chance, even if I don't always leave a comment to say I've been there!

Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff
Meltwater, Torrents, Meanderings, Delta
The Sewing Mom
Misty's Words
Margie and Edna's Basement
Monkey Fables and Tales
Healthy Living
Talli's Designs
Health Nut Wannabee Mom
Magic and Moments at Dragonfly Cottage
Amy Lilley Designs
Gay and Straight
Forever in Blue Jeans
Photography by KML
Building a Log Cabin

Whether it be great photography, artwork, writing, or just plain fun, you are all deserving of the above awards and many others. Thanks for being there!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Tuesday Edition

An unusually cloud free day here on our part of the peninsula. I didn't look at the tide book, but it must have been a slack tide because the water was like glass. Just look at that reflection! (Click on picture to enlarge.)

bookMobile Monday: Crockpot Cookery

At the request of a couple of friends, (and inspired by an awesome slow cooker cookbook I found on the bookmobile this week), this week's bookmobile feature is about the art of slow cooking. Whether you live far from a grocery store the way we do out here in the boonies, or just have a busy schedule, with food prices today the way they are, slow cooker meals are more appealing than ever. Daunted in the past by the huge recipes typical of this kind of cookbook, I've grown to appreciate having extra to freeze for future meals. One pot to cook enough for 8-12 servings not only saves me time in the kitchen (more time for photographing chipmunks!), but it also uses less energy for cooking and cleanup, a win-win for anybody. Be forewarned, I'm not a big fan of crock pot recipes that use a lot of processed foods as ingredients, like canned soups and boxed mixes. Most of the recipes in these books are of the "from scratch" variety. Oh, and the book that helped inspire this post? The Gourmet Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley.

Camera Critter Sunday: You're Getting Very, Very Sleepy...

I caught this cute sequence of Chiplet the other day and thought it would be just perfect for today. She was sitting there on her hotel veranda for the longest time, just chirping away at whoever would listen.
Then, she must have worn herself out, because she started to fall asleep! Watch the eyes gradually closing and the head drooping. You're getting very, very sleepy, little chipmunk...

You can find lots more Camera Critters here. Check them out, and join the fun!

Photohunt Saturday: Dark

The theme of this week's Photohunt is "dark". From my archives (hey, it's summer, and we're enjoying the sunlight right now!), this is one of my favorite all time landscapes. I just love the painterly quality of this shot. Click on picture to enlarge.

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Night Shots

"Full Moon Rising"See what night shots the other Round Robin participants came up with at the Photo Challenge headquarters!

Sky Watch Friday

Cupcake's Sky Watch -
(which I think is every bit as good as mine this week!) and mine -
As always, you may click on the pictures to enlarge them. More Sky Watch Friday here!

Everything You Always Wanted to Know...

I got featured over at Jason D Moore Photography! Read my interview and see a picture of me here.

Hazel (the Cross Dressing Bear)

It was 1987, the year Sweetpea (our daughter) was the same age as Cupcake is now. JC Penney had some promotional deal going on big stuffed teddy bears, as was popular with the department stores back then, and my mother brought one home for her. Under normal circumstances, stuffed toys had a short lifespan in our home. The kids got so many, and so few had any real sentimental significance, that once a year we cleaned out and donated most of them. This bear, however, for some inexplicable reason, was nearest and dearest to Sweetpea's heart, and she called him Hazel.Hazel was a boy bear from day one, no questions asked; he just was. About the size of an exceedingly chubby one year old, the habit of dressing Hazel started with my mother getting out some of my old flannel baby nighties, then searching thrift shops for vintage baby clothes, and pretty soon, the search for bear clothes took on a life of it's own. It wasn't long before Hazel had amassed a sizable wardrobe of vintage, baby... girl clothing. Maybe it was because old baby girl clothes were easier to find than boys, maybe not. There is one boyish outfit in Hazel's suitcase, but it was rarely put on him. Hazel, as our daughter said, liked to wear girl's clothes, and in particular, frilly dresses with rhumba pants.
I'm not sure it ever occurred to her that something was a little...contradictory...about Hazel. We raised our kids in an atmosphere of tolerance -- for other religions, other opinions, other lifestyles -- and so Hazel evolved. The diametrical nature of his identity never really registered with any of us back then; it just became habit. Hazel was a he, and everyone who knew about the bear would keep an eye out for cute vintage baby dresses and ruffled panties that might fit an exceedingly plump teddy bear.
Eventually, as all children do, Sweetpea grew up, but Hazel wasn't going anywhere. When she graduated from high school and eventually moved out on her own, Hazel was packed into his vintage suitcase with his vintage wardrobe of frilly dresses and carefully stored to wait for the next child in line to play with him and make decisions about his identity.
Enter Princess Cupcake. The first and only grandchild, she was the rightful heir to Hazel and without anyone saying anything to her, she has always referred to Hazel as "he." His wardrobe is more varied these days, having acquired a few of Cupcakes outgrown things, but one thing has never changed. Hazel is still, and will probably always be, a cross dressing bear.

Wordless Wednesday: In Celebration of Food and Friends

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday;: Tuesday Edition

Remember little Chiplet? She was very timid, and so tiny, she couldn't even reach into the water dish.Well, she's all grown up, not so timid anymore, and can reach the water dish just fine now (when she's not busy itching herself!) I just thought these two pictures of her were so cute.

bookMobile Monday: Berry Season!

Camera Critter Sunday: Chipmunks Au Naturale

Well, it's official. The chipmunks have taken over here in Robin's Woods, in more ways than one. Not only do I have more pictures of them than I do of just about anything else (except Cupcake), there's another new guest at the hotel (named Pip but as yet unphotographed), and they are now waking me up in the mornings with their chirping noises. I went out and around yesterday to follow the racket, found a few, and thought it might be nice to show them in their natural environments instead of their "hotel" for a change.







More Camera Critters Sunday here!

Another Award!

I have had the Brillante Weblog Premio-2008 Award bestowed upon me (again!), this time by Maitri of Dragonfly Cottage. Thank you for the compliment implied by this award, Maitri. I hope I continue to be worthy of my fellow bloggers good wishes and friendship!

A big thank you to Hamida the Herbalist for also honoring me with this award. I'm blushing from all this attention!

Photohunt Saturday: Clouds

This shot was taken 3 hours after yesterdays sunrise shot (see post below.) We've had some really unusual looking clouds lately, and these turned out to be the forewarnings of a storm that lasted most of the day. I just love summers here in the Pacific Northwest! (Click on picture to enlarge)

Join the fun of Photohunt Saturdays by clicking on the button below.

Sky Watch Friday: Morning Has Broken

Midsummer dawn, as taken off my bedroom balcony (while still half asleep!). Click to enlarge.Lots more Sky Watch at Sky Watch Friday headquarters!