BACK AGAIN!!!!!

    Hello all -- so glad to be back!!!  There was some big Google Glitch, so I haven't been able to post anything for a few weeks.  I missed "visiting" with all of you, even though I am now posting biweekly -- after more than 12 years of posting mostly weekly.  The world continues to need our attention and our care. I hope everyone is able to seek truth and share kindness.

    Today is February 3, and there is a chance that the impending ice storm will cause electricity breakdowns around here in northeastern Kentucky.  Therefore I am going to put up some January photos and get this published sooner rather than later!

 

outside my window -- Christmas tree doing double duty now as bird sheltering

 

going to get the mail, late

The cardinal is the Kentucky state bird.

brief moment caught just before dark

THREE PHOTOS BY Rebecca W.:

signs of a beaver covering over his or her tracks with that handy wide tail

testing the log but wisely not going the whole way across -- oh, to be ten again!!

Sideway Road curving uphill...

the sun trying to get through

    There are more, but the images by me are all within walking distance from my house, at all times of the day. And this weekend may be full of winter as work, in many locations, and not just winter as fun and beautiful. 
    I will plan to do the next post on FEBRUARY 13, if Google can keep its act together. Be safe, vaccinate for the sake of the health of our world, thanks for not giving up on me and my blog! 

surprise, surprise --- mostly snow photos

 

                                                       SNOW AT LAST!  (photo by Rebecca Wright)

 
     Here in the other end of Kentucky from the terrible tornadoes, we have had two days of snow, and then last night and today lots of rain -- snow chasers.  I believe next will be some lower than usual temps.  So I figured I needed at least to enjoy the snow while it lasted and the photography that it provokes. (Those many people stuck overnight on I 95 earlier in the week have my total sympathy. How terrible and scary. I haven't needed to go anywhere for days, but my car is facing down the driveway, in case.)

    That first photo is wonderful. I love it, but I didn't make it.... Another bravo to my daughter.  They explored the icicles down by the waterfalls and, near the house, wore the snow out with the sled and two playful dogs.   

       SO here, barely in chronological order, are some other snow photos:

Well, this is an older photo, along Route 504, and it wants to be included even though it's an earlier storm...

The way to plow your south facing driveway is to get the mail carrier to drive up to the house to deliver a package and later have your son-in-law bring over some of his tasty stew and a dolly to move a file cabinet. By then the road snow will begin melting -- 

 

 

 

 

This is after she drove up and then out, apologizing for not being sure if she had driven on my driveway or not!  She managed better than some do even on a good day.

the end of the first day, still snowing at dusk, so very quiet everywhere (no wind), the pond not even frozen yet.

deer tracks, I think -  on the way to water

this afternoon, after the rain finally stopped

                 NOW, next, la pièce de résistance, a "movie" of the pond before the rain began:

         Please remember that it's possible to double click on any one of the photos, and they will then all line themselves in order at the bottom of the screen.  That way, they can be seen one by one.  Just sayin'.  I had some struggles today, which I hope don't show.  And I will be trying again in two weeks to make things work more smoothly.  It's hard to believe I've been doing these posts for over ten year and still have to learn stuff.  I love the movie this time -- I hope it works smoothly. 

    Let's pursue truth and not believe what doesn't make sense.  And while we're at it, as members of the same human race, let's sharpen our capacity for kindness.    (Voilà, that's my first political statement of 2022! )

color in the skys

         It's now getting lighter every morning! Seconds count! Yea!!  

        For 6 weeks I have wanted to share a series of photos my daughter made by noticing the sky was showing off its spectacular self. She made the instant decision to run outside with her iPhone to record the changes she realized were happening, quickly. All these photos were made within 5 minutes. A lot can happen in that short length of time! Hold on to your hats, here we go:

CLOUD PHOTOS by REBECCA WRIGHT

 

Whew! Wow! Wonderful!     And now for some recent photos of mine, fairly seasonal:

We'll have almost a whole week together!

a gift to the world in her Christmas jammies

another gift, via UPS

        

    wrapping it up

      My more or less monthly writers group finally was able to meet in person a few weeks ago, in Lexington, with one of us in D.C.  We had our annual Christmas meal and some words to share and some tears of happiness just from being together.

       

Then there's the sky outside my window tonight, always a gift, in my book.

       I sure hope the message about getting vaccines can be liberated from the politics it has brought on. Lies are so dangerous. Common sense is worth a lot more than it is given credit for.  I also hope you have enjoyed these few photos.  May you have something beautiful to be surprised by every day.  I look forward to posting again in two weeks.  Snow??  Ann

tornadoes, winds, and rain

        I want to be clear -- the terrible tornadoes (T.Ts) of this weekend were not in my part of Kentucky. This state lies east-west, across two time zones.  Eastern Kentucky is all in the Appalachian mountains and hills, in the Eastern Standard Time zone. This weekend's tragedy took place in western Kentucky and along the Mississippi River, in Central Time.  Until now, we in the eastern part have few tornadoes, but the changing climate might shift all that.  We don't know for sure..  We just know that our climate is changing, crying out for help, feeling the effects of generations of humans acting out of heedless greed.  It's not like I'm making a mountain out of a molehill here, because if I look around, listen to scientists, and use common sense, I want to be loud, I want us to look beyond our noses, and I want to rejoice in the gifts of the earth. (That statement is not at all extravagant. It is what it is.)

 

 

       These two friends, Julia and Dick Roberts, visited me a while ago at my home in northeastern Kentucky. They live in Bowling Green, KY, where Friday night there were winds of 150 m.p.h.  I am holding them and everyone at WKU (Western Kentucky University) in my heart.  

        Also, I am grateful Kentucky has an outstanding governor in Andy Beshear. Besides all the Republicans eager to throw him out of office, out of spite, he has had the Pandemic to deal with and now the most damage ever in Kentucky from tornadoes. He deserves our thanks, our cooperation, and our continuing admiration!

        I still am amazed by this photo from quite a few years ago. I have shared it before.  While in Denver, with family, I was trying out what would be show up sharp if I made a photo of the Christmas tree bulbs on their tree.  This has become my best wishes photo, in hopes everyone can make the things work that they are curious about or care about!

     And here is a newer Christmas photo a friend sent. I really like the simplicity in this photo and the color of the every day door. It feels very welcoming.

         I am wishing for all of us to stay well and help each other. I was so heartened to talk with MaKayla in the grocery store tonight about all the items they were gathering to send to the tornado torn counties.  She is the Ag Teacher at Elliott County's High School and the granddaughter of my friend Sandy.  She says each eastern Kentucky county is trying to supply only certain things so the needs are balanced out among them. 

     Thank you for checking on my blog as we reach out to all those impacted by the T.T.s though, in fact, we are all impacted by what happened to many of us.   Ann

from the "unrecognized photos" album

   Hello all you loyal viewers!  I figure you will understand about having disjointed days sometimes, like I am having today. All is well, but I dare not try to do what I had planned.  HOWEVER, I found an "album" of mine which bears the title "unrecognized photos."  I'm not sure exactly what I meant by that, since most of the images have been around for awhile, but now tonight I'm going to put them in this post. They make me happy, and their being totally random sort of seems to be the theme of the day.  HERE GOES!  ENJOY! 

briefly flowering moss

what we call "the big waterfalls" close to us

really called "Quaker Ladies" (or bluets)

in Massachusetts -- I love the light (and the daughter!!)

redbuds "branches" in April

catching the light on Mauk Ridge -- I almost missed coming upon it.

folllowing the annual memorial walk for Gary

It's amazing that this old barn of ours is still standing!

always look to our shared sky

I love finding treasures in the woods.

Before her school years, my granddaughter would sometimes stay at my house and bring her friends.

the wonderful swing, now retired because everyone is too heavy for the high sycamore branches that held it

the shelf where a great many of the books are by George Ella

I like to think I have gotten the "hang of things" here in Northeastern Kentucky, even though these precisely hung clothes are not my doing!