Spontaneous Planning?

For some reason my flowers aren't doing so well this year, some aren't coming up at all. I wonder why?


Thursday means it's time for Thursday Two-Questions.

Those of us here in the US have a three day holiday weekend coming up and many of you are planning vacations.

1) Planned or spontaneous? When planning a vacation do you like to have everything planned out or do you leave a few items to chance?

2) When packing for a vacation what three items would you never leave home without?

Bonus question: Mountains or ocean? What is your preference?

Summer View

Summer has arrived in SE Washington State, time to enjoy the sunshine.

For more photos visit Freda's Tuesday Takes, Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday.

Blanket Flower

The Blanket Flowers (Gaillardia) in my garden are beginning to bloom. Their beautiful colors will continue until late fall.

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not."
Georgia O'Keeffe

Visit Freda's Quote It Saturday, better yet post a quote and join us.
For more flowers visit Macro Flowers Saturday, Flowers on Saturday and Today's Flowers.

I have been working most of Friday trapping feral cats for The Cat Management Coalition's Spay/Neuter clinic. I will be back with them all day tomorrow picking up traps and working in pre or post op. I will return comments and catch up with everyone of Sunday. For more info on The Cat Management Coalition go HERE.

Have a great weekend everyone.

State of Wonder - The Friday 56

The Friday 56

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your link to The Friday 56

State of Wonder

Page 56

"Marina nodded. The trick of Lariam was to figure out which part was the dream and which part was her waking life. Vogel she knew, Anders and the lab. It was the plane that smacked of nightmares."

Ann Patchett's State of Wonder is on TLC blog tour. My blog will be a stop on July 1st, be sure to come back to welcome Ann Patchett and learn more about State of Wonder.

Summer Sun

Welcome to the first Thursday of Summer!

Please be sure to visit Clytie's Guest Heart Thursday. (Heart hints, there are several small heart but the main one is in the first photo.)

Thursday means it's time for Thursday Two Questions.
My questions for you today relate to the summer sun. It's nearly impossible to stay inside and hid from the sun, we have to go outside sometimes. Many of us spend a lot of time outside in the summer. We have all heard the warnings about the damage the sun can cause to our skin and we know too much heat is dangerous for our bodies.

1) How do you protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays?

2) Have you or anyone you know experienced a heat relate illness?
(Do you know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke? *
If not go HERE.)

Bonus question: Favorite way to quench your thirst when it's hot? Water or sports drink?

*I taught First Aid and CPR for over ten years and I know that most folks believe that this will never happen to them. It is important to be able to recognize the symptoms in yourself and others. Have fun but stay safe.

To Delete or Not To Delete

Would you delete this photo? Of course you would, I would too. We all make mistakes, we can't be perfect with every shot. No reason to save the bad shots.

I had my finger on the delete key and ........ I saw something that caught my eye. Look at the upper left hand side, see it? Want a closer look? Then look up at my header. I created it by cropping part of the upper section out of the photo. The softness comes from the enlarged pixels.

I will be taking another look at my photos before I delete. How about you?

Be sure to visit the Nene Goose family HERE!

Happy Summer Solstice!
Summer in the Northern Hemisphere will officially arrive on Tuesday (June 21) at 1:16 p.m. EDT (17:16 Universal Time )

Visit Tuesday Takes, PicStory and Outdoor Wednesday for more photos.

B is for Bufflehead - Review

C is for Cuckoo
"Yellow-billed Cuckoos don't live in clocks and we don't eat Cocoa Puffs."
B is for Bufflehead by Steve Hutchcraft













The Author
Several years ago, Steve Hutchcraft left a successful business career to pursue his love for nature photography. As a photographer, Steve has built a portfolio of award-winning images, including his photograph of courting White-tailed Tropic birds that won the prestigious North American Nature Photography Association's Showcase Award in 2006.

As a father, he has looked for ways to share his love of nature, and especially birds, with his young daughter. B is for Bufflehead is part of his ongoing effort to do just that. By sharing it with others, he hopes it will interest, entertain, and inspire many other future nature lovers.

About
B is for Bufflehead is more than an ABC book. Its eye-catching and humorous photographs introduce over 60 unique North American bird species and cover the alphabet from A to Z. The menagerie of showcased birds has a mix of fun names, fascinating personalities, and unique behaviors that will engage little ones without intimidating them.

The book’s layout is designed to be easily adapted to each child’s educational level. The photos, letters, and names are perfect for the earliest learners. The accompanying text is intended to intrigue young children with a few fun facts about each bird. For older kids (and adults), there is a section that offers more detailed information on each species, including range, habitat, feeding preferences, and even more fun facts. For fun, there’s a section of baby birds and interesting images for a who’s who challenge.

Review
Many of you are true nature lovers just like me, we love to be in nature, enjoy its beauty, and photograph its wonders. Have you every thought about, or tried, passing this passion along to your children or grandchildren?

We know we need to start early and make it fun. But where to begin? Why not learn about birds and the ABC's all at the same time.

The photographs in this book are beautiful and detailed. The writing is clear and interesting enough to keep even a young child entertained. Older children will enjoy reading about the different birds.

The book is recommend for ages 9 - 12 but you know what? I would give this book to a much younger child and read it to them. Why? Because as I read through the pages I realized I was learning too! And enjoying it!

B is for Bufflehead is a great starting point for instilling a love of nature in your children. I am definitely recommending this book to everyone.

Buy it HERE. Visit the B is for Bufflehead website HERE.

I received an ereader copy of this book from Net Galley. I was not compensated for my review, all opinions are my own.

Through The Looking Glass

Science, or para-science, tells us that geraniums bloom better if they are spoken to. But a kind word every now and then is really quite enough. Too much attention, like too much feeding, and weeding and hoeing, inhibits and embarrasses them.
Victoria Glendinning

Like quotes? Visit Freda's Quote It Saturday.
The weekends are filled with color and flowers. Take a look at colors from around the world at Macro Flowers Saturday, Flowers on Saturday, Color Connection and Today's Flowers.

B is for Bufflehead - The Friday 56

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your link to The Friday 56

B is for Bufflehead

Page 56

"Often, you can identify a hawk by the shape, size and color of its tail. I'm a Zone-tailed Hawk, named for my tail of broad, black and white stripes."

It's Hot Tonight

It's Thursday and that means it time for ......... Thursday Two Questions.

The East Coast and Southern parts of the US among other places are having a heatwave, sweltering temperatures and dry conditions. Which leads us to my questions for this week.

1) Do you have any hints or tricks for staying cool in the summer heat?

2) Where is your favorite place to be in the summertime?

And a bonus question for you this week, do you like your iced tea sweetened or unsweetened?

Give a Little Whistle

This little fellow is a Black-bellied Whistling duck. They breed in southern parts of the US and central to south central South America. They can be found year round in parts of southeast Texas and seasonally in SE Arizona and Louisiana's Gulf Coast. It is occasionally seen in parts of other southern states.

Unlike most ducks the Black-bellied Whistling ducks form monogamous bonds with their mate. Pairs often stay together for years. This trait is usually seen with geese and swans. Both parents share the duties of incubation and raising the young.

These ducks do not breed in SE Washington where I live but there is a mating pair at our local aviary which is where these photos were taken. A fellow blogger from Texas gets to see these little ducks often and she features them on her blog. Go over to The Run*A*Round Ranch Report and take a look at her ducks HERE.

For more photos please visit Freda's Tuesday Takes, Outdoor Wednesday and Watery Wednesday.

Tomorrow Girls

Tomorrow Girls - Behind The Gates

In a terrifying future world, four girls must depend on each other if they want to survive.

Louisa is nervous about being sent away to a boarding school -- but she’s excited, too. And she has her best friend, Maddie, to keep her company. The girls have to pretend to be twin sisters, which Louisa thinks just adds to the adventure!

Country Manor School isn’t all excitement, though. Louisa isn’t sure how she feels about her new roommates: athletic but snobby Rosie and everything’s-a-conspiracy Evelyn. Even Maddie seems different away from home, quiet and worried all the time.

Still, Louisa loves CMS -- the survival skills classes, the fresh air. She doesn’t even miss not having a TV, or the internet, or any contact with home. It’s for their own safety, after all.

Or is it?

About the Author
Eva Gray lives in Chicago and enjoys reading, cooking, and going camping. Though she doesn't expect to need them in the near future, Eva keeps lots of extra batteries for her flashlight and a stock of canned food in her pantry.

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (May 1, 2011)
Purchase Tomorrow Girls HERE

Review
The world has been ravaged by natural disasters brought on by pollution, cities are in shambles and life has been changed forever. Then there is the War with an enemy known as the Alliance. You are thirteen and leaving your parents for the first time to attend a school at an unknown location. You know you will miss them but you are also looking forward to a little freedom and new experiences.

Behind the Gates is the first book in the Tomorrow Girls series, three more books will be published by the end of the year.

This is exactly the kind of book I loved as a preteen, it has interesting characters that I could have related to, a little mystery and adventure. Even though the book is for young adults I found myself getting caught up in the characters as they were introduced to their new school. There is an unexpected turn at the end and when I read the last page I knew I was going to have to get the next book to find out what happens to the girls.

One of the things I really like about Tomorrow Girls Behind the Gates is there is no vulgar language, sex or violence. I am far from being a prude but when I buy a book for a youngster I want it to be wholesome. This is good clean fun! How often can you say that about books advertised for young adults today?

What were your favorite books when you were young?

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher. I was not compensated for my review, all opinions are my own.

Have a Rosy Day!

"This old world that we're livin' in
Is might hard to beat.
You get a thorn with every Rose
But - ain't the roses sweet?"
Frank Stanton

They are a little late in blooming this year but finally we are seeing roses. The first one is from my garden at home, I don't know the actual name but I call it my Peppermint rose.

The rest of the roses are from a small rose garden at one of our local parks. There are a lot of lavender colored roses this year, the lavender and pinks are so beautiful.

For more flowers please visit Macro Flowers Saturday, Flowers on Saturday and Today's Flowers. Also if you love color, and who doesn't, please stop by Color Connection and say hello to Ms. Burrito.

Quote It Saturday is a really fun meme from Freda's Voice, won't you pop over and take a look?

Tomorrow Girls - The Friday 56

The Friday 56

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your link to The Friday 56

Tomorrow Girls
Behind The Gates

Page 56
"The signs I could see were old ones from back when there used to be a Federal Parks Program. They were too faded to read."


I am so behind on my reviews but you will be seeing this one soon along with The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland.

Get Your News Here!

Hearts can be found anywhere and everywhere, visit Clytie's Guest Heart Thursday to see more hearts from around the world.

And it's almost Thursday and time for Thursday Two Questions.

Our evening newspaper was just delivered to our door, my husband likes to read it in the mornings. We both read a variety of newspapers online but still have a subscription to our local paper. If we discontinued the subscription the only thing I would miss would be the weekly ads and coupons from our local grocery stores. But then I also know I can go online and find both.

Now for my questions.
1) Do you subscribe to, or buy, a printed newspaper?

2) Do you think printed newspapers (or magazines for that matter) will be around for much longer? Would you miss them if they went away tomorrow?

Cheap Sunglasses

............. make interesting lens filters. I was taking some photos in my yard the other day. I had my sunglasses on top of my head so they wouldn't be in the way when I looked through the viewfinder when it hit me, why not try the glasses as a filter just for fun.

Here, I'll move the glasses away from the lens a bit so you can see what I did. They are not the sharpest quality of photos because trying to hold the glasses and the camera at the same time was a little awkward.

We photographers just want to have fun, right MadSnapper?

For more photos please visit Freda's Tuesday Takes and Ruby Tuesday.

The Charm of Flowers

This past weekend we had a break from all the rain. I took a walk downtown and see all the new flower baskets that had been hung around town.

Everywhere I looked there were flowers.

Even the signs were in bloom!

And when I returned home look what I saw. Another one on my irises was in bloom.

"To analyze the charms of flowers is like dissecting music; it is one of those things which it is far better to enjoy, than to attempt to fully understand."
Henry T. Tuckerman

For more great quotes be sure to visit Freda's Quote It Saturday. Want to see more flowers? Then check out Macro Flowers Saturday, Flowers on Saturday and Today's Flowers.

Also check out this brand new meme called Color Connection. Be sure to say hello to Ms. Burrito.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated FAIRYLAND - The Friday 56

The Friday 56

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your link to The Friday 56

The Girl Who Circumnavigated FAIRYLAND
in a Ship of Her Own Making

Page 56

"Queen Mallow danced in circles of silver mushrooms to bring on the spring and apparently, before she was queen, ran a bath house."

Sweet Lady

Click on photo to enlarge

It's Thursday and time for Thursday Two Questions.

Let's talk about gas prices. I know those of us in the US think we have high prices but folks in other countries pay even more at the pump than we do. On Tuesday $4.09 was the current price per gallon for regular gas in our town.

1) What is the current price for fuel where you live?

2) Have gas prices caused you to rethink any travel plans or even day to day driving? Or what changes have you made because of the prices?