In this busy world we must take time to smell the flowers ... maybe you didn't do that this week so you can sniff the screen and dream :-)
Jim's dad was the Rhododendron King..... he planted, cultivated and bred them where ever he went.... one of the places he went was right here... he lived here and grew Rhododendrons. Check out the sample... they are still here thriving.
Along the sides of the fountain and waterfall Jim built he stuck in a few poppies a few years ago.... maybe 20 years ago....look at 'em now! Beautiful!
You have a good day... and really.... stop and smell the flowers.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
On the way back I stopped in AZ
The other day on the way back from Florida I stopped in to see Zabina and family which is always fun. Traveling across I-10 and manuvering around the freeways of Phoenix might tend to give an ol geezer a very warped view of AZ so Zabrina drove me out of town for a day.... and what a day! I've passed thru Sedona before but never took the time to stop and smell the cactus... there is probably a rose there too.... and I never lean too alwfully close to that cactus when I take a smell.
Sedona is just like you always imagined from the pictures in "Arizona Highways" magazine.... only better when you are there in person. I love those red rocks jutting out of the desert floor.
Sedona is just like you always imagined from the pictures in "Arizona Highways" magazine.... only better when you are there in person. I love those red rocks jutting out of the desert floor.
Alright..we're here!.... nice to have a marker.
Not all the cactii are red so I had to shoot this one.
The amazing red rocks of Sedona .... they aren't everywhere... and even in the Sedona area they have selected a few choice spots. Amazingly there is a creek running thru the desert in that area where folks can take a dip and slide down the rocks into the cool refreshing water. Cheyenne, Savannah and Jordon all took a dip.
Where the creek slowed down and got a little deeper young and old lined up to plunge off the high rocks. Here you see Cheyenne taking the plunge.... pretty brave for the young lady... I think she was the youngest I saw that day taking the high dive. No... I did not leap off the cliff... I didn't want my camera to get wet :-)
Friday, June 11, 2010
Coast to Coast
A couple days ago I was on the pacific coast down by the sea ..... yesterday I visited some of my favorite spots on the Atlantic coast as you can see
Here is the ol' place.... sporting a shiny new roof which you may not be able to see but notice the Sego Palms are gone... the nightblooming jasmine is gone... the orange and lemon trees are gone.... the bamboo has been removed... the power lines are now underground..... things are happening .... oh yes, that is a huge dumpster in the driveway.... the garage/carport has also been removed.
Stopped in St Augustine... visited the art gallery and the light house..... since the Skunk Train of Ft Bragg Ca was still fresh in my mind I had to take a foto of the visitor train ... also went to the St Augustine Beach which was beautiful... it was a great day to be one the beach
This is Goordon's house in Ormond Beach on the Halifax River..... very unique and hidden in the trees. He keeps his tug boat donw by his private pier.
Of course the pelicans flew by.... they always do.... then on thru the sand dunes and to the water's edge
I love going to the beach!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
May full moon is over
Well, it was said that after the May full moon we could start the garden...... mine was started indoors and Jim started some of his indoors..... now he's out there roto-tilling and planting.... what a beautiful day here.... I've been inside most of the day painting and doing other things.... Jim's smarter than me... he's outside working in his garden :-)
everyone should plant something... even if it's just one plant by the back door.
everyone should plant something... even if it's just one plant by the back door.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wildfowers
Martha Washington's grandfather told her not to plant her garden until after the full moon in May ..... that happened a couple days ago so it is time to plant your garden now.... we think :-) Mine is started indoors in the kitchen. (this is a contemporary Martha Washington .... she lives in Carson Valley)
No one told the wildflowers outside so they just shot up..... with their smiling faces and bright clothes... take a look...
First thing in the morning how about a great big smile!
No one told the wildflowers outside so they just shot up..... with their smiling faces and bright clothes... take a look...
First thing in the morning how about a great big smile!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Cowboys but no Indians today
We like indians too... just don't have one handy to paint. Today we have one of our favorite cowboys .... perhaps he should view this at the end of the day after the 6-pak :-)
this is oil on 11x14 canvas board ... it may not be finished but it is on the dispaly easel for now ... got something else on the working easel.
Here's a thought... we turn to Chogyam Trungpa,
who teaches:
No one can turn you completely upside down
and inside out. You must accept yourself as
you are, instead of as you would like to be,
which means giving up self-deception and
wishful thinking.
During the coming week, work on accepting yourself (and the time and space you're currently living in) as you are and as it is, warts and all.
Hey... if we think like that this picture may "fly" :-)
this is oil on 11x14 canvas board ... it may not be finished but it is on the dispaly easel for now ... got something else on the working easel.
Here's a thought... we turn to Chogyam Trungpa,
who teaches:
No one can turn you completely upside down
and inside out. You must accept yourself as
you are, instead of as you would like to be,
which means giving up self-deception and
wishful thinking.
During the coming week, work on accepting yourself (and the time and space you're currently living in) as you are and as it is, warts and all.
Hey... if we think like that this picture may "fly" :-)
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Thanks
For the past few days many friends and family have sent me well wishes and I do appreciate it very much. Nothing warms the heart more than family and friends dropping in and saying "howdy" .... calling on the telephone and emailing is "dropping in" too.
People keep sending me all this interesting stuff about "old" folks ... what are they trying to say? ... but some of it is really, really good stuff ... check this out
the pictures are absolutely fantastic.
.......then after you stop laughing at the pictures I have sent with the last couple blogs you can go to
and read some of the old folks jokes that were sent to me :-)
Laugh.
It's very good for you.
A word from Unocchio
Happy Monday.. or Tuesday... or Wednesday ... or whatever day it happens to be!
The other day I had lunch with some friends...all in all, a pleasant bunch.
When the menus were presented, the other guys ordered salads, sandwiches, and soups, except for me, I said, "Ice Cream, please. Two scoops, chocolate.
My friends could not believe their ears , and sat there aghast. Is this really him?
"Along with heated apple pie," I added, completely unabashed.
They tried to act quite nonchalant, as if people did this all the time.. .but when our orders were brought out, they did not seem to enjoy theirs as much as I enjoyed mine.
They couldn't take their eyes off me as my pie a-la-mode went down. The other guys couldn't believe it. They ate their lunches silently and grinned.
The next time Jim went out to eat, he called and invited me. Jim lunched on white meat tuna. I ordered a parfait. Jim smiled.
I asked if I amused him
He answered, "Yes, you do, but also you confuse me.
How come you order rich desserts, while I feel I must be sensible? I laughed and said "I'm tasting all that is Possible.
I try to eat the food I need, and do the things I should..... but life's so short, my friend, I hate missing out on something good.
This year I realized how old I was... grinning from ear to ear. I haven't been this old before."
"So, before I die, I've got to try those things that for years I had ignored.
I haven't smelled all the flowers yet. There are too many trout streams I haven’t fished. There's more fudge sundaes to wolf down …. kites to be flown overhead …paintings to be painted...pictures to be taken on my digital SLR camera.
There are too many trails I have not hiked ….beaches I have not waded. I've not laughed at all the jokes. I've missed a lot of sporting events and potato chips and Hebrew National hotdogs along with a cold beer.
I want to wade again in water and feel ocean spray on my face. I want to sit in a field of clover and be thankful I am able to enjoy nature in all it's beauty.
I want almond butter every day spread on my morning sprouted grain toast. I want un-timed long distance calls to the folks I love the most.
I haven't cried at all the movies yet, or walked in the morning rain. I need to feel wind on my face. I want to be in love again.
So, if I choose to have dessert, instead of having dinner, then should I die before night fall, I'd say I died a winner, because I missed out on nothing. I filled my heart's desire. I had that final chocolate mousse before my life expired.."
This is my gift to you - We need an annual Friends Day!
Live well, love much & laugh often - Be happy.
Be mindful that happiness isn't based on possessions, power, or prestige, but on relationships with people we like and respect. Remember that while money talks, CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM SINGS!
3 cheers for geezers and geezerettes
Always a big fan of seniors who are still out there working and serving here is a blog dedicated to all of them even tho only a few are listed herein... I may add more later.... the following is courtesy of CNN Money.com ... an article by Aaron smith. If you don't go to CNN Money .com you should go there for some really interesting news.
Even tho I may look like one of these folks I am not there yet... look at the ages... notice how good they look .... AND they are still out on the job. Congrats to all of them.. I will be trying my best to follow their good example.
Enjoy your work today.... enjoy your work every day..... you could be working until you are 100
Stanton, Michigan
"I was Rosie the riveter, on the center wing of the bombers," Hanson says, because she assembled B-24s during World War II.
She remembers when federal agents "with black hats" took away one of her co-workers. "They motioned for her to come down [from the airplane] and that was the last time you saw her," she says. "Come to find out that little gal was a Russian spy, and she was riveting in the places she wasn't supposed to."
Hansen later worked at a refrigerator factory, various restaurants, bars, a dry cleaner, a hotel and a thrift store. "I guess I've done just about everything," she says. "It seems like I've always been lucky getting jobs." Three years after retiring as a city clerk, the non-profit group Experience Works, which finds jobs for elderly people, placed her as an office worker for the Michigan Department of Human Services. "I've got to keep going," she says. "I don't want to retire."
Photo: Courtesy of Michigan Dept. of Human Services
White Plains, New York
Tao Porchon-Lynch learned yoga while growing up in India, in the former French colony of Pondicherry, but she didn't become an instructor until half a century later.
For much of her career, she danced, modeled and acted in India, France, England and California. She appeared in Hollywood movies and on television before landing a job with UniTel in the 1960s, establishing TV stations in India. "I was playing with life," she says. "There was so much to do and so little time to do it."
Porchon-Lynch has taught yoga since the 1970s and certified 400 other teachers. Until recently, she was able to suspend herself by her hands in the full-lotus and peacock positions before she broke her wrist. She's still a competitive ballroom dancer, despite undergoing hip replacement five years ago. "I'm not going to give up," Porchon-Lynch says. "I'm going to dance and do yoga for as long as I live."
Anaconda, Montana
Florence "Chloe" Grimm, former owner of a real estate agency, re-entered the work force six years ago after 17 years of retirement. "I didn't want that rocking chair to get me," she says. Experience Works placed her in a part-time office job at the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, partly to supplement her social security checks.
Grimm admits that it's not always easy to get up for work, though it pays off. "There are days when that alarm goes off I could throw it out the window," she says. "But when I get up and dressed and ready to go, I feel pretty good. Maybe I'm crazy or something, but I do like coming to work. I'll probably continue working until my health fails, until I have to quit."
She spends most of her free time playing golf or performing with a lip sync group called the Strikettes.
Photo: Courtesy of Montana Health and Human Services
Weatherton, Texas
Jack Borden was born on a Texas farm that's now at the bottom of a man-made lake. He grew up in a log cabin without electricity and started working corn and cotton fields when he was five. At age 11, he was leading a horse-drawn grain binder to cut wheat.
Borden has been a lawyer since 1936 and continues to work full-time at his firm. He was also a mayor, a district attorney and an FBI agent. He continues to chew tobacco, a lifelong vice. "I've got a mouthful now," he noted during a recent interview. He keeps an antique spittoon by his desk and has more of them piled in the corner of his office. Borden says he "never worried about dying" and has no plans to call it quits.
"When the gals come into the office and I've got my head down on the desk, and I ain't moving, then that's when I'll retire," he says.
Photo: Rose Page
Overton, Nebraska
Mildred Heath started working at her hometown newspaper when she was 15, toiling over a hot-metal linotype machine with her boyfriend. She married him a few years later in 1929, and they co-founded a business that eventually expanded to three papers.
She has since passed that business on to her three children, though she outlived them all, as well as her husband. The business was recently sold, but she still reports for one of those papers, the Beacon-Observer.
"If I get news, I turn it in," Heath says, commuting the short distance to her office in an electric wheelchair. Two years ago, when she was a spry 100, Experience Works awarded her the title of "America's Oldest Worker." She says that being a centenarian journalist has one drawback when it comes to sources: "The people I knew are all dead."
Photo: Allen Krohn
Even tho I may look like one of these folks I am not there yet... look at the ages... notice how good they look .... AND they are still out on the job. Congrats to all of them.. I will be trying my best to follow their good example.
Enjoy your work today.... enjoy your work every day..... you could be working until you are 100
I'll take a break now and go feed the chickens ... it's a beautiful sunny day out there.
Helen Hansen, 92Office worker
Stanton, Michigan
"I was Rosie the riveter, on the center wing of the bombers," Hanson says, because she assembled B-24s during World War II.
She remembers when federal agents "with black hats" took away one of her co-workers. "They motioned for her to come down [from the airplane] and that was the last time you saw her," she says. "Come to find out that little gal was a Russian spy, and she was riveting in the places she wasn't supposed to."
Hansen later worked at a refrigerator factory, various restaurants, bars, a dry cleaner, a hotel and a thrift store. "I guess I've done just about everything," she says. "It seems like I've always been lucky getting jobs." Three years after retiring as a city clerk, the non-profit group Experience Works, which finds jobs for elderly people, placed her as an office worker for the Michigan Department of Human Services. "I've got to keep going," she says. "I don't want to retire."
Photo: Courtesy of Michigan Dept. of Human Services
Tao Porchon-Lynch, 91Yoga instructor
White Plains, New York
Tao Porchon-Lynch learned yoga while growing up in India, in the former French colony of Pondicherry, but she didn't become an instructor until half a century later.
For much of her career, she danced, modeled and acted in India, France, England and California. She appeared in Hollywood movies and on television before landing a job with UniTel in the 1960s, establishing TV stations in India. "I was playing with life," she says. "There was so much to do and so little time to do it."
Porchon-Lynch has taught yoga since the 1970s and certified 400 other teachers. Until recently, she was able to suspend herself by her hands in the full-lotus and peacock positions before she broke her wrist. She's still a competitive ballroom dancer, despite undergoing hip replacement five years ago. "I'm not going to give up," Porchon-Lynch says. "I'm going to dance and do yoga for as long as I live."
Chloe Grimm, 94Office worker
Anaconda, Montana
Florence "Chloe" Grimm, former owner of a real estate agency, re-entered the work force six years ago after 17 years of retirement. "I didn't want that rocking chair to get me," she says. Experience Works placed her in a part-time office job at the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, partly to supplement her social security checks.
Grimm admits that it's not always easy to get up for work, though it pays off. "There are days when that alarm goes off I could throw it out the window," she says. "But when I get up and dressed and ready to go, I feel pretty good. Maybe I'm crazy or something, but I do like coming to work. I'll probably continue working until my health fails, until I have to quit."
She spends most of her free time playing golf or performing with a lip sync group called the Strikettes.
Photo: Courtesy of Montana Health and Human Services
Jack Borden, 101Attorney
Weatherton, Texas
Jack Borden was born on a Texas farm that's now at the bottom of a man-made lake. He grew up in a log cabin without electricity and started working corn and cotton fields when he was five. At age 11, he was leading a horse-drawn grain binder to cut wheat.
Borden has been a lawyer since 1936 and continues to work full-time at his firm. He was also a mayor, a district attorney and an FBI agent. He continues to chew tobacco, a lifelong vice. "I've got a mouthful now," he noted during a recent interview. He keeps an antique spittoon by his desk and has more of them piled in the corner of his office. Borden says he "never worried about dying" and has no plans to call it quits.
"When the gals come into the office and I've got my head down on the desk, and I ain't moving, then that's when I'll retire," he says.
Photo: Rose Page
Mildred Heath, 102Reporter
Overton, Nebraska
Mildred Heath started working at her hometown newspaper when she was 15, toiling over a hot-metal linotype machine with her boyfriend. She married him a few years later in 1929, and they co-founded a business that eventually expanded to three papers.
She has since passed that business on to her three children, though she outlived them all, as well as her husband. The business was recently sold, but she still reports for one of those papers, the Beacon-Observer.
"If I get news, I turn it in," Heath says, commuting the short distance to her office in an electric wheelchair. Two years ago, when she was a spry 100, Experience Works awarded her the title of "America's Oldest Worker." She says that being a centenarian journalist has one drawback when it comes to sources: "The people I knew are all dead."
Photo: Allen Krohn
Monday, May 24, 2010
It's a Peaceful Day in the Valley
Yesterday I spent some time hanging paintings on the wall while I watched some painting videos ... actually I watched the videos while I put screw eyes and "D" rings on the backs of the frames. today I went back to painting. I have a continual bunch of work in progress that I dab away at but usually start a new one. I try to do a new painting every day. Here is today's effort...11x14 oil on canvas board. .... "Oly at the end of the work day"
Thanks for visiting my blog. If you have not signed on as a follower, please do.... I would enjoy having you as a regular visitor.
Thanks for visiting my blog. If you have not signed on as a follower, please do.... I would enjoy having you as a regular visitor.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
May it snow in May
It's always such a joy to wake up and look out the window to a winter wonderland!.... A fireplace might add a little atmosphere ot it ... maybe I'll paint a big picture of one :-)
This is a 12 x 16 oil on canvas board .... not necessarily gallery material but it's special to me because I think I captured Baron in this little painting. Sometimes it is a little challenging to capture a likeness on a smaller scale so the mood and atmosphere have to carry more of the load. Painting inside sure is fun when winter is outside.
At 6 am I was up and at it.... outside stomping around in the fresh fallen snow..... the sun makes long shadows early in the morning and lights up everything a little differently ... notice how the sun shines thru the trees and back-lights the snow covered leaves ..... also, there seem to be birds out there early in the day that do not hang around till day. Check it out...... this little guy dropped in, hopped around the snow a little then took off. There were some black birds on the fence.... and the chickens were up. Chickens always get up early... that's because they want to eat :-)
You have a good day .... and ask Big Al where's all that hupla in his report :-)
This is a 12 x 16 oil on canvas board .... not necessarily gallery material but it's special to me because I think I captured Baron in this little painting. Sometimes it is a little challenging to capture a likeness on a smaller scale so the mood and atmosphere have to carry more of the load. Painting inside sure is fun when winter is outside.
At 6 am I was up and at it.... outside stomping around in the fresh fallen snow..... the sun makes long shadows early in the morning and lights up everything a little differently ... notice how the sun shines thru the trees and back-lights the snow covered leaves ..... also, there seem to be birds out there early in the day that do not hang around till day. Check it out...... this little guy dropped in, hopped around the snow a little then took off. There were some black birds on the fence.... and the chickens were up. Chickens always get up early... that's because they want to eat :-)
You have a good day .... and ask Big Al where's all that hupla in his report :-)
Saturday, May 22, 2010
On a frosty morn in May
"Twas on a frosty morn in May" ..... yup.... today was a frosty morn in late May ..... a beautifyl day ... did you every get down close and take a look at frosty grass?.... here's your chance ... spectacular to say the least!
The chickens did not mind at all .... the minute they heard me open the door they were on the way .. hey...it's eatin' time.
Most of the day we had sunshine... that's what we love about it here..... then about 6-ish... whe I wasn't looking it began to snow!.... by 7=ish there was several inches on the ground... could be at least 3 inches out there as we speak.
We love variety. Snow near the end of May is variety :-)
Today Mom had her 98th birthday celebration...went out to dinner and had a cake with 98 candles which she said she blew out.... I believe it... she does have lung power :-) ..... mmaybe she really didn't have 98 candles but there was at least one that she blew out ... most of the frosting landed in Ron's face..... so now she begins year 99....hooray for her... I hope she passed on some of those genes to me.
Maybe I'll go out and make a snow man.... or snow chicken....I hope it melts by noon tomorrow...we already stowed away the snow shovel
The chickens did not mind at all .... the minute they heard me open the door they were on the way .. hey...it's eatin' time.
Most of the day we had sunshine... that's what we love about it here..... then about 6-ish... whe I wasn't looking it began to snow!.... by 7=ish there was several inches on the ground... could be at least 3 inches out there as we speak.
We love variety. Snow near the end of May is variety :-)
Today Mom had her 98th birthday celebration...went out to dinner and had a cake with 98 candles which she said she blew out.... I believe it... she does have lung power :-) ..... mmaybe she really didn't have 98 candles but there was at least one that she blew out ... most of the frosting landed in Ron's face..... so now she begins year 99....hooray for her... I hope she passed on some of those genes to me.
Maybe I'll go out and make a snow man.... or snow chicken....I hope it melts by noon tomorrow...we already stowed away the snow shovel
Friday, May 21, 2010
Game Preserve
A few weeks ago a dog (we now think) came by and ate or chased off the mother goose leaving her nest full of eggs deserted. Jim and Vickie rescued the eggs and set them in a box to incubate. They are now hatching ... check it out.... the first gossling is now living with a couple of wild ducklings we rescued. Everyone is happy and doing fine. the indoor dogs do not seem to mind the newcomers... in fact, the chihuahua even gave the ducklings a little kiss on the beak :-)
We are not sure if all the eggs will hatch... if they do we are going to have lots of birds around here.
We are not sure if all the eggs will hatch... if they do we are going to have lots of birds around here.
Another cold snap is blowing in... we may get a little frost within the next few days which means the lilacs and apple trees will be losing their blossoms .
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Who knows?
Today's sketch is 11x14 oil on canvas board. this is one of our fellow artists in the CVAA. We never know who is going to show up on this blog .... or on the sketch board..... but it's always fun.
You have a little fun today too ..... enjoy your life.
You have a little fun today too ..... enjoy your life.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Another day on the farm
It might be just another day on the farm but there is not "just another day on the farm". There is always something exciting happening out here. First up in the foto line-up is Savanah..... she just was not going to eat that :-) ... luckily I was there to capture the moment and the mood. Irreplaceable. I was digging out the old paintings because I have a shipment of frames coming. The walls will be covered here in the ol' cabin.
Outside, while feeding the chickens, I noticed that the first mature crop of the season is already going to seed out there in the pasture. Dandelions are so bright and cheery. I love dandelions ... and I love blowing those parachutes into the wind too :-)
So now to the main story of the day..... the mother duck disappeared and left seven little duckings alone on the pond to fend for themselves. Cute, aren't they? The pond will dry up as the Summer progresses. Well with the hawks, owls, cats, bobcats, coyotes, bears and who know what else on the prowl out here we thought they needed to be rescued so we rounded them up and made them a new home.... then bought 50 # of ducking feed for them. They are very soft and fuzzy. Who knows if those Mallards will stay with us or take off someday. Right now we don't know if they will chose for their mama Jim, Vickie or one of the chickens :-)
It's a great day out there... poke your head out the window and take a look.
Outside, while feeding the chickens, I noticed that the first mature crop of the season is already going to seed out there in the pasture. Dandelions are so bright and cheery. I love dandelions ... and I love blowing those parachutes into the wind too :-)
So now to the main story of the day..... the mother duck disappeared and left seven little duckings alone on the pond to fend for themselves. Cute, aren't they? The pond will dry up as the Summer progresses. Well with the hawks, owls, cats, bobcats, coyotes, bears and who know what else on the prowl out here we thought they needed to be rescued so we rounded them up and made them a new home.... then bought 50 # of ducking feed for them. They are very soft and fuzzy. Who knows if those Mallards will stay with us or take off someday. Right now we don't know if they will chose for their mama Jim, Vickie or one of the chickens :-)
It's a great day out there... poke your head out the window and take a look.
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