Friday, September 30, 2011

It's A Bird. It's A Plane. It's............??

        We've had some beautiful Fall/Autumn colors showing up in our backyard here in Massachusetts, but we've had some other...not so beautiful...sightings too!...A few days ago, while he was checking out his seedless sunflowers in the backyard, hubby ran in the house and said: "Whoa!!! You're not gonna believe what's flying over the backyard!!"
       I said: "What is it?!"...As I looked out the window, I noticed on the ground, a huge airplane-shaped soaring shadow!! The overhang of our roof was stopping me from seeing the bird directly, but the shadow of it on the ground, soaring back and forth, let me know right away that it was big....VERY big!!
     Hubby had seen it. He said it looked to him like a huge hawk of some kind...but not really. O_0....Yesterday my best girlfriend was telling me all about this huge bird she saw soaring around,  and then later saw him...up close!...eating a dead squirrel. She said she'd never seen anything like it in our area before!
        We all put two and two together.....from hubby and my's experience of actually seeing them, and my knowledge of their exploits from my childhood in Georgia...and suspected that it must be a vulture....(buzzard). But what in the world would a vulture be doing in Massachusetts?! And is that what it really was?!
      THANK YOU, Google! :-)...Guess what?! We can't say for sure, but we're pretty sure our huge soaring visitor was a Black Vulture!
        (Black Vulture)
           Apparently that's what it was, because my girlfriend saw him up close, and the above photo was almost exactly what he looked like. And although hubby saw him flying high in the sky, he's pretty sure that's what it was too!
      Now the slight problem with this is that the North American Black Vulture's range is suppose to stretch only from northern Mexico through Texas and the southern United States, north to New Jersey and Pennsylvania!...Massachusetts is anywhere from 3 to 5 hours more North!
      The Vulture that would be more common to Massachusetts is the Turkey Vulture...
        ...but as you can see from his beautiful....Uhhh NOT!...red head, there is no mistaking the black vulture with the turkey vulture. They look completely different!
      So, we don't know why we had a black vulture flying in the Holyoke skies this past week, but Oh! How pretty he was to watch soar!...Even if I only saw him soaring in a shadow on the ground! :-)

     We didn't video the above vulture flying. I found this on Youtube. But Can you beat any bird soaring in a beautiful Autumn sky?! I think not. And when they're as big and as beautiful as this one it's kinda special. :-]
      In other news, if you're a regular reader, and you're wanting to enter the Giveaway for one of the scarves I'm giving away TOMORROW, October 1, 2011, don't forget to click and follow the blog, and leave a comment below!...I'd hate to draw your name out of the bag and have to go to the next person because you're not a follower of the blog! 
      That, and commenting, are my only rules really...and I set them up for two reasons. One, I didn't want to give my crocheted 'babies' to just ANYONE that showed up and flooded my comment section on the day of the Giveaway! (I'd seen that happen on other people's blogs)
     And two, because I wanted to honor the people who are loyally spending a little of their time with me on a regular basis...It's NOT because I'm interesting in a certain number of followers for some reason! I don't get paid to write my blog, and I write whether anybody comments or not...every day! :-) I just like the idea of my items that I work hard on going to people that I kinda know! :-)
     By the way, I had hubby take some photos of both FINISHED scarves being displayed by my headless model, Tina! :-) This is the 'Pastel' one...
     Hubby thought Tina was looking particularly 'fetching' yesterday, so he got a little carried away with the picture-taking! LOL {Between you and I, I think it was the backyard he was a bit 'taken' with!! ^_^}
        The novelty of the backyard had worn off a little by the time he got to the 'Bright' scarf...and it was starting to drizzle a little. :-)
      Okay....there you go! Fall color, beautiful backyard, and a buzzard in the sky! LOL How in the world could today beat that?!!! ^_^ I know.....it's Friday 'Date Night'!!!! Here's a hint to where we're going...
      I know....not much help, right?! ^_^ No worries...I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Right now we have to pack and go catch a plane!!! :-) Have a good day everybody!!
     {Don't mind the poem too much. I wrote it at about 2:00a.m.! It woke me up and insisted it be written before I could lie back down! O_0 Nope! Nothing is going on. But someone did make a comment to me on Facebook a few days ago. I think this poem must have been mentally ruminating since then.}


You don't have to!

You don't have to like the things I like,
the things I make, the things I do.
You don't have to like the path I walk
Understand that I'm not YOU.

You will not control the things I write,
the way I feel, what I think best.
You will not control the path I walk.
There's only one I must impress.

You can delete everything I say,
'unlike' my page, ignore my "NEW".
You can block me out, but don't forget...
I can do the same to you.

I would rather that you understand,
respect, encourage, sympathize.
But that's not really up to me.
I don't see life through your eyes.

But you won't control the life I live,
the way I see, or who I'll be.
Go ahead and try, I'll give you that.
But in the end I'll still be "Me"!         

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Fall And Backyard Daylight.....Before It's Gone!!

      No! This is not my backyard. You can tell because there's no lake in my backyard, and while I 'do' have rabbits, hummingbirds, wasps, squirrels and skunks...I don't have a duck! :-) No, this is not my backyard. This photograph is of Lake Needwood in Montgomery County Maryland...Didn't she take a beautiful picture of it?!! :-)
       If I had a good enough camera, and a faster-on-his-feet husband I could have gotten a picture of the big skunk that was meandering across our yard last night though! LOL...Maybe next time! The skunk moved faster than hubby....waaaay faster!
      My husband is more of a 'meanderer'...like the duck in the header photo. And his meandering, while not good for capturing skunks on the run, is very good for capturing panoramic views of our backyard as it's showing a bit of it's Fall colors!...Let's pan from left to right, shall we!...
         Ahhhhh! It's so nice out there right now. The stuff seasonal poems, hot apple cider, cornbread stuffing and sweet dreams are made of! :-) ... Now let's pan back the other way, shall we!...
          Wait a minute!....Let's get a little closer view of that color back there...
        Our backyard is mostly green year round...except for when it's covered with ice and snow (but that's a story for a later time!...Much later, please!)...So, when I see this explosion of color back here it gives me a little emotional explosion too...right here...--> *pointing to my heart*. :-]
     Okay...back to the panning...
       And now we're right back to where we started. :-) I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did!! I'm afraid there won't be very many more days where Fall photos can be taken in the backyard. Pretty soon the few pops of color we're getting from these beautiful leaves will be gone...blown away by a north east wind!
     And this morning, as I'm typing and realizing that it's 20 minutes before 7 a.m. and it's still dark outside, I get the funny feeling that 'Daylight Saving Time' in our neck of the woods is just about to skedaddle off to some other neck of the woods until next year too! :-( 
       I guess I better start thinking seriously about what kinds of projects I wanna get to work on this winter...
            ...*cold shiver* O_O 
      Anyway...I'm probably gonna need another project to work on a lot sooner than winter, because I finished doing both of the Giveaway scarves...except for cutting and tying the fringe for them. 
     I had to take the 'Pastel' ones completely a loose and start again!! That's what I did all day yesterday...So, if you're thinking of entering the Giveaway for the 'Pastel' scarf, this is what it looks like now...
             So, if you're still interested in this scarf, remember...the Giveaway drawing is October 1st!!...See the right hand sidebar for details.
      Okay, I'm off to cut some fringe, and maybe 'cut-a-rug' too! I need to get out of this 'No Daylight Soon',...'Hormones Acting-Up'..funk I'm in. I'm feeling like listening to some music, after another cup of coffee, might help!!! ^_^ Are you with me?!!

         You Go, Girls!!!.....Tomorrow I gotta tell you what other funky-moving object was seen in the backyard yesterday!...Until then...Have a good day Everybody!! :-)


Daylight

Daylight, you bring such happiness,
shining on the Autumn hues.
And when you're gone, you leave more darkness,
bringing on some moody blues.

How could some light, or lack of it,
have me waxing poetic rhyme,
wishing for a place with celestial money,
so I could buy some Daylight Saving Time?!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

You Ever Get A Craving.....?!

       I went to bed really early last night. Partly because I was just so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open...sorry 'Dancing With The Stars'..., and partly because I was feeling that uncontrollable hunger bug coming on...the one that says: "Eat everything!....Eat everything in sight...and then you'll feel better!!! I promise!!" ^_^ 
       Now, I don't know how many of you who are in the same 'stage of life' that I'm in right now would admit it, but my eating habits have become as wacky as my hormone cycle!! O_0 Just like I don't know whether I'm gonna wake up with my skin so dry that you can see the desert winds blowing off of it, or be so wet that I could drown by putting my face in my pillow, I also don't know whether I'll be 'squinching' my nose up at every single piece of food I see, or trying to suck the crumbs out of the corner of the saltine cracker box!...not that I've ever done that!! LOL
       And for some crazy reason too last night, I was craving a big hot cup of coffee! I mean CRAVING y'all!! Couldn't get it off of my mind! O_0 And guess what?!...I woke up with the same craving!! What's up with the coffee craving?!!!
     It's a crazy wild ride, this 'going-through-the-CHANGE' thing!!...I mean, I seldom drink coffee. I'm usually strictly a green tea girl. But this morning I have to have some coffee...have to!...*shaking my head*...Does this ever happen to any of you?!
       Yes, I 'do' have cravings, and sometimes I have them regularly...And yes, sometimes I give in to them!...{WARNING: If you haven't had breakfast yet,...or you're on a diet and you've been a good girl all day,...the next few photos may unduly tempt you to go into the kitchen and bend over with your head in the refrigerator, wearing a puzzled 'let-me-see-what's-in-here' look on your face, or have you running for your slide-on slippers, the car keys, and a quick look in the mirror to see if you look bad enough to make kids in the rolling shopping carts at the grocery store scream! LOL}...not that I've ever done any of that!! ^_^
       My cravings usually have something to do with chocolate!...Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk ice cream is at the top of the chocolate list!
       I love that it can fill all of my immediate cravings right there in one container. You know, nuts, chocolate, and ice cream...YUM! chocolate ice cream! :-)...I still have a 'bone to pick' with Ben & Jerry's though...because of sending my Coconut Almond Fudge ice cream to the flavour graveyard!! LOL But whatever, because my stomach...thanks to the 'change' hormones...isn't handling milk products with the nice 'air' of ease it used to...if you know what I mean!! ;-)
      Moving on.....You would think that since my hubby works for the company that makes these...
       ...I'd be craving cupcakes and Twinkees all the time, but you'd be WRONG!.....Waaaay wrong!! {Although I have been known to request a box of Drake's 'Funny Bones' every once in a while! :-] (His company owns Drake's now) They kinda look like 'Twinkees', but they're peanut butter filled Devil's food cake!!...*drooling*}
     My snack carbo load of choice, though, is usually these...
     ... Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies! And if I can get my hands on the ones with the nuts...all the better!! :-)....If it wasn't sacrilegious and wrong, I'd have a moment of silence for these cookies right now!...But that would be wrong! And I'm all about being right!!
     RIGHT is my love for these 'babies'.....!
        ... Russell Stover Chewy, Nutty, Crunchy chocolates!!...Ohhhh! I have gotten through a lot of midnight old movies, babies being born, friends in chaos, a cold or hot flash or two, and everything else in between with the help of these! :-)
      But this morning, none of those things are holding a candle to my craving for a nice hot cup of coffee!  And I want it in a big hefty coffee mug too. Not a small china cup! Something like this baked clay coffee mug by Goodvibestore...
         Something big enough for the coffee fumes to rise up and almost give me a facial! Ha! Ha!.....Oh yeah, I'll have to leave my cup of tea to another day!..Or wear something in memory of it...
       Now, does this mean that after I get my cup of coffee all cravings will go away?!....Probably not! Especially not with you bloggers putting recipes on your blogs for things like Homemade Twix on Stix...
       And my hubby loved this one...Homemade Hostess Cupcakes...!
           But who knows, this 'one' steaming hot cup of coffee could be 'it' for me for a while!!! :-) ....And if you believe that, I see some ocean front property in Arizona, some after dinner Cream-Sicles...
     ...and some Granny Smith apples in your future! LOL

       ^_^ And in mine!!!!...Okay, off to hunt up an elusive coffee bean! (And work on a particular pastel scarf too..just saying! ^_^) Have a good day everybody!!


Chocolate

A snow storm on the way,
finding out you're hard in debt.
Somehow it's not so bad,
if you have melted chocolate!

Bad news everywhere,
want to throw your T.V. set.
Thankfully there is music
and some deep dark chocolate!

Doggie had an accident,
a long trip to the vet.
A waiting room with lots to read,
but you can nibble chocolate.

Grocery shopping too.
While you run in there to get
dinner for the evening
you can grab some chocolate!

Okay, you know what's coming.
Are you sick of this poem yet?!
If you are, just roll your eyes,
and sit and eat some chocolate!