Where did she go?

I have been away. Can you guess where?
My Sweet Hubby decided that I deserved a break, so he took me to see some of these.

We saw this too.

It is quite a famous view.

Do you know where it is located?

There are no prizes,

I just want to see who can guess where we went.
This is the inside of another famous building we saw while we were there.

Yes, I am spoiled!

For some people, this sign and the preceding photo will give away the answer.

This is where your "three coins" go.

Have you figured it out yet?

If so, tell me which photo gave it away.

No fair peaking at comments before you guess.

I took lots of photos (of course), and I had a lovely time. I will probably be posting from this trip for a month.

I will give you the answer Tuesday.
See you then.

Kat

It's all about the lighting, (Lots of sunshine) and an award for me

One of the secrets of good photography is lighting. It really is all about the lighting. Just look at the pink from the sunset on the side of the house. Beauty! I got this one on the way back from our walk the other evening.
This lovely old tree stands at the end of our driveway. The lighting almost makes it look spooky. It really isn't spooky at all. We call it "The Guardian".
The barn looks one way in the evening light, you can feel it is the end of a long old day. I don't think it looks tired, just relaxed. It looks different in the early morning, like it is just waking up. I feel like having a big stretch when I look at this one. I love the way the sunlight sparkles from the dew on the magnolia leaves.
The view from our front porch, with the railings back where they belong. Isn't it a lovely sunset?
Here is the same sunset from the road a few minutes earlier. How about this one for awesome? Love it!
Bright sunshine filtering through the trees in the early evening, this was taken earlier on the same evening walk.
You know I love classic cars! This is SUNSHINE! (I wonder what people think when they see the crazy lady pull over to take pictures of their cars).

What says sunshine more than a tree full of birds?

Now for the award.

Thanks to Jeanne Klaver from Daily Reflections from Atwater Pond who was kind enough to offer me this award. Apparently she enjoys looking at it (that makes me happy).
The instructions are as follows;

1. Thank the person giving the award.

2. Copy the award to this blog.

3. Place a link to their blog (so far so good, all easy stuff).

4. Name seven things people don't know about you (that is a little harder).
5. Nominate seven bloggers who you admire (this is the hardest part, I love reading your blogs).

6. Place a link to these bloggers.

7. Leave a comment on their blog notifying them of the award.

So, here goes

1. Earl Grey, hot with milk is my favorite tea but any British tea will do just fine. I am enjoying a cup of "P.G. Tips" right now.

2. My favorite incense is Egyptian Rose, I also like sandalwood and several others. Incense is much nicer than nasty chemicals from an aerosol can.

3. I do not like butterscotch and am not fond of black licorice.

4. I like to do calligraphy and illuminated letters.
5. I am just a little nuts about heraldry, (the whole "Knights in Shinning Armor" thing).
6. I have lived in Utah, Illinois, Idaho, Great Britain, New Mexico, and South Carolina (as well as two long months in Texas and a total of about three months in Italy).
7. I grew up in a big happy family. I was the youngest so my older brothers and sisters had quite a bit to do with raising me (they will tell you, I have always been spoiled, but that is OK, I deserve it).

As for the seven bloggers I admire,

1. Life Through Reflections...

2. Richard Jesse Watson: My Inner Zoo

3. We Three, Ginger cats tales

4. Drawing a line in time
5. Cottage Garden Studios

6. WaystationOne

7. Corner of Cat's Mind
I know I have nominated number three before, but it is such a great blog! There are several others that I read and enjoy regularly. What is your favorite?

Ok, one more picture of sunshine. Spontaneous says hello (she is even cute when she is grumpy).

Kat

Walking

I am currently taking a PE class on line. PE, on line? How do you take a physical education class on line? Well, we had to take a prefit test, then we must walk or run a certain amount of time at least three times a week. We have to monitor our heart rates to ensure we are going fast enough to do us some good, yet not killing ourselves. We have to turn in log sheets each week. The kicker is, we will take another fitness test at the end of class, our grades depend on our improvement.
For me this isn't really a hardship. You should know by now that I love to walk. Especially here in my woods. My sweet Hubby goes with me. We walk fast and watch the heart rate for the first part of the walk, then slow down after I have met my requirement for the day. The camera comes out (of course) when we slow down. This little seed pod was laying by the road, just waiting to be photographed. I don't know what it actually is, but it is tiny and delicate. It was the only one we saw that day. All of these photos have been taken in the last week. We have gone from below freezing to nearly 70.
I have two rosemary plants. This one has been planted outside for nearly a year now and is doing great. I have a second, younger plant that I grew from a cutting that I obtained in Charleston. The younger plant is in a pot that can be brought in when the temp drops too low. In the spring, I will plant it near the older plant. my hope is with two plants, I will get blossoms. The rosemary does bloom and it is quite pretty. If I succeed, I will show you photos. O.K? This piece of twisty stick is one of the local vines. I am not sure what type, they are all over and get quite thick.
I posted a picture of the mistletoe not long ago. This particular patch is closer to the ground so I could get a better shot at it. The moon is a bonus.
We have a lot of little red birds quite near the

house right now. Of course, they are camera shy. They are the color of cardinals and sing prettily in the evenings. We often see them when we are on our walks. When the camera comes out they whisk away. They are two small to get from much distance and they are way more patient than I am. ( I have of course tried waiting quietly so they would forget I was there, no dice.) I will keep trying. In the mean time, this next photo is a different kind of red bird. When we were in Britain, they called lady bugs, Lady Birds. This little guy has been wintering in my house and it evidently got warm so he woke up. We try to discourage them as we do like to
be cozy. I don't think it is good for them to be awake but I don't know. Any lady bug experts out there? I do know they are good for my garden.
My Sweetheart spoiled me again the other morning with fresh baked goodies. He makes the very best cookies! These were peanut butter oatmeal.
The daffodils are as you can see still in bloom.
There are several different places in the yard where they are clumped together. These are under the Pecan tree. (It is a lovely old tree, but it does not put out many pecans this late in it's life and the squirrels always beat us to those.)
The last two pictures are from a later than usual walk. The sunset was glorious. It is almost time to head out again. Let me know what you think of the frames this time.
Have a great week,
Kat