Summertime Color

Our summer is particularly lovely this year. The temperatures have been milder than usual. This lovely old Antebellum Home was built before modern air conditioning was available so they built it to stay cool. It has high ceilings, covered porches, and has a long central hall. We installed new screen doors a while back, now we can leave the doors open for a good bit of the day and enjoy the breeze.

 A very wet evening

This post is all about summertime color, and well, you don't get pretty summer color without a little rain (no this does not look like a "little" rain). This is what it looked like when we turned off the paved road to head home.

 A welcome site

Our road sign. The distortion is caused by rain. It was really coming down. Somehow this scene still manages to be beautiful (and it means I am almost home).

 Sparklers!

Sorry, no pictures of the sparklers in action. I was to busy being a kid to grab the camera. Just so you know, they are still fun. I was surprised to see the notice on the box though, "This is not a toy and not suitable or recommended for children 12 years of age and under". Really? At 5 or 6 they are magic, at 13 they are "kid stuff"(at a slightly more advanced age, they become great fun again). Sparklers are one of the joys of childhood.

 Green Country Road

Who would not want to take a walk down this country road. I may be a little biased, but I think this road is lovely anytime of year. If you have been looking at this blog for long, you have seen it in all seasons, if not, feel free to explore the Blog archive links on the right hand side bar.

 Snake Skeleton

There is always something interesting to look at. This was on a side rode we don't usually walk on. I don't know how long it had been there. I am not going to pick the snakes up and play with them, but we do like having them around as they keep the rodent population under control. 

 Don Pablo's

My Sweet Husband took me out for dinner at Don Pablo's last time we were in Greenville SC. This is one of the most colorful restaurants I have seen. Just walking in and looking around is cheerful. 

 See what I mean?

Even the air ducts are painted lavender.

 Don Pablo's Interior

We had a booth near the fountain.

Don Pablo's Food

I will admit we did not go to the restaurant for the environment. We wanted to check out the food. Don Pablo's is next door to one of the Barnes and Noble Book Stores in Greenville. We have said we were going to try it out for years. Finally got around to it. We will be going back, the food was great and there was plenty of it. 

 Spontaneous Play

Spontaneous might not be a young kitty, but she still loves to chase that ribbon.

 Colorful Turtle

It could be a tortoise, I do not know the difference. My Sweet Husband rescued this one from the road. We keep napkins in the car for just such occasions. After we took his picture, Sweet Hubby released him on the side of the road he was heading towards. Off he went seemingly content.

 Bright Yellow Wildflowers

Breakfast is ready!

Got to go, homemade pizza awaits.

Hope your day is colorful and fun!

Cheers,

Kat

& 

Spontaneous

A taste of things to come.

Still crazy busy but the camera never rests. Here are a few to keep your intrest, more soon to come.

Camping out

This photo is scanned from one of my parent's old slides. This is my Dad with one of his old pickups. He loved being out in the woods too.

One of the many wonderful things about living here, is the ability to go camping with very little hassle. We have had plenty of practice so it takes almost no time to pack up and there are several great spots within easy driving distance. We all enjoy being outside (does that surprise anyone)?

My earliest camping memory comes from when I was about 3 or 4 years old. Mom, Dad, Margaret,Pete, Paula and I all went camping.

At that time we had a camper that sat in the
bed of Dad's pickup. I think it was one of the type that extends above the cab. Mom and Dad slept in the bed. Margaret and Paula slept on the floor, Pete slept outside, (I am pretty sure he

volunteered, If I was 4 then he was 11). I slept in a strange cot arrangement, suspended above my parents bed. There were, I believe supposed to be three beds up there, green canvas cots separated by the poles that supported them. If I turned sideways, the supports would scoot together and I would be stuck. (I wonder if that was something my Dad came up with, he could fix anything, but not all of his ideas were perfect)I thought it was neat, but I know why I was the only one who "got" to sleep up there.

The other thing I remember about that trip is the flowers. I was over by the river, (not much more than a brook at that point and I was well supervised) there were some kind of flowers that were taller than me. I don't know what kind they were, I think they were white. They seemed magical, I pretended that I had somehow shrunk to fairy size. (This turtle visited us at home the other day)

I wandered in till I was completely hidden by the blossoms. I turned around in a slow circle, all I could see were the flowers and the sky. There were light fluffy clouds, that seemed close enough to touch and that deep blue that you only find high in the mountains.

I was really enjoying my fairy fantasy. When I was deep into the flower patch. I leaned closer to smell one of the flowers and WOW, the biggest fattest bee I had ever seen in my short little life climbed out of the flower! That guy was BIG. I ran.

The bee in this photo hitchhiked back home with us from our latest camping trip. He rode home on the inside of the van. When we found him, my sweet hubby convinced him to climb onto this paper plate so I could take a close up. Not bad. So fuzzy!
I remember a lot of camping trips with the Girl Scouts. Paula and I were in the same Junior troop for a while. The local Girl Scout Council had army surplus tents that we used. They were designed like Tee Pees with one central pole and lots of stakes. Not at all hard to put up. That is a good thing, they are also not at all hard to "accidentally" knock down. After one trip the leaders made I and Paula sleep in the same tent. I don't know why they would suspect us? I guess this is where I admit my part of all that. It was fun. Wonder if the other girls remember it.

Our troop was made up of girls from several different religions. Since some girls were not allowed Hot Chocolate, amongst other things, our leaders served Hot TANG in the morning. (Remember TANG, it is what the Astronaut's drank!) When ever I mention this to another adult, who is not from there, they are horrified. It was actually quite good. Kids like the idea. When I was a leader and I told our troop about the Hot Tang, they voted to try it on our next camping trip. They liked it and it went on all our trips after that.

I don't have a photo of the tang, but one of the old slides from my parents, shows someone making coffee over the campfire.

These yellow flowers look a lot like berry
blossoms.

Camping when I was a kid was always in the Rocky mountains. The Rocky's don't feel at all like the Smoky Mountains. The Smoky mountains and the part of South Carolina where we live and camp are very green. The Rocky's are a lot dryer. The trees, plants and small animals are all just a little different. Some day I am going to camp in even more places. (I will take pictures and write about it here)
This wonderful old tree is out behind the house.

This daisy was at our campsite this weekend. When I first saw it I did not realize why it was so lacy. It has been munched, but it is still pretty.
These tiny flowers grow next to the well house my hubby built. They are less than an inch tall and yet so cheerful.

remarkable specimen. Summer is just around the corner.
Wonder if I can talk someone into making some berry pancakes before long?

Hope your weekend was a good one. I finished my last test of the semester today so my week is off to a great start.

Any camping memories you would like to share?

Kat

Hodge Podge

This weeks art project is another Fairy Scrapbook page for my great nieces. I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I took the mushroom and niece photo then combined them with help from Photoshop Elements 4 and wings from http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/ The frame is a shape tool included with elements.



It has been a very busy week but I do have some photos that I wanted to share.
This lovely specimen of turtlehood is a rescue. My sweet husband keeps extra paper towels in his car for just this sort of occasion. Whenever he spots a turtle in the road, he stops (if safe) and carries it out of harms way. This was a particularly beautiful creature. One of the many reasons I am still crazy about that man.
The bees are in a friends yard back in Utah. They were in an old walnut tree that had died. When he cut the tree down, he discovered the hive. He set the portion of the tree that they were occupying back up and put a cover over it to keep off excess sun, rain etc. Wild hives need to be protected wherever we can.

The tombstone is another art project. A recent trip to the bookstore and Halloween issues of various women's magazines have got me in a Halloween mood. This tombstone is a photo that I took early in the summer. I removed the name, there wasn't a date, and then used my trusty photoshop elements to change the texture and make it look more like a watercolor. I am not sure what I will do with it, but I like it. Sometimes that is all that matters.

Last, but not least, another great culinary treat provided for me by my Sweet Heart. Cherry Scones. He started with a basic recipe while we lived in England and over the years he has perfected it. The flavor and texture are perfect. This was breakfast a couple of Sunday's ago. I am not sure what sort of delights he is planning for this morning, but I hear intriguing sounds coming from the kitchen and the Tea is lovely. (PG Tips)
Have a lovely week.

A squirrel from Savannah and a visitor at home

Good Morning! It has been a busy week. We went to Savannah GA over the weekend. This squirrely guy lives in a park across from the Unitarian Universalist Church. Usually the photos I post here are from my home area, this guy was just too cute to pass up. You just know he is getting ready to say something interesting.
I took several photos of him and my husband took this one. He is a good deal taller than I am so was able to get closer. (Not as close as the picture looks, I have a great camera.) I took a lot of flower photos. The weather was perfect for walking.
It seems so odd to travel without the children. I keep expecting to meet up with them. I don't feel old enough to have adult children. At the same time, it feels like we are on a date. My Hubby is a lot of fun to spend time with.

Now this turtle guy was a visitor at our place. I was about to turn in to our driveway after work and I saw what looked like a big rock in the road. Sure enough, a turtle. I put the flashers on the truck, (dirt road, not used much) and went to get the camera and my hubby. After we both admired the fellow and I took several photos, we put him off the road safely, back by our well. He did not stick around the next day, but we enjoyed his visit all the same.
Breakfast is about ready, more next week or sooner.