As promised, Flowers

If you have been following this blog for very long, then one of the things you may have figured out is that nothing will get me to pull out the camera quicker than flowers. I love flowers and I love taking pictures of them. They are pretty. They come in all sizes, shapes and colors. Many of them smell nice, and they never tell me "don't take my picture".

I am not a botanist. I have no idea what the names of these flowers are.

If you know and would like to enlighten me, I will be glad to lable them correctly.

Me, I just enjoy. Hope you do too.

Space Cadet

How does a young lady who grew up during the late 60's and early 70's in Northern Utah, wind up in the Air Force as an Aircraft Maintainer? When I was a kid, most girls wanted to grow up, get married and have kids. Some may have wanted something different but they stayed within very traditional lines. I am the only girl from my graduating class that joined the Air Force, and I was part of a huge class. At least part of my choice can be blamed on the space program and my Dad's enthusiasm for it. My Dad loved air planes. He had a license to fly and along with some buddies owned a small aircraft that ran a charter service at one time.
I believe that he sold his part of the business when he married my Mom.
He was also quite nuts about the space program. I was just tiny when we first walked on the moon, but I do remember it. My Dad made a big thing about it. He was so excited. I specifically remember him saying that this was history and
someday, I would be glad to remember it. He was so right. Thanks Dad! Once he even let us stay up late on a school night to watch something on the news.
When Sky Lab went up it was even better. I remember laying on the lawn with him, looking through his binoculars at the moon and looking for Sky Lab. I still have those binoculars.
I have no idea what my Dad would have thought about me joining the Air Force and working in a mostly male career field. He was rather old fashioned. He died when I was 14. My Mom was always proud of me. I like to think he would have
been too.
As you can probably tell from the photos. We went to Coco Florida on Spring break. We went to the Kennedy Space center which includes several different attractions. We spent two full days there and still did not see everything (we skipped some things that were designed for little kids and a couple of rides).
The first photo in this set is a space suit. There is a reflection from another display that looks like a halo. The Lunar Module is Kitty Hawk from Apollo 14. Launch control is at the Kennedy Space center, this is the actual room where the Apollo missions started. The photo of me at the desk is taken in another part of the museum. I like it! The fourth crew member was their computer. Most modern calculators have more brain power than this whole computer. The picture shows just the interface. Hope you enjoyed this, I sure did. We had a blast but it is good to be home. Next week, Flowers!
Kat

Time

No post for this week.

When I was a kid, I told my Dad I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. His reply, "If you want to be a writer, then you must live a life worth writing about."

That's what I am up to. Photos and stuff to come soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Kat

Maxfield Parrish Lighting

We found this seed pod, on a walk of course. It
looks like something from outer space.

The lighting was amazing the other night. The

evening looked like it was waiting to be painted

by Maxfield Parish.

One of our lovely trees.

About half of my current crop of Camellias look

normal, the rest were caught, at their peak, by

the frost. They are perfect, but for the color.

This stately old tree guards the entrance to my

driveway.

My old barn, again. I just love to photograph it.

Can you see the cat? This is natural. I don't know

why this tree was cut. It is next to the road where

we walk.

I will admit to being a bit of a spoiled gourmet. The

kind folks at Earth Fare in Augusta make it even easier.

Their cheese counter looks like something you might

find in Europe and they are happy to let you taste

before you buy. They make it easy to be brave about

trying new things.

More Goodies!

Jennifer, the Specialty Manager, is knowledgeable

about all the cheeses and she is teaching her staff

well. Have I praised them enough? The cheese

really is that good.

We should try something new often. It is good for us.

If not cheese, go try something else new.

Have fun and have a great week.

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

A John Denver Morning

It is what a friend of mine calls a "John Denver Morning". The weather is cool and crisp with a bright, clear quality to the light. Of course the fact that we live in a forest and are surrounded by pine trees, just adds to the John Denver mood. The Rocky's are famous for the Aspen trees but there are a lot of pines too. Mostly Ponderosa Pines and Lodgepole Pines. Here in the Piedmont of South Carolina, we have a lot of Loblolly Pines. They are also referred to as Plantation pines. (No, I don't know this kind of stuff, I had to look it up. I do however have the books to look it up in.) The local pines do not look or smell quite the same as the Rocky Mountain pines, but when the sun shines through them it still makes me happy.

We may not have Aspens, but we do have Shag Bark Hickorys and big old oaks with garlands of mistletoe and Ivy. We also have quite a few Cedars that smell oh so good even when they have not been cut.

The Rockys dwarf the Smokey Mountain range by size alone. The two ranges are very different. If you camp high in the Rocky's on a summer night you will think you can touch the stars. The sky seems to be a big bowl turned upside down. It is the deepest cobalt blue and it is just barely out of reach. I have never seen the stars so close anywhere else. The air is thinner so if you are not used to it, it can literally take your breath away. The first two photos this week are tree photos I took here in South Carolina, one of our Shag bark hickories and a Big Loblolly Pine. I may have posted the pine photo before. I quite like it.

The next two photos are the Rockys. I took them last summer on vacation. Then I re posted one of the Smokey Mountain photos from early fall for comparison.

I was born and raised in the Rockys. Ogden Utah is quite literally built in the mountains. Driving through there in the winter when there is snow on the roads is quite an adventure. You can not get from here to there without driving through some high mountain passes. (That is why we don't visit in the winter.)

Back to my point. This lovely morning reminds me of the Rocky's. (Although they are a bit colder than us this time of year.)

Yesterday we drove to Greenville for the day. (We listened to John Denver on the way.) We went out to dinner at The Indian Palace on Pleasant Ville Road. The food was just right. I had a non vegetarian Tali, spiced mild. I would strongly recommend it.

Thursday we were in Augusta for an appointment at

the VA. On the way home we stopped at Earth Fair to pick up some cheese. Jennifer was there and she as always helped us pick up some delicious treats. It is easy to be brave about trying new cheeses when they let you taste them before you make up your mind. We wound up with a "Tilsit German" an aged "Pecorino Pienz" and a "Hirtenkase Rustic". If you like strong cheeses, you should try these.

Another one of my favorite things this time of year is Citrus fruit. They are not to expensive and they sure perk up my mood.

The penultimate picture is the best way to start a weekend morning. With a good pot of tea.

I have been experimenting with different ways of presenting my photos on the blog. That is why they are framed and not all the same. Please let me know what you think. Which photo is your favorite? Should they be framed, or unframed?
Last but not least, a picture of me.
Have a great week.
Kat