Category Archives: Photography

Wildflowers in Winter Week Three ~ Literary

All of these photos of Spring flowers were taken in England. The third photo on the top of the collage is of a Fritillaria meleagris which grow wild on the grounds of Magdalene College in Oxford. This photo was taken on Addison’s Walk, a footpath along the grounds and River Cherwell. When we were on this trip I wasn’t a blogger yet. If I was, I would have taken more and better photos of this wonderful flower. I’ll add a google image of a closeup so you can see it better. The 1st photo I believe are Anenome nemerosa. The second daffodils. The fourth are Pink Pom Pom Aster? Any real gardeners and flower buffs can correct me if I’m wrong, please.

Fritillaria meleagris

While on one of our trips in England we stayed on the Farm in the center picture in the Lake District. This was the first time I ever experienced hearing a Cuckoo Bird. I was amazed and excited to realize it really says “cuckoo, cuckoo”. Then after hearing the cuckoo from our room at the Bed and Breakfast we got to see some of these cuckoos as they flew from tree to tree on one of our walks. This brings me to the poem about Spring and Flowers and the Cuckoo that I chose to share for week 3 of Wildflowers in Winter. I would highly recommend a walking tour in the Lake District or the Cotswolds in late Spring and early summer.

To The Cuckoo

~ by William Wordsworth

O BLITHE New-comer! I have heard,
I hear thee and rejoice.
O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,
Or but a wandering Voice?

While I am lying on the grass
Thy twofold shout I hear,
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
At once far off, and near.

Though babbling only to the Vale,
Of sunshine and of flowers,
Thou bringest unto me a tale
Of visionary hours.

Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!
Even yet thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible thing,
A voice, a mystery;

The same whom in my school-boy days
I listened to; that Cry
Which made me look a thousand ways
In bush, and tree, and sky.

To seek thee did I often rove
Through woods and on the green;
And thou wert still a hope, a love;
Still longed for, never seen.

And I can listen to thee yet;
Can lie upon the plain
And listen, till I do beget
That golden time again.

O blessed Bird! the earth we pace
Again appears to be
An unsubstantial, faery place;
That is fit home for Thee!

I’m adding two photos of my husband and our daughter and myself with our daughter on Addison’s Walk on the grounds of Magdalene College where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would walk and talk.

For more literary contributions to Wildflowers in Winter Week 3 click here.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Jesu, Our Hope, Our Heart’s Desire ~ Hymn

Jesu, Our Hope, Our Heart’s Desire

Jesu, our Hope, our heart’s Desire,
Thy work of grace we sing;
Redeemer of the world art Thou,
Its Maker and its King.

How vast the mercy and the love,
Which laid our sins on Thee,
And led Thee to a cruel death,
To set Thy people free!

But now the bonds of death are burst;
The ransom has been paid;
And Thou art on Thy Father’s throne,
In glorious robes arrayed.

O may Thy mighty love prevail
Our sinful souls to spare!
O may we stand around Thy throne,
And see Thy glory there!

Jesu, our only Joy be Thou,
As Thou our Prize wilt be;
In Thee be all our glory now
And through eternity.

All praise to Thee Who art gone up
Triumphantly to Heav’n;
All praise to God the Father’s Name
And Holy Ghost be given.

(7th or 8th century, unknown author)

Walking for Donuts? Is that what Lovella had in mind?

Dear and I decided to walk along the main road outside our neighborhood today so we could check out Calleguas Creek after the rains we’ve had all week. The sun was shining and the skies were clear.

 

This creek is generally pretty dry with maybe a trickle once in a while. The rain storms we’ve been having have made the creek flow strong and constant. (This photo was taken after the last rain storm, not today, but the creek looked just like this today with bluer skies)

We continued up the road.

 

The grade you see in the distance is what Dear has to travel everyday to get to work.

Oh no, look what I see, a donut shop. But here we are on a healthy walk…

 

On the way back to the Condo I got a shot of the Creek on the opposite side of the road.

Now where did that come from and how did it make it all the way to my condo?

I’m hopeless people!  Not only were my walking numbers way down this week (6108 avg.) I rewarded myself for my dismal efforts with a donut! Not a little donut either.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Thursday Thirteen #18 ~ Oldest Operating McDonald’s

Welcome to my Thursday Thirteen. On January 15th I stopped by this McDonald’s to take some photos and gather at least 13 facts about the oldest-operating McDonald’s. I don’t have the facts numbered but I’m sure there are at least 13! Enjoy…

 

 

 

Roger Williams co-owner of the McDonald’s Restaurant at Lakewood and Florence Blvd., stands by the 64-foot neon sign that may be the only one left of its kind in the United States. William and Bud Landon opened the McDonald’s in 1953, and the business still remains under the original franchise agreement with the McDonald brothers.

 

The 1953 McDonald’s restaurant at 10207 Lakewood Blvd. (at Florence Ave.) is the oldest operating McDonald’s.

It was listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservations 1994 list of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

It was one of the first restaurants franchised by Dick and Mac McDonald, prior to the involvement of Ray Kroc in the company, and it still has the original “Golden arches” and a 60-foot animated neon “Speedee” sign.

 

 

For more Thursday Thirteen click here.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Winter Flowers in California

The theme for this week! 

January 23 – 29. Wildflowers in Winter, a winter image of a flower in your area.

 

Bird of Paradise (Camarillo, California)

I live in the city and wildflowers are out of easy reach for me. These Birds of Paradise seem to grow with absolutely no effort around here. They pretty much bloom all year long from Winter to Fall. The Hummingbirds love to come and visit these. I’m still trying to catch a photo with that little bird visiting. This one is just outside my bedroom window. Today it’s pouring down rain here and this splash of color caught in a bit of sunlight is cheering me up.

  The Bird of Paradise is one of four plants in the genus Strelitzia.  The plant most often referred to as the Bird of Paradise and the one pictured above is the orange flowering Bird of Paradise, Strelitzia reginae.

For more winter flowers around the world visit Wildflower Morning.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Wildflowers in Winter ~ Blog Carnival

So many fun bloggy things so little time. This is a busy week with lots of posts. I hope to visit lots of my favorites and lots of new places too! Enjoy. The phrase for this week is keep on scrolling, there’s more to see.

Wildflower Morning is having a Wildflowers in Winter celebration for the next few weeks. She has posted a wildflower related theme for each week and will have a Mr. Linky to add your blog entry.  Here’s what she has to say about her celebration and give away:

Every winter I find myself longing for spring. I just love the warming rays of sun and the wildflowers that start to open. It is my favorite time of year. Wildflowers bring me so much joy.

So, I propose some wildflower fun this winter to take us into the first days of spring. I will have a different theme each week through the middle of March. Join right in by making a post on your blog fitting the theme. You may copy the theme image for Wildflowers in Winter onto your blog entry, and link back to this blog so others will know where to look for more information. Then come back to my blog and enter your information in the Mr. Linky at the bottom of the page, so we can all see your post. Late entries will be accepted up to March 12. My daughter wants me to make sure and let you know that children can participate not only in the children’s art contest, but in all aspects of the Wildflowers in Winter Theme, if they have the photographs or skill to do so, and thus be entered in the drawing

Please do spread the word so your friends can also enjoy Wildflowers in Winter. I would love to see lots of entries. It will brighten up my gray winter days.
The theme for January 16 – 22 is: Your favorite wildflower photo from your files.   Here is my favorite photo/oops photos!

 

This photo was taken on Whidbey Island in the State of Washington. The photo was taken in July of 2007 on a walk at Greenbank Farms. We are looking back to the city of Everett across the Puget Sound. Unfortunately I can’t tell you the name of these wildflowers.

Just one more please…

 

This one was taken on the grounds of Chatsworth House in England (where parts of Pride and Prejudice were filmed) My little wild flower is in the midst of these daffodils that are now growing wild on the grounds. This was taken in April of 2004 when we took our daughter to Great Britain for a graduation gift.

Click on the links above to see more wildflower entries…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Photo Hunters ~ Important

So many choices for this theme. Family, Faith, Traditions, Learning, etc.

 

“For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.”

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

For more photos on this theme click here.

Happy 27th Birthday Dan!

 

We thank God for you Dan! You are a delight to us. May God bless you with His mercy and grace all the days of your life. Sorry we aren’t with you this year to celebrate your day. Here are a few photos from some earlier years…

 

Your first Christmas just before you turned 1 with your big brother Josh at Gommy and PawPaw’s in Corona.

 

Your first birthday with all your cousins and friends, eating your birthday cake, in Huntington Beach.

 

Easter 1982 at Baba and Deda’s in La Mirada.

 

Ventura in 1985

 

Your 9th birthday in 1990 in Washington. The famous choo choo train cake. Jamie D., Gommy, Josh, Dad, Bridget, Dan , Katie, Jamie S. and Ryan.

We’re so thankful that the two of you brothers are such good friends. Two years apart, both born in January, both born on Friday. Praying that you always look out for each other and for your little sister!
Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Surfers Point ~ Ventura, California

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY. SURF 6 TO 8 FEET WILL PERSIST ALONG EXPOSED WEST FACING SHORES.
62°F at 2:00 pm

We took a short drive up the 101 Fwy to Ventura on Saturday morning. We parked at Seaside Park and started our walk along the beach at Surfers Point.

 

We walked along the Promenade.

 

The Surf was exceptional today and there were tons of surfers and photographers waiting to catch the perfect wave.

 

 

The waves were so much more dramatic than my photos can show.

 

We were on the pier for these shots. The foam tells the story of the power of these waves.

 

Some of the waves were high enough to spray onto the pier.

 

The calm before the next set of waves. This is on the Ventura Pier looking back on Ventura.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.