Everyone points their whiskers at someone else.
(Click picture for larger view) 
"If cats could talk, they would lie to you." ~ Rob Kopack
Me: "OK, who knocked over the glass of water on the kitchen table?"
Willow: (Looking at Rhett) "He did it!"
Rhett: (Looking at Chloe) "Did not! She did it, I saw her!!"
Chloe: (Desperately looking around for someone to blame.) "I didn't do it, uh.. uh.. uh... Max! Yes, Max did it!"
Me: "No Chloe, nice try though! Max is outside so you can't blame the dog this time!"
Perhaps they will get their stories straight in time for Friday's Ark today and the Carnival of the Cats this weekend. The Carnival is hosted by Red Peonies. See you there.
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....all in a row. (Click picture for larger view) "This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy cried 'wee,wee,wee,'
All the way home.
~ Mother Goose Rhyme
Aunt Josie is my mother's last living aunt; the baby in a family of five girls and a couple of boys. Josie is almost ninety years old and still sews and quilts. She has become famous for her "sock" monkeys and cats; but here she has branched out and transformed socks into little pigs. We visited her in June while in Franklin County, Virginia and as usual she had a room full of these, as well as storybook dolls and doll clothes; some sewed by machine and others by hand. Sometimes she sells her dolls at craft fairs, sometimes she gives them away and in the past she has taught her craft to many small groups. Amazing! I hope my fingers are as nimble and my mind as sharp when I reach ninety.
Submission for LensDay topic "multiples". (end of post)
Water-lily. Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
(Click picture for larger view) "To analyze the charms of flowers is like dissecting music; it is one of those things which it is far better to enjoy, than to attempt to fully understand." ~ Henry T. Tuckerman
It would be hard to choose one "favorite" event or place from our trip to New York. This was a different excursion than we've done before. We lived in Brooklyn for two weeks; shopped with our cart, spent evenings on the roof terrace, rode the subways and walked the streets, strolled in the parks, ate out and cooked in. Fortunately, "our" apartment was within walking distance of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and this would be my favorite place. And if forced to pick a favorite flower there, it would be the water-lily; at least today it would be the water-lily. Of course, ask me in early Spring when the cherry trees are blooming, or in the Fall when the trees are putting on their show, or in Winter when the fountains and trees are wearing white fur coats; or, ask me tomorrow. My answer probably won't be the same; and in this lies all the joy.
Submission for Tuesdays Photos topic "favorite". (end of post)
Blurred rose leaves and thorn. Macro. (Click picture for larger view) "Sometimes in our confusion, we see not the world as it is, but the world though eyes blurred by the mind." ~ Unknown
In the early months of Spring, new life emerges from the rose bush cut back in the fall. These leaves are small, delicate, and quite red only to turn green as they grow. I tried to get a macro shot of these dark crimson leaves but there was a small problem of the wind; and the fading light of day and a certain fickleness in my old camera. The combination got the best of me; ten blurred pictures in a row. The color was a different matter; to me it was perfect as red is so hard for a digital camera to capture. And there is that thorn; I hadn't seen it or rather noticed it but there it is, almost in focus; a punctuation mark to this round of pictures. So, I kept it, for the color and the "thorn".
Submission for PXITE topic "blurred". (end of post)
Storm over Brooklyn. (Click picture for larger view) "It is the flash which appears, the thunderbolt will follow." ~ Voltaire
I've photographed in thunderstorms before, with Nyssa yelling for me to come in before I get hit by lightning; but thunderstorms viewed from 5th floor apartment windows was a new experience. My arrival in New York was heralded with thunderstorms; daytime storms with massive lightning bolts and crashing waves of thunder, so bright the camera simply could not capture the actual bolt, just the bright white of the light. The rain so heavy that it obliterated the distant Manhattan skyline in a curtain of gray.
On Wednesday night, the 27th, another round of thunderstorms moved through; this time in the dark of night. Low rumbles quickly progressed to bright flashes of lightning and cymbal crashings of thunder. The static electricity in the air was so thick I could feel the little hairs on my arm stand up as I stood by the window to capture the lightning. It was then I realized the difference in photographing storms from the ground and from my advantage point. From ground level I never see the actual strike point; the view is always obscured by trees or houses; but here, I could see more of the bolt, the zig-zag track, the intricate background tracks in different directions.
Now, I wonder what it would be like to see and experience and photograph such a storm from one of those 60th floor penthouse apartments in Manhattan? Well, at least one with a really, really good lightning grounding rod attached. Amazing!!!
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