Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

A little bit of snow goes a long way...but not too much, please!

a photo by scookster on Flickr.

Let's see...

The last time that I posted something on my blog was back in June when the temperatures were nearing 95 degrees.  Today it barely reached 30 degrees and I realized that I sorely neglected both my blogging and my photography.  A lot of drama has occurred these last few months but I think I've turned the corner and can once again focus on those things that I love.  I decided to add to my snow village this year and this house was one of the three buildings that I purchased.  My old village was nothing special.  But last year I discovered the magic of Department 56 and all that it has to offer.  This house is especially cute- the lights are so bright- I am thinking it must be LED illuminated.  I also purchased a water tower and my dh bought me a house that has a little train running around it.  Will probably have to set up a special table to display it all next year as the top of our piano is running out of room.  Tomorrow is December 31 and true to form I may take all of the Christmas decorations down.  Just wanted to get a picture up on the blog to show that I have returned!

Early morning

Early morning, a photo by scookster on Flickr.

Early in the a.m. at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. Few people were out as it was pretty early in the morning but I always feel it is better to beat the heat than have the heat beat me.  Haven't been to the garden in years but I felt so at peace as I walked among the flowering plants and trees.  I observed many people sitting on benches reading newspapers or sipping cups of coffee.  These benches were unoccupied but were tastefully placed in front of this amazing array of colors.  Who wouldn't want to sit here?

For Empty Chairs in Empty Places.

Begins with D....

Begins with D...., a photo by scookster on Flickr.

The name of this plant is "Deep Blue Wishbone flower,"and it was one of many plants that I saw during my visit to the Botanical Gardens.  It's such a beautiful place to visit and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the gardens are in such great shape. Even with the drought that we are experiencing the plants and flowers are proliferating.  Today's assignment was to find something beginning with D, and even those these flowers look purple I was using their name literally.

For Our Daily Challenge: Begins with D

Eastern American Toad

Eastern American Toad, a photo by scookster on Flickr.

This guy was a little camera shy. Not very often that I find any wildlife in my backyard besides the usual squirrels and birds- usually the dog scares them off.   Came across this toad accidentally and it continued to hide out in my backyard for several days- finally decided I had enough when I discovered it hiding under my lawnmower.  Figured it was time to relocate it to our nearby creek with it's abundance of insects.  Not entirely fond of creatures that jump or have a million legs, I was able to catch the toad in a bucket.  He wasn't too active so maybe he was grateful for the move- I was just appreciative that he didn't jump around too much.  Had he jumped out of the bucket I would have encouraged him to go on his own- from a distance that is.

For our daily challenge: camouflage