weekly photo challenge

Connected

/ Jodi / 23 Comments
connected storm drain NOLA

Sidewalk Storm Drain Grate, Warehouse District, New Orleans, LA

No beginning…

No end.

Infinitely intertwining the past, the present, and the future,

the physical and the spiritual…

all plants and animals and minerals.

Eternally merged…

Continuously connected.

Life.

I recently captured this close-up photo of a storm drain grate on a sidewalk in the Warehouse District of New Orleans.  It was beautiful!  So much lovely architecture and  structural elements in NOLA!  It reminded me of the Celtic Knot and the inter-connectivity it represents.  This week’s WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge is ‘Connected’.  I had to share this photo.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Orange you Sweet?

/ Jodi / 18 Comments

orange safflower thistle flower

How do you know when you have one of the best of besties?

Answer #1,743:  When she brings you flowers… just because… even though she abhors cut flowers.

I sure have a best bestie!

Wishing you a best kind of weekend.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

WordPress Daily Post Photo Challenge:  Today was a Good Day

 

All Toads Welcomed

/ Jodi / 32 Comments

toad in the house

I love visitors.

We often refer to our home as a “bed and breakfast” because our doors are always open, and guests are always welcomed (and hubby makes a mean breakfast too!).

But last week when I opened the door to step outside, this little guy decided to come in.

I shrieked!

He scurried….
under a piece of furniture in the corner of our great room.

What to do?

I grabbed hubby’s back scratcher to get him to move…

Then – once in view – I had to grab the camera!   (He was so obliging to pose.)

After our little photo shoot, I rustled up a red solo cup to capture this little visitor…

I squirmed while he hopped inside the cup, and I tried to figure out how I was going to get him out.
A little index card and a scurry to the door to set him free…

Oh the things we find beneath our feet some days!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Nothing is Ordinary

/ Jodi / 14 Comments

black eyed susans on white nothing is ordinary

Nothing is ordinary…
so don’t try to be.

Be your own kind of EXTRAordinary…
it’s the best recipe.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Inspiration

Wishing you…

/ Jodi / 31 Comments

rose of sharon buds morning dew

Wishing you the freshness of morning dew,
the promise of bursting buds,
beauty and goodness in your surroundings and in your soul,
with colors as rich as the purple Rose of Sharon.

Moments to be cherished,
memories to be embraced,
a full life discovered…
at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Blackberry – Up Close and Personal

/ Jodi / 19 Comments

Close Up Blackberry

Simple,
Beautiful,
Bursting with flavor,
Rich in antioxidants, omega-3, protein, fiber, vitamins C and K
The Blackberry.

Does anything pack more punch…
more value…
more beauty…
more taste per ounce than you?

Oh how I love thee…
Oh how I wish I could be…
More like the value of a simple Blackberry!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

This photo is my submission for the WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Close-Up

And for my favorite fresh, old-fashioned homemade blackberry pie recipe, click here.

Cause, baby, you’re a firework

/ Jodi / 16 Comments

fireworks

This past weekend was our local Cranberry Township Community Days.

One of the highlights of this event is the fireworks display that occurs on the last evening of the three-day celebration.

Cranberry Township Community Day used to occur on July 4th (Independence Day) every year, so the fireworks display has become a tradition and symbol of this celebration.

Hubby works for Cranberry Township.   So for the past 15 or so years, we have had front row “reserved” seats for the show.

In fact, we are so close that we have been hit with ash and get to “enjoy” the sulfur smell of the explosives as they light up the sky.

It’s all part of the fun and adventure!

Photographing fireworks is quite difficult.  I should have researched and studied a bit, and I should’ve taken a tripod!

But here is one that represents a snippet of the fun and beauty of the night.

It was a great show, and a great celebration of a wonderful community.

I hope you had an enjoyable weekend – finding time to relax and celebrate – all the traditions, symbols, and activities that make life so sweet – at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

The Oriole Feeder

/ Jodi / 25 Comments

baltimore oriole fledgling

I was so excited to buy an Oriole feeder for the hubby for Father’s Day [ahem], so we he could watch the beautiful orange birds that we have occasionally seen in our backyard.

That first day we hung it out, this beautiful young fledgling appeared.

“Score!” I thought.  And a Big Woohoo!

But, alas, we poor hubby hasn’t seen another since.

I guess they moved on to Baltimore with those silly Ravens…  (Football (Steelers!) fans – you know what I am talking about here.)

But………

hummingbird at oriole feeder

the hummingbirds are enjoying it!

And so are we is hubby…

(ok – maybe that Father’s Day present was a little for Momma too – tee hee hee!)

But mostly – it’s all for the birds!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is “Muse.”

The goal is to post a photo of a subject that keeps you coming back?  I have to admit…  I’ve become a bit of a “backyard bird nerd.”  So I thought an appropriate photo(s) to share would be one from our backyard menagerie.

A Love Story…

/ Jodi / 19 Comments

woodpecker love affair

They are so romantic…
it is better than a rare love story film.

They each peck at the feed for a moment or two,
then meet up in the middle to peck each other.

You say one is feeding the other,
but I see them each feed themselves.

Some say why feed them in the summer
when they can find their own food.

But then I would miss this kissing…
Woodpeckers falling in love.

Cheers and Hugs and Woodpecker Kisses,
Jodi

This photo is being shared in the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Off Season

PS  On my daily morning call with my Dad yesterday morning, I was telling him about how cute these woodpeckers are eating and “kissing.”  As we were talking, a woodpecker flew by him on his porch.  We were watching the woodpeckers at the same time in our homes an hour apart.  He asked, “Why haven’t we seen a picture of it yet?”  You see, he reads my blog every day, and we often talk about it.  So here it is Dad!  I ❤ You!

Don’t fence me in

/ Jodi / 12 Comments

broken rope wire on fence post

Don’t fence me in…
Don’t make me stay inside “the lines.”

I must break free
to really be me.

True love… true freedom…  true creativity… true thoughts… true peace
can only be achieved when they are chosen.

Let me choose.
Don’t fence me in.

On my way home yesterday afternoon, I took a different route.  I was looking at the sights of the tall grass along side the road and stopped to take a photo.  When I was done, I caught sight of this fence post with its broken wire rope on the other side of the road, and it kind of took my breath away.  All I could think was, “Don’t fence me in,” and I took this shot.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi