Rainbows And Unicorns

Posted on August 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

 

 

 

Ok, so this post doesn’t have any unicorns but there are rainbows! A double rainbow at that! I just threw in the unicorn thing to get you folks to read this. Looks like it worked!

 

So, unfortunately, I’m still stuck in my house (what month are we in now?) and I’m getting bored with my surroundings. But, nature came to my rescue yesterday. Sort of. It rained, which I wasn’t all that thrilled about because I didn’t want a repeat of the water park fiasco in my basement, but the sun decided to show its face briefly during this little shower. And what happens when sun and rain mix, kids? If you said “Rainbows!” you get a gold star!

 

I glanced out my kitchen window and saw a pretty vibrant rainbow forming. When I got outside after grabbing my camera, I was greeted with not one, but two rainbows. The second is a little harder to see, but it’s there.

 

Double Rainbow

 

 

So, thanks, Nature. This almost makes up for you flooding my basement last week. Almost.

 

 

Until next time…

 

[^_^]

 

~A.M.

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Posted in Nature, Photography

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Thanks A Lot, Rain

Posted on July 29, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’m one of those odd people who likes the rain.  I like the sound of it.  I like watching it.  I even don’t mind being out in it when it’s a warm day.

What I don’t like, is when it rains so hard the ground becomes so over-saturated and water ends up finding it’s way into my basement.  I hate that.  And that’s exactly what happened this past Friday.  So, needless to say, I spent this past weekend on clean-up duty.  I was able to employ my photography skills, but not in the awesome creative way I would have liked.  I’m not sure if that can be counted in the “on the bright side” column or in the “major disappointment” column.  Maybe somewhere between the two.  Sort of a “the glass is half empty AND half full” kind of thing.

But, on the bright side, and getting away from the awful mess I had to deal with in my basement this weekend (lucky for me, I had the brains to make sure everything of value was either in plastic totes or up on cinder blocks before this happened), I caved.  What did I cave on and why is that a good thing?  Well, I’ll tell you.  On the second of this month, I caved and adopted the cat I told you, my fine readers, about in my Tiger In The Grass post.  Ironically, it was raining that day too.  She showed up on my porch, soaking wet, meowing, and scratching at my door.  I didn’t have the heart to turn her away, so I brought her in, fed her a hearty portion of cat food, gave her the proper de-flea/de-worm medications, and got her a check up with the vet.  I gave her the name Abby (in honor of my favorite NCIS character [^_^]).  So, now my little cat army…er…family is back up to four members.  Here’s to hoping everyone gets along!

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M.

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Posted in Cats, Nature, Photography

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Going Stir-Crazy

Posted on July 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

Most of my readers know by now that one of my favorite things to do during the summer is to go hiking.  Sadly, for reasons beyond my control, I haven’t been able to do that for the past two months.  I haven’t even been able to leave my house for the past month and I’ve been going stir-crazy wanting to get outside.

Finally, yesterday, I was able to get outside before my head exploded.  I finally went hiking.  Where?  Where else!?  My favorite hiking spot, Quoddy Head State Park in Lubec, Maine.

Not only are the trails at Quoddy beautiful, but there are several points and overlooks that shouldn’t be missed.  Green Point is one of them.  Every time I get to Green Point I’m met by new an unique rock cairns.  Now, these shouldn’t be confused with cairns that mark a trail.  The cairns at Green Point serve no other purpose than to be interesting for others to see.  Art.  I, myself, have built a few in the times I’ve visited Quoddy.

Quoddy Rock Stack

Sometimes, I’m amazed by the complexity of the cairns I find at Green Point.  Whoever built this one must have taken their time.

So, next time you’re out hiking, don’t just stop and smell the roses, stop and take a minute to appreciate any cairns you find, whether they’re for show or function.

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M.

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Hello There Doom Moth…[o_O]…

Posted on July 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

I don’t tend to pay much attention to the moths and June bugs that buzz around my porch light at night.  At least, not until something gets one of my cats going crazy.

Recently, my kitten, Kenzi, was pawing at the kitchen window, chattering away.  I looked out to see what she was carrying on about and saw a large moth fluttering around the porch light.  The thing’s movements cast huge shadows all over the place and all I could think of was… Mothman.  Remember that movie?  So, needless to say, I didn’t venture out in the dead of night to try and catch a picture of this doom moth.  Instead, I decided to find something else to do and left my cat to chatter away at it.

To my surprise, when I woke up the next morning, the moth had stuck around all night and even stayed well into the afternoon.  I guess it likes my porch.

I decided, in the safety of daylight, that I would take a picture of it.  [^_^]

Moth

I have no idea what type of moth this is.  I see Luna moths frequently, but this is something different that I don’t see as much.

Can anyone tell me this guy’s name?  I’d be appreciative.  I would rather use it’s name instead of calling it “Doom Moth” or “Mothera“.  Wait…That last one’s taken so scratch that.

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M.

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Backyard Fireworks

Posted on July 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

 

As everyone knows, this past Thursday was the Fourth of July.  Independence Day.  And what do people think of when they hear “Fourth of July” or “Independence Day“?  Cookouts and fireworks.

I’ve always enjoyed fireworks shows, but sadly I tend to miss out on most of them.  Previous plans, rain, and event cancellations tend to be the primary reasons.

Fireworks displays can be tricky yet awesome to photograph.  Until a few years ago, I hadn’t attended a fireworks show since high school and, until a few years ago, I had never attempted to photograph one.  The results were…let’s say…not what I had hoped for. [-_-]

This year, like most years, I was unable to travel to a publicly sponsored fireworks show, but where it is now legal for the general population to purchase and set off fireworks in Maine, I didn’t have to travel at all.  My neighbors decided to throw their own Fourth of July bash complete with their own fireworks display.  So, lucky me, I was able to watch, and photograph, a fireworks show right from my backyard.

Red Fireworks 1

 
Red Fireworks 2

I enjoyed the show (minus the ear-splitting explosions directly over my house), but my cats, pampered and accustomed to the quiet as they are, did not.  Poor babies.

We’ll see what happens next year.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Independence Day!!

Until next time….

[^_^]

~A.M.

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