PhotoHunt: A Trick of the Light

Carnival lights and kids chasing each other with glowing toys paint the night with neon colors.



Want to join the fun? Here's the guy to talk to.



High on a nearby mountaintop, a native bell flower appears to light up like a tiny fairy lamp.



Posted for PhotoHunt: Light. Click the link for more entries.

PhotoHaunt: Broken

Definitely broken. Probably haunted. But isn't it awesome?

Posted for PhotoHunt: Broken

PhotoHunt: High

If ever you are in Albuquerque, make time to take the tram ride to the top of Sandia Peak.



You'll ascend to a first tower about halfway up, then swoop like a lazy eagle to the summit.



At the top you'll find a restaurant, alpine wildflowers, hiking trails along craggy cliffs, and vistas that go to the edge of the world.



Posted for PhotoHunt: High

Photo Hunt: Standing

Still standing - but just barely. I pass this on the way to work every day and always look to see if the porch roof has completely fallen off yet.


More entries at tnchick.com: Photo Hunt

Macro Monday & PhotoHunt: Spiral

I've been looking for a reason to play with this string of shells I bought a few years ago in a bead shop. I love looking at them just as they are, and I couldn't bring myself to separate them for projects.

There used to be two strings of these. One set has mysteriously disappeared, and there are a few loose shells in the bowl. My kids still swear they know nothing. Gremlins got 'em, no doubt.

Check out more macros and spirals at Lisa's Chaos: Macro Monday. and tnchick's place: Photo Hunt.

PhotoHunt: Technology

Vast, voluptuous vats of vino shimmer under fluorescent light at Tabor Hill Winery in Michigan.

You were expecting, maybe, dusty oak barrels? Buxom, barefoot peasant women standing up to their knees in tubs of grapes? You are so cute.

Nearly all wine is made in factories these days, but it's still mighty tasty.

Explore technology this week at: Photo Hunt.

P.S. I asked about those tennis-ball-sized dimples in the vats. I was told they have to do with controlling the temperature of the silos.

Photo Hunt: Low

Remember when you were a kid, lying on your stomach in the summer grass? There was a whole other planet down there, a busy, buzzing place invisible from above. Remember how fascinated you were?

Well, I never grew out of it. And now that I live where neighbors can't see me, I am prone to frequent prostration before the wonders of that world.

It's a lot harder now to get back up, though.






For the lowdown on this week's PhotoHunt, click over to Tnchick's place: PhotoHunt.

Photo Hunt: Lock

It's been a long time since I've joined in this meme, but I love this ancient latch on a country chicken coop, and I thought somebody else might enjoy seeing it too.

Here's the rest of the group: Photo Hunt.

Photo Hunt: Lazy

Take one sunspot, add one cat, and there you have it: the very picture of laziness.

Stop by PhotoHunt Saturday for more!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: It's Ours

We closed on the new house today!

I'm still half thrilled and half terrified. We spent the whole day there, the hubby mowing weeds and me exploring nooks and crannies, airing the place out and deciding on paint colors. Now, at last, this is beginning to feel real.

There are some fairly major things that still need doing, foremost among them being pumping out the septic tank and putting in a radon remediation system in the basement. I'll need kitchen appliances, too, which is a whole other post. But I'm excited about all the possibilities of life in the country.


The really nice thing about this place is the variety. There are irrigated open spaces for growing things, a fenced pasture and barn, plus acres of woods and a pond.








Oh yeah. This is gonna be fun.

Check out others' views at PhotoHunt
(Click photos to enlarge.)

Wild, Wild Woolyworm

I don't know what he is, but this little guy sports a pretty wild coat of fur. I found him on a fence post out on the new property today. (The head is the part pointing down.)

Check out the rest of this week's Photo Hunt entries over at tnchick.com.

Photo Hunt: Beautiful

I don't know exactly what this antique brooch is or where it came from. I found it in my mother's jewelry box after she passed away, and loved the old, mysterious look of it.

What's the Story?

Sandcastle Momma left a provocative little comment on this post:

"That is beautiful! And because you don't know the history you can make up something exotic and exciting about it whenever you wear it."

I love this idea. So much, in fact, that I'm inviting all of YOU to make up a story for this piece, too. Post it on your blog, and leave a link here in the comments. The photo is on Flickr. Feel free to use it if you want.

*I'll post your stories in a new entry, with links back to your blogs.*

I do hope you'll come in and play! -- Vicki

Check out the other participants at tnchick.com.

Departure and Destruction

Karen over at Outpost Mavarin has been carrying on the tradition of the Monday Photo Shoot since it was handed off to her by AOL Blogfather John Scalzi. And now, Karen is turning it over to Carly of the blog Ellipsis.

This is Karen's last photo prompt: Departure, preferably involving Destruction.

This discarded shell seemed to fit the bill, split open down the back and abandoned by the bright, green, winged cicada within. I think it's absolutely amazing, with its perfectly intact details, and the gold and silver reflections.

My kids, on the other hand, can't believe I bring stuff like this into the house. To each his own, I suppose.

I'm feeling a bit guilty for not participating more often in Monday Photo Shoot. I'm sorry, Karen. You did a great job with the topics, and I always meant to play along. Mondays are just not a big blogging day for me. I'll try to be a better participant going forward.

To anyone passing through, why don't you come on by to Karen's to see the past topics, and then join us over at Carly's going forward? One of the great things about a smaller group is that everyone gets to know everyone. It's a great way to make some new friends.

Photo Hunt: Colorful

We saw this guy in front of a small-town art center in New York, and just had to pull over for a closer look. Could there be a more colorful moose?

I thought the lantern was a nice touch.


Stop by at tnchick's place for lots more.

*Click photos to enlarge.

Photo Hunt: Dark

Summer light pours through the window and leaks through the sides of this dark, old barn.
*Click to enlarge.

Check out the rest of the entries this week at tnchick.com.

Photo Hunt: Clouds

It seems like the best clouds show up when I don't have a camera handy. These are about the best of the lot.
If you tilt your head to your right this one looks like a howling face, which is appropriate, given the ferocity of that particular storm.

Check out more cloudy entries today at tnchick.com.

Photo Hunt: Hanging

I love the way these lanterns seem to be suspended in midair. Click to enlarge for a better view.

Find more entries at tnchick.com.

Photo Hunt: What IS That?

Coming home from a Fourth of July fireworks display, I played with long shutter speeds and taking pictures from the car. This could be fireworks, a carnival we passed, or lights from cars and shops on the street. I really don't recall which. But I do like the abstract quality of it. If you click it, it gets bigger.

For more photo hunters, go to tnchick.com.

Photo Hunt: Support

I had never seen a mama loon ferrying her babies before, and I'm afraid I got a little too excited ... ran back inside to grab my camera, ran back out, and pretty much charged the poor thing to get the picture.


She didn't hang around to see what the crazy lady was up to, just loaded up the kids and made for the other shore. All I got was a grainy shot or two from too far away, from which these are cropped. Still, this was one of the highlights of my summer.

See what the other Photo Hunters have found at tnchick.com.

Photo Hunt: Pointed

We spent over a week in what is supposed to be the moose capital of New York, but this is as close as we came to seeing any. These huge antlers are in the Adirondack Museum.

Check out other pointy things at tnchick.com.