Day 254...Belvoir Winery Open House

Day 254

Late night last night and tons to do today!

Today was Northland Photography Clubs Open House showing at

Belvoir Winery in Liberty, MO.

We had a really nice turnout!

A room with a view...for sure!

Day 253...Reunion Day

Day 253

What an absolutely beautiful day it was today!!!

And I had the day off from work! :)

Mark and I went to the Liberty Fall Festival parade, had lunch together,

did our shopping,

and off I went to my high school reunion...35 years! 

After shooting many, many photos at the parade...I figured something out!

I do not like crowds when trying to take photo's.

I find it unattractive for the background, people get in the way, 

you don't get to choose your "prime spot" for shooting, 

and even if you do find a good spot....someone still manages to step right in front of you.

Just not what I like, I guess.

On the way back to our car I saw this beautiful butterfly 

and literally followed it around until it landed long enough for me to catch it...

digitally, that is!

Day 252...On Our Way

Day 252

Tonight is the first night of a fun weekend!

Washington High School, Class of  1977, 35 year reunion!

On our way to Danny's Bar and Grill at the Legends for the Friday night get together.

This was the gorgeous view we enjoyed while heading 

West on Hwy 152 out of Liberty, MO.

Sure wish I'd been on a beach or the top of mountain viewing this sunset

but it's beautiful nonetheless!

Day 251...Purrfect!

Day 251

Some things just go together well...

These two photos are a "Puuurrrrrfect" example!

Michi defends herself by saying...

"I am sweet, you know I am...I just don't like that other cat you brought home"

I tell her..."that was seven years ago...get over it..." 

I don't think she understands...:)

Day 250...A Treat At the Arch!

Day 250

Went to Lawrence today after work to have a little time with my kids and grandson.

It was short...but sweet!

Always makes me happy to see my babies..big and little...:)

Took this photo when I stopped for a dipped cone treat for the ride home!

You know they say the new dipped cones are for a limited time only.

It will be a sad day when their time is up.

You did good with this one, McDonalds! :)

Day 249...Beers And Deers... :)

Day 249

Took a tour of Boulevard Brewery with some photography club members today.

I always find the history of small business success interesting. uplifting and so promising.

The owner has a great story of his beginnings!

Industrial type photography isn't really my thing though...

I just wasn't into it.

BUT, the beer was good and the company great!!!

Afterwards took a drive around the lake and caught some sweet things munching on their dinner.

Very very sad to see them so thin and scrawny.

The drought has hurt our wildlife terribly. :(

Behind the bar!

Day 248...Late Season Hummer

Day 248

Even though it's late in the season and the Hummers are nearly gone, I finally 

remembered to try a trick suggested to me by a friend.

Wear a red t-shirt out by your feeders and then 

try to train the Hummers to sit on your fingers!

Well, for now, all I want is to be close enough to get a good photo 

and not have them be scared away!

I'd say the red shirt worked!

I just wish I'd had a minute or so to settle in and get my camera settings in order!

This little gal flew in within 30 seconds of me stepping out onto my porch, 

I wasn't quite prepared and ended up with a not so crisp and clear photo...

I'm so excited though that they showed no sign of fear

with me being so close! This one was about 3 ft away from me.

But they didn't come back again after this photo either.

It was late though...maybe tomorrow and definitely I will try again next season!

It will be here before I know it!

Another one of Gods "Freebies"

A pretty little weed I found growing out along my fence line this evening.

I didn't pull it.

Zinnia...pretty again...same plant I took a burnt shot of a while back.

Day 247...A Special Place

Day 247

Wyandotte County Lake will always be a special place to me.

Picnic's when I was young and

sooo many drives around the lake with friends and just hanging out..

Sledding on "the Hill" too!

I might've  even watch a submarine race (or two) here.. :)

Today I took a fun drive around the lake with one of my bff's, Vickie! 

(yes, I'm lucky enough to say I have more than one bff)

Having a best friend, and if your lucky like me, having a handful of them, is such a gift...

 As different as we all are,

we are so much alike and always there for each other! 

Girlfriends are the best!!! 

Just a couple of shots I took today..

Mostly it was a drive around the lake just gossiping and having fun! :)
What a BEAUTIFUL afternoon!

the drive around the lake is so serene and beautiful...I love this place

Day 246...What's For Dinner!

Day 246

After a full days work and shopping with my oldest daughter, Kaley

I made it home exactly 13 hours from when I left the house...

Long day, but fun!

Dinner at Red Robin.

Fast (well maybe not,) but easy and a decent salad!

Home to watch more Mad Men!

We are hooked on that show and have 4 more seasons to catch up on!!

YAAAY for Netflix!

Day 245...Destructing Beauty... :(

Day 245

When I visited my mom today I saw that this is now what's left of 

 the beautiful little field of wild sunflowers I took a photo of a week ago.

It made me sad to see that one more little bit of nature's wildflowers

had been ripped up and discarded.

Several years ago when I lived in Texas, 

I had an elderly neighbor who told me even though her

husband just hated the Dandelions and flowering weeds that she always looked at them

as God's gift to us..."Freebies" as she called them! 

I have many memories of her even though I only knew her for a few short years.

It's amazing the impact people have on us and sometimes we don't realize it till much later.

Today, Friday, September 21

Last Friday, September 14

although this is a closeup the entire little hillside was covered

in these wild Sunflowers one week ago today.

:(

Day 244...Sweet!!! :)

Day 244

It's so true...

Sometimes the smallest things mean the most...

My husband knows I love Oreos...(he does too)

He also knows I LOVE Candy Corn and always look forward 

to devouring a sack (or two) when Fall arrives!

Yesterday, while listening to the radio,

 he heard the disc jockeys talking about the new Oreo/Candy Corn Cookies

and stopped on his way home from work to buy me some...

After hitting three stores with no luck he came on home 

but he did tell me about them!!! 

Little did I know that today he actually called the radio station to ask where he could find them..

Guess what he brought home to me today! :)

Day 243...Daylight Dwindles

Day 243

Another day of work..

Another day of a solo photo...

Another day of wishing I had more time in the day...

Just another day of life... 

And as the saying goes...

Life is Good!

Day 242...Serious Stuff

Day 242

He watches the movie with such intent...

It's a drama of unimaginable magnitude ...

And he takes it very seriously, you know...

After all, it's... 

Toy Story 3!

I love this serious little face...

:)

Day 241...Faces of Alia II...:)

Day 241

A short visit today with GiGi while Mom had an appointment!

Another opportunity for me to capture some sweetness!

 :)

Day 240...Faces of Alia :)

Day 240

She spent the day with her PaPa and GiGi today...

It was a good day! A really good day!

She asked me "GiGi, can I pick these flowers for my hair?" 

"Of course you can!" I said

I do believe flowers are planted to later pick and enjoy!!!

She had to have a little help picking them though...

(the whole plant almost came up out of the ground on the first pull)

Surprisingly, as you can see, the flowers survived the process 

of pinching them down to a short enough stem to tuck behind her ear...

(I helped with that part too...it was a tough stem to pinch!!!)

In hair flower arranging done exclusively by Miss Alia herself!!! 

:)

Day 239...Garden Sedum

Day 239

It's been another one of those days where I only took a shot or two...

Not much of a day for photography but 

a photo was taken, nonetheless!

I've never seen a Sedum variety that I didn't like!

Simple beauty...

Day 238...A Wild Bunch!

Day 238

I'm loving the wild Sunflowers that are in bloom EVERYWHERE right now!!!

I think I like them equally as well as the big ones!

I want to know the variety so that I can plant them!!!

They sure would make a beautiful backdrop 

along with some colorful flowers for 

photo shoots!!!

Day 237...Rainy Day Thursday

Day 237

A neighborhood street shot from inside the car while driving home this evening.

Day 236...It's a Knock Out!

Day 236

Back to the real world in every way.

Back to scrambling for a daily photo...

(s.i.g.h.)

Day 235...My First Taste of Moonshine!

Day 235

This morning, before leaving town

 we hiked around Black Bass Lake in Eureka Springs.

Definitely a nature walk!

We saw animal tracks, got ticks (yuck) 

and heard animals of unknown species rustling in the woods!

Then onto the Copper Run Distillery for my first taste of Moonshine...

Some GOOD stuff!

I was surprised I liked it!

Homeward bound after that!

 Black Bass Lake, the last bit of morning fog about to burn off.

First part of our morning hike around the lake.

Animals tracks of some type! Anybody know?

wildflowers in the early morning sun...:)

 Look what I found at the distillery! What a sweetie! 

I didn't ask to take photos of the distillery. I figured they'd say no but 

this little pooch was much cuter anyway!

 Wildflowers at the distillery!

Day 234...My Birthday! :)

Day 234

This morning after coffee time we visited Beaver Lake which is just gorgeous!

Some of the clearest, bluest lake water I've ever seen!

It was so clear that while walking down a boat ramp 

Mark didn't realize how close he was to the water 

and took one step too many...walked right into it!

A little later he decided it was OK to stand on a log by the waters edge...

a slippery log that is, and yep, he fell in! Wet shoes all day!

And yes, I laughed!! 

We did A LOT today, like our Saturday in Branson!

It was a great day!!!

 looking out over Beaver Lake...at the Dam

 Beaver Lake view...played around with editing quite a bit on this one.

Not sure what else it needs but I went with this one.

 Mark, on the log...before the slip!

 Ranger Tower...100ft climb... :/

 at the top!!! No photo of me though...:( 

I forgot to pass the camera over to Mark before we were on our way down...

I wasn't going back up! 

 Downtown Eureka Springs

 I LOVE this staircase

 this was the best part of my birthday dinner...:)

 what dainty flowers...a sweet little vine!

and last, but not least...

 A bath house (bordello) from 1901...

Now, a very nice hotel.

Check out that neon sign!
The first neon sign west of the Mississippi

One of the oldest, original neon signs left in America 

according to the guide from a tour we took a couple of years ago.

aka "The Phallus Palace" by the locals...lolol
http://www.palacehotelbathhouse.com/hotel_history