Saturday Photo Hunt - Low...

 
Low tide along a beautiful Florida Gulfcoast beach, and puffy black clouds hang low in the sky as the sun sets low on the horizon...
   
A crop duster flies low over the corn and sugar cane fields of south central Florida between Lake Okeechobee and the east coast.

Three of those four photos were taken while riding in the car along the highway, which is why I never leave home without my camera. They may not be the clearest of photos, but they are moments I am happy to have captured, none the less. Thanks so much to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week.

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Entertainment...

Concerts Strolling Entertainer - Country Music Hall of Fame - Nashville Ryman Auditorium - Nashville Thanks so much to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "entertainment" photos from other participants just click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "low".

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Utensils...

On our drive home from Texas earlier this summer, we stopped overnight in Mobile, Alabama, for a tour of the World War II battleship, the USS Alabama, and the submarine, the USS Drum. The cooks aboard the USS Alabama were responsible for feeding approximately 1, 793 officers and men. The cooks aboard the USS Drum fed 60 officers and men.

 Cooking utensils in the battleship and submarine kitchens...
 
Medical utensils used by the doctors and medics aboard in a battleship examination room...

Thanks so much to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "utensils" photos from other participants just click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "entertainment".

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Rocks...

One photo. Really. My mind has been set all week on the one photo I was going to post for the rock theme...and then I remembered rocks at the beach and the bed of rocks under the railroad track, and the Rock of Ages, of course...

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Thanks so much to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "rock" photos from other participants just click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "utensils".

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Garbage...

Did y'all see this recent news story about a father and son who are facing $20,000 in fines and fees for the removal of 42 tons of garbage they had accumulated on their Mastic Beach, New York, property? It was enough garbage to fill 10 garbage trucks. I'm sure you can find a picture of that garbage some where on the net, if you really want to see it. I tried unsuccessfully all week to think of a creative way to photograph garbage. I considered taking a photograph of our television set. I think most of the programs on television are garbage, but our television set is small, ordinary, and definitely not an interesting subject for photography. I purposefully avoid garbage in my photos, so I was quite confident that there wouldn't be anything in my archives that would work, either. Except maybe these old shoes?

They were obviously ready for the garbage, don't you think? Or these?

Most of y'all would have thrown these empty coke bottles and cereal boxes in the garbage, but not if you are in the Gator Nation. Do you toss your old and dusty potpourri in the garbage? Not me. I just rinse it off, dry it on a towel in the sun and freshen it with scented oils and it's good as new. So maybe those wouldn't work, either. What about these?

Disposable diapers, wipes and a baby yogurt container. They aren't garbage yet, but they will be. These, too. Not garbage yet, but will be soon...

Disposable cups from Starbucks. I think Starbucks should give us discounts if we bring in a reusable coffee cup for refills, don't you? EDIT - This was just added this morning. I can't believe I didn't think of this photo - of garbage eaters - that I took yesterday morning...

I missed my turn on the way to a friend's house yesterday morning and turned down a road I don't normally travel in my efforts to turn around. The normal route to this friend's house takes me down a beautiful country lane where I often see deer and other wildlife, so I frequently have my camera with me when I am going that way. It was on that other road that I saw these vultures. Dozens of them that I didn't even capture in the photo taken from my car. Makes you wonder just exactly what is happening to those "rescued" animals, doesn't it?

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Pink...

I'm posting my Saturday Photo Hunt on Friday evening this week. The "pink" theme is to blame. Pink happens to be one of my favorite colors, but I simply cannot bring myself to post "pink" on the most "red, white and blue" day of the year...so I'm bending the photo hunt rules just this once. While cleaning out my closet recently, I noticed that almost every article of clothing in my closet is either a shade of pink or blue or white. I did say pink is a favorite. I was tempted to take a photo of my pink clothes for the hunt, but decided that just like my wardrobe, it would probably be a boring photo. So I did what I usually do on Friday nights - I searched through my archives - this time for favorite pinks... Winters in Florida are so lovely and mild - rarely cold enough for more than a sweater, but sometimes the mornings are chilly enough that a scarf is the perfect addition to a cozy sweatshirt - and mine, of course, is pink. Then late in the winter, the azaleas begin to bloom and the morning light on pink azaleas is divine. The last pink in this collage is from an art journal entry last April, when I declared that my heart was fixed. I took these photos in my kitchen a couple of weeks ago. The rose bush that produced these lovely pink blossoms was given to me as a gift for teaching vacation Bible school the summer Emily was born - eighteen years ago, and despite freezes, droughts and simple neglect, it has consistently blessed us with an abundance of beautiful and fragrant roses. Pink was a Photo Hunt theme two years ago and just in case you missed my "pink" photos then, I decided to add them to my very pink post today (the roses are from that same bush)... A pink sunset over Pollywog Creek May 2006 And a plethora of shades of perfectly delightful pink flowers... Pink Hibiscus Pink Zinnias Pink Roses

Thanks so much to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. And pray for her husband. He was hospitalized earlier this week and there's been no further word regarding his condition. For "pink" photos from other Photo Hunt participants just click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "garbage".

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Flags

Battleship Memorial Park Mobile, Alabama May 18, 2009
 Ground Zero New York City, New York September 11, 2004
On the wall of my study and reflected in the framed glass display case that protects the folded flag honoring my mother (a veteran of WWII) and hangs on the opposite wall. Small Town in Florida on Pollywog Creek June 25, 2009
And last, but not least...  Mason's Birthday Flag June 28, 2007 and 2008

Thanks to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "flags" photos from other Photo Hunt participants just click on the PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "pink".


Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Creamy...

My favorite time of the day is first thing in the morning - coffee, devotions, scripture, prayer....which means my second favorite time of the day is bedtime, because "first thing in the morning" will come next..........(my facebook status earlier this week)

I was fully prepared to pass on this week's hunt. I could not think of anything in my archives that fit the "creamy" category, there was nothing "creamy" in my week that grabbed my attention, and I've been much too distracted with time-sensitive projects and more pressing matters like looking for bullfrogs (I'll explain in a later post) to spend time searching. As my facebook status declared, I love first thing in the morning. I often fall asleep in joyful anticipation of that first hour of the day when I can sit quietly with my Bible, a devotional and more than one cup of coffee. Just as I settled down in the study this morning to do just that, I saw it.

More often than not, my first cup of coffee in the morning is hot and black, but I was up with a sick Emily during the night and wasn't thinking clearly when I made a very creamy first cup of coffee instead.

Thanks to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "creamy" photos from other Photo Hunt participants just click on the PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "flags".

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Lock...

The combination lock on the shed doors keeps unwanted guests out...

 

...while the lock on this gate keeps Gavin in. For now, anyway. He's likely to realize that he can climb the fence before he figures out how to unlock the gate. Notice the layered look he had going on with his shirts? He went through a stage where he didn't want to take off his pajama shirt in the morning, so Kristin just put his pre-school shirt on over it. Two year olds are a riot, aren't they? 

Here's a couple of characters at Lion Country Safari that we hope will never learn to unlock their cage...

 

We found it amusing that we were advised to keep the windows closed and the doors locked as we drove through the park. Did they really think any of the animals roaming free were capable of opening an unlocked car door? Interesting.

Thanks to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "lock" photos from other Photo Hunt participants just click on the PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "creamy".

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Advertisement...

"Advertisement" is not one of my favorite subjects for photography. I'm a country girl - inclined to capture the earthy, natural subjects that "advertise" the wonder and beauty of creation, but I've made a few visits to places like the chaotic Time Square in New York City (above) and downtown Nashville (below), where the commercial elements were unavoidable elements of composition that added color and interest to the photos. 

New York City and Nashville were cities that I'm glad we were able to visit, but way too much city - and advertisements - for me. This, however, would be almost perfect outside the gate to our home on Pollywog Creek...

Right Emily? Thanks to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "advertisement(s)" photos from other Photo Hunt participants just click on the PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "lock".

 

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Book(s)...

A new year greeted with coffee and books  Board books and babies - and a mommy's lap  A cup of coffee, a basket of books, and a sunny September morning Thanks to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "book(s)" photos from other Photo Hunt participants just click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "advertisement". Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt::Plastic...

Mason's plastic train set and Gavin's plastic lunch plate and sippy cups. Nothing plastic about the little ones - they are 100% boy.

Ice cold water in plastic bottles was distributed to the walkers participating in the "Walk for Life".

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt::Painted...

...a painted brick wall on the streets of Nashville, an orange and blue painted Tim Treebow, a painted sidewalk sign in my little town, and a neighbor's red and blue painted chicken coop
   
...painted pages from last year's journal
  ...and Painted Buntings, of course!

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - In Memory...

...with much love and gratefulness, my mother and grandmothers.

For the second year in a row, I'm in Texas on Mother's Day weekend, and this post was prepared and scheduled while I was still at home on Pollywog Creek. If you happen to visit while I am away and leave a comment so I'll know you were here, I promise to visit your photo hunt post as soon as I can. Until then - be blessed. Love and honor your mother this weekend - and always; and if your mother like mine is no longer with us, I pray that you can remember her with great joy and that you will honor her this weekend with your love and care for others. Happy Mother's Day and thanks to TNChick, for her gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt every week. For "in memory" photos from other Photo Hunt participants be sure to click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "painted". Can you guess what is certain to be in mine?

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Walking...

...by the sea

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time..."

Thanks and kudos to TNChick, for her gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt every week. For "walking" photos from other Photo Hunt participants be sure to click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "in memory".

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt

Saturday Photo Hunt - Protect(ion)...

After attending a college baseball game earlier this week, I had decided that my entry for this week's theme would include a photo collage of protective baseball gear - batting helmets, chest protectors, leg pads, and even the foul ball net behind home plate. Then this interesting critter wearing his own form of protection wandered through Pollywog Creek... Though it's not my typical colorful offering, I could not resist these photos of a Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) - a threatened species in Florida requiring protection. The gopher tortoise (often incorrectly referred to as a gopher turtle) is North America's only native tortoise. Most gopher tortoises live in the dry sandhills of Florida, but they can also be found in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and extreme parts of South Carolina. A face only a mother could love, don't you think? When I discovered him, this gopher tortoise was in the shade of an oak tree at dusk, and because I could not move or touch him, I had to be content with the lack of good light for a quality photo...and by morning he was gone. Hugs and thanks to TNChick, for her gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt every week. For "protect(ion)" photos from other Photo Hunt participants be sure to click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "walking".

Technorati tag - PhotoHunt