Macro Monday - Fuzzy Caterpillar

Craig took these on a walking path behind the building where T's oral surgeon's office is housed. She was having a minor procedure done and he got up to stretch his legs. You just never know what you'll find outside.

You can see other contributors to Macro Monday here.

Sunday Stills - Sounds

This week's Sunday Stills is Sounds. I didn't have a whole lot of time this week for pics as T had minor oral surgery and we moved the horses to a new barn. I took these about a week and a half ago when we hit the beach for the day. A storm was hovering out to sea and was churning up the surf.

The pounding surf of the Atlantic Ocean.

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Fox in the Hay

This little guy was hanging out in a field across the street from my development.

I've never seen anything but birds onto top of a round bale before.

Skywatch No. 59

Late afternoon yesterday, just before sunset. Tropical Storm Danny will be affecting our weather this weekend. It's pushy clouds and rain ahead of it which is giving us these skies.

Check out skies from around the world at Skywatch.

A Whole Lot of Fish

From Jenkinson's Aquarium, on the boardwalk in Point Pleasant, NJ.

Wordless Wednesday - Leaving her Mark

Keeping his Balance

I had a lot of fun watching the gulls at the beach. It was early and they were all kind of milling about. This one was hanging out in the surf as the tide was coming up looking for goodies. If the waves got rough, he spread his wings to keep his balance.

Macro Monday - Sea Shells

From our trip to the beach last week.

You can see more pics here.

You can see other contributors to Macro Monday here.

Sunday Stills - The Open Road

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge - the Open Road. I didn't have a whole lot of time during the week to take pictures but I took Thursday off from work and we hit the beach. This is the Manasquan Inlet bridge over the Manasquan River in New Jersey. The Manasquan River and the Inlet feed directly into the Atlantic Ocean. This was just before 7 AM so there was very little traffic.

You can see other pics from the day here.

Check out other bloggers who participate in the Sunday Stills Challenge.

Atlantic Surf

The incoming tide at the entrance to the Manasquan Inlet.

Skywatch No. 58

I took the day off yesterday and we headed to Point Pleasant Beach for the day. This is Craig and T walking to the water. It was just after 7 AM and the tide was coming in.

You can see more pics here.

Check out skies from around the world at Skywatch.

Montero's Walk

Last week, we got a small break in the weather and T and I got the chance to ride. Our saddles are home so we rode with bareback pads. Montero has been great since we switched bits so I decided to tempt fate and grab the camera. Picture it - bareback holding the reins in my left hand and the camera in my right. The thought crossed my mind about what I should do if I had to bail but it turned out ok. Montero was actually kind of lazy and turned with the neck rein just like he should. This is the view of his walk and running walk. I'm still amazed to see how much he bobs his head since I don't really notice it was much when I'm riding. The background noise is T being a nudge making noise since she knew I was filming. The clicking is me trying to get him moving. He really is fun to ride.

Wordless Wednesday - Cuteness Personified

Buggies in the Fog

We headed to the Kutztown auction on Saturday morning in a heavy fog. Along the way, we passed several buggies and bicycles heading towards Fleetwood, more people than we would see on a normal Saturday and all seemed to be dressed for church. As we turned into the road to visit Leid's Shoes and Saddlery, we were stopped for a funeral procession including a funeral wagon, buggies, bicycles and cars. I didn't take any pictures of the funeral procession or the wagon out of respect but it was definitely a site to see. We found out from a woman at Leid's that a local Mennonite woman, Betty Jane Weaver, was riding her bicycle and struck from behind by a car driven by an 81 year old woman who didn't even bother to stop. The driver of the car was followed by a witness who had her return to the scene. What a horrible clash of cultures and my heart goes out to Mrs. Weaver's family, her 10 children and her grandchildren.

These are two of the buggies that we passed along the way.

You can see a picture of what the funeral wagon looked like here.

Macro Monday - Dragonflies

Three different dragonflies, taken at the same place within minutes of each other. We were splashing around in the creek, looking for fish...actually, Craig and T were looking for fish. I was wandering around taking pictures.

Sunday Stills - Clouds

This week's Sunday Stills challenge is Clouds. This was an easy one! Since I've been participating in Skywatch, I find myself looking at the sky more and really paying more attention to the clouds and the colors.

Late yesterday afternoon.

It's very hot and humid here which makes the sky hazy so the colors are not very vivid.

I very rarely post a photo on this blog more than once but I think this one is worth repeating.

One of my favorite cloud photos from March of this year.

Canadian geese flying in front of clouds earlier this week.

Montero looking off into the distance while we were riding.

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Me and My Shadow

Riding Montero in the late afternoon sun.

Skywatch No. 57

T riding Montero in the late afternoon.

The sun lit the clouds from behind and the sky was beautiful.

Check out skies from around the world at Skywatch.

Looking for Critters in the Creek

And being a punk with her mother...

Wordless Wednesday - The Joy of Running

Schooling Montero

At the last gymkhana, Montero decided that he didn't have to stop when T asked him to and twice took off with her. She managed to get him stopped but it shook her up a bit. It's a scary thing to be on an animal that big and powerful and be at their mercy. We all sat down and talked about what we can do different. He's in excellent weight now, is muscling up, and definitely feeling more frisky. We are going to be doing more schooling with him, reenforcing the gaits and whoa. We also found a bit that is a more suitable (the other bit was a transition bit and he figured out he could run through it). We tested the new bit a few days ago and it seems to work well for him. I rode him first while T rode Jet and then she hopped up on Montero.

Heartfelt Thanks for the I Love This Blog Award!

Many thanks to Baba Yaya's Mirror for passing on the I Love this Blog award to me! I started this blog on a whim, mainly to post pics for family and friends. It's kind of taken on a life of it's own and I now post daily, usually photographs. Who would have thought people would find my life interesting??? I love coming across blogs that give me a glimpse into places I may never see. It expands my world and offers a different perspective of life.

So, here are the award rules:

Pass the award along to 7 of your favorite bloggers, based on your personal preference.

I would like to pass this along to:

Lisa at Laughing Orca Ranch - she's gone through some tough times in the last year and has maintained a smile and a sense of humor through it all.

Chloe at More Secret Whispers - a fabulous young photographer and very sweet to boot.

Lisa at South View Farm - a glimpse into her farm and a fabulous weaver.

Carmon at Life at Star's Rest - a brave woman battling cancer who is passionate about Mustangs.

Tracey at Mustang Diaries - a participant in the Extreme Mustang Makeover and horse trainer who is also passionate about Mustangs.

Ed at Thoughts from the Road and Sunday Stills - a truck driver and photographer who comes up with some pretty creative subjects for Sunday Stills. Ed, I know you don't do these but I wanted to pass your blog along.

Northview Diary - anecdotes from a "not-your-average stay-at-home" mom on a dairy farm

I hope you will stop by an visit these blogs!

Macro Monday - 'shroom

Lots of rain and mushy ground makes the mushrooms grow. This was along the hiking path in Green Lane Park (see Sunday Stills). You can just about see the slug on the stem.

You can see other contributors to Macro Monday here.

Sunday Stills - Elements

This week's Sunday Stills challenge - the elements. Ed challenged us to find the four elements plus the fifth. I had to really think about this one.

Earth

A hiking trail in Green Lane Park from ground level

Air

The Perkiomen Creek during a thick fog in the early morning.

The fog was so thick you could feel the air.

Fire

A match flaring from a lit candle. I managed to not burn myself or the camera.

Water

We've had thunderstorms and torrential rain which caused the Perkiomen Creek to flood its banks. This is a different branch of the creek from the photo above.

And the last element -

Love...

Grasshopper love. Craig scooped these two up out of the grass.

They were hopping around together.

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Merlin gets a new life

We are all animal lovers in our family. We had a difficult year in 2008 in that we lost 2 dogs (Snoopy and Binky) and a horse (Diego) to old age. We made the decision to get another dog last July and Bandit entered our lives. It was a bit of a bumpy road but we figured each other out and he's happy here. Merlin came to our family after a phone call from a friend that works at the SPCA. So we were back to two dogs. It became apparent that Merlin was not a good fit for our family. He needs more attention than we are able to give him right now and he wasn't happy with us. We contacted Dachshund Rescue of Bucks County and Jo Whalen decided to take him. He left for his temporary home this afternoon. He will be available for placement in a permanent home through the Rescue. I hope he finds a family where he is happy and they love him. We will miss the little guy but need a little less chaos in our lives. We wish you well, Merlin!

Jet's Brand

Jet is branded on his left hip. It's one of the ways that we know that he's from out West and a Mexican Mustang (aside from his training which is fantastic). It's more visible in the summer because of this shorter coat. It all but disappears in the winter. He was hot branded, probably many years ago (freeze brands would have left just white hairs instead of a burn mark). I have no idea what the brand is but it's unique.

Skywatch No. 56

More thunderstorms and torrential rain this week. This is after a pretty intense storm as the clouds broke up and the sun came out.

Check out skies from around the world at Skywatch.

Spiderweb

It has been very hot and humid this past week with scattered thunderstorms. Yesterday morning we had a dense fog that left water droplets everywhere. This is one of the spiderwebs on the split rail fence. The droplets outlined the web perfectly.

Wordless Wednesday - Floodwaters

View more photos here.