Taken At The Stop Light

Like the post two days ago I found this image when I was deleting photos to make room for new ones. I'm sorry to report I missed the revue and, therefore, all those photographs.

It's incredible how packed this place is on the weekends, there are cars parked up and down both sides of the highway and I would be very surprised to learn they aren't in violation of the fire codes...gracious, is that my lumbago acting up again???

Midweek Respite

It's been a rough week, the shootings at Fort Hood, the battle over health care reform, a threatening and then present, now past, Tropical Storm Ida. If you want you can enlarge for maximum relief. Peace.

Nervous Nellies

I've been doing some photographic housekeeping, deleting drafts of posts I'll never publish, pitching whole files of photographs into the recycling bin, sweeping out the old to make room for the new. One of the few drafts I kept is this one, cobbled together some six or seven months ago.

Back then I spent part of a Saturday morning photographing an exemplary plant nursery called Boo For You where we bought a whole wall of bamboo plants last year. Our Bamboo Curtain doesn't look as full as the one below but it's getting there. Why, by his time next year we won't even know if the "People Who Won't Paint Their House" have even changed their minds.

Back to the the Nervous Nellies. The shoot didn't exactly go the way I planned it, there were camera setting flub-ups, and there were guinea fowl instead of the usual elegant peacocks (they were vacationing in LA - Lower Alabama). After I uploaded the photographs I was initially feeling disappointed until I started looking at the pics of the guinea fowl: lots and lots of wide-eyed, shrieking, scurrying, spotted chickens, always running, always honking. And they start young, all the chicks are Chicken Little's in embryo. Or maybe they forgot to take their meds that day? Possibly their morning mediation/yoga session was cancelled? I'm not that scary. Or am I? I see it now, to a guinea fowl I'm an unholy apparition giving them the stink eye.

Finally, one of them settled down only to give me the stink eye right back...or maybe they were just embarrassed that I had noticed that silly jabot?

Mosaic Monday: Nosevember

Note: I forgot to use today's hyperlink so you may have already visited with me on an earlier post. So sorry!

Yes, it's that time of year, Nosevember! The little rabbit snout and mouth is the fruit of an invasive tree, the Chinese Tallow Tree, still, I like it. You can click on the photo to see more details.

Thanks to Miss Mary today is Mosaic Monday. She lives in The Little Red House, knock on her door and take a tour of her amazing home.

You Did That For Me Sunday

Sara Groves' song, "You Did That For Me" moves me each and every time I listen to it, takes all the rough edges off my faith, and humbles me in a way I can't explain.
You can listen to it here.

I don't have to cry anymore
I don't have to worry about what's in store
I've walked that road exhausted and poor
I don't have to cry anymore
And I don't have to know it all
I don't have to be so proud and stand so tall
I climbed that mountain only to fall
I don't have to know it all
You did that for me
Oh, you did that for me
You wore the chains so I could be free
Yeah, yeah
You did that for me
And I don't have to be ashamed
Hang my head or shoulder the blame
Wondering if my life's been in vain
I don't have to be ashamed
Oh, you did that for me
Oh, you did that for me
You wore the chains so I could be free
Yeah, yeah
You did that for me
Man of sorrows
Well acquainted with grief
Drug down to the city dump
Spread eagle on a cross beam
Propped up like a scarecrow
Nailed like a thief
There for all the world to see
You wore the chains so I could be free
Yeah, yeah
You did that for me
You did that for me
You did that for me
You wore the chains so I could be free

Friday 180°: Harvest Moon

I have my own little meme for Sundays and now I've decided to try my hand at a new one that I've been thinking about for a while now, something I call "Friday 180°": two opposing photographs straight across, catty-corner, close together or far apart. These were done a couple of days ago around 6:00 PM.

To the east, at the Pensacola Visitor Information Center, the harvest moon over East Bay.

To the west, traffic had slowed down on the Pensacola Bay Bridge and I saw this sunset over Pensacola Bay.

Me in the middle with my camera.

So, do you have a take on a 180°??

Just Breathe

Taken in the serenity garden at St Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Gulf Breeze.

Toy Story

Some more of Halloween Night at the Seville Diner. I think this here cowboy looks pretty serious, there was a guy in a real cowboy hat sittin' across from him and I don't think he liked the looks of him.

I love this guy's smile, he reminds me of Craig Ferguson or maybe Mel Gibson. It's the grin. Also, I can tell you, he loves his job.

Pensacola Bay Bridge Sunset

If you look just under the bridge, near the middle, you'll see the University of West Florida Anthropology and Archaeology Department's floating dig. They're exploring the Luna wreck off of Emmanuel Point.

Bottom's up!

Display Prominently

The Bomar Twins (whinnying in unison): We don't know, Madge. We work with them and we work with them...

Madge: I know! I know! And after all that they're just such a disappointment.

100 Strangers #16: Ashley, Seville Diner On Halloween Night

Ashley was friendly, sweetly eager to please, and working the late shift at The Seville Diner on Halloween night. We came in just before 1:00 AM and I just fell in love with her green and white striped knee highs and blue polka dot dress.

I used Photo Shop photo merge for this second photo, I just had to show off the colors in her clothing.

Theme Day: Doorways: Hot Cars (100 Strangers #15)

I was trying to decide what to use for theme day when I came across this image, the passenger door of a vintage Mustang. I thought, "Why not?" A picture can open a door to all kinds of memories. For me, seeing this car, it was the 60's, we were living in Puerto Rico, Mustangs were rare and exotic imports, and they were so hot. When I finally got to ride in one I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

While I was photographing the car in front of Bill's Trim Shop I got to meet and chat with one of the shop's owners while he expertly installed a new headliner. He's also the newest addition to my 100 Strangers Challenge, #15.

When I first saw this image I thought the air filter said Edelbrook, then my husband looked at it and said, "Hmmm, Edelbrock." At least I knew it was an air filter.

Did you ever have a hot car? Ever tear it down and put it back together again? Girls, any of you got mad skills?

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Autumn

Evidence of autumn in Northwest Florida is more subtle than you'll find in other places. We have a few deciduous trees who turn to familiar fall colors but mostly you see the changes in the grasses, shrubs, all of the gold and purple wildflowers, ripening fruits like wild persimmons, or in nuts such as the pecans and chestnuts I posted about earlier.

Most of what you see here are unremarkable in and of themselves, until you try to photograph them and then you find out how complex and unyielding they are. Throw all the good glass at them you want, unless you marry it up with the right lighting at the right moment they're not giving up their more subtle aspects. From a photographer's point of view that might be what makes them such beauties.

Photographed in East Milton and Gulf Breeze in Santa Rosa County.

Too Late*

*Addendum: if you're not familiar with chestnuts then this posting may not be for you. Another case of tunnel vision on my part, it was the adventure that matters here. Go here to see what chestnuts really look like.

As soon as we pulled up it was obvious that all the chestnuts had already been gathered up by someone else or eaten by wildlife. All that was left seemed to be smashed hulls and broken, spiny, husks. My dog, Ranger, was especially disappointed, he loves to eat them, gnaws right through the thick skins.

Still, we snuffled around hoping against all hope that we would find something but these miniatures were all we found, sort of like Hershey's chestnut kisses. I'm marking my calendar now for next year.