Contest Deadline Reminder

Don't forget--the deadline for entering the 100th Post contest is tomorrow, Feb. 28. Get those entries in.

December Sundog

I found a couple of photos that we took of the sundog we saw in December when we went to the Christmas tree farm to pick out a tree. The photo quality is not great and the sundog was a small one, but you can see it right in the center of the photo with the sun creating the bright blur in the upper left corner.



Here's another with the sundog in the upper left corner. My daughter and her friend are shielding their eyes from the sun in order to look at the sundog. Looks like they are saluting it.






We got some photos of another sundog yesterday afternoon on the way back from Scottsboro, Alabama. I hope to get those posted soon.

Contest Extended

I have decided to extend the deadline for entering my 100th Post Contest to February 28 in order to try to get a few more entrants. Okay, come on, y'all, get those comments in. You know you want to win a delightful mystery prize made by yours truly. I still haven't decided what it will be, but there's a good chance it might be a lovely creation like the lady in the photo above is wearing.

A Moment of Silence 2/12/10

Please use this as a moment of silence to think about the tragedy that occurred here today (2/12/10) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.



(photo made at Destin, FL 10/09)

Celebrating 100th Post Contest!!!

I finally got there! One hundred posts!!

In celebration of my 100th post, I have decided to have a little contest--you know the type--I will have a drawing of all the people who leave comments on my 100th post and the winner will receive a wonderful gift handmade by. . .ta da. . .me!! I don't know what the prize will be yet. Most likely it will be something I will knit, possibly from some of my handspun yarn. If you are a knitter or crocheter, you might get some handspun yarn. It could be something I make from papier mache or handmade paper. Or maybe something I decide to sew up--maybe a knitting needle case, tote bag, duffle bag, book cover, or who knows what. Then there are also various beaded possibilities--bracelet, earrings, etc. Considering the previous post, it might be an 18-month old Labrador instead of something handmade.

Due to the high volume of comments that I usually receive [a little humor, there], the deadline for entering/commenting will be two weeks from today, 23 February, 2010, unless I need to extend it due to the number of responses. There is no restriction on the number of times you may post comments--just keep them polite. I will draw from the total number of comments submitted to the 100th post, so you will get one entry for each comment. For those of you who have emailed me in the past about not being able to post comments due to problems with Blogger, you can email your comment(s) to the address below. The winner will be announced here in the blog and will be contacted for mailing information.

The mystery gift will be sent to the winner when it is completed--hopefully before the spring thaw.

Just remember that this is post 101, so comment on the 100th post, not this one, in order to be entered in the drawing.

Questions? Email me at artinthewind@gmail.com.

100th Post !!!

My day has gotten off to a great start--rain, puddles of water 2 inches deep in the backyard, and I have to get the dog in because it wasn't raining when John put her on the tie-out after her morning walk. This is part of the morning ritual so she can play a little and bark at squirrels, weather permitting. In good weather, she gets to stay out all day. On days like this, I get the honor of bringing Miss Dixie back into the shelter of her kennel in the garage before the weather gets nasty. Remember, she's an inveterate chewer and cannot be left unrestrained. This is supposed to improve with age, but I'm thinking it must mean increase rather than decrease.

I'd had to leave the house earlier on an errand before it really started raining. By the time I'm back home, it's raining, so I head out back to retrieve the retriever. Trying to avoid the puddles, I manage to step in the muddy hole she's dug at the edge of the patio, slip, fall on my backside, and slide across the concrete, right into the Delighted Dixie.

I can't get up because I have 85 pounds of gloriously happy, wet, muddy Labrador all over me. The wet concrete patio is slick and she's not doing anything to make it easy for me to get up. Each time I almost get my footing, I either slip on the muddy concrete or get knocked back down by the dog. She's just so happy that I have come to play with her in the rain that you can forget any obedience training she's had. Forget "Sit!" Forget "Down!" Forget "No!" Even pushing her and yelling, "Get off me, dammit!" didn't help. Finally getting free of her, I manage to get up and get her into the garage.

Muddy clothes are now in the washer; I'm sore, scraped, have been pawed and licked from head to toe by a wet, muddy Dixie; and I'm not a happy camper. I'm getting in the shower, then taking about 800 mg of ibuprofen, and lying down to take a long winter's nap.

Do Not Disturb.

Picture Funnies

My son just scanned some old photos for me. This one is from the summer of 1968 when I lived in Washington, DC with my older sister, Patricia, and brother-in-law, Rob. He and I took a Congressional tour of the White House. This was made as I came out of the building at the end of the tour. Gee, we really used to dress up to do sightseeing.










Now, here are some 1969 McEwen High School Senior lovelies all dressed up in their formals. I'm the rather wide-eyed one on the far left. Love those hairstyles. And the gloves. And the dresses.

98 Posts

I just noticed that yesterday's post was number 97 and got to thinking that I'll bet I forget to pay any attention to my 100th post and fail to do anything in celebration of it, just like I neglected my 1st anniversary of blogging last April--and will probably forget the 2nd anniversary this year. I'm not good at keeping up day-to-day postings. Sometimes I don't post anything for quite a while. It just depends on what is going on in my world and whether I want to take the time to sit down and write about it. I've found blogging to be a great deal of fun, but much more time-consuming than I expected. I made no New Year's resolution to post daily. However, hardly a day goes by that I don't read at least a few of the blogs I follow. A couple of family members have been encouraging me to get involved with Facebook or Twitter, but I'm not sure I want to commit to the time--since I do so well at keeping this up-to-date. At any rate, I can say that I enjoy blogging and have learned a great deal from both the experience of doing it and through reading other blogs.

Meet Bo

This is Bo. He is a five-month old Shih Tzu puppy who belongs to our youngest son's girlfriend. When this photo was made in December, Bo was about three months old. He is a frequent visitor, so we feel like he is one of the family. Looking at this face, I think maybe a Shih Tzu pup could have been the inspiration for George Lucas for his Ewok folk on the planet Endor.







He was tiny when they got him in October.





















Even in December, he was still pretty small.






















Here he was last week hanging out in one of the bunny playpens during a visit. He's really growing.































I think he and Dixie will learn to play together, but at the present time, she is a little too big and goofy and forgetful of her manners to be a suitable playmate.

Backyard Birding

While passing the time out in the backyard today, I spotted a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (love that name!) on the pecan tree. I wasn't able to get any good shots with the cell phone, so I've borrowed a couple from Photobucket.





suecan_1947 http://http://media.photobucket.com/image/yellow-bellied



Back view

adatec http://http://media.photobucket.com/image/yellow-bellied%20sapsucker/adatec/PicMaculPPN-1.jpg?o=25



The Woodpecker Diner

This is one of our pecan trees that is host to dining woodpeckers. You can see all the little holes running horizontally around the trunk where they have drilled to get insects and sap.

I also spotted a pair of brown thrashers and a cardinal enjoying the leaves and berries. Again, I wasn't able to photograph them. They are too quick for me.











Thrashers: Aegolius
Cardinal: vabeh87
Photobucket.com