Sunday, November 11, 2007

November carries a beauty all of it's own... as I walk outdoors I notice the shift of lighting. The lake seems bluer – must be the contrast of the bright yellow leaves of the cottonwood trees in the foreground. Each leaf seems punched out crisply as they flutter precariously at the ends of each branch. The branches themselves give them up reluctantly – but when they do, the leaves dance away on the sharp, biting wind. They caper in the draughts as if they're playing to a conductor's wand as he directs a dramatic piece of music.


They settle in a golden layer, covering the green grass beneath. Once the ground begins to claim them, they start to fade to brown, in spots and splashes until eventually they're merely spidery brown skeletons upon a soggy stem. And then, they're nature's porrige – nutrients and a protection for the grass to be fed upon when spring is ushered in the following year.








On the trails I find an intriguing micro-world has come to life! What appears the eye as a blanket of mouldering brown fodder is suddenly tranformed to a three-dimentional mushroomscape! Due to the large mass their 'lids' hold, they simply lift whatever's on the roof when their stems push upward. The result is a canopy of leaves, grass and even gravel, ground – just off the ground. Its almost like a trick of the eye – only the persistant and patient eye gains the reward!




So this is part of the beauty that November has for me. Stay tuned for more!


Words of Wisdom I've read today:


Deuteronomy 32



1 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;

hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.


2 Let my teaching fall like rain

and my words descend like dew,

like showers on new grass,

like abundant rain on tender plants.


3 I will proclaim the name of the LORD.

Oh, praise the greatness of our God!


4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect,

and all his ways are just.

A faithful God who does no wrong,

upright and just is he.



*****

I hope you enjoy this fall poem which came to my attention recently:



My father was first to hear

The passage of geese each fall,

Passing above the house so near

He'd hear within his heart their call.


And then at breakfast time he'd say:

“The geese were heading south last night,”

For he'd lain awake till day,

Feeling his earthbound soul take flight.


Knowing that winter's wind comes soon

After rushing off those wings,

Seeing them pass before the moon,

Recalling the lure of far off things.


Richard Peck



*****

My brother Barry (see my Sis-in-Law's blog) sent me these thoughts to ponder...


Only in America do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.


Only in America ......do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke.


Only in America do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.


Only in America ......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.


Only in America do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.


Only in America ......do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.


Only in America ... .do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.


EVER WONDER ....


Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin ?


Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?


Why don't you ever see the headline 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?


Why is 'abbreviated' such a long word?


Why is it that doctors call what they do 'practice'?


Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?


Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?


Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?


Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?


Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?


Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?


You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!


Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?


Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?


If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?






Barb's Rope Camping Elements

download



These are the last of the REQUESTS for rope elements I've recieved... please, leave a comment if you have a rope-y request, I'm game!




Barb's Handy Tip #314

Transform Pixel to Vector – online!


Wow – handy little site I must say! This would be of good use for some of you scrapbookers, in particular!


This site converts bitmap images to vector art - it's an online auto-tracer. Just upload your image and we will vectorize it for you. Vector art is useful because it allows you to scale an image without making it blurry or pixelated. Vectorization (aka tracing) is the process of converting a raster image to a vector image. Raster images are pixel-based, whereas vector images are represented by geometric shapes such as lines, circles and curves. The site is currently tuned for tracing logos and photos.


Input: JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF

Output: EPS, SVG, PNG



(click words for some...)



17 comments:

  1. Welcome back Barb! Lovely to see the "old" you is back :) Loved your blog entry - wonderful prose on nature, and "Only in America..." sooooo funny. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great link to the vector website and nice post with the poems and the contradictory things. LOL

    Thanks so much for everything and best wishes. :O)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Barb! ((hugs)) Long time no talk...I cannot believe that we are still battling this stupid virus. Nick now has a sinus infection and I am back to the doctor later this afternoon! *sigh* Outside of that we are all doing good. Miss ya bunches!! Hope we can catch up soon! Nick told me to tell Barb hi!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your rope creativity. We have boys that love all of these things. We go camping each summer for one son's birthday as our family vacation. I am so excited about scrapping with these elements.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My dearest dearest Barb-
    Oh girl just read your comments- and first off- THANK YOU- and second- UHUM wait for it-LOL
    You have NEVER EVER OFFENDED ME at any time! Goodness gracious me- if I didn't hear the comments about Wayne *in his David costume* that you put there I would have thought the aliens had abducted you and left an impersonator in your place-LOL!
    I love you for who you are- an inspiration and a woman who isn't scared to talk and say what she believes in! I've ALWAYS just said what comes into my head or what is on my mind at the time-LOL, and yup, sometimes it get's me into trouble but it's who I am and I won't try and be something different- I can't stand 'false' people- what makes them better than you or me? We all have different backgrounds and we all live to what makes us happy inside and out- I love to live- I love my friends and my family to death and will stand up for them if they are hurt!
    EEERGGGH - LOL, this is a book again-
    I was brought up in a Christian home and have a sister that is just like you- and I think that's why you bring a little 'home and warmth' to my heart- I love the bible verses and the poems and your amazing insight- it reminds me that my 'spiritual' self also needs to be 'cherished' and re-worked!
    Oh gee's- LOL- I'm getting deep here- but all I want to say is-
    LOVE YA
    Me

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you so much for the camping words that I asked for! I absolutely love these elements as they are so different and unique! Any chance that you could come up with the outline of a 5th wheel RV and pick-up truck? If not, many thanks for what you have already made!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good Morning Barb:)
    I'm back!:) Just wanted to thank you for coming to see me...let me know when you start thinking about Christmas.LOL I have to do it early or I will never get it done before.:)
    I love your Photos..I have seen things I never saw before.:) We have lady bugs all around the house right now.There are certain times of the year they love to come around and this must be the time...wonder if they will hold still long enough for me to take a pic.If I can get them to say 'cheese" I will be in it for the money.LOL I must be getting hungry again.:)
    Jim(DH) will most likely love that vector site.I will have to show it to him when he gets in from work.Thanks for the link and letting me know about it.:)
    Love your poems etc you have on here today.I have seen some but not all before ..they are good ones.:)I have wanted to know those things too.LOL I would have swatted those two mosquitoes and been told to go back for more.LOL

    Have a wonderful rest of the day!1

    Hugs,
    Valinda

    ReplyDelete
  8. another awesome ...lifting, loving filled day with my sis Barb ..thanks for sharing and being so really ...love girl....and ya a fifth wheel rope element ..sounds good to me

    ReplyDelete
  9. another awesome ...lifting, loving filled day with my sis Barb ..thanks for sharing and being so really ...love girl....and ya a fifth wheel rope element ..sounds good to me

    ReplyDelete
  10. Absolutely WONDERFUL reading your lovely words!! GREAT blog and so much fun with the Only in America lol
    i LOVE the rope element and thank you so much for sharing your AWESOME talent! Have a BEAUTIFUL day! You sure help make mine! Thanks :D hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good Evening Barb:)
    Just wanted to stop by and say Hi.:) We got some shopping done today..Not a lot.I got my Grand daughters a few things..and DS and DIL a present.I can't tell you what they are cause my DIL does scrappin too some times.:)
    Jim just asked me if I knew what time it is.That means it's bed time.Must be after eleven.LOL Catch you later ..hugs and squeezies:)

    Valinda

    ReplyDelete
  12. Testing...I typed up a very nice comment for you and then got an error when posting...ugg!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Barb, trying to leave a comment/thanks but I keep getting an error. Maybe it will work on this post?!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow, I am really amazed and touched not just by your artwork, but also with the sensitivity of your words. While I was browsing thru your past creations, most of your previous works download link don't work. This is such a big loss to me. Would you please advise me how I can download your past creations? Thanking you here in advance.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh my! I wish I could remember what I wrote yesterday.....I was wondering if it would go through or not anyway....but it was so well put....figures.....but it was just a total praising God for you and for what you do on this blog....and how I know you have blessed so many people..and wish I had more time to come here and read....your writing about fall in this post is an indication of your writing talent....and I just don't know how you are able to continue coming up with such great stuff for your posts...you are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Barb - Just me again *LOL* Just stopping in to say hello!! Hope everything is going well with you and Miles! (((hugs))

    ReplyDelete
  17. Always interesting! Thanks for the freebie! :)

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are a blessing to me!

Total Pageviews

Popular Posts