Life is a highway

I've always wanted to drive whatever is left of Route 66. Probably should put that on my bucket list. [photo via Harry Hunsicker]



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Last days of summer

Don't really see these in the south but for all the years I lived in the Northeast, the Black-eyed Susans signaled the end of summer. These are in the peace garden in Minneapolis. Photo by my friend Andy.



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Maeve's magic garden

Maeve's feeders bring all the hummingbirds to her yard. This appears to be a baby.



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The future from the past

Futurists have been promising me a flying car all my life. Sorry this one didn't get off the ground. A flying car The Convair Model 118, a prototype which unfortunately never made it into mass production, 1947. [photo via Historical Pics]



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In my secret garden

Moonflowers are one of my all time favorites. They bloom at night and have such a lovely scent. I always grew them near my bedroom window.



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How does my garden grow

If I ever get that perennial garden, I will surely grow iris. I like the big fancy ones but I've always liked these little wild ones the best. [photo via The Garden Oracle]



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Falling water

My friend on facebook took this photo of a peace garden in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pretty place.



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Scenes from my past - Part eighteen

I've been hanging out on this hometown nostalgia page on Facebook. It's brought up a lot of old memories of my childhood. For some reason it sparked a reverie about candy. Don't eat candy anymore but I had a huge sweet tooth as a kid. For a while I was really into Turkish Taffy. It's actually an awful candy but I liked the whole smack it and crack it thing. And their commercials had a great jingle. Don't actually remember this first commercial but the jingle at the end is the original one I remember. And there's great footage of Coney Island in its glory days.


I remember seeing this one on the TV with the new jingle. It explains the smack and crack.



Surprisingly, Bonomo is still in business and somebody is still eating that inedible stuff.

A butterfly in the hand

My friend Maeve is now handraising butterflies. They apparently love her.



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Namaste

The internets are agitated today. Seems like a good time for another lotus blossom. [Birgit.Juergen Pictures]



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Inner beauty

This is very cool. It was hard to choose which photo to use from the gallery but I finally settled on this xray of poppies and a pitcher plant. [Yahoo photo, more at link]



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Scenes from my past -- Part seventeen

Been a while since I've added to this series. This is one from my more recent past when I lived in lovely downtown Noho. This photo was taken on a path that was literally a ten minute walk (or less) from the downtown, depending on where you started from. I didn't take this photo but I've walked that path many times. I know exactly where the photo was taken. Morning in the Meadows, Northampton, MA. [George Lenker photo]



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How does your garden grow

Love the colors and the angle on this shot of an allium in the garden. [photo via The Garden Oracle]



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Pretty little waders all in a row

Don't usually post the cute baby animal pictures because there's just so many on the internets but this one just caught my eye. Something about it is so charming. Cygnets on the water. [Back to Earth - Artworks photo]



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By the sea

My friend Pam lives near the sea. She's an amazing wildlife photographer, particularly good with birds. She captures one of my favorites on a recent outing. A late afternoon egret at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. [Pam Leavey photo]



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If wishes were horses...

I would have ridden up on my trusty steed to watch the Perseid meteor shower at Stonehenge. [via The Guardian photo gallery]



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The magic garden

Another butterfly in my friend Maeve's garden.



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A little house in the woods

Yet another place to put on my travel bucket list. This forest cottage in Efteling, Holland. [photo via The Oakwheel]



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Everytime we say goodbye

A hand drawn goodbye card for a departing employee at Persephone Books. The backstory is charming.



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Do you love butter?

I suppose kids don't so this anymore, but when I was young it was rite of summer to hold a buttercup under your friend's chin to check and see how much they loved butter. If there was yellow reflection, it meant you did love it. Of course, I don't recall anyone every failing the test. Also, ladybugs are the only insects that don't freak me out. [photo via Soulful Nature]



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Summer fun

My one and only attempt at waterskis was a disaster. I never got up on my feet. But I always liked watching the kids at the Oxbow marina who were really good at it. They looked a lot like this poster.



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In my dream garden...

I never get tired of looking at lotus flowers. If I ever get a dream house of my own, I will surely have a lotus garden. [photo via Robert MacCollum]



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One more place for the bucket list

I've never heard of this place before but it totally fits into my dream of walking around Great Britain someday.



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Magic garden

More from Maeve's garden. Her flowers also bring all the butterflies to her yard.



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Save the bees

My friend Maeve has been living in the same place for many years. Her back yard isn't all that huge, but the whole thing is a gorgeous garden. Her sunflowers bring all the bees to her yard.



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Shades of the past and future present

Well I'm back online at last. Going to take a little while yet to get this new computer set up and for me to learn the new OS, but regular posting should resume soon.

So to start us off, this is my former neighbor Geoff Lagadec of Jaya the Cat at Sozopol Beach, Bulgaria. He lived upstairs from me for a few years while I was in lovely downtown Northampton. The band used to practice at all hours of the day and night. They weren't that great when they started out but apparently they improved over the years. They moved to Amsterdam and became a very successful group. They tour all over Europe all the time. And yes, they were named after their actual pet cat. She was a beauty.

Addendum: Just remembered I was there when he got the first cuff on his upper arm. It was somewhat gruesome. 



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