Sylvia's Simple Shots

I decided to visit a different park on Sunday for a change of scenery.  I had to dress for a bit of coolness but it was a good day out.  

As you can see though the sun did not cooperate very well.   It tried but did not succeed in getting very bright.

After 2 hours out and as I arrived back home it finally shone but that was too late for me.

I loved the silhouette of the tree branches against the bright spot, looking up in mid afternoon. 

 

 

 

I finished this book in a late night reading session on Friday night.  I just needed to know how it ended.  Who had done the deed?

A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks was good and suspenseful.  Sarah as moved back to be near her family.  Miles Ryan is the local sheriff who lost his wife a couple of years ago and is raising his young son, Jonah.  Sarah is Jonah's teacher. 

With the son in common they spend time together over the schooling and a relationship grows.  Miles wants to know who killed his wife on a rainy night as she was jogging along the road.

The ending is very surprising and redemptive for all concerned.

Out of the 5 basil seeds I planted in this pot I have 1 tiny plant.  There was another but the seed casing was stuck on the top and it eventually just died.

I am watering, spritzing and provide light with a grow bulb in hopes of being able to harvest basil for my cooking sometime this summer.

It takes a lot of patience and attention to have plants thrive.

That little red mark is the only evidence of my first COVID Vaccine shot.

I had a sore arm for a couple of days but that was all.  I am very grateful as I hear some people have been ill following their shot.

Looking forward to the day we are all protected.

 

Here's a few more shots from the park I visited on Sunday.  A beautiful sculpture.

Vaulted Willow, a permanent aluminum sculpture by Mark Fornes, the pavillion is clad in mirrored triangles which is very cool, and there are several benches.  I loved the color of this yellow one.

Check out these thorns!  Wicked looking and very sharp.  These are on the Japanese Barberry bush.  It is helpful at this time of year to clearly see them.  During the summer when in full leaf they are harder to spot.

Still one of my favorite park bush always provides  great photos.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #124 

and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #282.

 

 

 

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays this week was awards. 

 

I was pretty stumped as what to photograph staying within the 3in limit.  After some rummaging in boxes I have not opened in a long while I found my high school grad ring. It needed a bit of polishing and the photo turned out alright.

You can check my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) to see what other challenges I have been participating in.

Have a great week!

Recent Snapshots

I jumped into the growing stuff this year as someone was offering small yellow pear tomato plants for a good price.  My mom grows hers I thought I could too.
It involved a big pot, a lot of soil, sticks to brace the plants and water every day.  I bought these plants on May 29th.  It's been 2.5 months and I have yet to eat a tomato.  I'm not sure I will.  I probably have 20 little ones on the 2 plants but they seem to be at a stand still.
I understand from gardeners my problem is that I don't have enough sunlight on my balcony to grow almost anything.  I was hoping to have cutting flowers for vases next year for my table but not enough light.  Does anyone know of cutting flowers I can grow with east light please leave me a comment.

I picked chokecherries early last  week but it was too soon.  I had to pick around the red ones and only choose the ripe ones. Not great time. Good thing I only pick a little bit.

I will have to try again soon.

I spent 3 days with Mom and Dad last week.  I was there to take them to medical appointments but I picked raspberries too and did a bit of packing.

My Mom has a wonderful raspberry patch.  The raspberries are big and luscious.  It's easy to pick because Mom always has managed her patch in the off season to tie up the canes, get rid of the extra canes to keep the patch no too crowded.

Unfortunately, this year is the last year for picking raspberries in that patch as they are moving to town someone else will own the patch next year.  SAD!!

This is the best shot I got of the hummingbird at Mom's feeder.  They move so fast.

It was getting late and the light was fading which did not help.

They have a feeder in the yard as well where I have captured some good photos over the years.





 
I took this photo of a key for a challenge on one of my Flickr groups. The challenge was high key which I did not know much about.  I managed to learn a bit about it through the group then took this shot.  The objective is white background, well lit object and no shadow if possible. I am happy with this one.  You can find my photo stream here.

 This is the end result of a visit to hospital emergency at the end of July. I was out taking photos of my tomatoes around 9:00 pm.  Shortly thereafter I noticed a burning sensation and a swelling finger.  It is my ring finger on my right hand.  I soaked it in cold water and tried the butter solution to try and get the ring off.  No luck!  At 10:10 pm I made the decision that I needed to go to the hospital. 
After waiting hours, I finally saw a doctor in the wee hours of the morning.  They tried several tricks to get the ring off with no success so I made the decision to have the ring cut off.  This is my college grad ring which has been the best. I bought the hard metal option and it has not misshapen over the 25 years I have worn it.  The hospital staff used the standard cutting tools to try and remove it. After 45 minutes of trying to cut it with the standard tool and making some progress the nurse headed off to find a better option. I don't know what it was but it was very effective. We cut it right down the center at bottom of the base but we could not spread the ring at all.  So it took 2 more cuts leaving the ring in three pieces but my finger is alright.
I'm not sure what bit me but did it have to be the ring finger?

I have to say I don't know what the lesson is but I am a minimalist in jewelry and only wear a few good pieces all the time.  I'm not sure where I am going from here but I miss my ring.

Sharing at Through My Lens #107 hosted by Mersad.
Share Your Cup #260 hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson