Timelapse Video of Thunderstorms by Chad Cowan

As usual, I found a great video over on This is Colossal.com that I hope you enjoy just as much as I did. I love the Great Pacific Northwest, but I really, really miss the thunderstorms of the Midwest. Growing up in Michigan, it was one of the best parts of summer, except for when the cable would go out as a result! Chad is on Instagram, and I just started following him, because I don't want to miss out on anything new.

The Human Race

Photo by @paleyphoto (Matthieu Paley). "We hate because we are taught to hate. We hate because we are ignorant. We are the product of ignorant people who have been taught an ignorant thing which is that there are 4 or 5 different races. There are not 4 or 5 races, there is only one race on the face of the earth, and we are all members of this race, the human race. But we have separated people into races so that some of us can see ourselves as superior to the others. Maybe we thought it would work, but it hasn’t... it has been bad for everyone. There is no gene for racism, there is no gene for bigotry. You are not born a bigot, you have to learn to be a bigot. Anything you learn, you can unlearn." Wonderful and clear words by Jane Elliott. In our lives as photographers, we have the incredible luck to frequently be exposed to cultures, beliefs and lifestyles that are often wildly different from our own. I can honestly say that there is nothing more enriching. Happy New Year everyone! @natgeocreative #JaneElliott #discrimination #racism #prejudice #openminded

A photo posted by National Geographic (@natgeo) on Jan 6, 2017 at 5:08am PST

Every day I am upset, angry, frustrated, you name it, with our new president. I am not only all of those things and more with him, but also with the folks who blindly excuse all of his behavior.

I was watching a segment on NBC Nightly News late last week with Gabe Gutierrez interviewing some Trump supporters and asking them what they thought towards the end of his first week in office. The subject came up of the impending Muslim ban, and the response of one woman in particular really made me want to scream. She was talking with an accent that was definitely not native to any region of the U.S., and she was saying that she supported the ban. She went on to state that she didn't want people coming to America and bringing their different cultures. I about fell of my chair!

I am so sick of the people who either directly came from other countries, or whose ancestors came from other countries saying that we should be banning anyone! Just because you or your grandparents got to America before now doesn't mean that you have more 'right' to be here. The only group of people that even remotely have the right to complain about 'foreigners' are Native Americans. I'm wondering if that woman eats tacos, egg rolls, or pizza, because honey, those didn't originate in 'Merica. 

What's happening right now goes against everything this country stands for and has been since it was founded. One week in office and look at the damage he has done.

Today in Brief

The Duplex - November 5 2015

Get Fuzzy - November 8 2015

Savage Chickens - November 6 2015

I haven't been posting as much as normal here on the blog, but have been posting pictures on Instagram several times a week. I'm gearing up for the holiday's and will be making a lot of treats soon so am starting to get organized for that and plot things out. With the time change it's still a little bit of a struggle to get motivated to do some things now that it's dark so early in the evening.

Here are just a few of the many funny comic strips I have been collecting lately.

Happy National Cat Day!

For #throwbackthursday and #nationalcatday I posted this picture of Woody and Boo from March 2014 on Instagram this morning.  Little did I know that he would be gone from this world a few months later. I loved him so much, he was so beautiful, loyal and a big cuddle bug.

August Storm

Sumac Tree behind the house

Yesterday we had a storm come through that is very typical for fall, high winds and rain. It did a lot of damage though, because most trees are under distress because of the hot, dry summer we had, and they still had all their leaves.

I was in the yard late yesterday morning taking care of some branches that had broken on the Snowball Bush out front, and was dragging them to the alley, and was shocked when I got back there and half of the Sumac Tree broke off and was across the alley. I spent several hours in the yard yesterday cleaning up fallen fruit and small branches, now I get to deal with cutting this down to manageable size branches for the rest of the week.

When I went out to get my groceries this morning, I saw leaves and branches down everywhere. The picture below is of the pond at Barkley Village and there were some branches in the pond, but small ones and leaves were littered all around it too.

The pond at Barkley Village

What a blustery day Pooh! I went out and picked up apples and Italian Plums that had fallen overnight before the winds really kicked in to high gear. What a waste of time that was. The backyard is now littered with 3 times as much, and a lot of leaves and small branches to boot. Looking at the chickens next door I can't help but think of The Wizard of Oz.....

A video posted by Momma Maria (@ourladyofsubduedexcitement) on Aug 29, 2015 at 12:50pm PDT

Happy Valentines Day

From Dangerdust

Here are some quotes to honor St. Valentine's Day.

I wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day, single or not. I'm still in the first category, but continue to hope for the best ♥


True love doesn't happen right away; it's an ever-growing process. It develops after you've gone through many ups and downs, when you've suffered together, cried together, laughed together. Ricardo Montalban

Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer. Jean de La Fontaine

The course of true love never did run smooth. William Shakespeare

True love is not a strong, fiery, impetuous passion. It is, on the contrary, an element calm and deep. It looks beyond mere externals, and is attracted by qualities alone. It is wise and discriminating, and its devotion is real and abiding. Ellen G. White

True love is selfless. It is prepared to sacrifice. Sadhu Vaswani

Genuine and true love is so rare that when you encounter it in any form, it's a wonderful thing, to be utterly cherished in whatever form it takes. Gwendoline Christie

True love cannot be found where it does not exist, nor can it be denied where it does. Torquato Tasso

True love stories never have endings. Richard Bach

I love my husband very much. I knew it was real true love because I felt like I could be myself around that person. Your true, true innermost authentic self, the stuff you don't let anyone else see, if you can be that way with that person, I think that that's real love. Idina Menzel

3D Calligraphy by Tolga Girgin

Once again, some amazing art over on Colossal.com yesterday. 3D calligraphy by Turkish graphic designer Tolga Girgin. He has an Instagram account, tolgagirgin99, that I have bookmarked since I'm not on Instagram myself to follow him. I now have 4 Instragram accounts bookmarked on my computer, I'm sure that number is going to continue to grow...

Christoph Niewmann on Colossal.com

As usual, found something pretty cool over on Colossal.com today; a post on artist Christoph Niemann who incorporates real objects with ink drawings to some pretty whimsical results.
Here are a couple of the images, enjoy!