A little tidbit of advise...

Live in such a way that you would not be

ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.

- Will Rogers

Happy Birthday, Daisy!

Miss Daisy is 6 today :-)

I won't be quitting my day job to
move to pet photography...
Just getting this pose took ages and
it reminds me of those early photos when
no one smiled - so stiff.
She is soooo much cuter in reality!!

Who you gonna call??

I guess even the Ghostbusters have to grocery shop...

I spotted the car at Sunflower Market.

It's been a staple of Fort Collins' character for

several years now :-)

What's Going Around the Internet - Calendar Girls!

It doesn't look like this is going to work on the blog  - the pictures just aren't posting consistently :-(


Here's the link...  It really was funny and I hope you enjoy it...
http://pennystockhaven.com/active-penny-stocks/just-4fun-miss-airport-2011-calendar/

What's Up Doc?

Bugs Bunny made his debut
on July 27, 1940
in "A Wild Hare"

Now, he is a Silver Screen Icon

What to do when it rains (and we've had a lot lately)...

- Shel Silverstein

A Rose Doesn't Come Without Thorns...

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds around my neck."
Emma Goldman, 1869 - 1940

Emma was known as the "rebel woman."
Apparently, she was involved in all sorts of inappropriate
conduct for a woman of her time...
Her anarchist viewpoints landed her in jail more than once.
When she got out, she promptly got involved in the campaign
for Women's Suffrage and Birth Control information.
She was all for Free Love - a hippie before its time.
During the Spanish Civil War, she formed a Committee
to Aid Homeless Spanish Women and Children.
I think I would have liked her :-)

See what you learn when you snap a photo of
the rose in your garden and then look for quotes!

Back in My Yard... Again :-)

 Pontentilla
These shrubs are my favorite...
Why?  Because I'm a lazy gardener!
They look great spilling through the railings on the deck.
They bloom most of the summer and come in several colors
(I've got yellow, white and pink.)
They don't seem to care where they are planted
and they don't take a lot of water.
Minimal pruning required -
I "sort of" trim them back once a year.

We All Scream For...

The concept of ice cream has been around for ages.  History buffs will have heard how Nero ordered ice to be brought down from the mountains and mixed with fruit.  Must be nice to be Emperor!

According to some accounts, Charles E. Menches is credited with inventing the actual ice cream cone on July 23, 1904.  Not surprisingly, there are several other claimants to the title...  However, what is interesting, is that all of these men sold confections at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

Not that I care who or when, I'm just happy it's around now!!  It's supposed to be 92 degrees today - eat up before it melts :-)

Neener, neener, neener...

Groomed on Tuesday to Mommy's liking...
Re-perfumed on Friday to Daisy's liking...

Two Awesome Days in a Row!!

It's National Hammock Day!
I'm feeling the need for some Jimmy Buffet tunes,
a beach and an icy cold beverage :-)

This is Brianne and our neighbor, Straten,
Summer 2002...
The Good 'Ol Days!

Ugly Truck Day...

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder,

so is ugly!  

We can just agree to disagree up front...

Today's Runner-Up: 

What the heck happened here??
We all need a patch job once in a while...
however, when one applies make-up,
the idea is to get it to blend.  

Today's Winner Is (drum roll please):

Clearly a rust bucket, but that is not it's crime as
I consider rust to be similar to laugh lines -
shows character and that it's enjoyed life :-)
This truck won because of color...
Baby Blue???  Ugh!!
Man-Up!  There is no testosterone here!

Sign Language

On July 19, 1940
Winston Churchill first used the
two-fingered "V" for Victory...

I'm not sure when "Hang Loose" originated,
but I do know I'm particularly fond of it.
We got this a lot while we were driving around Hawaii :-)
Totally beats the hand sign tourists get in Colorado...

More From My Yard...

The Day Lilies have been in bloom
for just over a week.
These average about 4 feel tall.
I love their happy, bright colors!!

Live Life Fully

Live life fully while you're here. 

Experience everything. 

Take care of yourself and your friends. 

Have fun, be crazy, be weird. 

Go out and screw up! 

You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. 

Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: 

find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. 

Don't try to be perfect; 

just be an excellent example of being human.

 - Anthony Robbins

Adult Truths #14

 I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone
just so I know not to answer when they call...

Not your's, of course!  :-D

Logo Logic

It's Cow Appreciation Day,

which immediately brought this to mind:

Am I easily influenced or do

I just really love their sandwiches?

Shouldn't I have pictured a rural, pastoral

scene with grazing bovines and blue bonnets?

Or...  I could have even come up with

Elsie, The Borden Dairy Cow:

On the upside, 

at least, in honor of the day,

I didn't imagine this:

An All-Time Favorite!!

The black raspberries started to
ripen while we were gone
and I was the first one to find them :-)
Share?  No way!

Secret Garden

My parents have a very 

whimsical vegetable and flower garden 

in which they spend a lot of time...

Among the radishes and tomatoes, one may find

fairies, gnomes, and hummingbirds

dancing around the many globes.

Quite a happy site to see!

We're Stylin'

Mother and Daughter Fashion Sense??

The Things She Sees...

I love Brianne's eye for photography!  Here's a couple interesting shots
most of us wouldn't have thought to notice at a bike race :-)

More from 40 in the Fort...

Two riders just finishing the first loop.

You can see the jump track and a portion of
Horsetooth Reservoir behind these riders.

Doug just heading out to
start the second loop.

Starting back up the hill for the second round...

All of today's photos taken by Brianne :-)

40 in the Fort

40 in the Fort is a mountain bike race

consisting of two twenty-mile loops up and around

Lory State Park and Horsetooth Reservoir...

It's a difficult ride with some ugly climbs and 

a couple of places you have to hike your bike.

This is Doug finishing the first loop -

he looked way less energetic after the 2nd.

Brianne took all of today's photos :-)

There's Some Blue

The only spot of blue sky right now 

is right over my house :-)

Tomato Plant Progress

I just noticed the first blooms today :-)

What a difference a month makes!
This is the same pear tomato plant that was
so severely damaged from the June 9 hail storm.
(June 10 Blog)

Best Holiday Ever!!

July 7th is Chocolate Day!!

You know how to celebrate :-)

Trivia:  Chocolate is a vegie - it comes from

the cacao tree found in rain forests.

I Love Fireworks!

I am so delighted that our neighborhood and the surrounding area

has so many 4th of July Holiday Pyro Maniacs!

Why crowd your way into City Park with 60,000 other people

when you can walk across the street, set up your lawn chair,

and gaze across the local park to find a varied display of

holiday festivities including fountains, sparklers, 

crackers and some high fliers... 

Not that we could see the revelers - 

I'm just happy they shared :-)

We Declare Our Independence

I wish some of these men were still around today...

For a complete text:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

July 3rd is Compliment Your Mirror Day

My, my - don't you look absolutely marvelous today!  Stunning smile :-D

Ugh, wait!  What's that in your teeth??  Time for a new color job - look at all that gray! When did you buy that shirt?  1983?

On second, thought, just a quick glance ought to do it...

Hidden Treasure

I love this area of Denver - just look at the treasure found under Spear Boulevard.  If you look closely, the people represent Colorado's diversity and their glasses reflect different times and activities.

Mud Swallows

Brianne and I were walking under this Spear Boulevard
bridge when I noticed "evidence" on the
railings and ground of birds abiding above...
We looked up and there were
a dozen or so mud swallow nests.

Just about the time I tell Brianne that the babies
should all be gone, we heard chirping :-)
We stopped for photographs and one momma
came swooping down - apparently, she
didn't appreciate us and much as we appreciated her...