A Giveaway!

I'm going to do something different and have a little giveaway! I've seen this done on other blogs, and I always think it's fun to have a chance to win something.

Everyone who leaves a comment on this post (sorry, email doesn't count) will be signed up for a chance to win a free 5x7 print of your choice of any photo posted on my blog. You have until midnight Saturday night, October 4th, to sign up. I will announce the winner, selected by random.org, sometime on Sunday. Family members are eligible.

I probably know the majority of people who view my blog, but if by chance I don't know you, be sure to leave a link or email address in your comment where I can contact you in case you win!

Also, if for some reason you are unable to post a comment, then email me via the link in the righthand column and let me know. I'll help you figure out how to get a comment posted.

Good luck!

The lovely monarch

This monarch butterfly landed on my hibiscus plant on the deck. I think it did a pretty nice job of posing for me.

Poll Results

The results of the poll "How often do you wash/clean the exterior of your vehicle?" are as follows:

• More than once a week (0 votes)
• Once a week (1 vote)
• 2-3 times per month (0 votes)
• Once a month (0 votes)
• Every few months (5 votes)
• About once or twice a year (2 votes)
• Never (0 votes)

These results made me feel better. I used to wash our car fairly often, but these days it's rare. I'm glad to see I'm in good company. ;-)

Thanks to all who took the time to vote!

Stop and smell the rose

This little video's a rose in itself... to "Gwamma", at least!

On my basement window...

... are these lovely tracks. I don't know what they are, but they must be either woodchuck or raccoon. I've seen a woodchuck around here a few times lately, and we always have raccoons. They appear to both be from the same foot. I guess the other foot wasn't muddy and didn't leave tracks as whatever it was peeked in my window.

I've searched and found images of both kinds of tracks. I'm leaning toward saying they're woodchuck tracks, except that those I've seen pics of have only 4 toes on the front foot. These tracks below have a faint 5th toeprint. Yet 'coon toeprints are usually longer.

Help me out here, all you tracking hunters! What are they???

Update: So far I have one educated guess for raccoon. Anybody else?

Another update: I haven't received any more guesses, educated or otherwise, so I'm going to conclude that these are raccoon tracks, based on having read that woodchucks have only 4 toes on their front feet. Maybe this was a young 'coon, thus the shorter toes. I'm still open to correction, however. :-)

The walk, part 5

Let's get this walk finished up here. :-)

Such pretty colors......

This concludes our walk. Thanks for coming along! Let's do another one when the fall colors REALLY come out. (If the no-see-ums and oriental beetles aren't too thick.)

The Daily Motivator

Hopefully by now you've noticed the little "Thought for the day..." over in my left column. (Yeah, I know it doesn't quite fit. My columns are too narrow.) I just wanted to mention it because I think The Daily Motivator is a very inspirational website. I've been reading it every day (except Sundays, when there isn't a new reading) for years, and I never fail to gain something from it. Give it a try... just click on the "Thought", and it will take you to the website where you can read the whole message. Each message is short, but it says a lot.

(No, I'm not getting anything for having that on my blog. I just think it's so good that I want to share it.)

A pillow

Several weeks ago, Jess designed some ribbons. She sent me samples of each, so here's my first project using one of them. It's a little pillow for Courtney to sleep on or play with or whatever.

I think she likes it!

I have another project in mind for one of the other ribbons. Yeah, it just might be for Courtney, too. ;-) I'll show you when it's done.

The walk, part 4

Minnesota's prairie grasses, etc.....

To be continued......

(Kinda boring? If so, just look at some Courtney video reruns. ;-) )

Grandpa!

This poor little girl needs a sandbox!

Or ... maybe not. She sure seems to be having fun digging in the huge anthill behind my flower barrel. You'd think she'd found a wonderful treasure! ;-)

(This video was from this afternoon. I just couldn't resist posting it already... preempting other stuff again. ;-) )

A new bather

I had a new bird taking a bath yesterday. In fact, it's the first bird I've seen at the bath in weeks. Maybe there's been enough dew on the grass in the mornings to quench the birds' thirsts? Anyway, this bird was enjoying itself... took a bath, left, then returned twice more to bathe again... all in a matter of minutes.

As near as I can tell, it's an eastern phoebe, which according to my bird book, isn't very common around here. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me! (Dale?)

I took the photos from across the deck, across the living room, and halfway across the kitchen... maybe about 25 feet or so. :-)

Note added later in the day: Today I saw the house finch in the bath again for the first time in ages! Must be that time of year, huh?

Grandma's little gardener, part 4

As you can see, she still loves dirt!

And this concludes our little gardener series... until she does some more gardening, at least. ;-)

Poll Results

The results of the poll 'Do you change the direction of the toilet paper roll if someone else has installed it "wrong"?' are as follows:

• Yes, but only in my house (4 votes)
• Yes, at other places, too (3 votes)
• No, I don't do that (1 vote)
• I don't use toilet paper (0 votes)

Looks like we have some toilet paper changers amongst us! I'm glad, at least, that there were no votes for the last answer. ;-)

Thanks for voting!

The walk and a hawk

The walk, part 3...

To be continued......

Yesterday morning I happened to see a hawk land on the clothesline pole out behind our house. So of course I grabbed the camera and got a few shots as it posed so nicely.

And then it was gracious enough to fly to the nearer pole and pose for a font view!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcast...

... to bring an important message for all rock collectors! Because this message is so significant, Grandma G has decided to postpone the continuing episodes of "Grandma's Little Gardener" and "The Walk" and instead bring you these two videos as a public service. Regularly scheduled broadcasts will resume in their entirety tomorrow and the days thereafter.

When collecting rocks, it is extremely important that you not put too many in your pockets!

Here's why:

Here she is pointing out the contents of ONE pocket:

We hope all rock collectors will learn from her mistake. Thanks for sharing, Courtney!

The walk, part 2

More hints of fall....

To be continued......

Grandma's little gardener, part 3

As you can hear, flowers excite her. ("Yeehaw", Daddy?) :-)

Boy, that amaryllis leaf broke off easily. Looks to me like it had a very weak spot there. No doubt my little gardener is telling me it has a problem (a "boo-boo?").

The walk, part 1

A friend and I went for a long walk on a bike trail yesterday. It was a beautiful day, and the scenery was lovely, too. I thought you might like to join us via the photos.

Those white things on the water in the distance (above) are, I think, swans. I did have binoculars along, but still couldn't see them very well.

Yep, the fall colors have begun, although so far there are only little hints here and there.

To be continued.......

Grandma's little gardener, part 2

Here she is again, trying to decide which color moss rose is the best.

Maybe these stones look more interesting, though.

But best of all is still the little green tomato!

Grandma likes the multi-colored moss roses!