California Dreamin

"All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.
I've been for a walk on a winter's day..."

This day I decided to literally walk around the block. Our house is just three in from the street that comes into our housing tract. So I headed out to walk the backside of the block first.

These tiny red berries, hidden deep in the brush, jumped right out at me from the field of brown.

Not far off was a few dried seed pods swayed in the rather brisk wind. Now past the church and turn the corner into the commercial district.

The back side of our block is mainly field, the opposite side of the street is home to a number of businesses. Here I couldn't resist the beauty of the sky reflected in the long pane of windows. {Smiles real big} The leaves may all be brown but the sky is not grey!

Oh yes, winter is practically upon us and brown has become a common color, but there is still a bit of green scattered across the landscape. As you can see by this next shot the sky was not grey but absolutely gorgeous!

Here I am standing at the back top corner of our block. Yes those houses mark the top end of our block. Our house sits quite a ways down from this end and is out of the photo. By this point I was both energized and getting a bit short of breath. The wind at the top of the hill here was stronger than when I started out and of course silly me forgot to wear anything to protect my ears. I was happy to turn the corner and take advantage of the houses to block a bit of the wind.

In between the houses I caught a glimpse of red at the back of one of the industrial buildings I had passed earlier. So, of course I zoomed in and captured this sweet little red bug.

There are a number of classic cars in our neighborhood. I have to say some of our neighbors have excellent taste when it comes to vintage cars. I have to admit though I wonder about some of their landscaping and exterior decorating. Not sure if this house was suppose to be mustard yellow {grimaces} but it is much closer to pumpkin orange, and oh boy does it stand out! {wonder what the neighbors on either side and across the street think}. On occassion I have thought it wasn't too bad, then they put that red trailer in the drive way and I gagged! But on a good note, their grass is still sorta green!

"...I'd be safe and warm if I was in L.A.;
California dreamin' on such a winter's day."

Rapid City South Dakota is a far cry from where I grew up in California. While I do occasionally long for the mild temperatures, the ocean and the mountains of California, I certainly don't miss the crime and traffic. I use to say I was a country girl, born and raised in the big city. But I wonder maybe I am city girl at heart, for while I love the openness of the country I miss the adventures of the city. How about you, country life or city life, which do you prefer?

Linking up with:

FF: Hmmmm....

To start my fragments off I want to share the link to this really awesome photography project I saw earlier this week. Please click the following link and watch the video, it shows how a New York photograph is capturing humanity one moment at a time. This is such an Awesome video and project! It looks like so much fun, I would love to do something like this.

Hit a slight snag earlier this week when I experienced another TIA. At least this one wasn't as bad as the one I had five years ago, but it is not something one should ignore.

Sky Watch Submision

I was rather surprised that they kept me at the hospital overnight. I have had four or five of these and this was the first time I was kept in the hospital overnight. It wasn't the Ritz-Carlton but at least my view wasn't all that bad.  They ran all kinds of tests to make sure the TIA wasn't caused by a larger clot that broke apart. I was sent home with an all clear, and told to just keep taking my medications as directed.

"What was I thinking moment"
I am not sure why, but I signed up for an online dating service. Maybe it was the little vacation I took. Of course it was free to sign up but to actually communicate with anyone there is a service fee. I haven't paid the fee and am thinking I should just delete my profile. Although it is rather tempting, as my profile has a number of messages (ones that of course I can't read without paying).  I am sure I will eventually start meeting people closer to my own age, just have to figure out where they are.

Isn't this little guy cute? I have been wanting to capture a nice shot of a bird for a long time. Thanks to the atrium at the public library I was able to capture this cute little guy.









My Blogs This week:

Revisiting Art Alley

Missed Scavenger Hunt

Thank you for stopping by!
If you find you have bits and pieces to share join us at Mrs. 4444's Friday Fragments.

Missed Scavenger Hunt

Last week I had every intention of posting photos taken on Halloween for the Sunday Scavenger Hunt over on Ashley Sisk's blog. Unfortunately I got sidetracked. We had such a fun time I have decided to share them anyway. Hopefully this week I wont get sidetracked.

Dress up

Bubba and Sissy convinced Mr. & Mrs. G to dress up to take them trick or treating.

 

Candy

Sissy is deathly allergic to peanuts so all of the candy had to be inspected and sorted before the kids could have any.

Pumpkin

Of course we saw many pumpkins.
Spooky

 Some houses were really spooky, while others were just down right cute.

Orange

Happy November Everyone!

FF: Blog Hops

1. I have been thinking a lot this week about all the blog hops that I enjoy so much but haven't been doing very well at keeping up with them since our last move. So my fragments today will be a hop through blog land, starting of course with Mrs. 4444's great Friday Fragment hop. This is one of the easiest as no matter how busy we get we always have bits and pieces that just don't fit elsewhere.

2. James at Weekend Reflection hosts a fun blog hop where photographers of all levels can share their favorite reflection photos of the week. In my contribution this week the old Rapid City Fire Department and mural are seen reflected in the windows across the street.

3. Earlier this week my grandson Buddy called me over to the window as he excited exclaimed "Look Grandma it is Grampa's star!" After which I stepped outside to get a better shot of 'Grandpa's Star' or as more commonly known the North Star.  The outside shot turned out to be perfect for another fun blog hop where visitors from around the world share photos of the sky, Skywatch Friday. I don't know about you but I never tire of watching the sky. Unlike the scenery outside our front doors the sky above us is constantly changing.

4. Of course if you needing a little inspiration Photo Theme for Thursday at Spunwithtears is always a good hop to join along with. This weeks theme was Old. So here once again is a photo of the Rapid City Fire Department and the adjacent buildings all of which are very old. I particularly love the old bell tower on the Fire building.

Have a wonderful weekend!

To join in or even just visit and see all the wonderful photos click on the links below.

Friday Fragments

Jame's Weekend Reflection

Skywatch Friday

Photo Theme Thursday