Golden Sun Globe

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I was at the Garden Hut yesterday afternoon buying some 'hot' birdseed.  It works at my house to keep the squirrels away while allowing my song birds to eat.  Don't worry, the squirrels are well fed here, they are just discouraged from dining on my porch railing.  Right now, they are feasting on pumpkins out in the yard seeds and all.  One even was going in and out of a large hole in a pumpkin that he had chewed his way into.  Too cute!  Sorry I missed that photo op.

Anyway, this gazing globe was lit on fire by the sun and I fired off quite a few pics of it and thought I'd share with you today.  They had many Christmas decorations out, and I have at least one shot I want to post for a daily, but I'll restrain myself for another week or so:-)  Knee jerk reaction to B&W  yesterday with all this color?  Maybe...  I wish the shadow area on the left was entirely even.  I tried to fix it but could not.  I did tone down the glare spot on the upper right a bit.  I hope you can't tell.

From Wikipedia:

A yard globe, also known as a gazing ball, lawn ball, garden ball, gazing globe, mirror ball, or chrome ball, is a mirrored sphere typically displayed atop a conical ceramic or wrought iron stand as a lawn ornament. Its size ranges from 2 to 22 inches in diameter, with the most popular gazing ball being about 12 inches (33 cm). Gazing balls were glass but can now be stainless steel, ceramic, or stained glass.
Unlike hanging friendship balls or witch balls that have a loop, gazing balls have a stem so they can securely sit in a stand. Larger sizes can be made, but may be difficult due to the weight of the blown glass.
Gazing balls originated in 13th century Venice where they were hand-blown by skilled Italian craftsmen.
King Ludwig II of Bavaria, sometimes referred to as Mad King Ludwig, adorned his Herrenchiemsee palace with lawn balls. Thereafter, they became a fixture of European gardens and are associated with Victorian era English gardens in particular.

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Yesterday after I dropped the kids off at school, I drove down my favorite gravel (dirt?) road.  I stopped at the swampy spot, and as I was looking out over the area, this red-tailed hawk came and landed in the dead tree in front of me.  With the car window already down, I pointed up and was able to get a few shots of him before he flew.  This is cropped some.  Definitely red-tailed!

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Further up the road, you can see the tobacco is gone and the fields have been plowed for their winter crop.

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And at the end of the road, the view of the old barn where they sometimes sell Christmas trees was looking very nice in the morning sun and with the autumn colored trees in the background.  This is a location I like to take pics of through the seasons.

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