Robber Fly

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Johnny saw this picture and thought it ws a bee.  I explained that I was pretty sure it was a Robber Fly.  However, I think the robber fly has capture  bee which they are known to eat.  An ugly yet totally fascinating creature.

Done!

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Several people have asked to see pictures of the finished house; Donnie's house after new paint and me and the boys moving in.  I've been waiting for our new Lay-Z-Boy dual electric loveseat recliner to arrive so I could finish arranging the family room.  We ordered it Memorial Day weekend and were told 2 months.  We hoped to have it for the first NFL regular season game, but it didn't quite work out.  We were told the fabric was very popular and that they'd run out.  At least it was finally here today.

So, I rearranged the family room and did a light pick-up on the rest of the house and then took these pics.

1a Corner of the dining room.  There's a project on the rest of the table right now that I didn't want to show.  I have candles in the center and 4 chairs and placemats for our family.  Table has 6 chairs and easily holds 6 or even 8 people.  I hve one leaf in, but we have 2.
1b A corner of the kitchen.  The boxing above the cabinets meets the blue dining room paint in two spots.  These are my appliances moved over from the other house.  The sun plaque is Vietri.
1c Kitty loves to sleep by the kitchen door:-)
1d - 1f The apricot color is in the family room and main hallway.  We have sleeper sofa that Donnie had, our new loveseat, and a chair.  The TV is mounted over the fireplace (there really isn't a better place).  Blaze hangs out on her bed in from of the fireplace.  There's a nice view out a double window to the front porch and yard.
2a - 2d This is the master bedroom.  You can see influence from my grandmother on my side of the bed.  Curio cabinets, old rocker, and depression glass.
2e - 2f  This is the master bathroom.  Nice double sinks and an aqua color that give it that ocean feel.  The bedroom is slightly lighter shade on the same color sample card.
3a - 3b Two of my photos hanging in the family room.
3c - 3d This is the boys' bathroom.  The blue is the same as the dining room.  Obviosly, they have a fish theme and like it very much.
3e This is the laundry room.  It is under the stairs to the 2nd floor which is unfinished and used as an attic.
3f This is the L-shaped bunk bed Don's brother JB built for the boys.  It was a joint project where Donnie and I loooked at 500 bunk bed pics on the internet, found 2 we really liked that were L-Shaped, and then Donnie drew up plans incorporating the features of both that we wanted.  JB tooks the plans and did a great job with them.
4a Bookcase in the boys' bedroom.  I like for them to have lots of books at their disposal.  The top bunk also has a bookcase with some of Johnny's 3rd grade range books.
4b The view out the double window in the boys' bedroom.  I counted 7 deer in the front yard this morning.
4c My craft closet!  I am pleased!
4d Joey's recliner for watching TV.  Johnny's is next to Joey's.
4e This is the boys' entertainment center with TV and Wii.
4f The view from Joey's recliner.

No one is ever really done wtih their house, are they?  I have a fish tank wtih a large oscar to move over to the boys' TV room.  Soon it will be time to decorate for fall.  They boys were ready two weeks ago, but I try to hold out until the last week of September.

The front porch is first level but second story high.  There's a nice view of a little over an acre of woods with a small creek running through it.  I have laawn chairs from my dad's porch out there and a small gas grill which we use often.

Soon I hope I can say that my old house is up for sale.  We're within days of being ready!  Fall is going to be good with these big chores behind us, cooler temps, and all the other fun things that come with fall including NFL football and watching from our new loveset.

J Is for Joey and Johnny!

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I took this picture of the boys at Lake Crabtree County Park yesterday.  I figured I'd better get on the stick and get a shot of them for Donna's Alphabet Challenge and J day!

We also stopped at the 8th Annual Veteran Tribute Car Show.  Definitely some super Corvettes there plus some other fine classic cars.

We enjoyed many of the cars including this spiffy green Corvette

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and this chopped 55 Buick.  Donnie and I liked everything about this car!

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Hub cap shot from the same car

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and check out this reflection in the steering wheel!

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Dragon from Above

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I was sitting on the ground waiting for  hummer to show up on a nearby plant when I spotted this dragon up above me on the lantana.  I fired off a few shots.  Love the bright feel of this shot and how the eyes line up on the left and right of the dragon's legs.

We're cooling down here.  We've also dried out a bit.  Looking forward to more photo ops this weekend.

Hummer Watch Day 2

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I was back at Ms. Jean's house again yesterday waiting out the hummers on her pretty purple salvia bush.  I am thrilled the head is in focus on this shot!  I have been shooting ISO 100 to avoid grain that is easily introduced with my Canon SX40 HS.  That puts my shutter speed around 1/125 or 1/60 in the bright sunlight.  After this shot, I decided to try my flash, but it got too hot and late, and I had to stop for the day.  I guess I'm going to try the flash and also risk an ISO of 400 or 800 and see what I get.  It's a good thing Ms. Jean doesn't mind me coming back to practice:-)

Hummingbird on Approch

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Taken in Ms. Jean's garden yesterday.  90, sunny, and mosquito-y! At least during the 30 minutes or more I was there I finally got a hummer picture.  I'd be delighted if it was sharper/  Maybe next time.

We Remember!

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Last October when we were in Washtington, D.C., we visited the Nationl Museum of the Marine Corps.  One of the temporary exhibits there focused on 9/11.  On disply was an I-beam from the World Trade Center and Pentagon building fragment along with a timeline of events as they unfolded.  It was a very moving exhibit. 

I took my dailly shot that day with the thought that I'd share it today, on 9/11, as we pause to remember.