My Kind of "Black Friday"

Just a quick post to share some of my "Black Friday" photos with you.  

I spent my "Black Friday" away from crowds (of the human kind).

A favorite quote comes to mind:
"Never look back unless you are planning to go that way."
- Henry David Thoreau

A large blue heron flew from the brightly dressed tree when I was spotted.  It proceeded to circle until I left the area.  When I watch herons fly, their flying style reminds me of the dragons I've seen in the movies.  Thank goodness, they don't breathe fire.  On second thought, maybe they do.  Just look at that tree!

 Spanish Moss ...

More Spanish Moss ...

Across the lake ... that's the main crossing.

Many years ago, I had a little friend who lived here.  A little alligator used to live here who I named Alli, and Alli would come swimming from the back of this creek each time we'd visit.  Apparently, someone had been feeding Alli, which is a big "no no" if you live around wild alligators.  It's cute to have them swim out to greet you when they're little, but not once they've grown to a size to do a human harm.  It's unfair to the gators too because being friendly to humans usually leads to their demise. 

The long and winding road ...

NOTE TO SELF:  Wild ducks do not pose for photos.  There were hundreds of them right around this corner, and the sky was black with them "heading for the hills" before we even made it around this group of trees.   

The long and winding road continues ...

The main lake is on the other side.

Abandoned wild duck territory.  

I hear an osprey cry overhead (fish eagle) while I'm standing here.

 

Pretty ...

"My, what big ears you have!" :-)

 Do you see what I see?

It's the Little Things - Thanksgiving 2012

Well, Thanksgiving dinner has come and gone.  Here I sit at the computer with yet another cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee I just brewed.  It's nice to relax for a moment.  I didn't realize what a treasure this mug would become when I bought it.  I was visiting my mother in Michigan years ago, and she was already in the throes of Alzheimer's.  However, Mom was having a particularly good day during our visit, so she, my husband and son enjoyed a day out sightseeing and shopping in Copper Harbor.  She helped me pick out this mug and one other, which just happens to have an orchid on it (such precious treasures now) :-). 

 
As far as Thanksgiving dinner goes, a good time was had by all.  Deep breaths did help during the preparations.  I thought I'd share a few highlights of the day with you if you have a minute.

Violas

I was out on the front porch this morning, and noticed the violas were looking very pretty.  I like their cascading form.

'Majestic Giant' Pansy

 The pansies are looking quite smashing lately too.  I just love this one.  It wasn't quite unfurled all of the way, so I'll have to post another photo later.  I think the color is luscious.  Pansies are one of my sentimental flowers.  They remind of my late grandparents and brother (I plan to write a post about the pansy and it's sentimental significance in the future).  Black-Eyed Susans remind me of my mother.  Of course, the daylily reminds me of my late mother-in-law and gardening pal (she started the whole daylily addiction).  Egrets (the snowy white bird) remind me of my late paternal grandmother (she loved them).  Last but not least, the beautiful birdhouses in the garden remind me of my late father-in-law who built them for me.  It's comforting to remember those dear to my heart, especially on holidays.  Do you have a sentimental flower/flowers, etc.?

Turkey - Into the Frier

Here's the turkey on its way into the deep fryer.  My husband and son are lowering this into the hot oil.  This method of cooking a turkey is rather dangerous;   lots of carports, trees, garages, etc. have been set on fire this way.  If there's too much oil in the fryer, you'll end up with a big bonfire once the oil spills over onto the flame.  Once that happens, you may as well clear the area, and wait patiently for the flames to subside.  That has NOT happened around here.  Thank goodness!

Deep Fried Turkey

Here's the finished product.  It's still on the rack that it was lowered into the oil on (that's a special tool that comes along with a turkey frier).  Once removed, it looks just like a normal roasted turkey in shape.  Fried turkey is delicious!  I was hooked after I tasted the first one.  It's also nice that it's cooked outside by someone else.  Shh, don't tell Mr. D. S. I said that.  Oh, by the way, that clutter in the background was removed before dinner.  Martha Stewart would never approve of that! lol

Iced Sweet Tea

 It truly is the little things ...

The frozen strawberries bobbing in the iced tea were a big hit. 

What little things have been a hit in your life lately?

Well, I'm off to play the Sonic All-stars Racing Transformed video game with my son.  This is a long standing tradition with us that started when he was probably nine (my son taught me how to play Star Fox one week when it was just the two of us around in the evenings).  Now, he's a college student, the video games have changed and so have we in some ways, but one thing that hasn't changed is that we still play video games when we have a chance (I still play ungracefully too).  After all, it's the little things. :-)

I am always thankful for my dear family and friends,

and that certainly includes my friends in the blogosphere.  

Hope you're having a great day!

Daylily Soup Chitchat III

Hello, Friends,

I've almost worn myself out redecorating Daylily Soup today.  It's easy to get carried away playing with the templates and fonts, and with "hanging" wallpaper over and over, etc.  Anyway, I sat down with a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and decided Daylily Soup needed a little pizazz now that the daylilies are on hiatus.  Just curious, how do you like the new wallpaper?  I don't want you to run out of here due to "loud" wallpaper, so please do give me your opinion.

I'd like to share a few photos from a couple of day trips I've taken lately, so let's take a couple of little trips if you have a minute.  Last weekend, I went to this boot shoppe with my husband and spotted these lovelies.

I've Gone Country!

You guessed it.  I proceeded to ooh and ahh, and ooh and ahh, etc. over each and every pair of them.  No, I don't have a pair, but it's not over yet. :-)

Then, we stopped by Fresh Market.  How do we always seem to end up in there?  I was whisked past the orchid display.  You'd think I have a problem or something. ;-)

Sugary memories ...

What am I doing looking at this?  A "girl" who has sworn off sugar (temporarily) has no business in here ...

Oohs & Ahhs

More Oohs & Ahhs

No, your eyes don't deceive you ...

This is a child's toy horse (the type on the springs) galloping in the open field.  Not the best pic, but a truck was coming down the dirt road, which we pulled onto for the sole purpose of me getting a shot of this.  I had to make a quick paparazzi/mad blogger getaway.

Beautiful Sunset

I took this on the way home.  I only had a few seconds to get this shot, and pouf, the magical scene was gone.  Each sunset is truly a fleeting gift.

- Let's time travel ... a week has passed us by. -

Yesterday, we went on another little day trip which was quite fun.  It was a beautiful fall day here, so I saw lots of photo ops.

Fall Morning on the Lake

 Isn't it lovely?

Blue Heron

Blue Heron on his own peaceful, little island. 

Lunch at Zoe's

A nice little lunch outside 

(Greek chicken pita, Greek cole slaw and iced hibiscus green tea).

Lovely Fall Creek Scene

My husband was nice enough to turn around so I could snap these two, which I had to do quickly due to traffic.  I wish I had snapped better pics, but safety had to come first.  Notice the Spanish moss hanging from the trees?  This creek was glorious in real life.

Lovely Fall Creek Scene

I'm off to start planning for Thanksgiving.  I feel a little bit overwhelmed this year with the holiday season upon us, so I'm going to take some deep breaths, remain calm and enjoy the season.  Just curious, do any of you have to take deep breaths, and remind yourself to remain calm at this time of year?  It really is a beautiful time of year, so we have to make sure we enjoy it.  I think the key is to avoid putting too much pressure on ourselves.  That being said, I'm not going to ruin my own holiday for myself by putting too much pressure on myself.  Stress-free Thanksgiving, here I come!  May those of you celebrating Thanksgiving this week have a stress-free, enjoyable one as well.

Thanks for stopping by.

I hope you have a lovely, fall week. :-)

Daylily Soup Bed & Breakfast

Well, it's the annual flight of the ladybugs at the Daylily Soup Bed & Breakfast.  Yesterday, I'd just finished cleaning the house and making things look presentable (housework ... I'd rather be gardening), when I noticed a huge swarm of ladybugs all over the front porch.  Believe me, this is not nearly as cute as it sounds.  Each year, they swarm the front porch, and proceed to check in for bed and breakfast right at the front door.  Immediately following check-in, the annual ladybug convention gathers in the foyer for drinks and hors d'oeuvres, proceeds to climb all over the light fixture, lamps, etc. and are just generally unruly.

House Guest

I've done some research on this, and have discovered ladybugs totally take over some homes each year to the point of covering the ceiling, getting in the the kitchen and food, and getting all over the furniture, etc.  Luckily, we haven't been besieged to that degree, but we've still ended up with somewhere between 100 - 200 in the foyer within a short amount of time.  According to my research, it seems ladybugs prefer light colored homes (ours is white), and they spread their pheromones once they find one they like.  This way, future generations will be able to find their way back to the chosen bed and breakfast year after year after year.  The ladybugs' intentions are to hibernate here.  They are a couple of weeks early this year.  Normally, my little winged guests arrive just in time for Thanksgiving.  I have one big question.  Since ladybugs eat thrips, where ON EARTH were they when I was battling the thrips in the daylily patch all summer?  Where?

I'm off to send my unwanted house guests packing ...

Hope you all have a great week! :-)

"Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home ..."