How I love ya... Thursday Theme Song

                                                                                                                                   Photo by Kay Davies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB5_FScm41Q

Swanee -- oh, I love ya. Yes, I love ya, 

My dear sweet Swanee.

I'd give the sea to be

among the birds in D-I-X-I-E-ven know my swan is

swimming for me, waiting for me, down on the Swanee. 

The folks on shore will see that I'm gone

because I'm on the Swanee pond.

*

Posted for Hootin' Anni's musical meme, Thursday Theme Song.

It's a real fun meme, I hope you decide to join us.

To see how others have changed real song lyrics to suit their photos, please click

HERE!

K is for Princess Ka'iulani

Victoria Ka'iulani Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawekiu i Lunalilo Cleghorn (1875–1899) was heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawai'i and held the title of crown princess. Ka'iulani became known throughout the world for her intelligence, beauty and determination. Her royal status, talent and double-ancestry (Hawaiian-Scottish) kept her frequently in the press of the day. Newspaper accounts of her comings and goings throughout her life are extensive, often interconnected with those of her aunt, Queen Lili'uokalani. She told her aunt she would prefer to marry for love unless it was necessary to protect the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom. On Feb. 3, 1898, she declared her engagement to Prince David Kawānanakoa, but her early death (Mar. 6, 1899) ended the hope of marriage. (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia photo

Wikipedia photo

Left, the princess as a little girl in Honolulu.


Right, the princess as a young adult.


Below, this statue of Princess Victoria Kaiulani Cleghorn feeding her beloved peacocks was unveiled in Waikiki during a ceremony and blessing on October 16, 1999, which was the 124th anniversary of Princess Kaiulani's birth. Cleghorn family heir Melinda Cleghorn Alison participated in the ceremony by leaving an offering at the base of the statue.

Photo by Richard Schear

Posted for ABC Wednesday, the alphabetic challenge hosted weekly

by

Mrs. Nesbitt's marvelous meme team.

To see how others have found a use for the letter K, please click

HERE!

My world has been a lot of places lately

As many of my blogger friends have noticed, I haven't been commenting and have hardly been posting recently, because we're "on the road again" - but for "road" read air, water and rails. We flew to The Netherlands where we boarded the Viking Pride river cruise ship for a tour of rivers and canals in Belgium and The Netherlands. Then we took a train to Brussels, and another train to Paris.
Here are just two of our hundreds of photos, and we've still got a long way to go.

Photos by Richard Schear

Posted in Paris for the worldwide meme, My World Tuesday.

Yellow bird, we have no banana tree

Trees on the Galapagos Islands are scarcely more than large shrubs. Birds like this Yellow Warbler have adapted to the harsh terrain of the islands.

This juvenile Yellow Warbler is looking for lunch on the beach.

Yellow legs get dirty in the dark volcanic rocks of this Lava Heron's neighborhood.
                                                                                             Photos by Richard Schear, Kay Davies and Karina Lopez, 2006

The fluffy head of this young Frigate Bird won't stay yellow for long.

(If my heading doesn't make sense to you, listen to this song by the ever-popular Brothers Four)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlcPGKhIQaU

Posted for  Mellow Yellow Monday hosted each week by

Drowsey Monkey.

To see other yellows from other places, please click

HERE!

To all my blogger friends, I haven't been able to comment very much as we have been traveling, and won't be home for a while yet. However, I'll try to drop in on some memes when and where I can. No, we're not in the Galapagos Islands again. We're in Paris now, and heading for the south of France later this week. Please don't feel sorry for us, just forgive me for not commenting on your posts. - K

J is for Jade, beautiful Chinese Jade

When in China in 2008, we visited a Jade museum and a jade carving shop. It was fascinating to see the workers start on a piece of art that could end up looking as beautiful as one of these sculptures.

Here I am at the Jade Museum near a tree full of pink jade flowers.

Photos by Kay Davies and Richard Schear

Click on photos to enlarge.

Can you see the letter J in the clouds?

Posted for the letter "J" in Mrs. Nesbitt's alphabetical meme,  ABC Wednesday, hosted each week by her talented team. To see how others around the world have chosen to use the letter J, please click HERE!

To all of my blogging friends, please excuse me if I haven't been able to comment on your posts recently, but we are traveling again and cannot always get internet access. I am trying to keep up with ABC Wednesday, at least, in order to maintain continuity. So here I am, better late than never.

-- K

Book Blurb 3, March 18, In Vegas

What Happens in Vegas

by Kathy Matthews

    Harry visited Vegas every year, and always had a good time. He had really been looking forward to this vacation, but his boss kept postponing it. Finally, it was scheduled, for July. Las Vegas in July!

    When the lights began to shimmer and shake before his eyes, Harry thought the heat was getting to him.

    He’d gone into a nice, cool restaurant with a buffet counter and a pool table. He would eat, rest, then while away the afternoon playing pool, if only the lights would stop wobbling, and if only he would stop wobbling, too.

   The next thing he knew, he was on the floor, waking up. EMTs were fussing around him and, standing behind the EMTs, he saw Sarah Seidel and Catherine Willows of CSI. Had there been a crime?

    Author Kathy Matthews, photographer, cinematographer, and criminologist, tells us a taut tale of Harry and what really happened.

 

150 words

Posted for Book Blurb Friday
hosted every week by Lisa Ricard Caro
To see how others managed to interpret the supplied photo prompt in 150 words or less,
please click
HERE!

Evening skies in Toledo, Spain

Photos by Richard Schear, December 25, 2008

Posted for Sky Watch Friday, the meme that keeps us looking up.

To see other skies as other people around the world looked up and saw them, please click

HERE!

Camera, you, and Thursday Theme Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyIJ2vMIuDg

Night and you 

And blue Hawaii 

The night is heavenly 

And you are heaven to me 

Lovely you 

And blue Hawaii 

With all this loveliness 

There should be love 

Come with me 

While the moon is on the sea, 

The night is young 

And so are we, so are we 

Dreams come true 

In blue Hawaii 

And mine could all come true 

This magic night of nights with you

Cam’ra, you,

And Thursday Theme Song:

The sky is heavenly

And you bring music to me.

Music, you,

And Thursday Theme Song,

With these blue photographs

There should be song.

Photos: Richard Schear and Kay Davies

Posted for Hootin' Anni's musical meme,
Thursday Theme Song.

It's a fun meme, why not give it a try sometime?

Choose your photographs, let there be song!

To see how others paired their pictures with music,

PLEASE CLICK

HERE!

"I" is for Iguanas around the world

Land iguana, Galapagos Islands

Land iguana, Galapagos Islands

Marine Iguana, Galapagos Islands

Marine Iguana, Galapagos Islands

Costa Rica

Dick meets iguanas in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Click photos to enlarge.

Costa Rica

Quintana Roo, Mexico

Posted for ABC Wednesday, Mrs. Nesbitt's alphabetical meme,

hosted each week by her very talented team.

To see what others have made of the letter "I" please click

HERE! 

My world, with antelope

Photos by Richard Schear

This is where the deer and the antelope play (although I've never seen them play together). I've seen our dog Lindy want to play with them, but my husband Dick hasn't allowed it so far, and I hope he never does. These wild and pretty Pronghorn Antelope can run very, very fast!

Today's photos were taken on Sunday at an off-leash dog-walking area on the north side of the city of Medicine Hat, Alberta. The antelope were grazing near the walking path, and moved when Dick and Lindy got too close, but didn't run, merely trotted away as if unconcerned.

On the horizon, in the first photo, you can see a blue line -- those are the Cypress Hills, on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

I like the last two photos because they show the grandstand at the baseball park. When I first lived in Medicine Hat, the rookie league team for the Toronto Blue Jays played here. I wish they still did!

Posted for  My World Tuesday, hosted each week by

Klaus, Wren, Sandy, Sylvia, Louise and Fishing Guy. Thanks, team!

To see other worlds from around this planet, please click HERE!

Mellow Yellow buildings, with antelope

I didn't have to dip into my archives today for photos containing yellow. We took our dog, Lindy, out for a car ride today, to see if we could find the herd of Pronghorn Antelope we saw last week when we were on the north side of Medicine Hat. To Lindy's delight, we were successful.
This lovely fellow proudly posed for my husband with one yellow building, plus Medicine Hat City Hall (with all the green glass), and the old green bridge as his backdrop.
The bridge spans the South Saskatchewan River on whose banks the city began. The antelope, as I mentioned, are on the north side of the bridge. These buildings are on the south side.
In the second photo, our handsome pronghorn poses with two other members of his herd, and part of City Hall on the left, the "new" courthouse in the center and, on the right part, of the old courthouse. Of course, I like the old courthouse best.
Posted for Mellow Yellow Monday, hosted weekly by Drowsey Monkey.
To see other mellow yellows captured by other mellow photographers, please click HERE!

Photos by Richard Schear, March, 2011 

Pet Pride, a little girl's lesson in love

My grandniece was very young when she learned her cat, Taz, showed his love by butting her with his head. When she started crawling, one of the first things she did was crawl up to Taz and butt him with her head. He immediately understood that she loved him, just as he loved her.

These pictures were taken in 2008, and Taz is a very old cat now. He and my grandniece still love each other, and of course she knows to pet him gently, instead of butting him with her head.

Photos by Kay Davies

Posted for  Pet Pride, hosted every week by Bozo and his family in Mumbai.

"Hi, Bozo," says Lindy, "I haven't met Taz, but I've heard stories about him! He's a great cat."

To see other pets as their families (and great-aunts) see them, please click

HERE!

Critter finds frozen fruit falls down, not up

"Mmm, that looks good..."

"...hey, wait! Where did it go?"

Richard Schear photos

Unfortunately, these pictures will not enlarge well, as they were taken from Dick's home office through a dirty window, and a dirty window-screen. However, I couldn't resist posting these because of the expressions on this Cedar Waxwing's face: first when he spots a shriveled, frozen crabapple, and then when he tries to pick it, only to find it immediately disappears!
Earlier the same day, I saw other birds in our ornamental crabapple tree, knocking the fruit to the ground, then going down to dig it out of the snow. There is still plenty of fruit on the upper branches, but the lower branches have been picked clean by the small herd of mule deer who visit our yard.

Posted for Camera Critters,
hosted every week by Misty Dawn at My Dogs Keep me Sane.
Also posted for Shadow Shot Sunday, hosted by Tracy at Hey Harriet!

Wonderful Key West reflections

On our short visit to Key West, Florida, a few years ago, I was looking for the character of the town. Little did I know we'd see a character like this, standing between a window reflecting the Old Town Trolley, and another window reflecting one of the carriage lamps outside while revealing the paintings inside.

Posted for Weekend Reflections, hosted by James at Newtown Daily Photo.

To see plenty of wonderful reflections, please click HERE!