The Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day...

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” 

~Dr. Seuss

Merry Christmas!!

“Don’t count every hour in the day, make every hour in the day count.”

Ok then...

This is what happens when you leave me in the back of the car and run into the store for 10 minutes.  Literally, 10 minutes.

I was tired, crabby and didn't feel well...so I stayed outside and made some pictures.

This is what I saw...

Chuck and I were gettin' busy!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chritstmas.....

Hey...

Oops!!  Sorry guys!

We seem to have a small problem with vandals "molesting" our deer...every year! 

Philistines...

Well...I just wanted to post this gem so that I can get back to processing all of the photos that I HAVEN'T been posting...

Good evening.

"While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions."

So....

You know what they say about hindsight.

I just want to make a formal statement here and it is VERY important that it is said.  Right now, because it is years and years past due.

I should have fought harder. 

Tooth and nail.  Damn the torpedoes and all that.  I listened to someone whom I knew had their own agenda.  It's pure crap for me to hide behind that excuse because this person is no longer here to confront.

I am more sorry than you could ever imagine.  Sorry to you - and sorry to me. 

I will spend the rest of my life with this one regret.  It is the ONLY thing I would change, if it were possible.

So...the moral is...if you want something - anything - with your whole soul...move heaven and hell to get it....and never let go.

"What would you do if you weren't afraid?" ~Sheryl Sandberg

Holy. Crap.

Just saw that above quote.  I think I may make this my new mantra.  Just think of the possibilities.

Grab life by the balls and go....just go. 

I am a little terrified (okay...maybe a lot) of being 51 and just now looking to begin a career.  A REAL career...something I will enjoy, something at which I will excel...not a Security Officer for the rest of my life.  Oh, I know I was late to the table, but I shouldn't be penalized for putting my girls first and then deciding to make something of myself.  I was 43 when I started college, older than my classmates and older than most of my professors.  I went in there thinking I was "the shit". 

Oh my...reality sure slapped me up against the head...quickly.  But, I prevailed.  I have the college diploma I secretly coveted for 30 years.  (I'm one class away from that elusive 2nd one, too.)  Now, it seems I have hit a roadblock.  I want to find a position in a museum or gallery setting.  Problem is, you need at least 2 years experience...but to get that experience you need to find a job to earn those 2 years. 

Dog Eat Dog - Catch 22.

If I wasn't actually so afraid, I would get in my car and just go.  Drive aimlessly until I ended up somewhere - anywhere.  No responsibilities, no one to which I need to report.  How cool would that be?  But, honestly, nearly impossible for me to achieve.  I am way too ingrained in my sense of responsibility.  Wouldn't it be awesome to take 3 months off from life?  See the country?  Take photos of places I have only read about in books?  Network?

Alas, I am a chicken, a coward, hiding behind the "what ifs".  I was recently knocked down a peg or two.  Took a (not so) small hit in my pocket-book.  I have that excuse to hide behind now.

Justification.

This is what I genuinely need - crave.  I want to be "somebody".  Have a real purpose.  I don't want to die not knowing my full potential.  I think this may be the biggest reason I hated graduating college.  At school you have hope, friends and professors rallying around you, shoring up your resolve.  The real world?  Not so much.

So, maybe I need to practice not being afraid.  Just go for it.

“Beauty is not caused. It is.” ~Emily Dickinson

Okay....

I really, REALLY do not like snow.  I loathe it...despise it...(checking the thesaurus) abhor it, detest it...etc., etc., etc....

So, it pains me - literally - to also say (oh, man) that it's...

Pretty.

Crap-sakes.

Be vewwy, vewwy quiet...I'm hunting wabbits!

So...

I'm back.  I have (again) been a little lackadaisical in keeping up with my posts.  Oh, I've been taking photos, I just haven't been processing them.  I am hoping I just fixed that problem, though.  I upgraded Lightroom on my Macbook so I can be a little more mobile.  That gives me 8 extra hours a day to work on my pics.

Wink-Wink...

Well, since I didn't finish up posting my Black & White photos for my October project, I went back to rectify the situation tonight.

This here's a story about a man named Jed...oh wait...wrong story.

This is a visual story about a grand "hunting expedition" that Chuck, Pappy, Mara and I partook in last month.  As you can see, we were extraordinarily lucky to have captured these beasts in their "natural wild habitats".  Pappy and Mara were along as my spotters.  I have a habit of getting "in my zone" and forgetting to look where I am stepping.  Someone had to keep an eye on me, lest I walk right off a cliff...or into a Bubba.

We sneaked up on three wolves attacking a grizzly who was minding his own business...you know, eating a moose...

After that adrenaline pumping experience, we traveled on to a scrub brush area where we saw several ginourmous deer.  I'm pretty sure these guys were just white-tailed deer.  We have seen some cool mule deer in Texas but these guys were just locals (I think).

Further up in the hills, we came across this (seemingly) angry puma.  I bet you could have heard his roar for miles....and, wasn't it nice of him to hold that pose for me so I could get a couple of extra shots?

We also came across one of those pesky coyotes.  I've seen plenty of these bad boys right around the neighborhood.  If an ambulance goes by on US 27 in the middle of the night, it really sets them off.  Their yipping makes the little hairs on your head stand straight up!  Punks.

We saw a bobcat lucking in the shadows.  I was on the AA Highway down where we used to live the first time I saw one of these guys.  I probably could have petted this one, though.  He looked pretty friendly.

Then I saw some kind of grouse flying towards me...I was lucky to get Chuck up to my face in time!

Then there was a red fox capturing prey in his natural element...instead of the hen-house.  Kinda like a "captive audience", eh?

And finally, we saw a big, fat tom turkey...(we're going to be "dining" his brother in a couple of weeks.)  I recently saw a tom struttin' for the girls down on the AA Hwy - seems to be a lot of wildlife running around down there...

Well, there it is.  I have to admit, it was QUITE the adventure!  And...if you want...I am willing to divulge my secrets...reveal my source.

Okay.  Here goes...pack up whatever gear you feel is necessary to embark on your journey, choose a spotter to keep you from bumping into any Bubbas, travel down I-75 to the Buttermilk Pike exit in Crescent Springs, pull up to the Field & Stream store and enter the door like you own it.

Holy Crap...I've never seen so many stuffed animals outside of a Toys-R-Us!!

"Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him..."

Thanks!!

Show of Hands...

Who here is tired of looking at cemetery stuff?

Me, Me, Me, Me.........

(Never thought I'd say that...)

Last batch...sorry.  Walnut Hills Cemetery.

I love finding balls in the cemetery.  :)