Prairie Visions

2008-12-19T07:48:00.006-06:00

Nature's flocked tree, wrapped in gray flannel... Go HERE to join in Sky Watch Friday!106 hits last month, only 52 so far this month... I do believe this will be the last Sky Watch Friday I do here. I'm going to stop posting on this blog. All my photos (including future new ones) can be found at MY FLICKR ACCOUNT. I'm going to make a "set" of sky pictures, and post at least one new one there

2008-12-18T09:49:00.002-06:00

I've said before that I don't like playing around with my photos much, prefer to leave them "natural"... But I've been playing around with a few, and I really love the way this snowman ornament on the tree turned out...

2008-12-16T15:52:00.003-06:00

2008-12-14T12:56:00.002-06:00

2008-12-13T21:04:00.002-06:00

2008-12-11T20:43:00.006-06:00

Go HERE to join in Sky Watch Friday!

2008-12-11T07:35:00.010-06:00

2008-12-05T06:10:00.004-06:00

Go HERE to join in Sky Watch Friday!

2008-12-02T19:21:00.001-06:00

This morning...This evening...

2008-12-01T12:02:00.000-06:00

Isaiah playing around while decorating his little tree...

2008-12-01T06:52:00.001-06:00

there was a ball of fishing line laying in the yard the other morning when it snowed a little... I took this as the snow was melting...

2008-11-28T05:38:00.001-06:00

Go HERE to join in Sky Watch Friday!

2008-11-26T09:28:00.001-06:00

He obviously inherited these eyelashes from his dad, 'cause he sure didn't get them from me!

2008-11-22T11:55:00.001-06:00

Reflecting the sunset...

2008-11-17T12:01:00.005-06:00

A couple sky pictures to make up for missing a few Sky Watch Fridays!(My computer is still in the "Hospital", using my mom's today!)This last photo was taken from the back deck at the home of GreenTown director Daniel and his wife Catherine... the most peaceful, solitary place I've been in years... I can't imagine how wonderful it would be to live there! (a black and white copy of the second

2008-11-04T02:27:00.001-06:00

Due to a mechanical problem with my computer (and trying to find someone who can fix it!) I may be out for a while... hope it's easily fixed and I can be back on soon!Otherwise, I may have to check email/blogs once every evening at my mom's house until this is resolved!I'm having withdrawals already!!

2008-11-03T10:22:00.002-06:00

A turnip in the sun...

2008-10-30T16:07:00.003-05:00

I need to get out with my camera... I am running out of photos I've not posted yet!I can't believe it's Friday again already...Go HERE to join in Sky Watch Friday!

2008-10-30T14:04:00.005-05:00

EYES

2008-10-28T11:49:00.008-05:00

The first LEED Platinum certified building in the state of Kansas was built here, after the storm. It's the "5-4-7 Art Center", so named because the storm happened on May 4, 2007. It was built from recycled wood by the Kansas University architectural students. They built it in sections in Lawrence, Kansas, and brought the sections by truck to it's current location here in Greensburg and finished

2008-10-23T18:27:00.003-05:00

Taken last February... Go HERE to join in Sky Watch Friday!

Welcome to My World - Greensburg, Kansas, USA

2008-10-21T09:42:00.017-05:00

On the night of May 4, 2007, an EF-5 tornado, close to 2 miles wide, wiped out 95% of Greensburg, Kansas. 11 of our friends and neighbors were killed.After the cleanup started, the Greensburg City Council approved a resolution that all city building projects will be built to LEED Platinum level standards. This makes Greensburg, Kansas the first city in the United States to do this. Greensburg is

2008-10-20T08:36:00.004-05:00

8:27 AMLike a blanket being pulled over the earth who just didn't want to wake up to that bright sun this Monday morning...

2008-10-17T20:54:00.003-05:00

When my husband came home from work I took a mental break... curled up on the bed watching episodes of "The Starter Wife" on the computer - talk about a lifestyle far removed from my own - Charlie the cat tried to stay awake and watch with me.. he loves to watch television... but he just couldn't stay awake...

2008-10-16T10:34:00.005-05:00

Our yard was a swamp after another 2 1/2 inches of rain,(6" in the last week!) here reflecting the retreating clouds... but the wheat in the field getting ready to endure the winter will benefit from it, so we gladly endure the muddy inconvenience...Sky Watch Friday hosted by SandyCarlson, IMac & Tom - go HERE to join!

2008-10-09T18:28:00.006-05:00

Two sky shots taken from my front porch... on two consecutive days...Sky Watch Friday hosted by SandyCarlson, IMac & Tom - go HERE to join!

2008-10-04T16:40:00.002-05:00

These guys are all over here this time of year...

2008-10-02T16:36:00.005-05:00

Topiary courtesy of the strong south winds of Kansas... "Kansas" is said to mean "People of the south wind", although the original meaning of the word has been lost... makes perfect sense to me, a LOT of trees in Kansas lean to the north...Sky Watch Friday hosted by SandyCarlson, IMac & Tom - go HERE to join!

2008-09-30T07:40:00.003-05:00

I'm not an expert, but I think this old Chevy was a '55... Gotta love the rust...

2008-09-25T18:17:00.003-05:00

Just a couple more Kansas sunsets....Sky Watch Friday hosted by SandyCarlson, IMac & Tom - go HERE to join!

2008-09-18T21:31:00.006-05:00

The September full moon... Every people had a different name for it...Colonial American-Harvest Moon... Chinese-Chrysanthemum Moon... Cherokee-Nut Moon... Choctaw-Mulberry Moon... Dakotah Sioux-Moon When The Calves Grow Hair... Celtic-Singing Moon... English Medieval-Barley Moon... Neo Pagan-Harvest Moon... I just call it beautiful...Sky Watch Friday hosted by SandyCarlson, IMac & Tom - go HERE

2008-09-14T20:58:00.008-05:00

A green heron! I don't think I've ever seen one in real life... he (she? I think it was a 'he') was alone, hanging out at the lake with us all afternoon on Saturday...

2008-09-11T18:16:00.005-05:00

A western store in Pratt has had this life-size fiberglass horse on their sign for years... you'd never know, looking at this picture, that it sits right on the edge of a busy highway, surrounded by stores, motels, and fast food restaurants... Sky Watch Friday hosted by SandyCarlson, IMac & Tom - go HERE to join!

2008-09-10T08:01:00.011-05:00

We happened upon a flock of migrating yellow headed blackbirds yesterday evening... We were very excited, as they don't live here year 'round... According to the web, they are on their way to southwest Texas and Mexico for the winter... Pappy, guess they're headed your way!This little sparrow seems to really be checking out the fancy flyboys... don't they even look military - standing at

2008-09-07T06:22:00.003-05:00

An Award! yeah!Anajz from The Sustainable Backyard has given this blog an award! I'm so excited! This blog is my "sanity" blog... photography keeps me from going crazy! So its nice to know that someone else enjoys my photos!Thanks so much - Anajz!I'd like to pass this on... and there are so many fabulous blogs to choose from... but I have to narrow it down... So, the winners are...1. Nevada and

2008-09-04T11:48:00.006-05:00

Thursday morning's sunrise... A severe thunderstorm rolled in from the northeast at sunrise this morning, I snapped this shot standing in 60 mph winds (thats why it's a bit blurry!) just as the clouds obscured the sunrise... You can just see where the first raindrops are hitting the side of the FEMA trailer - and man, was that rain cold!Sky Watch Friday hosted by SandyCarlson, IMac & Tom - go

2008-09-03T21:11:00.003-05:00

I DON'T KNOW... I THOUGHT HE WAS KINDA CUTE...I took this guy's picture at the lake this afternoon... some sort of horse fly, I think... ***(Edit: Hmmm... no comments... maybe you would prefer his "incognito" photo - HERE)***

2008-08-31T10:44:00.001-05:00

FYI - Anyone reading this blog that is a Christian might enjoy the video I posted at "Musically Obsessed" this morning!

2008-08-29T07:36:00.004-05:00

This was taken the same day as the last sunflower photo...The clouds this day reminded me of shots I'd seen on television, looking up through water at the underneath side of sea foam...Sky Watch Friday hosted by SandyCarlson, IMac & Tom - go HERE to join!

2008-08-26T08:25:00.007-05:00

In honor of my sister's birthday, I'm re-posting some of the pictures I took on their farm, during the time we lived in their 14" camping trailer last summer for two months after the tornado destroyed our house!Happy Birthday, Lorena!WAGONBUNKHOUSEOLD COMBINEONE OF THE HORSESROCKER ON THE OLD HOUSE PORCHINTERIOR OF BARNBACK DOOR

2008-08-25T06:02:00.002-05:00

An Ode To Kansas.O sunny land of Kansas, O land of joy and grief;We love thy fertile valleys That gives forth the golden sheaf. We love thy winter blizzards, And we love thy summer showers;But most of all, O Kansas! We love thy chosen flower. O it shows the state is golden, As it lifts its yellow head;To welcome forth the sunshine While the eastern sky's still red. All the day the

2008-08-21T19:09:00.005-05:00

Wednesday's sunset...Sky Watch Friday hosted by SandyCarlson, IMac & Tom - go HERE to join!

OOPS!

2008-08-18T09:21:00.002-05:00

I linked to the wrong blog!Day Book is on Prairie Dreams! Sorry! :)

2008-08-17T11:54:00.006-05:00

"Follow the leader, ya turkey..."(I turned this one into a cartoon - check it out HERE)

2008-08-15T08:04:00.006-05:00

I had nothing for Sky Watch today... so you're seeing a hurried shot of the Kansas sunrise this morning from my back porch...(I cannot WAIT to get away from all these FEMA trailers!!)Sky Watch Friday hosted by SandyCarlson, IMac & Tom - go HERE to join!

2008-08-14T12:22:00.006-05:00

I've been playing around with scrapbooking stuff... what do you think? This is me and my Grandma, probably the summer of '69....EDIT - I've changed the photo to a slideshow showing several pictures...

2008-08-13T17:14:00.003-05:00

2008-08-11T12:40:00.002-05:00

...Isaiah watching television - he's always twisting himself into weird shapes, we think he'd make a great contortionist! lol...Odd Shots Monday originates at Katney's Kaboodle...

2008-08-07T22:34:00.003-05:00

Sitting on the horizon.... A marble? A Beach ball?

2008-08-02T18:26:00.005-05:00

Miss Lola... Who turns 1 on August 21... and has the most remarkably colored eyes of any cat we've ever had... Her mom is Rosie, the cat with the weird eyes in Monday's "Odd Shot"...

2008-07-31T20:30:00.002-05:00

Pictures taken over the past week from my porches...

2008-07-28T06:51:00.002-05:00

I think my cat is an alien.... she has the freakiest eyes of any cat we've ever had...She was sleeping on the couch with her paws wrapped around the wooden stick on a small American flag and I tried to take her picture - she woke up and turned her head when I clicked and this is what I got...Odd Shot Monday originates at Katney's Caboodle...

2008-07-27T10:13:00.003-05:00

Just before sunset, I spotted three grouse, roosting in a dead evergreen... This is the slowest, the other two got away before I could get their picture...

2008-07-24T14:21:00.004-05:00

The end of another 100+ degree day in Kansas... and July isn't even the hottest month!

2008-07-24T02:46:00.000-05:00

Do trees have "auras"?

2008-07-23T09:23:00.005-05:00

July in The Sunflower State, Kansas...

2008-07-17T04:28:00.009-05:00

Kiowa County, Kansas lake after a rain shower...I've also been experimenting with black and white... I've put some in a slide show, see what you think...

2008-07-12T21:22:00.001-05:00

Sunset from my back porch, the last 4 evenings....

Tagged!

2008-07-07T21:23:00.006-05:00

Tagged by The Texican (Pappy) from Pappy's Balderdash - My first meme for Prairie Visions!"Here are the rules:List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your Summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see

2008-07-07T04:55:00.003-05:00

I took this picture of a moving train at night... can you see the small evergreen tree in front?Odd Shots originates at Katney's Kaboodle...

2008-07-06T02:26:00.002-05:00

1- The Parish PriestOf austerity,Climbed up in a high church steepleTo be near the Lord,So that he might handGod's Word down to His people.When the sun was high,When the sun was low,The good man sat unheeding.Sublunary things,From transcendency,He was forever reading.And now and againWhen he heard the creakOf the weather vane a-turning,He closed his eyesAnd said, "Of a truthFrom God I now am

2008-07-05T05:24:00.002-05:00

Simple Garter Snake on a country road. Isn't he beautiful? Look beyond his "snake-ness" and just look at his patterns...

2008-07-05T05:18:00.009-05:00

The Song:""I'll Fly Away," written by Albert E. Brumley in 1929 [1], is a hymn most associated with American Baptists[2] and the Church of Christ. It is an optimistic song about an earthly death that leads to everlasting life in glory with Christ."I'll Fly Away" has been called the most recorded gospel music song [3], beginning with a recording by James and Martha Carson, the "Barn Dance

2008-07-03T19:52:00.010-05:00

The Sky Watch Pictures are in the slide show underneath...Almost closing time, at a local fireworks stand...I suppose that on America's Independence Day, fireworks aren't too original... these are 12 pictures I took at last year's celebration... #11 is my favorite...Sky Watch Friday originates at Wigger's World...

2008-06-29T10:11:00.002-05:00

Went way back on my photobucket accound for these... I really need to take some more critter pictures! These were both taken less than 2 weeks before the tornado... makes it ealy to late April, 2007.

2008-06-27T10:51:00.004-05:00

This is my friend Tony, who is a crop duster. I've seen him fly between the road an the electric high lines. He's offered to take me up - I politely declined... lolSky Watch Friday originates at Wigger's World...

2008-06-22T17:08:00.005-05:00

Edge of the storm...It's beautiful when I know it's moving the other way...

2008-06-22T17:07:00.000-05:00

Camouflage....

2008-06-22T12:02:00.005-05:00

We went for a drive yesterday evening, on the longest day of the year... we ended up at a small lake in the neighboring county... at 10:30 pm, just before the last light in the sky died, I took this silhouette of my son against the blue water of the lake...And this, the view across the short end of the lake to where a camper had strung lights around his campsite...

2008-06-20T17:59:00.002-05:00

Sky Watch Friday originates at Wigger's World...

2008-06-16T10:09:00.004-05:00

This deer was panting in the afternoon heat, but it looks like he was sticking his tongue out at me...

2008-06-15T17:01:00.005-05:00

Shots from this morning's amazing storm... shooter-marble sized hail, hard rain, winds probably close to 75 mph (not only was the FEMA trailer rocking, it was rocking enough to make the 27" television rock back and forth on the table!)

2008-06-14T21:53:00.007-05:00

Some of my favorite bird pictures... The hawk from last summer, the others from early this spring... I think I may have posted one or two of these... I can't remember!Redtail HawkRedwing BlackbirdsDowny Woodpecker

2008-06-13T22:58:00.009-05:00

This week's theme: EMOTIONThis little church, originally Methodist now nondenominational, is over 100 years old... my mom grew up in this church... It used to be in a thriving town, now all that's left is the church and 4 or 5 houses... but that church still has a congregation and services... this is an emotional shot for me because it so embodies who I am at my roots... a Bible-believing,

2008-06-12T21:58:00.006-05:00

the eastern sky as the sun set this evening...The sunset last night... love the bird in this one...Sky Watch Friday originates at Wigger's World...

2008-06-08T10:18:00.003-05:00

Charlie the cat, sleeping in my son's craft supplies...

2008-06-06T09:20:00.004-05:00

FIRE IN THE SKY... (SMOKE ON THE WATER?)its much prettier if you click on it to see it full sizeWith all the baseball sized hail, tornadoes, and torrential rains, we still manage to always have an amazing sunset...Sky Watch originates at Wigger's World...

2008-06-03T12:51:00.002-05:00

I've posted some really amazing cloud photos at my other blog - see them in this post: "Sunday Storms"!(don't just look at this little "tease"... please check out the real photos at the link!)

2008-05-22T23:45:00.008-05:00

Sky Watch Friday Tornadoes bouncing around Kansas yesterday... this was a storm in the southeast corner of our county that prompted a tornado warning... I used to love going out in storms for pictures... after going through the EF-5, storms aren't as fun...Sky Watch Friday originates at Wigger's World...

2008-05-15T23:25:00.004-05:00

I don't know if it's because I grew up close to the land in a family of generations of wheat farmers - maybe it's in my blood - but it seems like nothing stirs my soul quite like a beautiful field of wheat against a blue Kansas sky... I realize that only one of these pictures has the sky in it,(and this is Sky Watch Friday) but that wheat is a product of that sky, almost as much as it is a

2008-05-08T10:02:00.002-05:00

Due to my current work -and stress - levels, I'm taking a week off from blogging to try and get my "real" life back in order.This blog will resume at it's normally scheduled times starting with Odd Shots Monday on May 19, 2008.Thanks!

2008-05-06T21:34:00.003-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2008-05-05T13:18:00.006-05:00

How about the oddest entry in the car show here in Greensburg, Kansas this weekend? It is a car that had gone through the tornado, with some added paint effects...______________END OF ODD SHOTS__________________This is a slide show of some of my pictures of the other entries in the show...My favorite car was a 1936 Buick, and here is a picture I took of it that I "aged"._________________How about

Photos

2008-05-04T16:48:00.003-05:00

I've posted TONS of photos on my other blog, Prairie Dreams of the REO Speedwagon concert here in Greensburg, Kansas on main street, and the CBS Early Show people.. And today's car show and the President of the United States' motorcade as they took him from the airport to the school to give the Graduation address for the 18 graduating seniors.Check them out!

2008-05-03T22:15:00.001-05:00

This is Lola again, on the left, with her mother, Rosie. :)

2008-05-01T18:54:00.002-05:00

I thought these painters were pretty crazy to begin with... this photo of this guy was taken on a day of 40 mph winds...Sky Watch Friday originates at Wigger's World....

2008-04-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

(click photo to see it better)I guess it's not real "odd", but I like the way the trees are taking back the land, right inside the old stores... This was taken yesterday in Ford, Kansas.Odd Shots on Monday originates at Katney's Kaboodle...

2008-04-27T12:48:00.002-05:00

The wild turkeys are plentiful this year... Here are two of the pictures I've take of them, in different parts of the county... click on them to see them a little better!

2008-04-26T12:49:00.001-05:00

This weeks theme: FUNNY/UNIQUE SIGNSPhotoHuntThis was put up after the tornado that destroyed our whole town....

2008-04-25T09:46:00.002-05:00

Those of you who read my main blog, Prairie Dreams, have already seen this picture.. but it's one of my favorite sunrise pictures... from April 11, 2008.Sky Watch Friday originates at Welcome to Wigger's World....

2008-04-23T07:21:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday...

2008-04-21T07:45:00.003-05:00

When I took this photo, I thought it was an old combine... but now that I look at it, I think its just a grain cart.. Either way, parked in this sandhill plum thicket it looks like some sort of prehistoric creature, eating the plum blossoms...Odd Shot Monday originates at Katney's Kaboodle...

2008-04-20T00:01:00.002-05:00

This is Lola, a few days old:And this is her now:

2008-04-19T12:11:00.008-05:00

(Camera Critter photo will be posted at midnight tonight for Sunday! If you haven't heard about it - check it out!)This weeks theme= THIRTEEN13 blackbirds and a buzzard.... I kept thinking there were only 12, but then I noticed one sort of hiding between the branches below the others that I hadn't counted! Yeah for him, saving my "13" post! :)PhotoHunt

2008-04-18T09:00:00.003-05:00

I took this yesterday, as the sun came up.. the sunrise was breathtaking, but after viewing the photo, what really caught my eye was the reflection in the FEMA trailer windows...This photo, while showing my not-so-pretty FEMA trailer park, shows the sky late yesterday afternoon, I thought the clouds behind were the most amazing shade of blue...Want to participate? Sky Watch Friday originates at

2008-04-14T07:07:00.002-05:00

After the tornado last spring, all the trees in town were ripped up.. the ones that weren't damaged enough to be taken down sprouted small branches that, when covered with leaves, made them look like poodles... Now the tiny branches are budding out again, here against a coming storm...Odd Shots Monday originates at Katney's Kaboodle...

2008-04-12T00:01:00.005-05:00

Today's topic: TWISTEDPhotoHunt(SCAN DOWN FOR COMMENTS)___________________________________SPRING CLEANING??Cleaning one's home and property is not generally considered hazardous duty. (Sure, there’s that overflowing closet you are afraid to open, but beyond that...) Unfortunately, many common cleaning products are hazardous—to your health if you ingest or touch them, to the environment when

2008-04-11T06:17:00.005-05:00

We were sitting at a stop light in Pratt a few weeks ago, when I went to look up at the sky, my eyes never made it past this roofline on the other side of the street...To participate in Sky Watch Friday, go to Wigger's World...(edit: my other blog, Prairie Dreams, has a pretty (probably better!) sky picture today, too!)

2008-04-09T10:00:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday...

2008-04-07T05:37:00.003-05:00

This was our bathroom after the tornado... lots of the roof and part of a tree... I also had a picture of a bedroom we had been using as a storage room, it only had two walls left, but all the boxes of stuff were still inside... totally ruined by rain of course, but still there... two of the posts of the 4-poster bed that was in that room were broken off, too... But I decided to use this photo