toto spreading holiday cheer!

toto loves his photo taken & can look so peaceful, however, he mostly barks a lot . . . but looks so cute while doing it!

miss roxy on the mend - aweeeeee! & other pets

miss pinky staying close by to the little patient

miss roxy on the mend w/cone head - 14 mos & she needed to be fixed - pm following surgery & still very s l e e eee p y !

tut tut & toto napping together!

american white ibis

i told ya i'd figure it out! anyway . . . the dogs were barking as usual, however, they continued for longer than usual - which is the amount of time it takes for the mail person to pass or a neighbor to walk past the house . . . they kept on & on so i went to see what was up & the video above speaks for itself. the american white ibis visits yards/parks in tropical climates & eat the bugs in your grass. the ibis were out in the front yard for about 1/2 hour. they always hang in flocks which is cool . . . one time they landed along my fence in the back yard which is about dozen or so fence lenghts - so about 70+ feet . . . anyway, they landed on it & they looked fake as they were all lined up, lol! ibis also like to land on the top of the pine trees out back which makes they stand out as they're so white . . . they remind me of a christmas tree topper when they do that! when they land in a tree they look like ornaments! i really enjoy all the critters round here & i'm glad i had another new one that i was able to capture on video for you'all. enjoy!

stuffed shells

one of my favorite dinners is stuffed shells. i took this photos to test my new camera . . . yes, on black friday i got a new sony cybershot dsc-h10. i'm still working out the importing of video - i'm having a conflict w/companion files missing ??? but don't worry w/enough time w/it i'll figure it out. i wanted to share some cool footage of a flock of ibis that visited the front yard, oh well . . . i'll catch them another time i guess! p.s. - by the way my shells came out rockin . . . . & get a load of that perfectly melted 6 italian cheese on top - yummy! martha would be proud of me, lol!

pumpkin cheesecake

happy thanksgiving to you'all! above is my contribution to my neighbor's dinner we're attending this afternoon. i used an old stencil i had been given @ a food show but had not used . . . sprinkled powdered sugar & then lifted ever so carefully . . . phewwwwww - it came out great. it features a beautiful little chalet surrounded w/pine trees & mountains. i did practice a few times on the back side of a glass pie plate, lol! the top of this carrying case has a clear plastic window & showcases the stencil so nicely, however, those of you that know & love me know what a clutz i can be . . . right after taking the photo above my camera wrist sling got caught on the pull of my spice drawer & the camera landed on the tile floor from about a waist hight drop . . . i was going to take a photo of the stencil & the cheesecake in the carrier showing the window, etc. but wasn't able to once the camera broke . . . so far haven't been able to fix it . . . so if i don't blog for while you know why :O (

tulips & april cornell table cloth

i recently reconnected w/an old friend & helped her w/a tag sale a couple of days - she arrived for a visit with a gift of beautiful tulips! the tulips matched my april cornell table cloth that just happened to be on the kitchen table at the time - i couldn't help but take a photo - the tulips opened beautifully overnight . . . it sad they last just a few days . . . :O(

space shuttle launch from my back yard @ night

from the back yard you've all seen lots of videos shot during the day, however, this video is of a night shuttle launch @ NASA as viewed from the back yard. . . they are the most beautiful. my video shows several objects w/light - the one on the left is the moon w/palms blowing over it. . . but it's stationary, the one on the right is the shuttle & obviously moves, however, the moon does get blocked sometimes w/clouds & towards the end you'all will see a third light which is the fuel tank falling back towards it's final destination . . . a plung into the atlantic. the portion of the video that shows the shuttle is short as it was partly cloudy & it went behind the clouds w/in 1 minutes or so of take off . . . . another time i'll video a day launch. obviously, we live due east of NASA approximately 50 miles, however, w/the flat landscape residents inland also feel as if they're part of all the excitement a launch brings to the area . . a day launch is beautiful w/great smoke clouds that can't be seen @ night . . . but i still wanted to capture what i could tonight & share it w/you'all.

when the shuttle come home it travels right over central florida and we all hear the sonic booms - it's similar to the loudest car back fire you've ever heard multiplied a zillion times - you can feel it & hear it - a sonic boom is the sound the shuttle makes as it re-enters the atmosphere & it just happens they re-enter over central florida as the shuttle lines up to land @ NASA . . . it's really cool to experience it all . . . enjoy :O)

halloween sunset @ front yard

join me while i do a sound check in my front yard & visit my neighbor's front porch . . . every halloween i take my 90's boom box & play a halloween cd i've have for years . . . i open the front middle window & blast it way up high & set on repeat . . . i live @ end of a circle & it really does carry up/down the street . . . i was informed this year by a very serious sounding young man that "i have the best sound effects in the whole neighborhood" . . he made my night :O ) . . . . once traffic picked up several of us just stood outside w/the candy as when you answered the door it was obvious there were more soon to follow . . . very busy year & a definite local baby boom . . . didn't get photos as i felt the parents might not approve, etc. . . but trust me there was lots of them & we're SO cute . . . i take you from the front of my house to a view down the street showing the sunset, to my neighbor's front porch w/features their hard work earlier in the day . . . their pumpkins were all hand carved . . the treats shown @ the end are the "special" bags i prepare for the neighbor's kids that live directly next & across from me . . . i also make cookies to give to the parents as i think they should get something as well . . . this year it was fresh baked chocolate chip cookes . . . here's a tip for those who love home made cookies but want to bake only a small amount . . . i'll freeze the cookie batter so i can slice & bake whenever i want some cookies - just like the frozen cookie rolls in the grocery store. . . put a small amount into the snack size zip lock bags & toss into the freezer & use w/in month . . we only need a 1/2 dozen @ time so it works great for small/single families . . . hope you'all enjoyed your halloween as well :O )

night blooming jasmine

growing on three different fence sections (24'+) grows the beautifully scented night blooming jasmine . . . fragrant for 5 nights w/a few more nights of a slight scent until the hundreds of blooms fall to the ground like snow . . . literally leaving 1000's of little white blooms all over the ground . . . i finally captured some photos that shows the volume of blooms & i hope you'all enjoy them!

just hangin round

pamela joy happened to see the featured critter hanging round the wind chime & ran inside to get her camera . . . so you'all enjoy her video & enjoy the rest of your hump day MISS ROXY

sunrise

enjoy the fog rollin into the back field - good morning you'all !

if i were a mermaid . . .

my favorite outdoor decoration is my mermaid - my self portrait in fantasyland . . . i would swim from one beautiful tropical island to another staying just long enough to absorb all its beauty & then move on to another . . . . ahhhhhhhh . . . yes that would be toooo cool :O )

widget warning

i have removed the halloween & christmas widgets from my blog . . . i love them, but they were causing my videos to skip & pause . . . after searching for possible causes & realizing that the video played fine on my computer - just not on the blog - it got me to isolate my efforts on the blog side of things - i guess they're not compatable for some reason - what a bummer :O(. if they are any tech savy people out there who can think of way i can have videos & widgets PLEASE let me know! i'll miss the jingle bells upon entering my blog . . .

booo hoooooo :O(

H E L P I F Y A C A N . . .

ya got to kiss a 100 . . . .

messy karen created a monster w/her shout out to roy in a previous post, lol! enjoy the video below which was a joint effort.

animals hangin round

princess & tut tut sharing . . . awwwwwwwwwe . . . little, little baby frog floating on the pool vac hose . . in the shade . . chillin out - yeah!
very pretty caterpillar hangin on the fence

& on the palm tree trunk

photo credits: Pamela Joy (dog/cat/frog) - Roy (caterpillar)

too cute!

enjoy a few photos of my favorite subjects . . . aren't they toooooooooooooo cute! #1 miss roxy, 2 miss pinky, #3 toto & #4 miss roxy

halloween countdown widget

i hope you'all enjoy the photos of simba ... he was begging for treats after watching the dogs enjoy theirs ... of course, he got treats after cooperating w/me - i especially love the final shot - he had enough of the flashes & kittykitty calls so he let out a big M E O W - it's also halloweenish don't ya think ?

wonderful surprises!

the lovely fabric floral bag in the above photo (for sale @ messy karen's Etsy shop along w/others - this bag is available for $8) - arrived from messy karen one day in my mail by surpirse! there's a lot of, let's say... my favorite collection of pam's favorite stuff within this special corner of my bathroom! as soon as i saw it i knew where it would live for a little while . . . as i like to move stuff around . . . it's been there since late spring. i love to hang beautiful & interesting stuff all over the house but especially enjoy decorating knobs & any hooks, etc. . this umbrella decoration was sold as a yard/garden ornament & is made of cast iron - really heavy - i loved it in my bathroom & hang stuff off it all the time. holidays are often expressed there as well - just a little something to bring the holiday into the bath!

messy karen, she is such a sweety, that even thou i didn't win any of frequent her give-a-ways, she decided i was deserving of a gift anyway! she loaded it w/wonderful goodies . . . candies, cool pencil w/a gem tip w/hand made case, cookies made from scratch, an x-tra bag, starbuck's gum, & an organic sweetner - wow, yes all in her wonderful gift bag! i have alrady passed on the x-tra bag to an old friend who recently was @ the house for a BBQ. she had complimented the one hanging in the bathroom earlier & later i gave her my x-tra! she LOVED it & i LOVE mine toooooo! thanks again messy karen xxoo.

frangipani & gerber daisy

finally my gerbers are in bloom . . . the frangipani hasn't bloomed since it was put in this pot . . . maybe in the coming months . . . we'll keep our fingers crossed!

tropical storm fay - FINAL ACT

above is a bird of paradise that bloomed during the rains this week - i cut two today as they were @ the back of the screen facing nowhere, lol! i have them resting on the back porch table w/an ant bait for a while - those ants like to run to high ground w/heavy rains - but by morning they'll be ready to come inside to be enjoyed for two weeks+

while 'home alone', for a brief time this afternoon one of fay's outer rain bands decided to fall over my house for about 10 minutes . . . the problem is that the gutters surrounding the pool screen had not yet be cleared of debris from the week long storm - for the most part, florida homes don't have gutters except when you have a pool screen. . . you can see why as gutters are no good in a down pour & overflow . . . especially when full of debris and/or like when it rains as hard & fast as this quick little squawl - the gutters typical get full of leaves from the myrtle trees out front - . . . the rain from the whole back side of the roof line falls into those gutters, of course . . lol - the water backed up so quick . . . you can see as the video goes on . . . i used a push broom to push the water into the pool . . . which means the pool now needs to be shocked - you can see all the pots, yard ornaments, etc. under the part of the porch w/a roof & the outer porch w/screen is fairly empty . . . crisis avoided . . . good news is that was pretty much the last drop we'll see from tropical storm fay - goodby!

tropical storm fay - UPDATE!

above are some shots of the frog from the "last night" olympic video that i think shows the frog much better than the video did . . . and . . . as you've all heard on the news the critters come out when the water gets too much for them - here's a visitor to the front yard earlier this week!

i been distracted by the storm since tuesday . . . still have my summer cold :o( . . . been draining the pool ALOT i.e., 10" & it's pouring out as i write this blog friday @ 9:10 p.m. on the back porch listening to some music, all yard/small stuff is under wraps & safe, potted plants under porch roof, etc., all is good w/us except lots of rain, however, living on high ground area of central florida it's so hard to complain @ all while others experiencing historic flooding. . . shot some footage daily & put together a short video w/sounds of fay all by herself as seen, of course, from my back yard :O) . . . suppose to stop raining sometime this weekend as we're still in line for the outside bands that wrap for hundreds of miles w/this S L O W tropical storm!

tropical storm fay !

wanted to share a cool beach web cam w/all of you to link to during tropical storm fay. you can even control the camera, it's pretty cool. this is also giving me an opportunity to follow Messy Karen's instructions to add links to my postings - so i'm-a-hoping this works, lol! i also found another real COOL web cam @ daytona w/sounds of the surf - so you can pull up this link anytime ya want to hear & see the beautiful florida surf! enjoy!

last night . . . chillin out, cookin', watching the Olympics . . . . enjoy the Olmpyics you'all!

Critter Alert

here's a close up!

great photo showing off his/her little feet - so cool how they climb up a vertical wall (it's about 10' off the ground) & then just hang there . . . . looking @ me & wondering what the heck i'm doing, lol!

one night blooming cereus

i was hoping that this plant would bloom soon - it came by surprise this time . . . it's on the side yard . . . which i admit sometimes i don't visit daily, lol! all of a sudden those deep pink/redish blooms stuck out of this othewise scrappy looking plant, lol! i thought it would bloom this weekend . . but w/the rain i guess my calculations were off . . . so last night around 8 p.m. & off/on until 5:30 a.m. thursday morning i took lots of photos, messy karen will be happy to know i managed to narrow them down to 14 shots faded together w/some audio - nice and simple & so BEAUTIFUL . . . enjoy!

music by: habib koite song: din din wo

Day @ Work

me getting ready to leave!

50,000 gallon pool

this pool is 44,000 gallons -or- 4x bigger than my home pool - as commercial pools go . . . small size . . . isn't it sparkling . . . one of the things i enjoy most is the reflection ya get off the palm trees on the water . . . so relaxing while your netting!

this is what the outside of the vac pacs look like when they covers are shut . . . . what's inside of them is posted below

here a photo of a pit w/in a vac pac cover - i confess that @ first i was VERY scared of all those valves & push pulls, etc.

below is a minute+ of my netting @ a brand new pool - as you can hear there is still construction going on & camera person is responsible for his commentary - he's so funny, lol! fyi, it usually takes us between 15 - 30 minutes average to net this size pool depending on storm, usage, etc. - anyway, it will give ya an idea of why it's such a great workout . . . especially the sweating! my goal is to be done by 11/12 p.m. max - it's too hot after that . . . !

Snake

** video revised july 30th - sorry for the hick up w/original . . . i'm still learning, lol!

just because i said i wouldn't be able to catch a snake on video . . . . here's a snake that was on the front porch this morning . . . i told ya we have a lot of critters round here, lol! enjoy!

music by: aisha duo song: despertar

round the front yard

fish fountain i made from an old fish yard ornament & myrtle tree

myrtle blossom up close, so beautiful & notice the bark coming off which occurs when blooming begins!

vine, don't know what kind, lol!

very popular bird bath frequented by all kinds of critters!

round the yard, of course!

eucalyptus & other plants by the pool

it comes and goes . . . .

one of my beautiful myrtle trees in full bloom & a stork that came flying by . . . . . another frequent visitor! and below is . . . . .

a video featuring both chameleons & a frog - two of the most seen critters round here - i've also had a few snakes in the pool but i'm sure i'll never catch that on a video, lol!

the music is karma chamelson by boy george - i love his voice & this is one of my favorite songs . . . i hope you'all enjoy it!

4th of July - 2008

since 1994 fireworks have been shot off out front - so for once you can kinda see the front yard, lol! much of it is dark, however, i hope you'all still enjoy it! the whole neighborhood as far as you could hear & see was full of firework explosions . . . it started @ 8:45ish pm thil 12:00ish am. . . with a few later than that . . . it was a friday for a change this year - so it went on a bit later than usual. we are fortunate in that we can see 2 of the firework shows @ the theme parks nightly but no need to fight the crowds to see them on the 4th . . . several of our neighbors, like us, prefer to stay @ home & enjoy our own little show! i enjoy lighting smoke bombs, sparklers & just about anything that you throw on the ground . . . . i don't touch the other stuff - the guys all enjoy setting off rockets, fountains & anything that makes loud noises, lol! we all had a great night & enjoyed the beautiful florida summer night!

don't worry the video isn't 10+ minutes, it's actually about 5 1/2 minutes . . the rest is just audio w/black screen. i added a classical audio piece to run w/the credits and wasn't able to figure out how to shorten the audio . . i think it's protected somehow which will make it interesting to find audio that fits perfectly. my first two videos taken @ back yard just happen to pick up the tv music channel on the back porch which i didn't even realize until i downloaded and listened to the videos . . . the tv music channel is usually on to make some noise to distract my dogs from the neighbor's screen door noise & their dog/kids, etc. as when they hear stuff they get protective & bark toooooo much . . point being . . the tv radio channel just happened to enter my first two videos & videos 3 & 4 have both natural sounds recorded while filiming & added audio. i've mostly used mariah carey so far as i'm such a huge fan, but will mix it up. those of you that know me are probably surprised that i listen to classical from time to time . . . i like to listen to classical when i bath, vacuum or nap!

i know it's not a butterfly, but . . .

i love mariah carey & this mix is one of my favorites . . . . i hope you'all enjoy seeing what visited me in my backyard saturday morning . . . . i never expected "it" to stay put for so long . . . you can see my arm gets tired and moves a lot, however, i also wanted to show the fence and how close "it" was (15') . . . honestely, i had to run inside for my camera . . . then oh GOD my batteries died, inside again to get the batteries on the charger, shot footage for a bit . . then, oh GOD, those replacement batteries from the charger weren't quite ready & didn't last long, lol! back inside for the ones i had just put on the charger hoping they'd have enough juice in them & back outside . . . thankfully they lasted until the card was full, lol! in the beginning there is just the audio w/video so you can hear somebody crying out for what i filmed . . . just before i started filming they were together . . . but i think "it"was hiding from the animal that you hear @ the beginning . . . i've heard them before so i'm sure that what you hear on the video is the same . . . it is so amazing that "it" stayed thru all my noise in/out/in/out, etc.! i'm trying to get better about having my batteries charged & camera close by . . . there are a lot of critters down here in Florida & look forward to bringing you a little peek @ all of them. enjoy!

sites & sounds of my back yard

about five minutes of video in my back yard this morning - i learned a few more effects - i'm sure you'll be impressed, lol! if anyone watching can do a rain dance, please do . . . . . note the sound of crunching yellow grass under my feet, lol!

Enjoy !

Butterfly Visit Miss Roxy

Butterfly visits Miss Roxy in the back yard this morning . . . along w/the other sites and sounds of the yard in the morning!

I hope you'all enjoyed the video, it's my first one!