Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm still having fun decorating my new shelving (I know, I know . . . I should be FIXING the shelving . . . :)  But, I'm being lazy!  However, please know, I WILL fix them "one of these days"  . . . eventually!  :)  Perhaps when the newness of being able to have spots to decorate wear off!  ;)

I should also get in gear to get the rest of the house taken care of!  I have a very long list of things I want to get done!  (I'm sure I'm not alone in this!)

I will also start getting better at hiding the ugly cords . . . a little ribbon perhaps?  Maybe tiny dabs of museum putty to hold it against the wall also . . . so it is not just hanging there?

The 4 white pillar candles are electric and I have them and the string lights on a timer so when I get home at night I am greeted with this cheery red glow to welcome me home!  Trust me, it really is red-ish!  ;)

I wish I had better lighting to capture it a bit better!  Perhaps one of these days I will also get around to getting a new camera as well!  My lists are getting longer and longer!

But, for now . . . this is what I have to work with!

I bought this mirror a while back for about $10, I think.  It was black and had different hooks on it when I got it.  It's very heavy.  I threw some white paint on it, but I didn't do a very good job and I'm not entirely happy with the hooks I put on it.  I'm thinking about sanding it down a bit and putting another coat of white paint on it to tidy it up a bit more and, hopefully, get rid of the brush marks!  I am also keeping my eye out for other hooks.

I will also have to try to figure out how to photograph mirrors!  I don't know where those strange white tic-tac-toe stripes were coming from in the photo up above the one above here!

In other news . . . the raccoons are back and using the top of my shed as their latrine!  GROSS!  I will have to amend their names a bit to also include Shed Mucker-Upper.  I am wracking my brain on how to stop them this time.  I have a couple of ideas, but they are probably going to look very bad.  Very, very bad.  :(  But, I am going to have to try something!  Shotguns and electrical "stimulation" are apparently out of the question!  ;)  Darn firearms laws and animal rights!  (Before you get upset with me . . . please know I am joking!  Refer to my initial posts on the raccoons!  But, I am getting VERY frustrated!)  I guess this is just their way at getting back at me for keeping them out of my pond . . . for now.  I'm sure they are hard at work googling and researching how to get around my blocks.  I can just picture them doing it . . . sniggering at me the WHOLE time!

If it didn't embarrass me so much, I'd show you the solution to them tearing up my pond!  But, you can see a peek at it here.  I have another idea on that one that would look much better . . . just trying to figure out the actual logistics of how to do it!

Nothing like a little adversity to get the creative juices flowing!

Anyway, that's it for now!  Hope those of you under tons of snow are staying safe and warm!  For those of us in the drought-plagued regions, while I am loving this picture perfect weather . . . we NEED rain!  Or at least snow in the mountains!  Yeah, that would be good!  Leave the sunshine to us and put 9 feet of snow in the mountains for the skiers and snowboarders so it can melt and fill our reservoirs!  Win-win!  :)

Don't forget to grab a bite of chocolate on your way out!  The ones in the pink wrappers have a yummy raspberry filling!  I'll try not to swat your hand away from my favorite!  Happy Valentine's Day! ! !

Easter at the Little Corona Tide Pools

Soooo . . . this is where I spent my Easter!

It was a gorgeous day.   Nice and warm . . .

Looks like there was a private party out on the rocks that I didn't get an invite to . . .  Oh, well, I didn't happen to be wearing my brown pelican suit anyway, and it looks like that was the required dress code . . .

I was hoping to see several starfish, but alas . . . just this one brightly colored guy turned up.  He was quite large, maybe 10 inches across or more.

There were pretty flowers and  . . . .

. . . brightly covered rocks . . .  I should have taken a pic of my sister's favorite rock.  It left quite an "impression" on her as I recall!  Do you remember, sis?  ;)

And seaweed and sea grasses swaying with the tides . . .

Somehow I missed getting any pics of the anemones, and all the different types of little fishies in there.  But, I did get some pics of the pretty purple sea urchins!

And, there were lots of crabs in there.  The main part of their bodies was about 2-3 inches across, just to give you an idea of how big they were.  Here's one who was afraid I was going to take his dinner away from him!  If I got too close he would drop back down into the water.  I think he was trying to drag his prize to the surface where he could take his time dining.  He wanted a private dinner and I was apparently interfering with that.  I left him alone after this shot.  I just have a little point and shoot camera and can't do macro shots so I tried to isolate just the little guy through the wonders of Photoshop . . . so the quality of the photo is a little pixelated . . .  oooops!  :)

There are four in this pic . . . can you find them all?  Hint:  the two on the closest rock are blending with the coloration on the rock . . .

Another little bit of a close up . . .  pixelations and all!

So, that's it for now!  Just a quick little peek in with you today!  Hope you had a great Easter and have a great week to come!  See you soon!

Beautiful Critters

This will be my final trip post.  I saved all the pretty little critters I came across for last.  

No lions, or tigers or bears (oh, my!), but there were plenty of ground squirrels,

and squirrels.  This little guy was a real ham - when I first tried to get his pic, the batteries in my camera had to be changed.  When I set my stuff down to get the batteries out, he must have thought I was getting ready to feed him, so he came running over and started trying to chew on my stuff.  But, once I got my new batteries in, he obligingly ran back to his post for his close up, but since he didn't get a treat, kept his back to me at first.  It took a while for him to kind of forgive me and sort of turn back again.  You can see he still looks a little bit grumpy with me.

There were mountain goats out for their daily stroll along the highway.  There were 3 or 4 of them in the road, but it was causing a bit of a traffic jam, so I was trying to get a picture as I was trying to keep moving . . . I didn't want someone to start getting impatient and honking their horns and scare the goats! She looks like she is smiling for her close up!  Don't you think?  A little Mona Lisa smile?

I went where the deer,

and the antelope play . . .

And I saw even more antelope,

and elk . . .

and more and more elk.  As I mentioned in one of my previous posts here, at one of the stops in the mountains, you could hear the elk calls echoing through the peaks.  It was really quite nice.  Wish I had them on tape!  Sure beats the constant calls from the freeway I hear around here!  ;)

There were some friendly ravens . . .

and wild cats . . . . oh, wait!  How in the world did Moosie get in there? ? ?    ;)

Well, that's it from my trip!  I've got a little garden update planned for next time!  I hope you'll stop back by and have a little taste with me!  ;)  See ya later!