Someone's watching

Duck eyes. Always watching, keeping a wary eye out, even though I was shooting some distance away with a zoom lens. 
Some ducks have distinctive patterns around their eyes. 

Some don't. 

Some look pissed off. 

Some look eerie. 

And some look miffed because I interrupted their luncheon. 

A difference of opinion

We received this cute guy as a holiday gift from our 5-year-old nephew. It's a birdhouse made from a gourd. To enter the birdhouse, birds would have to fly into the cat's mouth (which our nephew thought was hilarious). It IS very clever.

However, someone at our house was not amused....

Fowl play

Geese with attitude

Pretending to be decoys

Fowl play?

The art of getting your ducks in a row

Mid February

Whisper of spring...

amid the ice

of winter

Daydreaming

Tired of winter? I am.   

So, here's some color...

Some light... 

Here are some dreams of spring -- tulips for Valentine's Day.

Cabin fevered dreams

 

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.  Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show. 
~Andrew Wyeth 

Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. 
~Pietro Aretino 

On a winter's evening

So far, this has been "the winter of our discontent" with an overabundance of snow, ice and cold. But the nasty weather outside provides an excellent reason to curl up with a book (and perhaps a cat) inside. 

The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it. 
~James Bryce 

To read a book for the first time is to make an acquaintance with a new friend; to read it for a second time is to meet an old one. 
~Chinese Saying 

On an additional "book" note, Petrea Burchard, one of my "Blogville" friends (she does Pasadena Daily Photo) has a new novel that came out today -- Camelot & Vine. Congrats to Petrea! 

~ ~ ~ 

There's nothing to match curling up with a good book when there's a repair job to be done around the house. 
~Joe Ryan 

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.  Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. 
~Attributed to Groucho Marx 

Scenes along the commute, part 2

Yes, sleep is a commodity to be sold now. But you have to shop around for the best deal.

The State Capitol dome in the background, where our legislators are currently busy, creating mischief and mayhem.

Car wash blues....

Waiting for the light to change. (No, I didn't go to Chick-fil-A for breakfast.)

These were taken before the Big Snow hit. Currently, everything is snowy, icy and hazy.  And very cold. More on that in another post.

Odds & Ends

Here are some scenes I came across during 2012. Perhaps this first one is a form of "sign language"? 

Found in a puddle on the street. Apparently it was better when "he" didn't know.

What's the story, Morning Glory; what's the word, Mockingbird? 

The end of aspen gold for another season.

Passage

Fast away the old year passes... 

Hail the new ye lads and lasses... 

Sing we joyous now together... 

Heedless of the wind and weather... 

May 2013 bring healing, peace, and much good. 
Happy New Year to all!

Holiday flash mob?

At first glance

Closer view

And the lights continue onward....

(And no, this isn't my house)

Morning commute

Scenes along the way to work. (While stopped at lights, of course.)

School zone

Silhouettes

A "choice" intersection

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
~Lao Tzu

Strange beauty

I've been busy lately with all the things that go on during this time of year. As a breather, here are some "non-holiday" scenes -- photos I took along the river earlier this fall. Strange beauty of a different season.  

 

When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.
~Ethiopian proverb

Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.
~Honore de Balzac

Discoveries en route

A single-handed effort?

Geese, disorganized

Autumn moon

Tapping a vein?

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.

~ Marcel Proust