"Nice" clouds

These photos are for my friend, Jeneba, who lives on the east coast, and asked today for some "nice clouds", rather than the stormy billows of Sandy. 

Only from the heart can you touch the sky. 
~Rumi 
(Enlarge this photo to see the "touch")

When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator. 
~Mahatma Gandhi 

Weather forecast for tonight:  dark. 
~George Carlin

Autumn glow

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. 
~ Stanley Horowitz  

How beautifully leaves grow old.  How full of light and color are their last days.
~John Burroughs 

Bonsai and optical illusions

Along with the bonsai show was a bonsai demonstration. Taking photos of it was a challenge, often with surreal results.   

A "double-duty" fist: is it a chin rest or poking the soil? The evergreen cuff is lovely, don't you think?  

The man in yellow suddenly stepped up, concerned that the lady's arm was being wired into a bonsai display. 

Some people are so into this, their heads morph into bushes. 

Look, there's a camera! Everyone say che-e-e-ese.... 

By the way, the demo was well done. These folks know their bonsai.

Tiny treasures

We recently saw a bonsai exhibit by the Boise Bonsai Society. It was part of a Koi and Goldfish Show by the Idaho Water Garden & Koi Society.  

Amazing root forms! 

Grapevine bonsai 

If a tree falls off my Bonsai bench, and I'm not home to hear it, does it make a sound?
~ Anonymous 

If you're curious, more about bonsai here.

More "Scare-y" characters

Man on the moon (Neil Armstrong)

Bob Marley

And another perspective of Bob Marley

The Cola Man

And finally, a real Scare-y character....

Martin Luther

Oooooo, Scare-y!

Some European celebrities spotted

at the Idaho Botanical Garden Scarecrow Stroll...

Anne Boleyn

Napoleon

Queen Elizabeth

William Shakespeare

He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause.
~William Shakespeare

You go to school, you get a master's degree, you study Shakespeare and you wind up being famous for plastic glasses.
~Sally Jessy Raphael

Small

You'll come to learn a great deal if you study the Insignificant in depth.
~ Odysseus Elytis

All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.
~ Lao Tzu

Sun-kissed (but not oranges)

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.
~ Joseph Addison

Seasonal sightings

I guess summer is over (for some people)....

But the hummingbirds are still here

So are the blossoms and the bees

And the quail have stopped by for a quick lunch

Variations on a theme

Reaching

Sailing

Troubled

Exclamation!

Caught in the act

Night song

Gymnastics

Professional diving

For just a second....

Seconds count....