Backyard Falcon (ahem Hawk)

It’s weird living somewhere where there is so much wildlife. I lived in the desert most my life and you see more insects and reptiles then anything else. Oh and pigeons. In Denver though I’ve seen a host of wildlife in the short time I’ve been here. In our backyard alone I have seen Coyote (witch isn’t really new, they live in desert climates too), rabbits, squirrels, owls, mice, rats (which I could have done without), all kinds off odd birds I don’t have names for, geese and falcons.

Today I bring you a few shots of our resident falcon. We’ve caught glimpses of this guy a few times but never within shooting range. In these shots he was right outside our house, hanging out in the tree we’ve seen owls in too. If anyone knows anything about birds, feel free to tell me about this guy. Hope you like him.

Falcon

falcon

Of course I had to try a black and white version. I think its kinda creepy.

Falcon BW

Yellow Leaves

Shot this today from my back yard. I used the screen on the window as an additional filter then ran it through instagram to get a color variation and frame i liked.

If you look on the ground between the two trees you can see a squirrel hopping along and our garden gnome on the lower left hand corner just hanging out. Tomorrow this scene will be covered in snow. Wish me luck that i dont freeze to death.

Cheers to Fall.

Yellow Trees

Possum Fur Nipple Warmers

If  you remember I made a very long comment and complaint about how my nipples do not know how to respond to the new cold weather I have thrust them into. I sent a plea on facebook asking my friends if anyone knew if there was such a thing as nipple warmers. I desperately needed 2. The chaffing was seriously  bugging me. Luckily for my dog Zoe her genetics have allowed her to adapt by growing hair over her previously naked belly and exposed nipples.

No fair i say, no fair at all!

Not that i want hairy boobs, mind you. Just that a little warmth in that area would be appreciated. Men even have it easy because they have a nice little cocoon to protect their bits. The only choice i have is to constantly cross my arms over my chest or carefully attach toe warmers to my bra and hope I dont burn myself in some unsavory way.

You know, there are some serious product ideas here. Bra heater inserts, heated bra gel push ups, warming pasties. Just give me time and I could come up with a dozen concepts. Would you buy one? Or is it just me that feels the need to complain about the horrible little nib-lets my boobs have grown?

Props to my MIL who found these online and sent me the link.  A solution to my problem perhaps? I think this has a whole new meaning for pasties dont you? Maybe we could market them as ‘Pasties. Tantalize the mountain man inside your man’ what do you think? I have a feeling they might itch a bit.

http://www.nznature.co.nz/product/possum-nipple-warmers

BUT WAIT! On this site you can choose your favorite color!

http://www.silverfernz.com/602-possum-fur-nipple-warmers.htm

Apprently in 1974 women were having these problems but thought it to laughable to make a go of it. Knitted tassels were the result.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/67379251/mature-niftees-nipple-warmers-for-the

Nipple Warmers

International Urban Fantasy Month

Urban Fantasy Rocks!

Internationl Urban Fantasy Month contest

Cat and Bones

Jaye Wells announced October is now the International Urban Fantasy Month. Fine with me, we needed one anyway right? So in order to win a bunch of awesome books made even awesomer by the author’s signatures, I will write a blog post about how much i luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv urban fantasy. If you know me well at all you know this is not a difficult topic for me. I’ve already written a couple blog posts about it. In fact it’s added some new goals to my life list.

For the last 2 or so years i have spent my nose in urban fantasy books and every time i break away and try a different genre i get bored. I’m going to tell you how i got into the paranormal, fantasy, scifi stuff but you can’t laugh. Well, you can snicker a little because i do it at myself anyways.

When i started getting sick i needed things to do while i sat on my butt. I don’t have the energy for a lot of physcial activity. TV got boring fast, i’ve never been a big watcher to begin with so i started scrapbooking. Its fun when i get my bursts of creativity but there were still time gaps when had time to fill. I started reading old books i had collected and had intended to read during college. Unfortunately texts books were the only thing I read for 6 years.  And those few books I wanted to read for ‘fun’, most were about the economy or how to get rich. i was a finance major after all. but again, i was bored with them. Then the movie twilight came out and became this huge hit. The news said it was based off a book series. I was intrigued so I went to amazon, ordered me some books and enjoyed my reading time. insert snicker here. I will not go into all the issue and holes the series has because for my first paranormal book in years it entertained me.  it sent me off on a tangent ordering books left and right. I’d trust amazons recommendations that if you like this book well maybe you’ll like this one too. Then i started finding authors i really liked and starting reading what they recommended.

At some point i even went back to my fantasy roots. The hobbit was my favorite as a kid and later the wheel of time series by Robert Jordan. I fell in love with Richelle Mead’s Georgina Kincaid series and Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake Series. Way off from Twilight huh? Go from sparkly vampires to sex and gore. Most might find sex scenes embarrassing, gore to be disgusting but beyond that the heriones kick ass! If the book hooks you and you feel connected to the herione the sex and fight scenes make you feel empowered. Not being full of energy myself, i love reading fast paced books about herione’s that are the under dogs and manage to end up on top after a whirlwind of detective work, fights, love, destruction and a massive show of strength.

Circus of the Damned

The fantasy of all the creatures only adds to the fascination of these other worlds. It constantly challenges my imagination. With TV you dont really have to think, just watch. With reading you visualize everything that’s going on and i guess i love to visualize all these otherworldly creatures and fantastic battles. I absolutely love thinking about creatures and weapons and talents that simply don’t exist. Well, at least not that we know of. *smiles*

But what boggles my mind most of all is the talent behind the books. How do these authors think up all the things they write about? It’s amazing to me, that level of creativity to write novels filled with things that we just don’t see everyday. It’s artwork with out the canvas. Imagine creating something you can only describe? It sounds like a monstrous activity doesnt it? So i give praise to all those Urban fantasy authors out there. If i haven’t read you yet, don’t worry, i’m getting there! Dont stop writing because your herione’s keep me going and your sidekicks never fail to make me laugh.

I know I’ve posted some of these before but here are links to some of my favs. If your not on the list it doesnt mean i dont like you these are just a few that have stuck with me. Also i have links to some of my previous posts about Urban fantasy luuuuuuuuuv.

Kushiel and Naamah Series’; http://www.jacquelinecarey.com/books.htm

The Hollows; http://www.kimharrison.net/TheBooks.html

Chicagoland Vampires; Chloe Neill

Jane True Series; http://www.nicolepeeler.com/

A Brush of Darkness; Allison Pang

Night Huntress Series; http://jeanienefrost.com/books/

Cassandra Palmer Series; http://www.karenchance.com/books.html

Wicked Lovely; http://www.melissa-marr.com/index.html

Realms of the Blood; http://www.annebishop.com/a.books.html

Game of Thrones; http://georgerrmartin.com/

Outlander Series; http://www.dianagabaldon.com/writing/the-outlander/

 

Some of my previous blogs about Urban Fantasy:

Favorite Reads

faithful-snarky-side-kicks

trippiest-dream-ever

 

Pretty Wild Weeds

Took a walk with the husband and our pup yesterday. A trail runs right around our back yard how can we not? However I’m taking a wild guess in thinking that the locals think the current flowers in bloom are just ugly left over weeds. I beg to differ. Here are two shots for you of the lovely little weeds I found. Enjoy!

Denver Dandelion

 

Purple Spiky Weed

 

photos have not been edited in any way.

 

Cheers!

Patriots Widow

My dad is working on a new project that should fill up his time for the next year or so. He’s building a car called ‘Patriots Widow’. Check out the design sketches.

Ford seems interested. Here’s to hoping they like it enough to buy. That way I get one of the first off the line. *wink wink* A girl can dream can’t she? It will make up for the hot rod he sold right after he said it would be my first car.  I’m still bitter about that one, 15 years later. ah well, maybe i’ll get one of these instead?

If your interested in follow the updates on FB here is the link to the album

Handmade Paper Flowers

Handmade Paper Flowers Embellishments Handmade by Summertimedesign.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Comfort

This weeks challenge is a little is a bit confusing for me. Not because I don’t know what gives me comfort but because so many things do. There are many things in life to take comfort in.  Things from home, things from work, things from your favorite stores. It all depends on who you are and the things you like. Do you like the outdoors, or prefer to be a home-body? Are you a foodie? Do you have kids? All the answers to these questions can lead to something you take comfort in.

For my first post in this weeks challenge I am posting some shots I recently took of things l loved around our house. Now that we’ve moved, there all in boxes so seeing these shots gives me comfort two-fold.

My Inspiration Board

I pull bits and pieces from magazines, clothes, decor, my own photos etc etc for this board. Things that spark a little inspiration inside me make it on it for as long as they work.

My Used Film

Having undeveloped rolls of film around is fun. Since I’ve primarily switched to digital I like holding on to rolls until i forget whats on them, then send them off to the printer for a little surprise.

My Favorite Author's Books

Enough said.

My Library

This is a piece of my library. We were lucky enough to have a house big enough to have a room just for books. I. cant. stop. buying.books. *sigh*

Senile Old Argus

I cant stop using this old camera even though the shots are always fuzzy, grainy and just crappy. I’m hoping one day one of those fuzzy shots will actually look cool. I like having old cameras scattered through out the house, even if they dont work. It’s an odd comfort to have, but they remind me of something I really enjoy doing.

Mike and Me, Our Wedding Portrait

I love this statue. Mike’s great Aunt from Italy is a great artist when it comes to clay. She made this for us as our wedding gift. Love.

Hope you enjoy a few of my favorite things.

Cheers

Not in the desert anymore.

My recent move to Denver Colorado was sudden and unexpected. We thought if we moved anywhere it would be Seattle or somewhere overseas. Well, that has the hope anyways. Denver offered us an opportunity and we took it. Living in Goodyear, AZ was really getting us nowhere, personally or professionally. Needless to say we were elated to get out of AZ. I had my reservations about moving to a snowy climate. I’ve never spent more then a week in snowy weather and most of that was sitting by the fire. Skiing doesn’t appeal to me unless its over a lake but I thought i’d give chilly weather a try, it has to be better than the 110 degrees we left only a week ago.

This morning I’m thinking I could have been wrong. Or at least just a wee bit off about my own personal resolve and ability to stay warm. Maybe growing up in Arizona I never developed the ability to produce body heat because I never had too. Silly notion, I know. *shrugs* what other explanation could there be?

Let me give you a run down on where i’ve lived in my life. Warning: most of it partakes in Arizona, so unless I specify the state assume its in good ‘ol AZ.

Lake Havasu City, Parker, Prescott, Tucson, San Jose CA, Goodyear, Denver CO. In that order. As you can see the southwest has been primarily my home. My time in San Jose only lasted 2 years and the climate is fairly mild. I was overjoyed on foggy mornings sipping my coffee on my balcony. I realized living there, that I love weather. More than that, I love seasons. Trees change and the weather with it.  Putting on sweaters and scarfs made my day. Yet, the weather never really got cold. The bay is sea level, they got rain and fog, not hail and snow. There was never a day that the temperature fell below freezing while living there.  My first week in Denver? yeah. The low was 32 last night, the Rockies received a nice dusting of snow. Waking up to a room that is barely 60 degrees made it difficult to get up for my morning coffee. If you know me, that is saying something major.

As I write this i am sitting at my desk in one of the only sweaters I own, pants, socks, slippers and wrapped up in an afghan with a warm cup of coffee in my cold fingers. Not to mention *discontinue reading if your under 18 or you don’t wan to read about pieces of my body* my nipples have been hard for 2 days! they’ve begun to chafe and it’s pissing me off. Cold weather + nipples = never ending hard nipples! If you know about nipple warmers for sale anywhere pleeeeeeze send me the link. I have no control over the damn things and i dont know what to do about them. Keeping that area warm is a tad bit difficult ya know? unless my arms are crossed what do you do? The poor things dont know whats going on and are totally confused. When their cold they peak up, that’s their job right? They just haven’t realized it’s always going to be cold now. The only distinction is cold and colder so they have to readjust. I dont know how much longer I can deal with it before they learn their lesson. *thinking of my favorite cartoon as a kid “ren & stimpy” and the notorious rubble nipple scenes. I wonder if those were warm?*

Oh and I have to buy a robe. I never understood the importance of a robe. Well a nice silk one sure, but a big fluffy cotton thing? It’s certainly not attractive but I get it now. It’s warm. When running from the freezing shower to get ready in the freezing room, you want something warm that’s easy to slip in and out of. Therefore I must go out and buy a big fluffy, warm robe that covers from neck to ankle. It will be my new favorite accessory.

With all that said, the next few days are supposed to get even colder with rain and wind!  I’m nervous I might freeze to death. My very nice and considerate husband keeps laughing at me and telling me its not even cold yet as he walks the house in boxers and a night shirt.  Then I imagine shooting lasers out of my eyes at him.  I’m actually happy that my dog has trained herself to sleep on my feet. Personal feet warmer at my service! If you have any tips on how to stay warm send ’em in! I’ll let you know if me and my nipples  live through the weekend.

CHeers!

PS I’m reminding myself that I would hate the 95 degree weather in Goodyear right now more then the chilly weather here.

Aspen Trees

Colorado Mountain Ride

My fourth day here a friend of mine from college and her fiance took me on a trip through the Colorado Rockies outside Denver. With it being October the trees are changing. Fall can actually be seen here! *Doing a little happy wiggle* Come on, I am from Arizona. The only seasons there are spring and summer. Colors are only green and dead.

Red and gold aspens littered the mountains and mingled with the dark green and blue pine trees. It was….gorgeous. There are more words that would describe the views we spied, but why muck it up?  Simplicity is always more beautiful to me. There were clouds in the sky casting shadows and spotlights all over the mountains. The photo opportunities were too easy. If we had more time or had set up places to stop before hand I think we could of had spectacular results, as it was there were still plenty of great ones. So, with out further commentary, here are the results of our impromptu drive through the mountains.

Yellow Aspens

Mountain Sunset

I still can’t pass up a black and white images. As much as i try to work a good color shot, I still end up converting to black and white. You would think with colored scenery like this I would be satisfied with color, but nooooooooooooo. Which do you prefer?

Hwy Trees

Hwy Trees

A little river action?

River Trees

River Trees BW

Yellow Trees

Yellow Trees_BW

More Yellow Trees…

yellow trees

I think this is my fav…. of course its B&W!

yellow trees bw

This shot isnt great but i love the 3 different trees in it.

Three Trees

Sorry for the smaller images. I compressed the files so the upload wouldn’t take forever, so i sacrificed some of the fab resolution. I’ll post some peoples favs individually later for closer inspection.

Cheers!

For those interested, we started west on the 285 from Denver. Then took a turn north on the 9 to Breckenridge which I have to say has the cutest and longest row of window shopping I have ever seen! Then back east on the 70 back to Denver. The whole trip with stops for photo ops took about 4 hours.