Halloween Dog Parade in NYC

I just had to reblog this post from The Hydrant. This is my first time at reblogging a post but I found these pictures just too adorable. If you like dogs, I think you’ll like their blog! Enjoy!

New York City Tompkins Square Park on the lower East side celebrated its 23rd annual fundraiser Halloween Dog Parade on Saturday October 26th. This is the largest dog Halloween event in the US. With almost 500 entries there were quite a lot of creative, interesting costumes for both dogs and their owners to show off. The contest consisted of three segments with prizes given for each sets and then the final best in show was awarded at the end of the parade. The grand prize went to Lobster Bake -Yum Yum and Lolly Pop, two small Chihuahua’s. This event is always filled with laughter and is a way to share hilarious moments with pets and their owners. Check out some of the action…

(Above photos by by Chiara Marinai – Vanity Fair).

(Above photos via Daily Mail Reporter)

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Ese’s Weekly Shoot and Quote Challenge – Allure

“A little disdain is not amiss; a little scorn is alluring.”

–William Congreve

Charlie

For more entries on Ese’s Weekly Shoot & Quote Challenge – Allure — Click Here

What’s New Pussycat?

Pussycat, Pussycat
I’ve got flowers
And lots of hours
To spend with you.

Pussycat, Pussycat
I love you
Yes, I do!
You and your pussycat nose!

Pussycat, Pussycat
You’re so thrilling
And I’m so willing
To care for you.

Midge

My first cat rescue.  In fact, my first cat.  She came with a brother and a sister.  At the time (around 2001) I was enrolled in and studying to be a veterinary assistant.  Being the oldest student, the instructor and I were closer in age and became friends.  She was already bottle feeding kittens when someone dropped off three kittens on her porch that also needed to be bottle fed.  I had never had a cat in my life!  But I told her if my two little dogs would be okay with it, I would bottle feed these three.  So, for the next three weeks, I bottle fed three kittens.  And the rest, as they say, is history!  Midge is the only one of the original three left.  For the most part, she gets along with my other four rescues!

(What’s New, Pussycat? lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.)

Boktoberfest!

Yep, you read that right. It’s not a typo. It was an Octoberfest held at the Bok Tower in Lake Wales.  Last weekend we decided to check it out.  I had been wanting to go see Bok Tower for the longest time.  Now that family is visiting Florida, it seemed like the perfect time.  Driving onto the grounds, I was excited to see the Tower in the distance.   Of course, the first thing we saw from the parking lot was all of the tents and vendors for the Fest.  It seemed that most of the vendors were selling plants.  Even so, I do wish I had taken more photos of the plants I saw that I really liked as possibilities at my house.  Oh, well, I probably wouldn’t have bought any anyway since my brother was driving and it was his car!  Anyone interested in learning more about Bok Tower and the gardens can click here.

There is a Visitor Center that has loads of information and displays.  The picture below is from the Exhibit Hall.  There are historical displays about Edward Bok’s life, as well as the history behind the Singing Tower and Gardens.

I was pretty disappointed at how the pictures I took of the Tower came out.  But these were all taken with my iPhone 5 so I can’t expect professional quality!  Naturally, with the Fest going on, the grounds were pretty well occupied.

The marble, stone and tiles that were used in building the Tower are beautiful. It’s hard to try and describe with words.

The various sculptural details represent themes of nature, humanity, the Bible and philosophy.  The picture below depicts a man sowing a garden.

The sundial on the south side of the Tower was set in place on October 26, 1928. The gnomon, which indicates time by casting a shadow on the dial face, is made with a bronze rod supported by a bronze snake – the ancient symbol of time. The hours are marked by the 12 signs of the zodiac. A correction table for different periods of the year is located at the base of the sundial.  The carved writing reads:

This singing tower
with its adjacent sanctuary
was dedicated
and presented for visitation
to the American people
by Calvin Coolidge
President of the United States
February the First
Nineteen Hundred and Twenty-Nine

The Great Brass Door on the north side of the Tower depicts the Book of Genesis, starting with the creation of light and ending with Adam and Eve being ousted from the Garden of Eden.

The plaque below reads:

Edward Bok born October 9, 1863, at Den Belder, The Netherlands, died within sight of this Tower January 9, 1930.  At his request, his family placed his grave in the lawn in front of the Great Brass Door.  Coming to the United States as a poor immigrant boy of six, he achieved success as a writer and editor.   Late in life he created the sanctuary as a place of repose for the human spirit, built the Tower with the great carillon as its central accent, and presented them to the American people for visitation as the thanks for the success they had given him.

As a side note, I did not realize that he had been the Editor of The Ladies Home Journal for 30 years!

The picture below is of the original carillon keyboard.  The Tower has 60 carillon bells.

I have never in my life seen such huge lily pads — nor did I even realize anything like these existed!  I made the remark that they didn’t look real and was quickly informed that they definitely are real!

There is so much more.  We ran out of time and energy and didn’t see all there was to see.  I plan on going back and walking some of the nature trails and maybe even picking up a plant or two.

My last two photos are of a HUGE spider that had spun a web between two trees and was not far away from the Tower.  Even with my zoom I couldn’t get as close a shot as I wanted.  In the photo on the left, if you look hard enough, you can just make out the shadow of his web.  Let me just state again — this spider was BIG!!

Phoneography Challenge: Black & White

It’s Phoneography Challenge Monday for black & white again!  I’ve chosen another backyard photo taken on a whim using my iPhone 5.

She’ll never know I’m here!

Check out the other entries on Lens and Pens by Sally by clicking here!

Two, Two, Two Posts in One!

When I saw the Weekly Photo Challenge and the Word a Week Challenge, I knew I had a photo that to me would represent both challenges — Infinite and Silhouette.  Let me know what you think and then click on the links below to check out more entries.  Thanks!

iPhone 3G; auto enhanced with MS Picture Manager

iPhone 3G; Camera360 app

To check out more entries for Infinite click on The Daily Post

To check out more entries for Silhouette click on A Word in Your Ear

Phoneography Challenge: Nature

I went out in the backyard one day after a fairly heavy rain and just happened to run into this little fella!  These were taken with my iPhone 5 and are unretouched.

For more Nature Phoneography entries, check out Lens and Pens by Sally!

Daily Prompt: Safety

The Savior has always been the protector of those who would accept His protection. He has said more than once, “How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not” (3 Ne. 10:5).

The Lord expressed the same lament in our own dispensation after describing the many ways in which He calls us to safety:

“How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!” (D&C 43:25).

There seems to be no end to the Savior’s desire to lead us to safety. And there is constancy in the way He shows us the path. He calls by more than one means so that it will reach those willing to accept it. And those means always include sending the message by the mouths of His prophets whenever people have qualified to have the prophets of God among them. Those authorized servants are always charged with warning the people, telling them the way to safety.

From the Daily Prompt: Photographers, artists, poets: show us SAFETY.  Click here for more entries.

Daily Prompt: Music

“When we rejoice in beautiful scenery, great art, and great music,
it is but the flexing of instincts acquired in another place and another time.”
— Elder Neal A. Maxwell

I have always loved music. Music has a way of lifting you up if you’re feeling down. There are songs that will trigger memories that I thought were lost forever. This Daily Prompt brought up a memory of when I was a child and we lived at the Marsh Hotel.  When you passed through the lobby of the Hotel there was a dining room in the back. Yes, it was operating back then.  There was an old piano in that dining room.  I don’t remember if anyone ever played it (besides me, that is).  Whenever the dining room was closed, I would spend hours banging away on that old piano.  I picked out the usual Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.  I used to pretend I was a great piano player and spend hours making up “songs” to bang out on that old piano.  If memory serves (which it doesn’t always do) that old thing was pink.  Yes, I did say pink. Granted, it was a very pale pink.

I guess my Mom took pity on me because she started me in piano lessons. They were down the street from the Hotel in a back room of a book store. I can’t remember the name of the book store or the name of the piano teacher.  I do remember she was very nice.  I absolutely loved learning the piano.  But all good things must come to an end. I was only able to take lessons for about three months.  That’s about the time my father became quite ill and nearly died. He lost the Hotel and we had to move. I can remember my teacher telling my mother to make sure she got me back into piano lessons no matter where we went. I guess she thought I had a knack for it. She said I had covered two years of material in three months. Sadly, I never had a piano again.

Well, over 50 years later, I can’t say that anymore. Last year I found the perfect piano on Craigslist. It’s beautiful, it’s like new, and they were selling it at an unbelievable price (e.g. cheap!).  I thought there had to be something terribly wrong with it so I hired a piano tuner to inspect it for me prior to purchase.  After he had examined and tested it, he told me privately to let him know if I did not buy it because he would. Well, that was enough for me.  It’s mine and it’s everything I ever hoped it would be! Here it is:

It’s mine now! Granted, for now it’s primarily just a beautiful piece of furniture. Shortly after I purchased it, I lost my job, so no piano lessons at the moment. But don’t despair. I haven’t. I have the piano I have dreamed of my whole life. I have the Schaum and Thompson piano books I had when I was 10. So, it’s not a banjo but I’m a pickin’ and a grinnin’!  I have always said if I could have spent as much time at a piano keyboard as I have at a typewriter/computer keyboard, I’d be a concert pianist!  HA!

I do so enjoy music. Lots of different genres. Some time ago, I started adding songs I liked to one of my Pinterest boards (click here). I noticed that so far I’ve been keeping pretty much to the 60’s and 70’s!

Here’s a piano medley of some hymns of Thanksgiving to enjoy (oh, to play like that!):

I listened, motionless and still; And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more.

William Wordsworth

For more interpretations of the Daily Prompt click here.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Good Morning!

My goodness, it’s been way too long since I posted anything.  I’ve been too distracted.  But I’m working on getting back on track.  I saw this week’s photo challenge and had taken a photo just this morning that I thought would be perfect!  I was up early this morning to get a head start.  When I took the dogs out, I saw such a pretty sunrise I just had to try and capture it.  My photos don’t do it justice but then I was using an iPhone 5.  So, on that note, I’d say it’s not too bad for a phone camera!  No real touch up other than auto correct in MS Photo Manager. Enjoy!

For more great Good Morning photos visit here!