Amanda's Veranda

Skywatch Friday Storm Clouds at Sunset

2009-11-06T08:21:00.000-08:00

I caught this sunset on the way home from an outing yesterday. It had just rained and the clouds were disapating. You can see the wind turbines near the bottom of some of the photos. To see more photos of skies around the globe go here.

Baby Girl, what a Cutie

2009-11-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

This is our little pekenese Baby Girl. She was posing so prettily I just had to take her photo. I can not imagine not having a dog in my life. I don't think I have evr not owned one. LOL!!

Some Flowers from the South

2009-11-03T19:37:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what kind of flower this is. I found it growing in my mothers yard.

These are hibiscus.

Brown Pelicans Bird Photography 62

2009-11-01T16:17:00.001-08:00

While I was down in Florida I saw many Brown Pelicans squabbling for bits of fish from the fishermen. To learn more about the Brown Pelican go here.

To see other photos of our beautiful birds go here.

Our very Scary Spooky Halloween Moon!

2009-10-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

BOO!!

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans

2009-10-31T09:19:00.000-07:00

If people did not have enough money for a crypt they would rent one of these wall compartments for a monthly fee. I don't know what happened if you did not pay your rent.

I loved walking through this old above-ground cemetery in New Orleans. It is the 3rd oldes cemetery in New Orleans and is crumbling and weedy but that is what gives it it's charm. People who have old family burial plots there are still being buried in them. They just go in and push the remains to the back and put in the new body. In 50 years there will be very little left of it. There are many many peoples remains in each crypt. I found it hauntimgly beautiful and could have spent all day reading the history in the epitaphs on the tombs. To find out more about Lafayette Cemetery No.1 go here.

Poncho Update

2009-10-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted any photos of Poncho and as you can see he has filled out nicely for the winter. He is the most adorable horse I have ever owned!!

Skywatch Friday Sunset and Airplanes

2009-10-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

I took these photos in Destin Florida when I was down for vacation 3 weeks ago. To see more of our beautiful skies around the globe go here.

Central Washington Fall Foliage

2009-10-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks in the Deep South it was good to go for a drive to remember why I love it here in Central Washington State so much. Winter is on it's way!!

Diamonds for our Nanny

2009-10-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

While I was down South my 103 year old grandmother Orris Clement "Nanny" was finally invited home by our Father in Heaven. What a joyous reunion that must have been as she greeted her beloved family members. She was greeted by so many who were waiting for her there, both young and old. We will miss her here but know we will all be together one day and we knew she had been waiting patiently for the Lord to come for her and we shed only tears of happiness. The day after the funeral the Lord came down and guilded all her beautiful flowers with diamonds, that is how it appeared to us anyway.

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

In Loving Memory of

Orris Lee Clement

December 16, 1905-October 10. 2009

I am Home!!

2009-10-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

I ended up staying down South for 3 weeks instead of 2 for many reasons. I took over 3000 photos from Florida,La,New Orleans, Jefferson Texas, and my childhood home of Minden, Louisiana. I thought about you fellow bloggers alot while I was there.I hope you enjoy my photos. I had a fantastic time with my family and friends. We had a wedding and a funeral and they were both beautiful and joyous occasions.

Going to be away for two weeks

2009-10-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

I will bring back photos from my trip south to La and FL!

Rocky needs a home desperately

2009-10-01T17:13:00.001-07:00

Beautiful 2 year old Heeler/Shepherd mix is desperate for a home in Central Washington, he will be taken to the pound if no home is found for him. He would be a perfect dog to tag along with you when you are riding. Loves to play and is a good watchdog. His name is Rocky.

He is very loving....

And handsome.........

He loves to play.......

and have you join the fun.....

He is very smart and listens to what you have to say....

He loves to make you laugh and has a goofy streak a mile wide!!

Can you help Rocky find a home?? Please feel free to crosspost this everywhere!
If interested please let me know in the comments section and I will give you the owners contact information. He is in Central Washington State.

Skywatch / Morning Has Broken

2009-10-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon

To see more of out beautiful skies around the globe go here.

Potholes in Central Washington

2009-09-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite local areas. It is also a stopping point for Sandhill cranes when they are migrating and they gather here by the thousands. Lots of good birding and fishing for most of the year.

The Official Greeters of Fall Arrived Today!

2009-09-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

I am happy and excited to say I saw my first flock of Sandhill Cranes migrating down South for the winter. They will stay here for a few weeks and glean the corn rubble left from this summer. The long, hot, dead still last days of Summer should be over now.

Golfing Fun with Ron's Family

2009-09-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

I am very lucky that Ron comes from a family that loves to golf. I don't golf but some of my best wildlife shots have come from golf courses. We met up with Uncles Tom and Scott, and Aunt Sharon and our great friend Gail for 3 days of golfing on one of the prettiest golf courses in Washington. Alta Lake Golf course in Pateros.

While the family golfed.....

I photographed the flora.....

and fauna.

I was very surprised to find out I have a nose for sniffing out golf balls, especially if they look like Spongebob or they are Crystal Pink!

We also had some great food and fun around the campfire at night. We are going to try and make it a yearly thing. I have never seen 3 days go by so fast!!

Sunflowers and their Friends

2009-09-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

I have hit the jackpot!!

I thought y'all would enjoy these beautiful sunflowers and their bee friends.

To all my Friends/Skywatch 62 Sunrise

2009-09-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

We had a spectacular sunrise this morning here in Central Washington.
To see more skies around the globe please go here

I want to apologize for not responding to your sweet emails and comments and for neglecting the blog. Ron and I were both hospitalized (for different things) and we are still under the stress of being laid off our jobs. We know everything is going to get better. We have been preparing for the winter, stocking the pantry, building up the woodstack, piling up the hay,and getting ready to hunker down. I have been training and riding Poncho and Annie A LOT!! When I am riding my horses I have no worries and don't dwell on the negatives. I am trying to stay busy. Please know that I appreciate you all very very much and I am going to try and get back into the blog groove starting immediately. I am headed north to the Okanogan for a couple of nights tomorrow and hope to bring back some good photos for you. Thanks to each and everyone of you for being my cyber friend.

The Priest Rapids Dam Fish Ladders

2009-09-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

My Worlds Coolest Next-door Neighbor Jodi works at the fish ladders at the Priest Rapids Dam. She got Ron and I a pass to come and watch the fish tagging procedure. Man! Do I envy her job I was transfixed to every single thing I saw and how and why they do what they do..

First the fish have to climb up this ladder. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. The fish have to make many switchbacks on their way to the top and you can watch them moving up against the current. If you look at the second level you will see a shadow of a large Salmon or Steelhead Trout . Steelhead trout are basically Ocean-run Rainbow trout. They come in to spawn like Salmon but they do not die afterwards. They swim back to the ocean and make the trip every year at spawning time. They get huge!! The Salmon running right now are Coho and Chinook with the Chinook being the larger of the two.

Jodi's job is to separate the fish when they come sliding down the tube. She allows the Whitefish and Coho to go past and back into the river where they will continue upstream to the next set of fish ladders. The Coho go through one gate and the Steelhead go through another. There they are weighed, measured and tagged sometimes several times, 5 scales are removed from each side of each fish as they show how old the fish is much like tree rings. And finally micro-chipped. They also punch a hole in their tails if they are hatchery fish and not wild run. Records are kept of all data. They are then shoved down another chute and back into the river they go. The steelhead go through the same procedure except they have to be anesthesized first, I guess because they are such fighters and won't hold still long enough.

This sounds like it would take a long time but they are very fast and efficient with their work. They only work at tagging two days of the week so plenty of fish get through unscathed. They just need to keep records of about 10% in order to better manage them.

Here is a beautiful Steelhead having one of 5 scales removed.

Here is a nice Chinook being pushed down the chute to freedom.

This is a holding tank of fish of different species that are unable to climb the ladders and have to be hauled by truck or helocopter up the river to where they need to be. They can consist of different species of carp or even sturgeon. I learned so much while I was there and I can not wait to go back. They only work during salmon runs so it may be a while before I can go again. There is a part of me that hates that any fish has to go through this, but we humans built the dams and put an obstacle in their way so I believe we owe them whatever it takes to carry out their life cycles and they are well taken care of from what I could see. If you have a fish hatchery near you I strongly advise you to go and check it out and learn about America's beautiful fish and learn what you can do to help keep the waters healthy so the fish can also be healthy.

Skywatch 61 Spaceship Clouds

2009-09-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

Last night as the sun was going down it suddenly looked like we were being invaded from Outer Space.
Lenticularis clouds are lens-shaped clouds, with a smooth layered appearance. Lenticularis often shows iridescence if it is near or in front of the sun. Beautiful lenticularis forms over and downwind of mountain ridges whenever there are strong upper-level winds, such as the jetstream. Mountain lenticularis are stationary and mark the crests of invisible gravity waves in the air flowing over the mountain. The sometimes flying-saucer-like appearance of lenticularis undoubtedly accounts for several fake UFO reports.

To see more of our beautiful skies around the globe go here.

Bird Photography 54 Pied-billed Grebe??

2009-09-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

While out and about today I spotted this small grebe. I am pretty sure it is a Pied-billed Grebe. maybe a juvenile? Be sure and speak up if I am wrong it would not be the first time. LOL He was the only bird I saw on the lake. It was quiet and lonely till he swam out of the reeds.

To see more of our beautiful birds around the globe please go here.

Poncho and I in the Sandstorm

2009-09-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

Poncho and I got caught in a sandstorm today. Thank God it only lasted a couple of minutes, I got sand in my nose and eyes and all in my hair, it blew in the windows and my house is a mess!

A Boy and His Pig at the Ellensburg Fair

2009-09-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

I saw the bond between a boy and his 4H pig at the fair today.

Skywatch 60 Awesome Sunrise

2009-09-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

I got up very early this morning and was rewarded with this brilliant sunrise. To see more beautiful skies around the globe go here.