Once upon a time, on a beautiful, warm Fall evening, I sat in a university extension classroom of like-minded adults who wanted to improve their writing skills. I spent much of the first hour glancing out the window.  I wanted to see the moment of nightfall. I missed it.

My theme for #23 Round of ABC Wednesday: Signs & Such of San Benito County, California Yesterday afternoon, at Bertuccio's , a produce market in Hollister, I remembered I had yet to photograph a sign or such that began with the letter I. Twice, I combed that store in search of the letter I.  Amazingly, no vegetable, fruit, or food product began with I. Aha! The vintage weigh scale on display had something: IN TRADE . The complete phrase was NOT LEGAL FOR USE IN TRADE . I have no idea what that means. To check out ABC Wednesday , click here . For this week's participants, click here for the list of participants.  Thank you, ABCW Team!

Today I'm throwing words onto the page. The end of daily posts for a year is coming up in October. I don't want to break stride. . . .Well, well, well. . . Hello, Miss Molly by Golly!. . .Why thank you, Madame. Molly gave me permission to share the photo of her standing at attention, guarding the front yard one morning last month.

My theme for #23 Round of ABC Wednesday: Signs & Such of San Benito County, California The Masonic Lodge of San Benito County was established 147 years ago ago, three years before San Benito became a separate county from Monterey County. Its home is the familiar brick building with the infamous clock tower at the corner of San Benito and Fourth Streets. The Masonic symbol of a G in the middle of a square and compass is on the outside wall above the lodge's entrance. The G stands for Great Architect of the Universe, as well as for Geometry. If you're interested in learning more, check out this page at the Masonic Lodge of Education web site. To check out ABC Wednesday , click here . For this week's participants, click here for the list of participants.  Thank you, ABCW Team!

This summer actually feels like the summers from when I was a kid allowed to do whatever I wanted (within reason) after all my chores were done. The days go by fast doing nothing. How fortunate am I.

Once I publish this post, I'm heading into L Studio to prep the place for sewing this week. That means I need to clear stuff off surfaces so I can strew fabrics and sewing stuff on them. My sewing objectives: Make curtains for our bedroom and upstairs hallway windows as well as a tunic for me. My intent for today's post was to share more countryside photos, but, then I got enamored with playing with the above photo in Photoshop. That's the original shot of walnut trees. Below are two renditions of the photo with Photoshop filters. Which do you prefer? By the way, for those who wondered, The Husband and I took BART to Oakland on Friday. Sunday means All Seasons , a weekly meme hosted by Jesh at Artworks from Jesh St.G , which is where I'm heading to share my post. Click here to check out Jesh. For the participants list, click here . Thanks, Jesh!

My theme for #23 Round of ABC Wednesday: Signs & Such of San Benito County, California Perhaps after drinking several beers, I may be enlightened to see window reflections with my eyes closed.  But, I'll stick to sipping one glass. :-) To check out ABC Wednesday , click here . For this week's participants, click here for the list of participants.  Thank you, ABCW Team!

I love the lighting magic that happens as the sun starts its downward path towards the horizon. I often ignore the experts' advice and click into the west just because I like how the light reflects on objects. My camera is a point-and-click. So, that I do, glad that I can crop, sharpen, highlight, fine tune the contrast, and so forth and so on with Photoshop. These photos were taken on Sunday afternoon at Good Friends Missus and Mister H's ranch, who invited us to a smoked turkey dinner. They raise free range organic turkeys. Missus H said it was time to consume the last frozen turkey from last year. The Husband and I were happy to help. Yummm. The above photo is of Mister H carving one of the turkey legs with a rather humming electric knife. Time for Our World Tuesday . Here's the link to check out participants from around the world, and maybe to join up yourself. Thanks, Our World Tuesday hosts!

  "I've got the sun in the morning and the moon at night. . . . I'm doing all right" ~ Irving Berlin I'm linking up with the monthly photography meme Wandering Camera hosted by Soma Acharya of Whims and Fancies . Click here to learn more about the meme and to check out other participants.

My theme for #23 Round of ABC Wednesday: Signs & Such of San Benito County, California This warning sign hangs in the window of one of the tattoo and piercing shops in town. To check out ABC Wednesday , click here . For this week's participants, click here for the list of participants.  Thank you, ABCW Team!

Giggle. If only that Girl had joined us in the picture. Molly the Cat happily watched from the sidelines. She said she only works on Mondays for the blog.  Oh-oh. What can she mean? Will she not let me write or show photos of her on non Mondays? Cosa sara. As Doris Day used to sing, "Que sera, sera." Here's a close-up of the cherry tomatoes that I picked this morning. They are sweet as candy. Time for Our World Tuesday . Here's the link to check out participants from around the world, and maybe to join up yourself. Thanks, Our World Tuesday hosts!

Joy!

"Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace." ~ Dalai Lama

Go ahead, Missus Lady. Work on the computer. Don't mind me. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Jerry Garcia?" So asked two ladies of the Husband at an event that we attended last Saturday. When his hair and beard gets long and full, he gets that question often. I like it when someone is reminded of ZZ Top. Then the Husband's beard is much, much longer. A month ago, we were at a nursery with good friends Missus & Mister H. Someone asked Missus H where she found the plant she was holding. She said, "See that hairy guy? Look over there." The Husband told me later that he thought, "Hey!" when he overheard her. Myself. I like to call the Husband, with his current look, The Wild Man of Borneo. I like the above photo of the Husband.  You can't tell from it that he was striking a sarcastic pose. I cropped it because I liked the way the lighting played on him. Below is the full photo of him standing in front of a historic settler's cabin. I think he was pretending to be Kit Carson, Jim

Molly the Cat walked out of the office just now. My taking photos of her while sleeping annoyed her. The camera has a loud beep when it turns on. That's how she knew. The Girl got me up a few minutes after sunrise. I knew this because I'd stumbled back to bed after a visit to the bathroom. The morning already felt hot so there was no instant getting back to snoozeville. I almost got there when Molly gave out a roar downstairs. I chose to ignore it as well as her next roar. Silence. Crash! Then a tinkle of something broken. Sigh. The Husband of course was oblivious to Molly's noises. I found the something broken in the kitchen sink. It was the yellow porcelain crocus that sat in a cup on the kitchen window ledge. Two of its petals broke off. I stuck the crocus back into the cup and placed the petals on the saucer. Still looks good. Molly probably was tracking a squirrel running along the fence. Does she know what she would do if she ever caught one? I still

Need I say more.  Cheers to one and all! I'm linking up with the monthly photography meme Wandering Camera hosted by Soma Acharya of Whims and Fancies . Click here to learn more about the meme and to check out other participants.

I was about to write that I'm late today with my post, but then I thought, that's not true. Yes, I am doing a personal challenge of posting everyday until sometime in October. No, I don't have a given time to post my daily blah-blah-blah. Well, there is 11:59 p.m. Yes, there is that. This morning I thought this is a contender for the Husband's and my motto: We are old. We are retired. So what if we're a little late.  Giggle. 

"Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~ Rumi