Happy Monday, Dear Readers! It's another glorious morning. There aren't many morning glories in the Mama's garden this year because of the drought. Those that managed to pop up are flourishing happily. They're all 11th generation volunteers. Today I'm participating in NatureFootstep's Catching the Light meme. Click here to join in or to check out photos by other participants.

To see more black and white photos by other bloggers, check out  The Weekend in Black & White , hosted by Dragonstar.

Another Friday, another black & white photo. Which also means participating at The Weekend in Black and White , hosted by Dragonstar.  Click here to see works by other participants.

Beeeep. Beeep. Beeep. "I think I was being followed by a drone," I said to the Husband when I got home from a bike ride with Tilda-Hilda about two weeks ago. "What?" "It started when I took pictures of the goats on Best Road. I kept hearing a beeep sound until I got to the highway." "I've heard that sound," said the Husband. "It's not a drone." "What is it then?" "I don't know." "It was a drone." Ever since that ride I have been hearing that Beeep sound on other back roads. Today I discovered the source. It's not a drone. Unless a ground squirrel is one. Tilda-Hilda and I pedaled just over 11 miles in 64 minutes this morning. Beeeep. Beeep. Beeep.

I'm linking up with the Weekend in Black and White , hosted by the gracious Dragonstar. Come along with me to check out B&W photos by participants from around the world.

It's more photos of last Thursday's rainy day and night. Actually, it's a photo of the Mama's vegetable garden and two segments of that photo which I "painted" in Photoshop.  This is the growing puddle next to the sidewalk. Today I'm linking up with Creative Every Day . To visit other participants, please click here.

The greatest thing that happened this past week was Rainy Thursday. It rained throughout the day and night. And, at one point, it came down in buckets. Of course, I had to go outside and take photos. I got totally drenched, and loved every huge raindrop that my tee-shirt absorbed. The Mama loved the rain, too. She was outside when the rain started, and decided to go hang out in the shed as the sky kept crying. On this coming Wednesday's post, I'll share what she did during the rain. Writing Travel Bits Lately, I've been writing descriptions about local places for Mapquest . Once upon a time, I thought I wanted to be a travel writer, but other things came along to drop that thought in the wish bucket. Writing these occasional short pieces is fulfilling that dream. Here are a few of the places I've written about so far: Pinnacles National Park , National Steinbeck Center , San Benito County Historical Park , and the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph . A rock

Today, I'm participating in The Weekend in Black and White , hosted by the delightful Dragonstar. To see B&W works by other participants, please click here .

Sometimes Molly the Cat and I like to wander in the Mama's garden (which is the whole back yard) first thing in the morning. Molly does her sniffing-the-ground rounds, while I take photos of the sights. There are always new things to see, such as "Wow, look how well the Asian pears are growing." This morning, Molly said, "Why don't you keep tabs on the progress with pictures?" Well, she looked at me as I was thinking it. And, you know how cats have a way of transferring their thoughts to our minds. I agreed with Molly. So, over the next few months, I shall take photos of these spots in the Mama's garden. Vegetable boxes Vegetable boxes (another angle) Apple Tree

My  ABC Wednesday   theme:  The Mama and Her Authentic Green Thumbs. . .and Fingers Serenity now? Go into the Mama's jungle then. The north end, in particular, is where you can surround yourself with a quietude. As you make your way along the narrow paths, flower and vegetable bushes and vines brush against your legs and arms in welcome.  Be careful though. You may need to crouch a bit beneath the tangles of branches of apricot, apple, and persimmon trees. And, there may be fruit hanging low up ahead. Today is the letter Q at ABC W ednesday , a meme began by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and now managed by a team of wonderful folks.   Click  here  to read posts by other participants.

My  ABC Wednesday   theme:  The Mama and Her Authentic Green Thumbs. . .and Fingers Those white blossoms may one day produce Asian pears for us. The tree had quite a lot of blossoms this year, but then we had a couple days of rain. The rain was wonderful for us, since we're in a drought, but not so much for the blossoms. So we shall see. Look in the background and you can see some clusters of buds of the avocado tree. If they all wake and do their thing, we're going to have a huge crop this year. What else is new in the Mama's garden? This past week, she planted long beans and some other kinds of beans, which I can't recall. She says that sometime soon she'll plant green beans. Yup. We like our fresh beans. Seeds that the mama dropped into the soil a few weeks ago have popped up. These are parda plants. I have no idea what the English word is for parda . Not even sure if I'm spelling the Ilocano word correctly. It's a kind of bean that look

Yesterday, I posted photos of the martians the Husband and I sighted on our recent walk. Today, I give you photos of the various earthly creatures we saw. Some were mild-mannered while others tried to scare us with ferocious looks. They weren't trying too hard because I didn't run away, and I'm truly a big scaredy-cat.  Today is Our World Tuesday , a wonderful meme that let's bloggers from around the world meet and greet and share their part of the world. Click here to join us.

It was about 20 minutes before sunset when I heard the rain on the roof next door. "It's raining," I said, clicking away on the keyboard. The Husband shifted in his seat behind me. "The sun is out," he said. "There must be a rainbow somewhere." The vertical blinds rustled. "It's right outside!" "Everyone's getting their camera. Click, click," I said as I crossed the room, thinking about the growing number of people suddenly sharing their photos of our town on a couple of local Facebook groups. I peeked through the slats. "I'm getting my camera." The Husband followed me down the stairs and out the door. We were greeted by a brilliant rainbow. "Look, look! Another rainbow!" I said, clicking away. Two rainbows. A gentle rain. The sun setting. What more could we ask for? Some  clouds cleared beneath the rainbow. "The moon!" I'm participating in Our World Tuesday . To se

My ABC Wednesday theme: The Mama and Her Authentic Green Thumbs . . .and Fingers And just like that the Mama's trees in the backyard are bursting with life. Gee, when did the leaves start sprouting on the miracle tree? Golly, the young apricot tree has a lot of buds this year.  Gosh, the banana leaves have begun unfurling.   I'm participating in ABC Wednesday , a meme began Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and administered today by Roger Green at Ramblin' with Roger . Today is the letter G . Click here to read other G posts.

  Isn't this field of yellow mustard lovely? It was quite happy, I thought, because of the rain. This weekend our area had its first rainstorm of the year. Hopefully, we'll get more rain to soften the blow of another year of drought. Being that I caught such a mellow yellow field with the camera, I hooked up with Monday Mellow Yellows , hosted by Gemma Wiseman. Click here to check other mellow yellow photos by bloggers around the world.

A Happy July First to you, Dear Readers! And, because it's July first, I'm going to tell, and show, some of the firsts that the Husband and I experienced in June. Bottom line: summer is definitely here. Whooo-hooo! As some of you know, I do another blog called Take 25 to Hollister , which is all about where we live in California. Yup, Hollister, California. Our history and culture is not at all like the fictional Hollister, California of clothing fame. If you're interested in knowing the difference, check out this post . But, I mention the blog because our first-time experiences took place in Hollister and nearby locations. You'll also probably notice the watermark on some of my photos. Now, on with the show and tell. Hollister Airshow   Have you ever seen an air show from the flight line? It's definitely a different experience from suddenly stopping on the side of the road and peering up into the sky at the planes. That's how I've seen air show

Our sweetie-cakes is bored. How do I know Miss Molly by Golly is bored? "Break time," she mewed. She hopped up on my desk, walked back and forth on my keyboard, and checked out what was on the computer, then plopped down in front of me, insisting that she be petted. Molly rarely comes upstairs into the office in the morning on her own volition. ( Ooooh, big word. Could my ability to recall vocabulary be coming back? Take that Menopause! ) And, the only reason she normally doesn't care to seek out my attention at this time of the day is because she's enjoying herself in the Mama's garden. So, why wasn't she there on this gorgeous summer day? Unfortunately, summer brings back her seasonal harasser—the mockingbird. Every time, Molly the Cat goes outside, the bird suddenly appears and screeches at her. Molly just sits and looks at it, as if saying, "What's your problem?" The mockingbird then swoops at her and as Molly retreats to the hous

Verily, verily, I say unto her,  "I shall leave that spider web alone." It's outdoors. It is in no one's way. It does no one harm. The Mama thinks otherwise about spider webs.  And, if she had seen this one, she would've given me grief. Verily, she would have.  I'm participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge this month. To check out other participants, click here . See you tomorrow.   

The last of the remaining orchard in our area was pulled out last month. That's why we've been seeing and hearing a lot more crows in the neighborhood. Also, doves, pigeons, and other birds. Squirrels, too.  Fortunately, no rats or snakes. I hope all the creatures that once lived in the orchard have found good places to call home. FYI: The watermark on the photo refers to the other blog I write. I'm participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge this month. To check out other participants, click here . See you tomorrow.   

One of my favorite places to go to is the ocean. Notice I didn't say beach. I like the beach, but I don't necessarily have to be walking or laying on one. I'm happy to be standing on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. And, when I can swim in ocean that's warm as bath water, whoooo-weeee! That to me is heaven. All my life, I have lived within a 40-minute drive away from the Pacific Ocean. At one time, I was just 10 blocks away when I was living in San Francisco. Oh, and how can I forget the apartment where the ocean was just a short walk down the hill. Although, the Husband will say that was a bay and not the ocean. But, a bay is part of an ocean, right? I had to search deep into my computer files to find a photo for today's post. You know what that means? The Mama would say, "Mapan tayo idiay baybay!" Let's go to the ocean! What's one of your favorite places to go to? I'm participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge this m