I would like to think that the only good manipulating I do these days is what I do with my photos in Photoshop. Not that I think I manipulate people to my way of thinking or doing. Although, there are time when I wish people would stop thinking the ways of the dark force. Once upon a time, I had a very good girlfriend. We had wonderful adventures together. Did a lot of crazy stuff. Supported each other through our poor days of college studies. And, so forth and so on. Then one day we had a falling out. I had a rough work day, so was not at my best of listening to her troubles and was quite short with her. Ha! Wrong thing to do. No matter how much I apologized and tried to make amends, she chose to sever our friendship. Her final words depressed and angered me the most. I don't recall them precisely anymore, which is good. They were something like this: "I got all that I wanted out of you." It took me a long while, but I finally saw the light. Who says things like t

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

The Mama's apple trees have few blossoms this year, probably due to the severe drought we're in. We can only hope the trees will make it through the drought. Today, I'm participating in The Weekend in Black and White , hosted by the delightful Dragonstar. It's been awhile. To see B&W works by other participants, please click here .

Congratulations to all who participated in this annual April blogging challenge! This was my third year of participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge for this blog, The View from the Top of the Ladder , and the second year for Take 25 to Hollister .   I'm writing this reflection post for both blogs. Because I have a masochistic goal of blogging 365 days in 2015 for both my blogs, I entered the two of them in the challenge. I made it easy for myself by focusing on a theme—food for the Ladder and just  Hollister for Take 25 .  Every now and then, I managed to write posts beforehand and be ahead by two or three days, which meant I could visit more blogs. Wednesday and Thursday were tough days because I also wrote on my themes for ABC Wednesday and Alphabe Thursday .  I said I was masochistic.  At first, I visited blogs in the A to Z April Challenge under either the Ladder or Take 25 , following the suggestion of visiting the blog after me and five more blogs. P

My  Alphabe Thursday  theme -- The Dude, The Husband He may be collecting his pension and social security, but that doesn't mean the Husband is old.  Not at all. Today is the letter Y at Alphabe Thursday , which is hosted by the lovely Jenny Matlock. Please click here to check out other participants of this weekly ABC meme.

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.