THE END OF 2009

This is the last sunlight of 2009, to momentarily be replaced by a new blue moon to start the year of 2010.
Beyond is the Captain of last year going down with his ship.
Have a Happy New Year.

CONTRALTO

On a dreary day of sprinkling rain here in Malibu, I went to check on my proteges at the pond.
Since they now realize I got some new specialized food, they demand to be fed constantly.
This one has taken to sing for her supper.
On Planet Earth, I took a few shots of the beach front homes vanishing into the fog in both directions, with a few little "scramblers" alone on the beach.
To get to the beach, I entered through a portal that separates two realms.
For my safety, I returned through the same portal.
Have a safe journey, wherever it may take you.

BLUE SUNSET

Four shots of the sunset in portrait mode.
I decided to use a flash in this composite, to bring out the blue for you.
I`m planning on doing some work on my reef by adding another tank to the same system.
This should allow me to add some different specimens while keeping the water quality at optimum levels.
Have a nice day.

BLENNY F

Andif,
This little Blenny has been begging to be adopted.
I only acquiesced a little by giving him your last initial.
He seems quite pleased with that.
I hope you are also.

DEEP DIVE

I usually don`t post on the week ends but since there is no FFF this time, I feel naked.
I took a few shots of my reef tonight.
The Marine Betta seems to be going deep.
Behind this shot, one of Olivia`s favorites PIPPI.
Looks like she knitted PIPPI`s stockings.
Over on Planet Earth, my girls.
Candice with Chloe & Jackie.
The beauty in one of the photos is Eleanor, a young lady who just arrived from London & is a guest at our home.
She`s is quite friendly, (to say the least) with Bligh, Teri`s boy, who is also a guest, though hailing from Australia.
I hope you all had a great holiday & reconnected with your respective tribal members.
Peace.

PROMISED LIGHT

Tonight, our Xmas eve dinner with friends & family at sunset was everything I anticipated.
The main thing was that the sunset cooperated & put on a show for almost an hour.
I`d set up my camera on a tripod & took pictures at different times.
I just wanted to make sure I captured the place settings in early light to be able to overlay the sunset in darker light.

Then the Santa Parade came by & stopped for 30/40 mins. for all the neighborhood.
I talked with people from all over who`d come to see the parade of lights.
I had a long talk with a lovely young lady & then a firefighter friend of mine.
The firemen on scene were providing a lot of the light show.
I was sort of coerced into meeting Santa personally, so I sat on his lap for a few mins. to the laughter of the kids.
I also met the people who live across the street earlier today who thought I was selling the pic of their house that some of you may have seen.
A few nights ago, I`d put the link to the 12 shot composite of their lights in their mailbox.
I told him he must have a lack of reading comprehension, since I`d also included a Merry Xmas with the note.
To me, that`s what goes along with a gift at this time of year.
I think they`re starting to realize that I won`t tear them to shreds on a whim.
On more than one occasion I was told that they didn`t like me, by others, but being the high road rider, I ignored that kind of talk.
I don`t think I`ll be hearing that kind of hateful talk anymore.
One has to face the world one bigot at a time.
Tonight the world got a little smaller.
MERRY CHRISTMAS.
On Planet Earth, wondering what lies in the future, for the child pondering what it all means while observing everything with wide open eyes.

'HEAD' MASTER

I made a big table out on the deck this morning so we can all have Xmas dinner out on the deck.

I oriented the table so we could all see the sunset while eating.

Now I just need one of my private sunsets.

PEACE

BONNIE & CLYDE

I turned the corner from my street & there they were.

I whipped my vehicle to the side of the road, jumped out & started shooting them.

Bonnie & Clyde didn`t seem very pleased.

I didn`t realize at first that the mobster & his moll were in the car.

On Planet Earth, a short term bloom on a rarely blossoming plant.

My client called the night before last, excited about her flower.

It really is a beauty.

Have a great day, as the end is near.

TAMPOPO TAMPERING

This evening`s post is for Tampopo.

I`m a little unclear on the concept, since it was discussed last year.

I had simply took a few shots & mixes of subjects & put them together in different ways & trying to make them seem different than, at first, apparently clear.

So here is a bit of fun, Tampopo.

If you click on Planet Earth, I have a 12 shot view of 3/4 of the house across the streets`lights.

Click "all sizes", "original", & slide from one end to the other.

Have a nice day.

LIP GLOSS

The poppies are showing their inner glisten here & when that happens, some leering eye pods are always lurking about.

The header is tonight`s sunset, & is backed up by more, of a larger size, (Beth)

As promised on Planet Earth, a pie I baked last night, & on the same menu, the Marmalade Cornish Hens I cooked for tonight`s meal.

Have a wonderful day & you are allowed to guess about the Lady from The Sea Of Love.

SEA OF LOVE

I will have to let you wonder on this image for a few days.

On Planet Earth, a poppy in 3D.

I`m still getting gate shots from around Malibu.

It`s not like I had them on file.

It`s a great hunt though.

Have a great day .

Tomorrow I`ll post a pic of a cherry pie I baked tonight.

BLOOD ON THE LEAVES

Tonight`s sunset.

Andif,

Teri was amazed at your bouquet of Frost Flowers.

Thank you.

"BEST WISHES" BLOOMS

Teri is steadily improving.

At this rate she should be recuperated by Easter.

These are some of the flowers she received, although she is against cutting flowers off at the neck.

She does though, greatly appreciate the thoughts.

Have a great day.

STORM`S END

The storm of the last few days is over.

By the storm, I mean the one involving Teri.

I`m the titular head of her medical team, so she`s under the best of care.

She will be just fine.

Thank you for all your wishes.

I compiled all of them from different blogs & presented them to her.

She was most impressed &very very pleased.

She read every single one of them numbering almost four dozen.

Collectively, it seemed to have helped enormously.

I shall never forget.

The post image is from tonight`s sunset & represents the steps to recovery.

There are more merged images beyond.

On Planet Earth, her crashed car. You do not have to go see, but it`s a testament to her relative good fortune, having not suffered more severe injuries.

THREE LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

I don`t have much time tonight.

I`m actually distracting myself.

Teri was in a horrific accident tonight.

She`s in the hospital with two collapsed lungs & other unknown (to me) injuries.

I just got back from the hospital but may be going back if I`m allowed to spend the night there with her.

Her daughter & her son are with her for the time being.

Some moran turned right in front of her from opposing traffic as she was going 50 miles an hour on Pacific Coast Highway on a green light.

There may be some confusion as to who was driving the other vehicle.

It may have been a fourteen year old who`s mom let her drive them home from class.

I felt helpless holding her hand in the emergency room.

LADIES NIGHT

This is my old & beautiful friend, Amado.

He is from Mexico.

He is world famous as an orchid expert & has over 700 varieties that he bred.

He has won hundreds & hundreds of awards, but he only loves the rewards of growing his lovely ladies.

His Orchid Ranch is surrounded by grounds that are exemplified by the image at Planet Earth.

Note the large plant growing on the branch of the big Sycamore.

He has many of those & this one is small in comparison to others he has.

I have dozens of images from the property which you shall see soon.

I spent some time with him yesterday, but I was very happy to see him at the ranch again today, & made sure we had our picture taken by Berta, a small Mexican girl who works for him.

He is a very gentle man.

It must help account for his age, as he turned 90 a short time ago.

I met him over 30 years ago playing pool at a bar over a few years.

We always had a great time challenging each other while improving our game.

His wife would quietly sit & watch us play.

She`s still sitting quietly in the background.

Linked to this image I have a set of some of his orchids.

One image is a set of orchids I processed tonight along with a screen capture of the folder that all of the shots I took today of the orchids though I haven`t gotten to all of them yet.

I have quite a few folders yet to go through from today`s shoot & you`ll soon get to see them.

Also on Planet Earth, I did a vertical merge of a tree with a climbing vine/plant taken from a footbridge across the creek that runs through the property.

I`ll describe the place when I post the images.

I`m dedicating this post to all the ladies in my life, past & present.

(There are quite a few surprisingly, & I`ll be posting some stuff soon about an art show I attended last Sat. where I met many of said ladies from my past.)

Enjoy your visit to my friend`s paradise.

PAST LOVE

One of my prize specimens from the past.

This is Royal Maroon Discus.

It`s a fresh water fish from the Amazon.

Have a great day.

I`m going shooting tomorrow, & hope to include some gates.

POINT PINK

Tonight`s upcoming storm showed it`s warm underbelly this evening.

Working till past dark to secure the project from the heavy rains expected, I looked up for a minute to see the pink sunset peeking through the clouds.

Last evening seemed to be tonight`s prophecy come true, something you may judge for yourself by simply clicking, you know where.

One of the rays is focused on my house, over on the point.

Have a great day.

EARLY START

Today favoring Finn`s visit, the decorating for the holidays started earlier than usual this year.

I`m trying to get things wrapped up on my project site these next two days since we`re expecting three days of rain beginning Sunday evening. With about a dozen people I`ve got working, I believe we`ll be OK, but I still wish I had another week of dry weather.

I added some pix of the mild mannered sunset from this evening over on Planet Earth.

Have a great day

SANDALS (Dedicated to Nancy P)

The best way to relax by a pond is to kick off your sandals & dip your feet in.

There`s one linked with a Koi fish in view.

They were mostly hiding since there was a large blue heron stalking them today.

Have a great day.

LUMBER PENCIL

A fuzzy visitor to my lumber pencil at work today.

Have a great day & don`t worry about being stung when you click to see more.

I`m a king bee & today these are my subjects.