So what was the surprise?

We found these greedy youngsters on our hike along Hadrian's Wall in Yorkshire two years ago. It wasn't till last week when I was looking for another sheep picture for headbangers that I noticed....

 

 

Do you know what I noticed?

 

 

Scroll across to the right of here for what I saw. Mom's feet are lifted off the ground.

 

 

The headbangers have a challenge each week to see who can best display the theme in their header. Check out the other headbanger members in my sidebar and see what they have done for a surprise.

That was a surprise!

Tom suggested the theme of "That was a surprise!" for our headbangers adventure this week. I am properly prepared with a photo that I came upon while gathering files for the "Exhibition" last week. When I took another look at it--two years after taking it--I discovered something I had never noticed before.

I will put the picture up tomorrow, and will you notice what I noticed?

In the meantime, here is a repost of a surprise that happened a few years ago during Spring Break:

You see, it was during spring break several years ago when two boys rang my doorbell and told me that their ball went into my yard and could they go get it.

And I said Yes, go around through the gate over here.

And they said but he went in over there.

Now, bilingual kids (and adults) often have a problem getting their pronouns straight, so I didn't think too seriously about their calling their ball a "he."

So, pretty soon this is what I saw:

 Okay, not a problem with pronouns, just a little accent on the vowel sounds there.

The boys tried to get the bull to go home with them, but he thought our grass was greener, I guess. So they said they would be right back, and pretty soon they came back with their dad.

...who was leading a cow.

 Who led the bull out of the yard...

and down the road toward home.

So that's my surprise story--that's all it is--and I'm sticking with it.

So I guess I do live in the Wild West.

 

Sunday's Psalm -- Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.

 

 

 

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Many are the troubles of the just one,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him;

he watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Sometime in the next 18 hours I am going to have to decide

Yep, the Headbangers are at it again. And the theme we have been given by Stewart is Exhibition. He explains that it should be a photo you would put in an exhibition.

I wonder if these guys realize that I use what is not much more than a point and shoot camera.

It does look intimidating to some, as it has bulk and what looks to the average I will take your picture with my phone and try not to cut off your head photographer like an incredible lens. It is a great zoom. I love my zoom.

So I point and I shoot and I sort.

So, what would I put in an exhibition? Should I go far? Stay close to home? Focus in close? Zoom to the distance? How far would I go??

to Siberia!!

What would I put in an exhibition?

the snout of the glacier---oh, and those guys on the snowboards



Not even the main peak peeking



What wood grow here?

Arch angle

Earlier this summer--close to the wildfire burning now.

EMP

fish

They said "What in the world is she taking a picture of?"
and then they looked,
and took a picture themselves. Hiking in Scotland.

Another view from the same hike.

Love these sheep by Hadrian's Wall!!



In Lincoln, UK

I did take some ordinarily touristy pictures while in Wales.

OK, so he was at a wildlife park, but do stay out of his way. Did I mention I love my zoom?

Another local character--there on the left.

And while they were looking for touristy views...

My brother and his friend.

ghost town textures

synchronized breaching

Everyone else was taking a picture of Half Dome.

Oh, remember the cattle drive--do I live in the Old West or what?   (actually, it is a bit more of the or what.)



Bloom where you are planted.

OK, I have to do a new header tomorrow. So what shall it be????



Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time--Sunday's Psalm

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.

Alaska

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Glorify the LORD with me,
Let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
And delivered me from all my fears.

Zion Nat'l Park, Utah

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy.
And your faces may not blush with shame.
When the afflicted man called out, the LORD heard,
And from his distress he saved him.

Inside Passage--B.C. Canada

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

We repeat the same psalm as last week in today's liturgy, and I am also repeating, pulling the same illustrations I used a couple of years ago.

Tagging Salmon

We went to the fish ladders at the Ballard Locks on Tuesday to watch the salmon run.

The ladder provides a series of shallow steps that the fish can maneuver, swimming always against the direction of the flow of water, to get upstream to their spawning grounds.

Benjie is watching the fish, some of which are being diverted up from the main portion of the ladder. We were curious as to what was going on with these fish. 

We wondered what was going on up above where these men with nets seemed to be after the diverted fish.





The fish didn't necessarily want to cooperate with the netters.

But they did magage to capture them nonetheless.


So now what?

The netted fish was transferred into a tub of water, where he was wrestled into what can only be called a fish body bag. Well, the workers probably have a better name for it.

The black bag calmed the fish somewhat--not much...

...but enough to make it possible to pass the catch up to the next group of workers.

...who measured it... 

 

...tagged it...

...and turned it loose in the open waters leading into Lake Union.

On Thursdays I used to do posts about workers. I think I will try to resume doing that, as I do think I need to get back to more regular blogging.

Headbangers Challenge--Stripes

I wonder when Chris (Gailsman) set the theme of "Stripes" for this week's Headbanger's Challenge if he had something in particular in mind.

Had he been out hiking and noticing the stripes on small critters such as the Golden Mantle Squirrel? (Not a chipmunk. The Golden Mantle Squirrel is larger and does not have stripes on his cheeks, though this one certainly has a supply of nuts in his cheeks.)

Or maybe he had stopped by the zoo, which is always a good place to find some stripey critters.

Sleepy stripey critters.

Did he find some smaller stripey critters?

My bet is that he did not have someone like Esther show up fresh from a manicure with her stripey fingernails!

(I did a little rotate and patching to get the picture in the right proportions for my header and repair the fingertip that I had cropped of when I took the picture. When you are photographing the fingernails of a plucky 83 year old at the gym, you don't ask for "just one more take and move your hands this way.)

Headbangers move to a theme each week. There are five of us now, linked in my sidebar so you can see what stripes the others have found.

This just in--introducing our newest Headbanger--Richard. He will be joining the competition with next weeks theme.