Then one foggy Christmas Eve

Is that you, Rudolph? Who's your friend?

Strange Photo

I always thought this was a strange lunch.

It is a little strange to capture a reflection of a reflection.

But how about a reflection of a reflection of a reflection---I think.

Cactus growth looks a little strange.

It was strange for this parrot to show up at the Fourth of July picnic.

But this may be the strangest on of all--I think it took me a couple of years to notice.

Check out the other headbangers from the links in my sidebar.

Headbangers will not be posting challenge photos for a couple of weeks while we celebrate Christmas and New Year's. I will likely have a new header for Christmas, though.

Hot or Spicy

or Hot and Spicy. I proposed this theme.

Jalapeños -- hot

Serranos -- hotter

Habaneros -- HOTTEST

And then there is hot and SPIKEY

Other header chalengees are linked in my sidebar. Give them a visit.

Comfortable

Christine gave us this theme.

The amazing thing is---I have a pair just like them at home!!!!

LOL

Check out the other headbangers comfortable from the links in my sidebar.

Fireworks

When the Fourth of July came along each year, our dog, Babe, would hide in the bathtub. I generally agreed with her opinion of the fireworks, and never have taken a picture of them.

So, with fireworks the theme of this week's header challenge, I go to the quiet kind provided regularly by nature.

Favorite Animal

The headbangers have chosen "My Favorite Animal" as this week's theme. there are five of us in friendly competition to post a new header each week. We have changed our posting day to Monday to better fit some of our schedules.

I can't really say how long the giraffe has intrigued me. Perhaps it goes back to a trip to the zoo with my nephews many many years ago. On the way to San Diego in the car it was mentioned that a baby giraffe had been born. It was six feet five inches tall at birth. One of the nephews was very impressed. His comment? "That's taller than Sandy Koufax!" (I date myself.)

These pictures were taken at the San Francisco Zoo, the Phoenix Zoo, and the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. I am sure I have more, but these were the easiest at hand. Unfortunately no picture of the baby taller than Koufax, but this first one is not much older than that one was at the time, and definitely tall.

This one may be my favorite. Looks like he just finished an ice cream cone.

Is that his tongue again?

What you lookin' at, Lady?

Lunch!

This was a special birthday p[resent a few years ago. My daughter paid for the privilege of me feeding the giraffe at Woodland Park Zoo.

Other headbangers may have chosen more cuddly creatures as favorites. Hmmm. I could have included that frog from last week's colors post. Nah! Not necessarily a favorite. The others have links in my sidebar so you can see what they like.

Colors

I proposed the theme of colors for this week's headbanger challenge. Fall is providing plenty of color this year, but I have some other options here as well.

The primary colors are presented here near the rose garden with a yellow tree and a red tree and the blue sky.

Here is a good example of green taken a couple of months ago at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.

"It's not easy being green...."

Take a look at these colors from this summer at Mt. Rainier and at the Nisqually Refuge>

My friends gifted me with this quilt as an encouragement in troubled times. They called it "Kathy's Mountain of Faith" and used colors from the mountain and blocks with bible themes. I treasure it.

Headbangers linked in the sidebar.

Signs of Fall

We are moving our headbangers posting date to Monday next week, but in the interim, here are some recent visual thoughts about the signs that Fall is here. (The temperatures and the storms have provided signs for the other senses.)

 I drove by the supermarket after picking up a few groceries and took this shot of the pumpkins ready for jack-0-lantering. Or pies. But not soup. I tried to adapt my squash and spicy sausage soup recipe to use canned pumpkin for convenience and it did not work well. I am not sure if I got quantities messed up too much, tried to rush it, or if the pumpkin is just a bit sweeter than the butternut squash.

Then later appeared the Harvest Moon. What better sign of Fall? I checked it out the next evening, but one of those fall storms was building and the moon was not visible at all.

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