A Month of Letters Week Four (and Last)

It’s Week Four and the Final Week of A Month of Letters. The challenge has come to an end, but I will continue to write letters as long as I’m alive.

You can view Week One, Week Two and Week Three of my adventure if you missed it so you can make sense of this post.

Day Twenty-Two February 22nd Wednesday
I mailed three letters and received none.

Triangle
Since I'm a rock lover, I had to post this triangular rock.

When I took this photo, I was focusing on one particular triangle (the way the branches crossed each other), but when I looked at it more closely, I noticed at least 11 triangles. Can you find that many or more?

There's an old fence dividing our property and the neighbor's. By fence I mean these posts that are made from some kind of tree with barbed wire. Most of the fence is somewhat destroyed, but here is a shot that I liked. I took pictures of each post in one of my walks down the driveway (before this letter challenge).

Day Twenty-Three February 23rd Thursday
I mailed a total of 15 pieces of mail. Three I took to the post office for postage. I received zip in the way of mail. Wah.

White
When I decided to do white, I wondered if I was going to find anything white except for some trash, but since I photographed trash already I hoped for something different. I was surprised to find as many. Here's the two favorites. The white on this rock.

I don't know what the technical name is for this growth on the tree, but the whiteness of it startled me.

Day Twenty-Four February 24th Friday
I mailed five letters and received two. Yay! Thank you Rita and Jess, you made my day.

Moss
I love moss. Not really sure why, but if I could, my entire yard would be covered in moss. They have an area at the Missouri Botanical Gardens that's all mossy. It's really cool.

In my yard, there's snippets of moss all over on rocks, like this one.

There's a lot of moss on trees too. I thought this one was interesting as it looked kind of hairy.


Day Twenty-Five February 25th Saturday
I mailed one letter. Can you believe it? Just one. Didn't receive any.

Togetherness
Of course I had to snap these rocks that looked like they were experiencing a little togetherness. You may think I stacked them like this, but I didn't. These rocks were all separate, but when they landscaped the yard I guess they didn't want to bury the smaller ones, so they stacked them on top of each other.

These two plants looked like they wanted to be together.


Day Twenty-Six February 26th Sunday
No mailing of letters, however I did write three.

Day Twenty-Seven February 27th Monday
I mailed the three I wrote yesterday. I received zippo.

Squiggly
The branches on the trees going down my driveway are the only squiggly things I found.

Except for this shot of the driveway and its squiggly cracks.

Day Twenty-Eight February 28th Tuesday
I mailed three letters today and received six pieces of mail. Whoo-hoo! Thanks Gwen, Sue J, Linda, and Maya. Yeah, I can add. Maya sent me three!

Birds
Of course I pick the least sunny day to try and take some photos of birds. They were singing like crazy. I kept looking up fearing I'd fall over something from not looking where I was going. They were chirping, tweeting, cawing, whistling, calling to one another. I heard the woodpecker pecking on wood and a bird that sounded like a woodpecker that wasn't pecking on anything. Those little critters hid well. But as I walked I caught this hawk flying in the air. Can you see him? He's almost smack dab in the middle of the photo.

Then as I reached the top of my driveway, I saw a bunch of birds flying into this tree, but I have no idea what kind of birds they are--can you see some sitting in the tree?

Day Twenty-Nine February 29th Wednesday
I mailed two letters today. Although it's the last day, it won't be my last letter by a long shot.

Unusual or Out of Place
Okay, this picture I had to include even though I didn't take it today. I took it on the 22nd (this week). Now I had been going up and down the driveway since February 1st and had not seen this particular item on the tree. I asked my husband if he put it there to surprise me. No. I still have no idea who did it or when it was actually put there. I wasn't as observant as I thought if I had been passing that every day.

The other unusual picture is this tree. I think the knarly knot sticking out (on the left) looks like a bear's head. What do you think?

Again thanks to Mary Robinette Kowal who started this challenge. And if you want to write a letter, but without the intensity of writing a letter every day for a month, you can check out Estrella’s blog and join her in the More Love Letters Bundle.

I'll leave you with this - if you think writing a letter to someone doesn't make a difference, I've got news for you...

Happy 95th Birthday Mom!

Dear Mom,

Happy Birthday! You would have been 95! That seems crazy.

One thing I can’t recall is celebrating any of your birthdays. Either I have a terrible memory or you let your birthday’s go unnoticed. It makes me feel a little sad, like did I even wish you a happy birthday? Did I make you a silly card? I’d like to think that I did, but I have no recollection. I don’t remember having cake or singing to you. Did you just blow off your birthday as if it was just another day, and didn’t want to make a fuss? I can see you doing that, but I wonder whether deep down you wished for some kind of tah-do. Don’t we all like to be recognized, even if it’s just a card?

Well I’m here to tell you, if you were alive, I’d craft you a home-made card. Maybe even try my hand at writing you a poem. I would tell you how much I love you and how grateful I am for all the things you’ve done for me. I’d get a little party hat and put it on your head and maybe even give you one of those little blower whistler things. I’d bake you your favorite cake—egads, I don’t even know what kind is your favorite. I’d probably try and find the latest style for someone your age as I remember your sister Electa telling me that when you were younger, you always wanted to be the first one wearing the latest fashion. I find that funny because I’m totally the opposite. I’d sing in my off key voice wishing you the happiest of birthdays.

No doubt, I’d do a lot of things if you were alive.

So here’s hoping, wherever you are, you’re celebrating like no other.

With much love.

Book Blurb Friday #52 One Year Anniversary!

It’s Book Blurb Friday #52—one year since Lisa Ricard Claro (writinginthebuff) started BBF. I began playing from day one, was pretty gung-ho, but fizzled out and joined in sporadically.

Basically you write a book blurb based on the photo (that being the cover of the book) and you must do it in 150 words or less. This week’s photo is by your one and only—me! I had to play this one—after all Lisa was kind enough to use my photo and it’s the One Year Anniversary of BBF.

For anyone new to this blog and this meme, my character's name is always Obermoeller. It was too hard to compete with Lisa and the whopper names she created--pure genius.

Here’s my 74 words—

Vanished
Obermoeller unable to perform his disappearing act, fell into his desk, humiliated. How would he face his audience who paid big bucks for his out-of-this-world, one-of-a-kind magic show?

When Obermoeller looks up, he's astonished to find the entire audience had vanished. What would Obermoeller do to get them back? Could he?

Find out in this gripping true story whether the Great Magician Oberdope is a fraud or capable of performing what deemed the impossible.



FYI Note: This photo was taken in Maui and this man was a magician named Warren. For the life of me I can’t remember why his head was down. Anyone planning to go, you need to make reservations in advance and he’s definitely worth seeing.

A Month of Letters Week Three

It’s Week Three of A Month of Letters. Who fizzled out? Who’s still going strong? Are you having fun?

You can view Week One and Week Two of my adventure if you missed it and that way Week Three will be clear.

Day Fifteen February 15th Wednesday
I mailed three letters and received two letters.

Stripes
I liked how these stripes looked on the tree.

Since I love rocks, I had to snap this one.

Day Sixteen February 16th Thursday
I mailed three letters and three birthday cards and received one letter.

Green
I loved how these little things were peeping out from under the leaves.

The wind was blowing when I tried taking this shot and the camera kept focusing on everything but the pine leaf, but I finally caught it!

Day Seventeen February 17th Friday
I mailed five letters and received two letters.

Holes
There were a lot more holes in things than I thought there would be, some not all that round. I liked this one in the tree.

One of my favorite rocks has this cool hole in it.

Day Eighteen February 18th Saturday
Since I’ve been at a seminar all weekend, I only wrote a letter and didn’t walk it down the driveway and so, no pictures either. Hey, this is my own personal challenge, so I can slack a day, maybe I’ll add an extra day at the end. :-0

Day Nineteen February 19th Sunday
No mailing of letters, however I did write one.

Day Twenty February 20th Monday
It was President’s Day and no mail coming or going. I did write a few.

Day Twenty One February 21st Tuesday
I mailed 10 pieces of mail. Three of which I walked down the driveway, but then later that day I took more to the post office. Two were packages that I had to have weighed. Remember some of these pieces that I mailed were written from previous days that I hadn’t mailed.

Vines
I didn't think there would be so many different kinds of vines. Some were thicker than the tree they were climbing on. Here's one that's green and thin.

Here's three knarly looking ones all on one tree. They look like they have hair.

Come back next Wednesday for the Fourth and Final Week of A Month of Letters.

And it’s still not too late if you want a letter from me. Just give me an address. Chances are good that even when the month of February is over, I’ll still write you a letter.

A Month of Letters Week Two

It’s Week Two of A Month of Letters. I know three folks who are doing this challenge, is that it?

You can view Week One of my adventure if you missed it and that way Week Two will make sense.

Day Eight February 8th Wednesday
I mailed two letters, received one.

Black
Seems logical that I’d snap a picture of the black mailbox since I’m mailing letters.

Since the landscapers left their Bobcat until they could come back with a truck, I took advantage of capturing a photo that I wouldn’t normally get to take.

Day Nine February 9th Thursday
I mailed three letters and received two.

Rust
I knew my fake tree in the front garden would provide me with some rust shots, but I felt like that was cheating. I was surprised to find these. The water meter caught my eye.

Then I thought not only did the telephone pole have some rust looking color to it, but the little silver dot things did too.

Day Ten February 10th Friday
I mailed one letter and received two.

Trash
Since I’ve been going up and down the driveway with my eyes wide open, I’ve noticed the trash. I couldn’t stand it any longer, even if it would help with my picture themes, I had to pick it all up.

I bundled up, put some gloves and boots on, grabbed the trash bags and headed out. By the time I got close to the end, the trash bag was so heavy, I was practically dragging the thing. I didn’t finish the entire driveway. I found some trash for my daughter’s Egabrag. You do know she "turns your garbage around," right?

These two pieces of trash in the photos below surprised me the most. And after I thought about it, they kind of go hand in hand - ball and glove. I'm assuming it's a ball with all the covering removed.

Day Eleven February 11th Saturday
I mailed three letters and received one.

Contrast
I asked my husband for a theme suggestion for this day. At first he said snow because we received a few flakes the night before. What kind of challenge would that be? Although depending on how desperate I am, I may end up taking him up on that with the next snow. Here are my two favorites showing contrast:

Day Twelve February 12th Sunday
- no mailing of letters, however I did write one.

Day Thirteen February 13th Monday
I mailed three letters and received one.

Square
Once again it seemed fitting to take a picture of the mailbox.

It was harder than I thought to find square things. Lots of rectangles.

Day Fourteen February 14th Tuesday Happy Valentine’s Day!
I mailed one letter and two cards. One of the cards was a birthday card--and again, I would have mailed that regardless. I received five pieces of mail!

Heart
Since it was Valentine’s Day, what better shape to keep an eye out for but heart shapes. And because it had snowed, I cheated and made this heart fearing that I wouldn't find any hearts.

So if you use your creative imagination you can see the branches how they are shaped into a heart. Towards the right just above the telephone wire.

If you look at the leaf to your right, on the bottom, it's kind of heart shaped.

Then there's my little fake tree with the bird house in it and the opening is... a heart.

Hope everyone had a day filled with love of some kind.

Come back next Wednesday for Week Three of A Month of Letters.

And it’s not too late if you want a letter from me. Email me lober13@gmail.com and give me your address. I'd love to write you a letter.

A Month of Letters Challege

It's been a week since the start of A Month of Letters. How's it going for anyone participating?

I wanted to give a daily log of what I've been doing, but between writing letters and the other writing I'm working on, it was hard to fit it all in. So I'm going to give you a week by week play. (This is late because blogger wouldn't allow me to post my photos.)

My mailbox is at the end of our driveway which is about 1,000 feet long. I decided I'd walk the letters to the mailbox each day and bring my camera with me. Along the way I'd snap some photos keeping my eye out on whatever "theme" I picked for that day. I'm going to include just one or two of my favorite shots. It's interesting each day looking for something different along the same route. It's also rather amazing how your awareness opens.

Day One February 1st
I mailed four letters. Received two letters. They weren't from this challenge, but letters received all the same.

Shadows
When I first saw that squiggly line I thought it was a crack in the driveway and then realized it was a shadow. I was looking up trying to figure out what it was and then I noticed the fence (to the right) and realized it was the line in the fence. I still don't get why the line isn't straight. The lines going the other way are straight.

This next shot of shadows I really liked and in case you are wondering - that short, wide fire hydrant looking shadow in the middle is not a fire hydrant. It's me!

Day Two February 2nd
I mailed three letters.

Rocks
Anyone who knows me knows I'm a lover of rocks. I spotted all kinds hiding underneath ivy and leaves. But these two were especially likeable.

Day Three February 3rd
I mailed four letters. Two of those were to the gals that had written me on Day One.

Red
Seeing the red flag on this mailbox was a no brainer as one of my favorites.

Since another one of my passions is gardening, I liked how the rose bushes were sprouting out some red.

Day Four February 4th
I mailed two letters. I also mailed two birthday cards. I know cards, postcards, and whatever else you mail to someone counts with this challenge, but I would have mailed these cards anyway.

Yellow
I didn't think I'd see anything yellow except this ball, but I was surprised at how many things I did shoot that were yellow.

I'm not sure what this is, but thought it was interesting in its fuzzy little way.

Day Five February 5th
Sunday - no mailing of letters, however I did write one.

Day Six February 6th
I mailed five letters. Included in the mailing was the one I wrote the day before.

Polka Dots
If my bff is reading this she'll know that I picked Polka Dots just for her. This was a challenge to find polka dots in the woods, but if you use your imagination like I did, you'll see the resemblance.

Day Seven February 7th
I mailed one letter and two cards. One of the cards was a birthday card--and again, I would have mailed them regardless.

Blue
When I stepped outside to mail my letters, I wondered how in the world I would find anything blue. The sky was gray. Since I had been keeping my eye out on various things that past six days--walking the same path every day--I didn't remember seeing anything blue. Ha, but when I stepped outside, this caught my eye. Even though it's still the winter season, with our unseasonable warm weather, the landscapers came to clean out our ponds and spruce up the yard. Imagine my surprise seeing this as I stepped out the back door.

Fearing I wouldn't see anything else blue, I snapped the envelopes that I was mailing. However, I did spot a lot more blue. Mostly trash though, so that's not too exciting. Not as exciting as a stamp!

Stay tuned for Week Two. And if you want a letter from me and I don't have your address, send it to me! I'd love to write you a letter.