Here's a little corner in the garden at Gladstone Park in Cricklewood

Shoes worn by the king of Burma - from my visit to the Bata Shoe Museum this morning.

Such great photos everyone. PLease excuse my absense lately - we're in the super busy time of year. Transmission should resume next week!

In the meantime here is a pic of Lily, a seven month old joey.

Aw! So cute, Copago!

Tonight I had my first snake sighting of the year (I know you're all as excited as I am). It's a speckled rattlesnake, the most common rattler in the northern Phoenix Mountain Preserve. I've only seen one other type of rattler there, and it was a Western Diamondback -- that was really cool.

Sunset last night

A beautifully timbered building in Chester yesterday... lovely city.

A pair of Venetian chopines. How did they manage to walk in these?

It's surprising (for those who know it) so much photographic material can be found in Cricklewood. Here's the side of a very smart and huge house on the edge of the park.

PDAZ, the sunset is spectacular!

Copago, love the baby kangaroo!

Zorba Scank, I have such a weakness for shoes. I hope you have more pics of them.

These pretty yellow flowers were growing wild by the river.

Really pretty -- they look like Irises

After the saguaro cactus blooms, the fruit appears, and it's a real favorite of the wildlife. Here's a mourning dove having a snack.

This historic house with its marble stairs was featured in the movie "The Prince of Tides." It was a bed & breakfast when I moved to town, but is now a single-family home.

Beaufort, SC

I thought they looked like irises too, though never knew they grew wild! Maybe the parks department planted them.

Spotted this chap having a comfy ride at the local cat show this afternoon.

Oh those eyebrows - Chuck the cat in the garden a couple of days ago, before the rains came!

What a sweetie!!

That's a great name for a cat, Sherry! Love it

Here are the first flowers on my white oleander bush this year (it's running a bit late...)

Some wildlife from me, this is as close as it would let me go. The parent vanished a lot faster than the baby though.

"Chuck the cat in the garden"

""That's a great name for a cat, Sherry! Love it"

I must have needed a coffee this morning 'cause it took a couple reads to 'get' it. I thought Sherry was sort of telling people to throw their cats out in the garden for some fresh air.

LOL Copago, I thought that too.

I knew someone once who had an English Setter, a lovely breed but each dog has a mind of its own, so they can be very naughty. As a result they have to be told constantly not to do things.

They called their dog "OI!!!"

This house is in a village not far from where I live now, with the typical golden stone of Northamptonshire. This particular house used to be the village smithy; my grandmother was born there in 1869, her father was the blacksmith.

Thanks, bhs. I love shoes too.

The smallest international bridge connecting Canada and the US at the 1000 Islands, Gananoque.

That's such a funny pic, zorba_scank -- I can't imagine living on an island that small!

And beautiful stonework Flopsy -- how cool to know what house your grandmother was born in.

Northamptonshire is such a well kept secret county - so many pretty golden stone villages...

Chuck is really Charles, but he is more of a Chuck... quite a character.

Am loving all these Colonial houses Bhs.. gorgeous. Beautiful oleander, shame they are so poisonous.... worth the risk though.

My irises have finally decided to bloom!

Lovely, lovely Iris!!



This house is the largest of the antebellum houses in town. Its nickname is "The Castle." It was built in the 1850s. When the Civil War broke out, the Union Army captured Beaufort very early. The residents fled. The Union Army used this house as a hospital and a smaller building in the back as a morgue.

Beaufort lucked out historically by having the Union Army capture the town. All the old houses survived. General Sherman did come to Beaufort on his march to the sea, but only to visit friends stationed here.