Fresh From The Garden

My raspberry bushes are overflowing, and the lighting was just right in the kitchen.

And, of course, I had to play with the pic on picnik.com, so I got this inversion:

So, raspberries and..... blueberries?

Photo Non-Contest #160 -- Shopping (All My Ducks In A Row)

I'm not really a big fan of going shopping.  I hate battling for parking places.  I hate malls.  I hate being pushed and shoved in crowds.  I hate lines.  I hate big box stores.
Really, the only kind of shopping I like is the sort at craft fairs or farmers' markets, where there are little booths.
Oh, and bookstores.  I love small, independent bookstores.
Hence, I don't really have many shopping photos for Written Inc's theme this week, which is "shopping."  But, oddly enough, of the dozen or so that I have, two of them involved ducks.

From a little shop in Astoria, Oregon, we get a terrible, through-the-glass shot of a Jack Sparrow rubber ducky -- because everyone needs one of those.  Right?

And then here's one from a local feed and garden shop, taken last spring when Dad wanted to see the baby animals for sale:

Ah, little fuzzy ducky butts..... Cute.

And thus endeth my duck shopping tail tale.  :)

Photo Non-Contest #159 - Vibrant

Written Inc's new theme is "vibrant."
I'm not feeling very vibrant after the first day of school; I'm feeling a bit more toward the "exhausted" end of things.  So here are a few perky pictures in case you're feeling like I am.

This is totally the wrong season, but the egg dye here was pretty vibrant, I'd say.

This is one of my dad's fruit salads.

This is from the children's garden in Red Butte Gardens in Salt Lake City.  If you look in the background, you'll see a bed frame; it's a flower bed.  ;)

And this is a coffee shop in Midway, Utah, where Max and I took a few snaps last spring.  I think the sign against the sky is vibrant.  (No, I didn't tamper with the colors in any way -- not on any of these, actually.)

Photo Non-Contest #156 -- Red

The theme at Written Inc. this week is "red."  Easy enough.

Engine 119, one of the two original engines (now restored) that met for the driving of the Golden Spike on May 10, 1869, joining the first transcontinental railroad.  Taken at Promontory Point, Utah.

The Samurai: a potentially nausea-inducing ride at Lagoon amusement park in Farmington, Utah.

Photo Non-Contest #155 -- (Wannabe) Big

Written Inc's theme this week is "big."  I've already done a post from my recent vacation that truly fits this theme, but I'd like to add one about having big dreams.
Idaho is one of the most non-exotic places in the world.  Seriously.  If I type "China," you think things like "millions of people," "The Great Wall," or "Tiannenmen Square."  If I type "New York," you think things like "Broadway," "skyscrapers," or "Statue of Liberty."  Even if I type "Nevada," you're likely to think "Vegas."  But if I type "Idaho," you're likely to think "potatoes."  And that's because Idaho has potatoes.  Not too exciting.
Now, it's also true that Idaho is the ONLY state in the USA that has never been a possession of any European country.  (Perhaps none wanted it???)  But that has not stopped the state from having European dreams.  For example, right across the border from Utah, there's Moscow.  Moscow, Idaho.  Quite frankly, they're probably equally cold in January, but that's where the similarity ends.  I've been to Moscow, Russia.  They don't have cows there.  Or potatoes.  (Except in the stores, anyway.)
But as I drove through the Southeastern corner of Idaho with my parents this week on our way to Wyoming, I found quite a few other European places in Idaho: Bern, Geneva, the Bank of Ireland, an area called Dingle Swamp (Dingle is a county in Ireland), and another area called Lanark (Lanark is in Scotland).
And Paris.

Yup.  Paris.  Population 479.
Just this week, people, I drove the streets of Paris.  Okay, well, the STREET of Paris.  (For the record, I've been in the somewhat more famous city of Paris several times.  But I think I rather like this one better.....)
And here's the biggest building in Paris:

This is the Mormon Tabernacle of Paris, Idaho.  And it really is the biggest building for miles around.
Actually, it's a lovely structure, dating from 1888.  My favorite part was the ceiling, constructed in white pine and painted to look like oak.  (Mormons were rather famous for doing that.  The Salt Lake Tabernacle used to have all its benches done that way, but, sadly, they were replaced about a decade ago.)
Here's a shot of the interior, showing the ceiling:

Can you tell it was made by a shipwright?  Yup.  The guy didn't know how to make a tabernacle, so he built a ship upside down.  Charming, isn't it?  (I've seen this only once before in another Mormon community, but it was a much smaller building.)
So, Idaho is a place that has "big" dreams.  And that's why I've included it in this theme.  :)

Photo Non-Contest #155 -- Big

Written Inc's phototheme for this week is "Big."
Well, this is appropriate for me, since I just returned from a vacation to Teton National Park.
Now, I've seen a fair amount of this world in my day, and the Tetons still stun me.  True, I've never seen the Himalayas or the Andes (I hope to see at least the latter one day; they're on the ol' bucket list.).  I have seen the Swiss Alps (and the German, French, and Italian Alps, to be specific, but only the Swiss Alps apply here), and I can most certainly say that they are the most stunning mountains I've ever seen.
But the Tetons are second.
These glacier-carved, towering mountains are incredibly jagged and rugged.  And they're HUGE.  FREAKIN' HUGE.
Really, these photos don't do them justice.  But I assure you that they fit this week's theme.

Here are a couple of peaks seen from the gorgeous Jenny Lake.

And here's a view of the Tetons in the distance over an elk preserve and Jackson Lake (farther north than  Jenny Lake).

Huge mountains, glaciers, pristine lakes, and fields of wildflowers in purple, yellow, and white.  Wow.  If it weren't for the thousands of people there with us, it would've been a truly magical visit.
Folks, if you travel but have never seen Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the Tetons just beyond it, you really need to consider going.  I've been a fair number of times, and this area just never disappoints.

Photo Non-Contest #152 -- Vertical

Written Inc's theme for this week is "vertical," and I'm going with the very first thing that came to my mind when I read his post.
In the summer of 2008, I spent one week in Orkney, the islands north of Scotland.  It was the most incredible place I'd ever been.  Seriously.  The whole area is an archaeologist's dream, and the past and present mingle in a way you'd never see in a more commercialized place.
One of the most amazing things I saw (among many amazing things) were the Standing Stones of Stenness, a ring made some 4500 years ago for a purpose that no one has known for eons of time.  The stones are unguarded in a pasture, and they quietly count the years of puny little humans.  Awesome does not even begin to describe what it's like to see them.
I stayed in a hotel a mile or so down the road for several days, but I got my best photos of these stones all on one very sunny day, some pics in the morning, some in the afternoon.  (Look at the shadows to see which.)

There were actually plenty of tourists around, but I managed to get all my photos looking as if the place were deserted.  It is, however, a pity that I didn't take at least one pic with a person in it for size comparison.  Oh well.  That angled stone on the far right is roughly 17 feet tall.

Here's that tall, angled stone viewed from the side.  It's about 8 inches thick.

And one more view.  This one gives you an idea of just how huge the thing is when you stand beside it. And I am not a small woman by any means.

Please click on the pics to see them full-sized.