WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE--trees on the Deschutes River

 Just before Thanksgiving I spent 5 days in Oregon, in Bend and in Sunriver.  No rain like in Seattle, but it was cold and even with a bit of snow.

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I KNOW THAT LOOK....

 I know this look on the dog's faces. They make you feel as guilty as heck for eating something in front of them. This man, as do I with mine, gave them a little tidbit.

MONDAY MURALS--QUEEN ANNE BEER HALL

 Big Foot fights off an ornery squid in this mural gracing the walls of the Queen Anne 'BEERHALL'.  I think beer hall should  not be one word, but anyway.

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SKYWATCH--LENTICULAR OVER SEATTLE

 Fairly certain this is a lenticular cloud that appeared this a.m. over Seattle.

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SKYWATCH--NECESSARY

 This will be my last photo for  a while until it stops raining here in Seattle and I get out more!  This photo is via my good friend in Belgrade, who is visiting Budapest, and sent me this photo of a port-a-potty on top of this church.

I don't know if the church is Saint John's...oh, bad.....

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"I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"

 That line from THE WIZARD OF OZ is what I heard this witch cackle (at least in my mind...) when I passed her on a spook walk at a local farm. I just loooove Halloween.

Find the intruder

 Among this medley of colors, of course the green leaf is the intruder.

I am now in the US, and can't get enough photos of gorgeous fall leaves.

MONDAY MURALS--ski stuff's probably in the garage

 I came to the US with my dog, who is enjoying walking around Seattle with me. Came across this mural on a neighbor's garage.

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WEEKEND REFLECTIONS -Who kissed Nikola Tesla?

 This optician's shop always has great displays, but not really showing you  one here. I liked the ethno-vest they blocked the doorway with since the shop wasn't open yet.

And someone kissed Nikola Tesla.

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THE WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE--the thistle pod

 Captured on a recent birding excursion. No bird, but a milkweed pod, ready to burst.

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READY TO GO HOME

 I think this dog is ready to leave the hairdresser's salon....waiting for his mistress.

LINE 'EM UP, BUT DON'T EAT 'EM

Most of you will recognize these as horse chestnuts, the non-edible kind. Actually, they can cause serious gastrointestinal damage to  humans and can be fatal to dogs and other animals.

Says the Internet:" When you hear the song about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, don’t mistake these nuts for horse chestnuts. Horse chestnuts, also called conkers, are a very different nut. Are horse chestnuts edible? They are not. In general, toxic horse chestnuts should not be consumed by people, horses or other livestock."

THE SWAN

A little birding excursion in the country didn't bring me any exotic birds, but only this swan, which seemed out of place here in the forest.
 

MONDAY MURALS---in Kovacica

 Kovacica (KO-va-cheet-sa) lies about an hour or so from Belgrade and is home to the GALLERY OF NAIVE ART, where one can see a variety of paintings and other crafts by local self-taught artists.

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SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY--night skateboarders

 Skateboarding has no hours. These young boys were up late, probably much to the chagrin of nearby tenants, honing their skills.

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FALL---and chilly

 A bit chilly for a sit on this bench. I wonder what kind of winter we will be in for.

SKYWATCH--big fat orange moon

 The last of my Belgrade photos for a while, until February to be exact, while I am in the US.

This was taken in  Belgrade during the last Red Moon....quite an eye-catcher.

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PRETTY IN PINK

 I'm off to the US for a couple of months, but have scheduled a few more Belgrade photos until I get clicking over there. 

FEEDING MY LAUNDRY FETISH

 Just for the heck of it, I was wondering if I am the only one with a laundry fetish. Not that I like to DO laundry, but I love to photograph it like this.  I googled various forms of laundry fetish, photographers with laundry fetish, and so on, but only came up with sites I shouldn't publish here.

So I am apparently the only one with a 'I love laundry hung out to dry' fetish.  

Maybe.

SOME SORT OF DOVE

 I like birds, but though I know this is some kind of dove, I'm at a loss to tell you what kind.

NOT YOUR ORDINARY WATCHDOG

 Came across this little chap standing guard in a jewelry shop downtown.. I'm fairly certain he wouldn't care if anybody took the jewels; just so his mommy comes back.

SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY--dog days are gone

I took this photo two months ago, but it's good for today's SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY  I liked the way he or she has her paws crossed.

SKYWATCH--"Black George" is watching

  "Black George", better known here as Karadjordje, watches over the sky in front of St. Sava's Church in Belgrade. Saint Sava himself stands at the side door...

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FOAM MAN

 I like art that is made from recycled materials and such is the case of this foam rubber portrait. Catchy.

THE RED BALLOON HAS FLOATED INTO BELGRADE.

 If you're 'over a certain age' or else just someone who likes classic films, you will remember Albert Lamorisse's 1956 film THE RED BALLOON that my mother took me to see when I was little. I later showed it to all levels of my French classes and depending on the children's age, they all saw some different meaning in it.

Worth watching. Only 35 minutes...

THE BUREK PLACE

 Every city has some place where the whatever-it-is is better than the other shops. This is true of Belgrade. Burek is a baked, filled phyllo pasty (cheese, meat, cabbage, mushrooms....) and it has to be eaten hot!  This place not far from me consistently has the best burek. It's so filling that I personally cannot eat it often, but some do.....always a big line in the early morning.

MONDAYMURALS: tooooot!

 Large saxophone on the wall in front of Belgrade's Youth Center. You'd need really good lungs to toot that one.

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SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY--night bikers

 Taken rather late in poor light....but not so  bad on a street in the Skadarlija area of Belgrade.

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WEEKEND REFLECTIONS: BELGRADE'S NEW BABY HIPPO

 This blissfully happy little 'guy'(sex still unknown....) born mid-August in the Belgrade zoo is enjoying a snooze next to Mama.  Papa had to be moved out temporarily because he was jealous.

I'll keep you posted once we find out if it's a male or female.

See other reflections on James'  WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

THEME DAY--WINNERS

 Back from a month's break. I didn't really intend not to post for a month, but one thing led to another and there you go.

Back for the Theme Day of Winners.  Here is a photo of my eldest granddaughter who has won third place in her tennis camp play-off.  This was last July and now here in Belgrade she has won first place, woo.  Hoping for another Djokovic...

She's posing here with her coach.  (Dad and grandfather were big tennis players, too.)

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 No photo today!  I know it has been a while, but I am trying to get my act together to travel....am fully vaccinated, but reluctant to sit in a plane. But I have to!

I have neglected my blog, but will be back on October 1st.

Many thanks to Judith K. who wrote to see if I was still here!  

PRETTY IN PINK?

 When I first moved here in 1977, many women this age dyed their hair a bright, bright,  orangey red.

Now it seems that there's a rush on pink, since I've seen many pink-haired women recently.

CYRIL, METHODIUS, AND A PIGEON TO BOOT

 Known for their work in evangelizing the Slavs, this statue o  Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius stands in a park downtown. Not sure what the pigeon did, though.

SLEEPING PRINCE

Maybe a prince weary of searching for his princess. His steed must have wandered off to graze while he is snoozing on a bench.
 

SAVE ME

 If and when the owner of this building for some unknown reason decides to put in a modern door, I hope they will save this one. At the very least the two halves could each become a table, overlaid with glass.

SMELLING THE ROSES

 It could appear that the lady's head on this facade would really like to smell those roses. She's been there since 1901...

SHEEP HERDING

 I found this to be an unusual relief on the facade of a building downtown. Just wondering why a shepherd and his flock, since if anyone herded sheep in that area, it must have been long ago. But then, given the large number of Secessionist style artwork on facades, it isn't so unusual.

LINES

 An old chair on a side street. I liked the lines and colors.

A PLETHORA OF FANS

 Does anyone use a fan? This summer has been so hot that I always carry one in my purse.

TEXTING

 Texting and like most texters, oblivious to the world around them. My new camera has a totally silent shutter, but a click here wouldn't have disturbed her anyway.  And if you enlarge the photo, there's a grammar mistake under the snake tattoo.  How can someone get or make a tattoo, a permanent piece of 'art,' and make a mistake?

SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY--feeling ruffled

 I'm pretty sure this pigeon was feeling ruffled because he didn't like me taking his picture in the bath...

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WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--Blue ankle-twisters

 That's what I call them, for should I ever attempt to wear these high heels, twist my ankle is what I would do.

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WHERE'S YOUR TATTOO, Mom?

 Madhu is perhaps wondering where my tattoo is. Nowhere. If I did get one, it would be a classier one than this lady had.

BEARS IN BOOTHS

 Phone booths are not a common sight anymore. No one uses them....and so they've gone to the bears.

WAITING AND WATCHING

 My new Nikon mirrorless has a silent shutter....and kitty never flinched. Or perhaps he was so absorbed in finding breakfast he paid no attention to me.

POLKA DOTS

 Polka dots always remind me of summer. If the polka dots don't make you think of summer, perhaps the length of the dress and bare legs will.

MONDAY MURALS--fruit and vegetable stand

 Pretty obvious what kind of shop this is!

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SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY--The Tree Hugger

 While sitting on a bench in the park, I noticed a woman coming towards me across the lawn. Then all of a sudden, she wasn't there....but she was. Looks like she's paying her respects to the tree.

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WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--Cat on a hot 'tin' roof

 I honestly don't know how this kitty stood the heat on this car roof. It was around 6 pm but still hot for me, and I am not covered with fur. I think it might be a 'she' and she looks pregnant, so maybe she's warming the little ones.

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SKYWATCH--BEFORE THE STORM

 Not that we've had our share of storms this summer.....it's been deadly hot.

Praying for rain.

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MY FAVORITE CAFE

 This lady runs a cafe where I often go just to brainstorm, write a bit. In the winter I sit inside, albeit masked, and nowadays I sit outside. She has picked up all kinds of bric-a-brac to decorate her place, and in some ways it reminds me of my grandmother's house....