THE FACE IN THE MUD

Moping around all morning and early afternoon because I didn't have a photo for today on my blog. Seriously. Took the dog for a walk in the field across the way and found this face in the mud.  It kind of looks like a witch who's lost her hat. I found a similar likeness RIGHT HERE ON THE INTERNET.

WINDOW

 I last featured THIS LOCATION on February 2nd. You can see the same 'sheets' hanging now as curtains inside this ground-floor apartment. As the other post was titled, "Keep Your Eyes Open', there is always something to see and you're never bored with your camera.

FACES

 I should perhaps find all my photos of intriguing faces. This lady reminded me of a long-gone member of my family and so I sneaked a shot of her.

WHERE?

 Ever since my elementary school years, I have loved this oil painting and wondered exactly what its location was. It is one of many painted by my great-great grandfather, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania artist. I have always felt drawn to it. I came across this photo of me, aged around one and a half and suddenly was struck by what I think is a similar background. My grandmother said we never lived there, but I am wondering if perhaps my great-great grandfather had... Mystery. And the puppy's name was Toby, so I was told. 😊

I HATE LEAF BLOWERS

Autumn is called 'fall' in many places and of course that's when deciduous trees lose their leaves.  As a kid I loved to hear the 'scratch, scratch' of my grandparents taking leaves. It was work for them, but I always wanted to do it myself just to rejoice in that sound. My grandparents and I would form huge piles of leaves for me to jump into.

However, along comes efficiency, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but I absolutely HATE leafblowers (the machines, not the people!). Loud, stinky, and in short, disruptive. I think anyway the leaves have to be arranged in piles anyway. I know they're faster, but at what cost?

AS THICK AS PEA THOOP

 SYLVESTER J. PUSSYCAT, SR.,  the Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies Tweety-chasing cat, spoke with a pronounced lisp. One of his better-known expressions was 'as thick as pea thoop,' which is what today's fog is, seen from my window. I like pea soup and fog as well!

INDECISION

I was going to entitle this photo SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO? from The Clash's 1981 song with the same title, but the lyrics don't really have anything to do with the picture. "Indecision" is better. This elderly gentleman was speeding along, aided by his walking sticks, and then at the benches he just stopped. I waited a minute or two at a distance to see if he'd sit or keep walking. He did the latter and so did I.

GREEN-HAIRED BOY

 I really wanted to do this kid's portrait with his permission, but he was shy. So I sneaked a shot. I love his hair.

LOST IN HER THOUGHTS

 Her mind is elsewhere, like so many other commuters.

IT'S HIS 'CAW'

I had never seen a hooded crow until I moved to Europe, way back in the early 70s. Where I grew up in the US, we only had the black kind.

Due to a couple of negative experiences with black crows and the hooded ones, I am wary of them. They've swooped me, pecked my dog, and screech at me/us. I honestly don't know what we could have done to provoke them.

In any case, it's the crows 'caw' and he knows it'll be in his favor. My dog and I give him a wide berth.
 

BIKE BY THE SAVA RIVER

 A bike parked on the quay by the Sava River. I am currently trying to edit some photos from a recent trip, which is a bit of a learning curve to 'master' (ha) the latest edition of Photoshop  plus getting used to a new laptop.  You can see here that I have not yet removed the electric cables or at least those in front of the trees. Getting there.

PROTECTION FROM THE RAIN

 A well-fitting beret can protect our heads from the rain and the umbrella protects THEM from the rain. Seen in Lyon, France, and no, I didn't buy one.

FINALLY FALL

 Not sure exactly what kind of tree this is in the park downstairs, but it certainly screams 'fall'. Better late than never. 

BACK IN BELGRADE

 Back from Lyon where it was chilly and fall-ish. Here now it is warmer (went out today just with a light jacket, and it was too much). These leaves caught my attention. I enhanced the photo with a 'warmth' setting to fit the occasion.

BRUTALIST STYLE MEETS COLOR

 Belgrade has a fair mount of  BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE that you can read about RIGHT HERE. This style is known for its strong lines, no-frills appearance, and no paint, just concrete. I like how the building in the background is 'conplimented' by the colorful new surface on the basketball court.

LA TOUSSAINT

 I am back in Belgrade and the November 1st Western Christianity ALL SAINTS DAY or La Toussaint, as it is known in France isn't celebrated here though of course the Orthodox calendar has similar days when one visits the graves of loved ones.  Anyway, here are some fall flowers....not sure they're a type of chrysanthemum, the preferred flowers for this day, but I love them.

LEAVING LYON

 My trip to Lyon draws to a close today. I have enjoyed every minute of it. My friend Véronique has done her very best to fulfill my every wish! The above photo shows an andouillette with potatoes gratinées. There are several types of andouillette and are basically composed of pork innards. 

ARTIFICIAL STILL LIFE

 The friend I am visiting in Lyon has this arrangement of artificial fruit, all white. I liked it and am sharing it with you. 

TROMPE L'OEIL!

 In Lyon there are several buildings bearing fantastic trompe l'oeil paintings. Here is one, currently being touched up, hence the fence. There I am in the foreground. Really me, not a trompe l'oeil me! 

FROMAGE DE TÊTE

 France is know for many culinary delights, including cheeses. Above is fromage de tête, BUT surprise! It is NOT  a cheese and contains no dairy products. It is made from the head of a calf or a pig and set in aspic. Very tasty... Though I do have objections to its sources. 

Happy Passenger

 I am in Lyon! This fellow, apparently delighted by what he was reading, was traveling like me from St. Exupéry Airport to downtown Lyon. 

GARDOS TOWER

 I rather liked this image of the GARDOS TOWER seen through some very modern lights at a nearby cafe.

ANOTHER DOG

 

I was hurrying to my bus the other afternoon and almost missed this little fellow. I backtracked a bit and got him!  Got the bus, too....

A-1 DOG

 This street dog probably feels like an A-1 top dog with his own house and food bowls. Little does he know that A-1 is a mobile network operator.

WAITING FOR HER DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT

 This lady opted to wait outside the clinic in nicer weather. Not so much a nicer seat though!

DEATH TO FASCISM

 That's what the words in red mean. I don't think the cat wrote those words, but I am sure he agrees. He has a duplex, too; class.

QUINCES

 There is an eyeglass shop downtown that creates beautiful window displays. I cropped out the eyeglasses here to show these lovely quinces. Quinces are an ancient fruit (3,000-5,000 years old, and come from near the Caspian Sea in Iran. All that still doesn't make me a fan of whatever one makes of them; I've tried.  But they're great for photos.

REFLECTIONS IN A PUDDLE

 I have a new lens, a Viltrox 9mm 2.8. Took a test run the other day through raindrops and will do more today. Because it is such a wide angle, it lets you get really close to the subject with minimal distortion with 'flatter' subjects like this puddle. You can see that the camera focused on everything,  not just the reflections, so all is clear. I am happy with it so far.

JUST A LOVELY BLUE DOOR

 Just a lovely blue door in Zemun, near Belgrade. Not sure the amchors indicate the home belonged to a fisherman, but maybe. Zemun lies along the Danube.

NO FEAR OF HEIGHTS

 Defnitely not a job for me. I just wonder how much they get paid.

CLOSED--FOR GOOD

 This is the wreckage of a floating restaurant on the Danube near Zemun, which is just down the road from downtown Belgrade. I couldn't make out if there had been a fire or if it has fallen into ruin for some other reason. Been that way for quite a while. The city has been tidying up such places along the river, and I imagine this one hasn't many more days left.

SMOKIN' HOT

 Spotted in the community of Zemun yesterday. Smokin' hot red hair and she's smoking, too. When I first came here in 1977, many women dyed their hair this color. Not so many since.

SITTIN' HIGH

This eye-catching chair/stool awaited someone at my local outdoor market. A fish place with a little bar-type table you can see to the right.

ENJOYING A GLASS

This young woman was enjoying a glass of wine and so was I, with a friend the other night.
 

PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AND HER DOG

Downtown.....

NO LONGER WANTED

 A bit sad. Upon closer inspection these flowers at an outdoor market didn't look so bad. 

REFLECTION

 A red neon sign with the restaurant's name shows its reflection on this table.

SUNSET

Went for a walk two nights ago and was rewarded by this stunning sky.

See other skies on SKYWATCH

CHIC IN THE BUS

Fashionable, though I'll never accept the major rips.

HAPPY (EVER AFTER?) IN THE MARKET PLACE

They sure LOOK happy!  No apologies to the BEATLES' SONG, Ob-la-di-ob-la-da since I'm pretty sure they'd approve of this photo.

CHSIRTIAN DROI

Ran across this fellow today while out shooting photos. I have a suspicion that this jacket is not a genuine Christian Dior.

What do you think? They got the address right though.

LEMON 'PICKLE'

Fall is definitely here and it's time for making preserves. I love 'pickle,' otherwise known in the West as chutney. Chutney in India is something quite different. This is a photo of the ingredients for my favorite 'pickle,' lemon pickle.  I have prepated about 10 jars (not all fruit is shown here for the photo!)
 

COMFORTING

 Of course this is a sneak shot of a couple in the bus the other evening. I wonder what the story is.

ETERNAL ASTERIX

 On the way to a restaurant the other day, I passed by these beautiful murals!  At first I was only going to use Asterix, but just couldn't leave out Obelix and Panoramix (Getafix in English).