A Sharp Ruby

I'm sure that there's some deep symbolism in the fact that these beautiful, seemingly fluffy flowers soon turn into sharp, merciless thorns. I'm not sure what it is... :)

Here's a ruby that I found last year, and came across now, looking through my archives:

Click on the photo, if you'd like to get a closer view. And do check out Mary's blog, Work of the Poet, for more rubies of the day. Happy Ruby Tuesday, everyone!

Mellow Yellow - who would've thought?

I really enjoy the Mellow Yellow Monday blog - for years, had you asked me, I would have told you that yellow was my favorite color. But sadly, I rarely find many yellow things to photograph. That's why I was so pleased to find this on my way to work this morning:

Do check out more Mellow Yellow photography, here. Happy Monday, everyone!

Shadow Shot - my office desk

I caught this one last week, when I found the sun bouncing off my stapler. Hmm... does Shadow Shot Sunday accept reflections, too? I guess we'll find out :)

For more Shadows (and perhaps reflections) check out Hey Harriet. Have a great day, everyone!

Skywatch - a quilted sky

On my way to work last week, I noticed that the sky was covered with a lovely quilt of clouds. I thought it was just so cool!

Not dramatic, not overwhelming, but very peaceful, somehow. Mellow, really - like the whole world was cuddled up under the covers :)

Feel free to click on the photo to get an even puffier view. And do check out more sky-oriented photography of the week at Skywatch Friday. Happy Skywatching, everyone!

Dark Stained Glass

I went to a comedy show in the Beit Shemesh community center a few weeks ago, and found this impressive stained glass window. And naturally, it was nighttime! Now I need to find an excuse to go back there at a sunnier hour...

I don't know, I think it's pretty, even in the dark :)

Feel free to click on the photo, to get a better view. And do check out more window (and door!) views at Mary's blog. Happy Window Wednesday, everyone!

In retrospect...

...had I been thinking straight, I probably should have dropped the camera, grabbed the kids, and fled for our lives.

Well, that's kind of a joke. I mean, no one really flees a sunset, right? And yet, if ever I witnessed anything that remotely mimicked Divine Wrath like I remember from movies like The Ten Commandments as a kid, yesterday's sunset was it. I mean, look at this!

Scary stuff, I'm telling you. I mean, gorgeous, yes, but yikes!

In real life, the sky was glowing a deep magenta. I know that my camera picked it up as orange, but that's not what my eyes saw. If anyone out there has any advice on how to make my Canon PowerShot A530 see the pink that I saw, I would totally appreciate it!

For more reddish photography of the week, do visit Mary's blog, Work of the Poet. Happy Ruby Tuesday, everyone!

Shadow Shot - at last...

Well, it's been a few weeks since I've had the opportunity to participate in this meme. But when I found this cool shadow a few days ago, I knew my hiatus was over :)

Do check out Hey Harriet's blog to check out more shadowy photography. Happy Shadow Shot Sunday, everyone!

 

Another breathtaking sunset in my neighborhood

What do you think of this one? I'm so glad to finally have a place to share these with everyone!

Feel free to click on the photo to enlarge it - it's even nicer, close up :)

Don't forget to check out more sky photography, here. Happy Skywatch Friday, everyone!

Chanuka Windows

Here in Israel, we're deep into the Chanuka season. No wreaths and trees for us; we're surrounded by fried jelly doughnuts, fried potato pancakes, and of course, Menoras. As my husband pointed out earlier this week, Chanuka certainly does not seem to be a festival of light. With all of this oil-rich food, we're gaining weight in our sleep :)

Anyway, here's a festive shot of our kitchen window, tonight:

As always, feel free to click on the picture, to get a closer view. And do check out more window (and door) shots of the week, here. 

Happy Wednesday, everyone! And happy holidays!

What the kids *really* want

So as I've mentioned, it's been rainy-ish, and we're happy about it. But my kids are not quite satisfied. Each morning they wake and ask, "will it snow today?" Snow here in Israel is pretty rare - we usually get a snowy day or two only once a year, and last year we didn't get even one! So that's what they're hoping for (complete with a day off from school, of course).

I was looking through some old photos, and found this - a ruby in the snow, from two years ago:

I really think it's still a bit early for snow, but it can't hurt to hope :)

Do check out more Ruby Tuesday photos, here. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

12 Kuvaa #4

Here's my latest installment of 12 Kuvaa - that cool as anything meme that follows the changing seasons around the world. We've been taking the same picture, the same time of day, around the same time of the month, every month. How fun is that?

To refresh your memories, here's my first entry, from September. My photo is of the park across the street from our house:

Now, here's the same shot from October:

 

And November:

 

And now, here's this month's entry. I was hoping to get a rainy shot, but the time of day didn't work out... that's okay.

 

Not rainy, no, but the leaves are definitely more sparse. What a cool meme this is!

Do check out more photos from around the world at 12 Kuvaa. See you next month! 

Sunset Surprise

Even though I'm lucky enough to view great sunsets almost every day, I'm still enchanted by them. Each one seems magical! Here's the one I found this afternoon, on my way home from work:

As always, feel free to click on the photo to enlarge it. And do check out more sky photography here. Happy Skywatching, everyone!

Beach Windows

Today is a cloudy, rainy day. Yea! We're still excited about the rain here in Israel, which will hopefully prove to squash our drought status. But it's not great photography weather. Which is why I'll take this opportunity to flash back to this previous August: my husband and I took a weekend off, and were strolling down the beach in Nahariya. There were some lovely beachfront homes that I wanted to remember, and so I took a few shots. Here's one of them:

Not a bad looking place, right? I wouldn't mind retiring here :)

Feel free to click on the photo to enlarge it, and get a better view. And check out more Window and Door views of the week, here! Happy Wednesday, everyone! 

What are these rubies?

I'm not exactly sure, but they're my latest find from the parking lot at work. Turns out, that place is overflowing with red! Remember my previous finds, here and here?

Feel free to click on the photo to get a fuller, closer up experience :)

Don't forget: On Tuesdays, just post any photo you like (it must be one of your own) that contains the color RED and then link to this blog. Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Today's Flowers

It's been a long time since I posted anything at the Today's Flowers meme - I've been pretty addicted to Shadow Shot Sunday, and just haven't had time for both. But I don't want to neglect the flowers on my blog, especially since I sometimes come across some pretty nice ones. This, for example, is sitting on my desk at work, and seems to be feeling quite friendly. Its flowers are usually all white with just a small smudge of magenta - this is the most non-white one that's popped out so far:

Lovely, right? This plant was one of the first posts on my blog - you may remember it from here. I love its ruffly edges and its brilliant white color! Great combination, if I say so myself.

Anyway, do check out more flower posts at Today's Flowers. Have a great week, everyone!

Better late than never - Skywatch Friday!

Here's a nice moonrise I bumped into accidentally, earlier this week. I was innocently getting into my car, when I happened to glance to the left. So pretty, don't you think?

And that's why I keep my camera in my bag :)

For more sky photography, click here. Have a great weekend, everyone! 

A Ruby Tuesday Sunset

I caught this one on my way home from work yesterday. I don't like the sun setting so early, but I might not have seen it if I were already resting on the couch :)

Don't forget: On Tuesdays, just post any photo you like (it must be one of your own) that contains the color RED and then link to this blog. Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Some mellow yellow foliage, at last

Here in Israel, the trees don't all agree with the idea of Autumn. Some go for it, some really don't, and some don't even remember to vote. Generally, around November, you find a tree or two turning brownish, and after a couple of months you realize that its leaves have fallen off. But Autumn here does not include the brilliant reds and oranges that I remember from my childhood. Oh, well - that's okay.

Anyway, I was driving to work a couple of days ago, when I came across these - they were a lovely surprise. For us, this is foliage!

So pretty, right?

For more Mellow Yellow Monday photos, click here. Happy Monday, everyone!

Cloud Shadows

Hmm, it's Shadow Shot Sunday. I know! Here are some cool shots of clouds... and their shadows on the hilltops:

Ah, what fun! I could watch these shadows move around all day long...

For the latest shadow shots from around the world, click here. Have a great week, everyone!

Skywatch Grandeur

Here are some sunny, dramatic clouds that I found a few weeks ago - I just realized that I never got around to posting them. Enjoy!

Click here for more sky-oriented photos of the week. Happy Skywatch Friday, everyone!

Thursday Challenge: Energy

Here's a Thursday meme that Leora showed me - it's called Thursday Challenge, and it's hosted by Dale. Each week there is a different topic to photograph; last week was music, which I didn't manage to pull off. This week, the topic is energy. I found this at work, and thought it might be appropriate:

Isn't that pretty? I really like the squiggly light. But really, when I think of energy here in Israel, this is what comes to mind (although it's not as aesthetically pleasing):

Yes, my friends, those can be found on nearly all rooftops, here in mostly-sunny Israel. Those are solar-powered water heaters! In Hebrew, each is called a dude shemesh. Shemesh means sun, and dude is for "dude! check out the free hot water!" No, no, that's not really the etymology, but dude is definitely one of the funnier words for us English-speaking immigrants to use...

Check out more Thursday Challenge entries here! Happy Thanksgiving!

A lovely little window

Here's another local window that I found to photograph. It seemed kind of charming to me.

Hmm, come to think of it, maybe I should have saved that one for a shadow shot... oh well :)
To see lots more pictures of windows (and doors), click here. Have a great day, everyone!

Here's what I made

using yesterday's post:

I sauteed those yellow peppers together with red peppers, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and lots of red wine. Mmmm.

Don't forget: On Tuesdays, just post any photo you like (it must be one of your own) that contains the color RED and then link to this blog. Happy Ruby Tuesday!

So mellow

Here's something I found to post for Mellow Yellow Monday this past week, while grocery shopping. Yum!

To see other people's yellow photography, click here. Happy Monday, everyone!

Indoor Fireworks

Here's my weekly shadowy find. Thanks again to Hey Harriet for starting and continuing this fun meme! This is an easy one, found in my living room:

That's all, folks! Do check out more cool looks into the world of light and shadow, here!

A Crazy Cloudy Sunset

This past Monday I came home from work, and was greeted by this:

I thought it was pretty cool and dramatic, so I quickly took a photo. About five minutes went by, and it had turned into this - similar, but also cool:

Please understand, these aren't black and white photos - that's just as colorful as it was outside. I was in a rush to go to a friend's house, so I wasn't paying much attention, but ten minutes later, when I happened to glance outside again, it had become this!

Whoa! Suffice it to say that I was completely blown away. 

Happy Skywatch Friday, everyone! For more sky oriented photos from all around the world, click here.

Windows? Doorways? Maybe.

Here's a photo that I took over the summer, and have wanted to post for some time. I just now decided that it fits into the Windows and Doors meme. I'm not entirely convinced that it does, but, well, yeah, I think so.

It's a cool photo, anyway!

Trust me, we were there, it was cool. Nothing's like the Old City of Jerusalem! Click on the photo if you'd like to enlarge it, and get a more textured view.

Check out more photos of Windows and Doors here! Happy Wednesday, everyone!

12 Kuvaa (better late than never?)

Well, here I am at last! I apologize for the delay - I hope my update is worth the wait :)

For those of you who don't know, 12 Kuvaa is a monthly meme that started in September. People from all over the world are photographing scenes in the same place, at the same time of day, so that we can watch the seasons go by. What could be cooler?

Here's my first submission, from September. The view is of the park in front of my house:

Here's the same scene, from October:

And now, what you've all been waiting for: the park, from today, November 17, at 16:30...

As you can see, it's too cold and windy for playing in the park :( 

That's all, folks! Don't forget to check out how November looks to everyone else, here! And stay tuned next month for our next installment!

Fluffy flowers

Here's a pretty bunch that I caught at the botanical gardens a couple of years ago. Aren't they adorable?

Do check out more flowers of the day here. Happy Sunday, everyone!

Shadow Shot - a little early

This one seems a little silly, but I couldn't resist. My daughter and I noticed these Mickey Mouse ears while walking down the sidewalk in Jerusalem, a few weeks ago:

Do check out more fun shadow photography from this week, at Hey Harriet!

Skywatch - so easy

Skywatch is the easiest meme for me - I constantly find myself taking pictures of cloud formations, sunrises, and sunsets. I've probably got enough to post one a day, to tell the truth. So the difficulty for me is choosing a favorite to post once a week :)

Here's my choice this week: a sunset.

Don't forget to check out more sky photography at Skywatch Friday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Just Thursday

No meme for me today - it's just a regular, miscellaneous photo. I've been looking for the perfect chala recipe for a long time now, and I think I may have finally found it! These turn out fluffy on the inside, with a really delicious, crispy crust. At any rate, I thought this batch looked so pretty, I just had to photograph it:

They look even better close up - feel free to click on the photo, to enlarge it.

That's all, folks. Happy Thursday!

Efrat Windows

I decided to look for some local windows this week. What's that saying from The Wizard of Oz? Something about not looking further than your own backyard? So that's really true in this case - here are some windows from... my apartment!

We live in the top two floors of an apartment building in Efrat. Even before we had ever stepped foot inside, this "turret" look had always intrigued me. What fun it must be to live in a castle! Can you guess what's inside that cylindrical shape?

I also like the little square-inside-a-circle window, although it certainly could use a cleaning!

Do check out more window (and door) photography here, hosted by Mary. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

More parking lot rubies

Who would have thought that my parking lot at work would be such a treasure trove! (Surely you remember its previous contribution.) I bumped into these rubies yesterday afternoon, as I was leaving:

 
Feel free to click on the photo to enlarge, and get a better view. And do check out more entries for Ruby Tuesday at Work of the Poet, here. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Mellow Yellow Monday - I'm trying!

I have fond memories of the song "Mellow Yellow." I even referred to it in a different post on my other blog, here. And so, I really like the idea behind the meme with the same name, Mellow Yellow Monday, wherein we're meant to post photos of yellow on Mondays.

And yet, I'm having a hard time with it. Most of the yellow things that I come across are either road signs of some sort, or taxis, and what can I say - those just aren't mellow. Yes, I've found the mellow, and I've found the yellow - but no, they don't tend to be in the same photos...

This afternoon I caught the sun setting. It was absolutely mellow, and fairly yellow. What do we say - does this count?

Feel free to click on the photo to enlarge. And do check out some truly mellow (and yellow) photos here!

Shadow shadow on the wall

Here's my entry for this week's Shadow Shot Sunday. I have to say, this meme is so much fun! It's really gotten me looking for things that I just wouldn't have, otherwise. I hope to keep up with it weekly!

This is the shadow of last year's flowerboxes onto the wall of my front balcony. The flowers in these boxes, sad to say, look much better in shadow than straight on :) But never fear, I'll go to the nursery soon to replace them with something a bit more alive. 

Click on the photo to enlarge it, if you so desire. I especially like how the stone wall makes the straight lines of the railing look all squiggly. How fun!

Don't forget to check out more cool shadow photography on Hey Harriet's blog, here. Happy Shadow Shot Sunday, everyone!

What can you find?

It turns out, I'm a big fan of clouds. They come in so many shapes, sizes, and colors; I think I'm a bit enamored. 

When I was a kid I used to see things in the clouds - I don't as much now that I'm (trying to pass as) an adult. But when I was looking at this photo, my son looked over my shoulder, and said, "hey, a bear!" So I guess maybe it's genetic.

What can you find in here?

Do go and check out sky photography from all over the world here. Happy Skywatch Friday, everyone!

Crazy Cool Windows in Jerusalem

I found myself in the Russian Compound neighborhood of Jerusalem earlier this year, just walking around. There is some really funky architecture there! Among others, I found this stone tower:

Feel free to click on the image to enlarge it, as always. Interesting that all of my window posts (so far) have been from Jerusalem! I'll have to look for something more local for next week...

Don't forget to check out other window and door photos of the week here!

Ruby Rooftops in the Rain

It's raining! After a couple of official drought years here in Israel, we're pretty excited. In the last two days, it's already rained enough for more than an average October and November combined! Here's a shot of our wet neighborhood, through a rainy window:

Woo hoo! (Did I menion that we're excited?)

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, check out the cool warp effect that the wet window has on the view in some places - fun! I might start playing with this, if I have a chance...


Don't forget: On Tuesdays, just post any photo you like (it must be one of your own) that contains the color RED and then link to this blog. Happy Ruby Tuesday!
 

Shadow Shot Again

So there I was, looking for a shadow to photograph, and I just couldn't find one. When all of a sudden, I noticed this on my staircase:

Not breathaking, I know, but definitely shadowy. And definitely interesting!

For more cool shadow-inspired shots, click here. Enjoy!