Skywatch Friday

Another picturesque shot from our local lake at sunset, a great source of photographic inspiration for me.

To see more wonderful skies from around the world or to join in, go to the Skywatch site.

I'll never get the attraction!

Hunting is big in this area, in fact it's huge, a major recreation sport that many people partake in. Growing up in Blighty, the only close contact I had with it was seeing the Foxhunt on horseback go by, or my dad taking part in occasional corporate pheasant or clay pigeon shoots.

But here hunting is at a whole other level with different seasons for different prey. Deer hunting attracts many hunters into our area and we have rifle, archery and black powder seasons in late autumn. In eastern Okieland they even have a Bear season. In our area they also hunt duck, quail, pheasant, rabbit, dove, prairie chicken, armadillo (unofficially) and rattlesnake, of which I heartily approve. The Hubster also said I must mention snipe hunting for the Americans reading this, apparently you'll get a laugh?!

Every year we have our own camouflage clothing season here, when it can be seen widely in stores and on backs. Stylish high visibility vests are also favoured and I even know someone who drives a camo pick-up! People get carried away designing and building deer stands and hides on their land, there's much discussion on the most effective designs. And of course the gun counters are heaving and the benefits of differing ammo are weighed up at length. They speak in a whole other language I don't get, discussing the point value of their spots or kills.

For me, one of the most bizarre elements are the family photo's circulated by email. Where proud parents show off their kids and teens propping up dead deer. I am afraid I just don't get the appeal of killing a beautiful animal for sport, but then it's gone on for centuries.

I was not raised in this world and what is a part of life for some of them, is just the opposite to me. Many people think Foxhunting (a big Brit pastime in years gone by) was far more barbaric before it was banned, and I can understand why it was thought so. There is also no denying that the Brits are an especially passionate nation of animal lovers. And I will admit that the hunting is very well regulated here and helps to keep the native animal population numbers under control.

But although I respect our difference of opinion on hunting and bite my tongue regularly, I can guarantee this is one Okie pastime I personally will never embrace.

What are your thoughts, do you hunt?

Anglo/American Word of the Day!!

I thought we'd have a BWOTD for the New Year, one I used at work earlier and caused confusion with, of course! But then after much discussion in the comments, it became clear it's not just us Brits that use it.

"I shelled out a good few bucks on it"

Shell(ed)(ing) out = Pay/Paid

To be honest I had absolutely no clue how this one came into being, I mean it's hard to spot a connection between shells and payment, and there's no rhyming going on. But then along came the lovely Kay from Hawaii, a good blog friend of mine, with the very interesting ANSWER to my wondering how it originated. It seems us Brits had a hand in it, but it originated from that long ago British Colony known as the America's! So not so much a Brit Word of the Day, but a very interesting history on how we all came to use it.

Thanks Kay :-)

My World - New Years Day

The first day of 2010 was a stunner out here in the Wild West. And as we are now heading into the 'deep freeze' again, we made the most of it, packed a picnic and headed outdoors.

A little New Years Geocaching was in order, so we decided to try and find a couple that are local to us, but are out of bounds in the warmer months due to Rattlesnakes. The first find of the day was easy and so we headed way out into the country in search of another.

The casual passerby, of which there are few out here, probably wouldn't even notice the old bridge as they kick up a dust cloud in their wake. But there are clues to be seen all around if you just take the time to look.

The silence is truly golden in this spot, but once upon a time the peace was shattered daily by a freight train. Now the only visitors are Geocachers like the Hubster, hunting for a very elusive cache.

This old bridge was on Santa Fe's branch line that ran from Shattuck to Perryton, Texas. It had a single car called a "Doodlebug" that ran five days a week. It not only carried passengers but the mail, bread, livestock feed, cream cans full of cream and milk, eggs, live chickens, and grain to the silo on the main line.

If you look off into the far distance, you can just spot the water tower in the destination town of Shattuck. The actual tracks were still there just 4 years ago, but it hasn't been in use for probably 20-30 years.

But it's not hard to picture the old freight train trundling through this scenic and now peaceful spot. Unfortunately the hunt for the cache was unsuccessful, so we will try again another day.

To join in the fun go to My World Tuesday

A timely reminder

As many of us wilt and shiver, under the seemingly brutal winter in many places around the globe this year

And all we want to do is snuggle down and stay warm

It won't be long now until the suns warmth returns and everything once again bursts forth to brighten our days

A year in books

In 2009 I read 33 books (including 9 over 500 pages) and beat 2008's total by five, which really surprised me as I also spent alot more time writing and taking pictures. It just confirmed that I continue to be a bookworm and probably always will be!

So below is what I read, a good mix of genres and none that I didn't enjoy.

Marriage most scandalous - Johanna Lyndsey
She's all that (Spa Girls 1) - Kristin Billerbeck
A girl's bestfriend (Spa Girls 2) - Kristin Billerbeck
The Irish devil - Diane Whiteside
Cool, calm & adjusted (Spa Girls 3) - Kristin Billerbeck
Undead and unwed (Queen Betsy 1)- Janice Mary Davidson
A bend in the road - Nicholas Sparks
Two for the money (Stephanie Plum) - Janet Evanovich
Three to get ready (Stephanie Plum) - Janet Evanovich
Plum Lovin' (Stephanie Plum) - Janet Evanovich
Four to Score (Stephanie Plum) - Janet Evanovich
Lots of Love - Fiona Walker
Kiss Chase - Fiona Walker
This Lullaby - Sarah Dressner
Austenland - Shannon Hale
The Good Sister - Diana Diamond
A Week in Winter - Marcia Willett
Echoes of the Dance - Marcia Willett
Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen
Shelter Me - Juliette Fay
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
In Like Flynn - Dorien Kelly
The French Connection - Tracy Kelleher
The Wednesday Sisters -Meg Waite Clayton
Certain Girls - Jennifer Weiner
Best Friends Forever - Jennifer Weiner
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
New Moon - Stephanie Meyer
Eclipse - Stephanie Meyer
Keeping Up Appearances - Jennifer McKinley
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meyer
The Tea Rose - Jennifer Donnelly

Now comes the hard part, my thoughts on what I'd recommend, enjoyed the most and least. There are some very good books amongst this list and so after a real struggle to decide, here's what I thought.

The books I enjoyed the least, but REALLY tried hard to get into, were the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. I gave them a good go, reading the first four, but despite their generally huge popularity they just aren't for me I guess!

I finally late in the year gave way to pressure and read all the Twilight books and I enjoyed them all, even the final one! They're not the greatest literary works, but they're different, pure escapism and I can see why they have been so popular. But I won't be buying them, as I know I won't ever want to re-read them.

I had my annual re-read of Pride & Prejudice and as ever, enjoyed every moment of it. I also convinced 2 of my fellow bookclub members to read it and they enjoyed it too, although they had to really concentrate due to the old english in it, something that has never occurred to me. Notice how I just dropped in there 'fellow bookclub members', more on that little 2009 secret later this week ;-)

I really enjoyed the new Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol, the Hubster also flew through it at breakneck speed for him and praised it. I know there are alot of Dan 'knockers' out there, but he really does write an excellent mystery that romps along at a killer pace. So what if he's not always accurate in the details, it's fiction isn't it and I for one am a fan, so it's one I recommend highly.

If you love a book that really connects with you and brings emotions to the surface, then I highly recommend Shelter Me by Juliette Fay. It was our first bookclub choice, we all shed tears over it and loved it. It tells the story of a newly widowed young mother and her struggle to move on with her life.

But my top two reads of 2009 go to very different books, but both exceptional in their own ways.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon, is a book I had heard alot about and never got around to reading. Well it was wonderful, written from the point of view of an autistic teenage boy, raw with emotion at times and very insightful. With me it especially connected as I have regular contact with autism, and I felt this book gave me a better understanding of how an autistic child thinks.

But my favourite read of the year, is the one I just finished, The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly. It is a sweeping novel, set against the backdrop of 1880's England in a poverty stricken and terrified London, thanks in part to Jack the Ripper. It follows one girls struggle to overcome all the horrors of her life and succeed against huge odds. It then moves to turn of the century New York, giving a real feeling of the potential and excitement of the time as the city bursts into life. I only wish I could write such a great novel myself, maybe one day!

I wish you all happy reading in 2010.

And the winner is....(& enter again)

with a guess of 365 mugs of tea, compared to the 427 I actually drank (drumroll please)...

Gigi-Hawaii

Many congrats to Gigi, please email your mailing details and within a couple of weeks I will have a Brit influenced Tea goodies box, on it's way to you. The closest runners-up were Jan with 498 and Mare with 502. Mmmmm who commented on the previous post that he thought he was close, hmmmm 690 actually! ;-)

It was a fun competition, so I will run it again this year, especially as I have no idea whether I am consistent in my tea consumption. So place your guesses in the comments here for a chance to win.

On the rain front I have decided to go for a more accurate measure in 2010. Last year we had 44 'incidences' of rain, but that tells me nothing about the quantity. So I will put our rain-guage to good use and report actual inches, which I have no doubt will tell a much better story on just how dry it is out here!

And in other news, I have decided to once again blog more regularly, after taking a step back the past 6 months. I did write more and achieve the dream of being paid for that, but I also got 'sucked in' by Facebook and wasted alot of time on it pointlessly. So yesterday I drastically cleaned out my FB account, removed it from my home page tab and resolved (my only one for 2010) to reinvest that time in my blog and writing. So for better or worse depending on your opinion, you're about to hear more from me again!