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4 more pictures in notes above! The smoke from the fires here in southern Oregon was so thick this morning that the sun could only cast a dim orange light on everything. In fact, you can see the smoke from SPACE! Though it was positively caustic to be outside, I simply could not resist taking pictures of the gorgeous tarweed blossoms that are in full bloom right now and simply take my breath away with their beauty. Frank Lloyd Wright (born Frank Lincoln Wright, June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 532 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. This philosophy was best exemplified by his design for Fallingwater (1935), which has been called "the best all-time work of American architecture". Wright was a leader of the Prairie School movement of architecture and developed the concept of the Usonian home, his unique vision for urban planning in the United States. Frank Lloyd Wright Explored on August 8, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#32).

7 more pictures in notes above! ENJOY! :) I've been enjoying the beautiful flowers I bought a week ago, and the Zinnias are blooming in many colors! A few days ago I shared images of a hot pink one, and today it was time to show off the gorgeous golden yellow one! The first rays of sun look so pretty on the petals, soft and warm! John Muir (21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914) was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. One of the most well-known hiking trails in the U.S., the 211-mile (340 km) John Muir Trail, was named in his honor. Other such places include Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier. John Muir Explored on August 9, 2013. Highest placement, page 3 (#61).

8 more pictures in notes above! 6 are a series that go with the main image, 2 are my other images that are clickable! A couple of days ago, Steve was out doing some errands and I asked him to pick up some flower seeds for me if he stopped anywhere that had some. Well, as it happened, he stopped at a store that was having a 25¢ sale on their seed packets, so he ended up bringing home 11 different ones!! HOORAY!! :D (3 kinds of Zinnias, Shasta Daisies, Asters, Bachelor Buttons, Morning Glories, Helichrysum, Marigolds, and Sweet Williams!) That evening I got a seed tray out, figured out how many seeds I could use and then counted seeds, laid them out on a paper towel soaked with special seed "juice", and covered them up with more of the same. Plastic wrap to keep the moisture in and then I just needed to wait! Overnight is the minimum but I've usually soaked my seeds for two days. Now, I don't know about you, but to me, seeds are absolutely miraculous! How can something so small and insignificant turn into a TREE! Or, for that matter a PERSON! An ELEPHANT! A BLUE WHALE! It's just the most incredible thing to me. Whenever I've ever started a plant from a seed, the experience just blows me away!! Of course I understand the science behind it and it all makes sense, but when you see a little speck pop open and watch roots and leaves appear...WOWWWW!!!! WHAT A SHOW!!! So, yesterday I began peeking! 11 little paper covers to peel back, just like the Christmas Advent Calendars! What will I find?! HOW EXCITING!! And lo and behold, I would find a seed cracking open, and the hint of a root appearing...WOO HOO!!! THE MIRACLE OF LIFE!!! Day turned to night and before bed I checked again...WHY THERE WAS A PARTY GOING ON UNDER THOSE PAPER TOWEL BLANKETS!! Seeds a'poppin' left and right, little roots trying to dig through the paper towel below...how absolutely cool is that?!!! I couldn't stop smiling and cooing at the little seed babies! :) Today I needed to plant the seeds before the "popped" ones got problems from being exposed to the air, so of course I would just have to take pictures for my 365 before I popped them into the dirt! I didn't want to devote more than one of my photostream spots for my seedlings so I've put lots of pictures in notes to share the experience! I hope you enjoy the show!! (NOTE: Although this series was originally set to Private, they are all now public, so if you want to see them at a larger size, you can! :) John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. Jon Bon Jovi Explored on August 6, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

I took this picture a couple of weeks ago when the sun was low and turned the grass in our meadows a soft gold. Very nice as a background to this lovely wildflower. I am crazy about Chicory blossoms and keep meaning to feature them for my Pick of the Day, but something always seems to push it out of the way! Too many pictures, not enough top spots! :D From Wikipedia: Common chicory, Cichorium intybus, is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Various varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons (blanched buds), or for roots (var. sativum), which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and additive. It is also grown as a forage crop for livestock. It lives as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and in North America and Australia, where it has become naturalized. Explored on August 6, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.

3 more pictures in notes above! :) Yesterday was one of those days when I got two pictures of a zinnia that I REALLY wanted to use as my Picture of the Day. In the end, I let my husband decide. But I still wanted to show that other picture...so... this morning I took the picture over again! It's not exactly the same (f/11 vs f/14, slight angle variation, flower further along in bloom cycle) but it's very close! I have included yesterday's version in my notes for you to compare--you'll also notice that it's a bit more in the yellow range.) Funny enough, it took quite a few attempts and two visits before I got one that was close enough for me to be satisfied! It was an interesting exercise to try to repeat my picture from yesterday. I figured it would seem simple and prove difficult...and I was right. But it was fun to keep trying until I was happy with the result! Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became a renowned and sometimes controversial artist. The Andy Warhol Museum in his native city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archives. It is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist. Andy Warhol Explored on August 4, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#41).

4 more pictures in notes above and 1 text note! :) Have I mentioned lately how much I love poppies? I LOVE POPPIES!!! :D They are beautiful in all stages and have unique and unusual forms as they progress from bud through seed stage. I've been keeping an eye on the poppy seed pods as they've matured, swelled in size, and then dried up, signalling that they have seeds ready for harvesting!! We have plenty of deer who have risked our deer sprayer to eat anything that looks promising and they've chomped up a number of seed heads, but I'm very happy to report that at least half of the seed heads are unmolested! :D However, before harvesting, I wanted to take pictures so that you can see how absolutely amazing they look!!! If you like fascinating shapes and awesome textures, you simply cannot go wrong with these incredible seed heads! I had a great time taking pictures and some of them include water droplets and sunbursts! Today's uploads include three other pictures and a close-up of the main seed head in this image. I hope you enjoy the images as much as I did taking them! Ben Sweetland is an author and psychologist, widely known for his syndicated column, "The Marriage Clinic," and for his many books, including "I Will", and "I Can". He is active on the West Coast as a consulting psychologist, and much sought after as a lecturer throughout the states. Ben Sweetland Explored on August 5, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#29).

5 more pictures in notes above! About a month ago, I found a butterfly on our property that I'd never seen before, a California Hairstreak. I managed to get a few nice pictures but unfortunately my dof was not deep enough to include the entire butterfly in crisp focus. I was a bit sad about that, since I didn't know when I'd get the chance to take more pictures of these beautiful little butterflies. Yesterday I was discovered another patch of milkweed flowers, and these are very healthy and doing well with bright green leaves and flowers which are only now peaking with many more to bloom. Wonderful news for me, because I am raising Clio Tiger Moth caterpillars and they are eating like pigs! I have begun to worry if I would be able to find enough leaves for them, since the other plants I know of are starting to die. Finding this new patch has filled me with great relief because there will be enough food for my oinker-pillars! :) Another thing that I love about this patch is that it's very close to the house, and today I went over with my camera to see the visitors, and I saw the very butterfly I'd been hoping to find!!!! This time I was very careful to choose more aperture settings to be sure I'd get a nice selection in focus. I also made sure to move around to the side of the butterfly that the sun was hitting instead of staying on the side which was shadowed. Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become widely known through the dramatic depictions of the play and film The Miracle Worker. Her birthday on June 27 is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and was authorized at the federal level by presidential proclamation by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, her 100th birthday. Wikipedia: Jesse Owens Explored on August 23, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#39).

4 more pictures in notes above! (the picture of coins has two other versions to see if visit) I love it when Thursday rolls around because I get to participate in the Bokeh Thursday Challenge! :D This week's theme is "Coins", which had me bouncing up and down because I've been wanting to take some pictures of our leftover foreign coins for a while! We keep our odd coins in a box in the bedroom and of course I took my parrot, Pumpkin, out of her cage to help supervise! I let her romp around on the bed while I looked over the loot, and she was having such a good time that I decided to bring the camera and flash upstairs and let her play on the bed while I took pictures. We went downstairs together, she on a finger, laughing as we walked down the stairs, and then she made silly wine-cork noises at the strange stuff I was carrying back upstairs with me! While I took pictures, she proceeded to walk around on our comforter, making "chicken tracks" all over the soft plush blanket. This is so funny to see, but I couldn't get any pictures that showed how cute the footprints look, boo! Even though I was taking pictures of coins, I kept an eye on Pumpkin at all times while she played. She didn't want to have anything to do with the camera equipment, but instead busied herself by hanging off the side of the bed and chortling happily at me. She also crawled through a tunnel I made for her under the comforter and I snickered as I heard her making funny croaking sounds as she investigated her private clubhouse. I peeked over the edge of the bed at one point and found her making "creaking" sounds as she stared intently at a place where two pieces of wood came together, forming a crack. She loves cracks. They make her laugh! :D I finally finished taking pictures and gathered up my darling girl, covering her with kisses and telling her how much I love her. And as I plopped a treat into her food cup and swung her in a wide arc into her cage, she squealed happily, "WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" That's my girl. Best little friend in the whole, wide world!!!! Texture used in this image: Netherworld TOTD # 128 by Jerry Jones (SkeletalMess on Flickr) Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become widely known through the dramatic depictions of the play and film The Miracle Worker. Her birthday on June 27 is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and was authorized at the federal level by presidential proclamation by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, her 100th birthday. Wikipedia: Helen Keller Explored on August 22, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#40).

4 more pictures in notes above! (the second picture has two other versions to see if visit) This Pick of the Day came as a sort of "smack in the face"! I was actually planning to choose one of the pictures I took today of some little yellow Hawkweed blossoms. However, as I was walking back into the house, I saw the Zinnias I have growing out on the porch and I thought, "It would be nice to get some petal close-ups of the yellow Zinnias! I took a several pictures, but I just couldn't resist getting some images of the hot pink Zinnia too, even though I already have some nice petal close ups! When I started working on my images, I looked at this one with the plan to crop it down to just the area with the crisp petal edges. I did some work on some other images, came back to this file, and just before I dove in to crop it, I looked at the whole image and said out loud, "WOW!!! CHECK OUT THAT BOKEH!! I cropped the image to include the beautiful background and put the crisp petal edges on a third. Just think...if I hadn't stopped to look at the entire image, I would have missed this, which is much better in all regards I think. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (October 11, 1884 — November 7, 1962) was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, holding the post from 1933 to 1945 during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office. President Harry S. Truman later called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements. Wikipedia: Eleanor Roosevelt Explored on August 21, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

2 more pictures in notes above! I've been doing a lot of thinking about gratitude lately. I have so much to be thankful for, and today I want to say THANK YOU , delivered with a warm hug to each and every one of you. I want you all to know how much it means to me that you visit and leave comments and favorites. But most of all, I want you to know how thankful I am for your friendship, and for the camaraderie we share here at ipernity. You have all made me feel welcome here in my new home. I have made so many new and wonderful friends. I am so grateful for those of you who have joined me here from Flickr, and for those of you who have made a special effort to give ipernity another try, and have found that you just needed to put in a bit more effort to discover how special ipernity really is. Thank you all for making me feel that I have some talent as a photographer and writer, and thank you for sharing your feelings with me. I am grateful for the opportunity to see the world through your eyes, and for the virtual adventures I go on around the world through your wonderful photography. Because of every one of you, I am a better photographer, and a better person too. I learn so much from what I read about your pictures and from the stories and articles that you write. The time I spend visiting your photo streams and reading the comments that you leave for me fill me with so many emotions--joy, happiness, laughter (and often howling cackles of mirth), fascination, wonder, and sometimes sorrow and regret. It's all important though, and I am very thankful that I am allowed to know you a little bit more every day. So...thank you everyone!! I am so happy here and I am so grateful to be surrounded by such a fabulous community and ever-growing group of friends. You mean the world to me. *big hugs to all of you* Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. Wikipedia: Henry Ward Beecher Explored on August 24, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.

3 more pictures in notes above! Today I decided to walk to the top of our ridge and see what things looked like up there. It's very dry right now with nothing new growing, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything to take pictures of. With a macro lens, a dreary land is full of wonderful images to find! Dead leaves and plants, berries and seeds are just a few cool things to photograph, and I found so many wonderful subjects that I had to force myself to stop taking pictures! :D This Picture of the Day features a Poison Oak berry with part of its husk coming off, exposing the ripe, seed-filled berry inside. This is not a berry you want to eat though, but it sure is pretty! George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. Wikipedia: George MacDonald Explored on August 27, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#37).

2 more pictures in notes above! Today's Pick of the Day is a pretty red poppy that opened this morning. I'm so surprised how long the poppies have been blooming this summer! The first one bloomed on June 28, and almost two months later I have more poppies in bud stage and yet to open! It's no wonder these flowers are so popular! The show just keeps on going on and on!! With this flower, I decided to add some texture, using Photoshop's Cracquelure filter and an additional texture image from Jerry Jones , using his Layer Masks image for the edging! THANKS JERRY!! :) Albert Schweitzer, (14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German—and later French—theologian, musician, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary in Africa best known for his interpretive life of Jesus. He was born in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire. Schweitzer, a Lutheran, challenged both the secular view of Jesus as depicted by historical-critical methodology current at his time in certain academic circles, as well as the traditional Christian view. He depicted Jesus as one who literally believed the end of the world was coming in his own lifetime and believed himself to be a world savior. He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of "Reverence for Life", expressed in many ways, but most famously in founding and sustaining the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, now in Gabon, west central Africa (then French Equatorial Africa). As a music scholar and organist, he studied the music of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach and influenced the Organ reform movement (Orgelbewegung). Wikipedia: Albert Schweitzer Explored on August 27, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#34).

3 more pictures in notes above! I awoke at 4 in the morning to the sound of heavy rain falling on the roof and pattering against our windows. This was a real storm...in AUGUST! The rain continued on and off until about 11:00am when the brooding clouds reluctantly moved on, leaving an overcast sky and a blissfully cooler day as a lingering reminder. I loved the fresh air, fragrant with moistened dry grass and clay soil, and the way it felt outside, as if everything was giving a big sigh of relief from the hot and oppressivly dry days of August. I decided to share a picture of rainwater pouring out of a gutter and a picture of our bird bath where the large droplets splashed and created big bubbles on the surface! Really neat to see. For this picture, I added texture to the background and changed the color of the water to a much bluer tone, as it was a very grey day and I wanted to make the water pretty! :) Thanks to Jerry Jones for "P-7" James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the negro was in vogue" which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue". Wikipedia: Langston Hughes Explored on August 26, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

5 more pictures in notes above! A couple of weeks ago I went out with our Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro conversion lens and I got a macro image of Star Thistle stamens (see image above in note). When I went to link a larger picture to see the whole flower, I was amazed to realize I'd never processed the many pictures I've taken of this flower. So I went out today to remedy the situation! Star Thistle has quite a pretty flower up close, but otherwise it's nothing much to look at. Worse than that, this noxious weed is covered with nasty thorns, and should you get pricked, a tiny infected sore usually develops. I heard from a neighbor that Star Thistle arrived in the area because of the people who lived here before us. In the years they lived at the house, their kids brought home Star Thistle seeds in their clothes or shoes and from there, the plants sprouted and quickly spread to much of our property and neighboring properties. Personally, I don't buy the story, since this plant's seeds travel via parachutes and don't get stuck in clothes or socks. More likely, the seeds came from mixed grass hay fed to horses in the area and spread that way. In any event, we've got the awful stuff everywhere. It's next to impossible to get rid of, so we just try to live with it! Doug Larson (born February 10, 1926) was a columnist and editor for the Door County Advocate (1953-1964) and wrote a daily column for the Green Bay Press-Gazette (1964-1988) — both Wisconsin-based newspapers. The column was originally syndicated through United Media under the title "Senator Soaper Says"; Larson took over authorship in 1980. Previously, it had been written by Bill Vaughn of the Kansas City Star. Doug's quotes have been widely circulated on the Internet and occasionally show up on T-shirts. He was born in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Wikipedia: Doug Larson Explored on Septemeber 2, 2013. Highest placement, page 3 (#61).

3 more pictures in notes above! Last night I had a hard time sleeping and spent hours trying unsuccessfully to get my rest. This morning I felt horrible and had a cough developing. As I went downstairs, I thought that my remedy could also be my Picture of the Day! So I grabbed my camera and went into the kitchen, grabbed an Airborne tablet, plopped it into a pretty glass full of water and took pictures as it fizzed and bubbled away into a tasty, citrus-flavored drink. After I got my pictures, I downed the glassful and immediately started to feel better. I'm the first person to be suspicious of something that sounds too good to be true. I always thought homeopathic medicine was a joke and a waste of money--snake oil, as it were. But a friend recommended I try it the next time I felt a cold coming on, so I did. Darn if it didn't work! I couldn't believe it!! How can non-traditional medicine actually work?! But lo and behold, it does. My husband and I use both Airborne and Zicam (also homeopathic) for colds and they are amazing. The extra vitamins in Airborne also give an extra boost and make me feel good right away. When we feel flu coming on, we take Oscillococcinum, and it's like magic! Since we found out about these remedies, we are very rarely sick. Although there is a strong debate about homeopathy for treatment in sickness, I would have to say that in the case of cold and flu, homeopathy does work! :) Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE (22 April 1916 – 12 March 1999) was an American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. Wikipedia: Yehudi Menuhin Explored on September 3, 2013. Highest placement, page 3 (#67).

4 more pictures in notes above! Today I was working on getting pictures together for Bokeh Thursday, but my favorite pick happens to be another caterpillar, and well, I don't want you guys to get sick of them, so I went out to look for those pink flowers again! HAH! Something always comes between me and the little pink flowers!! First it was the wind. It's one of those crazy changing-of-season days where the sun's out and it starts to rain. There was a booming thunder and lightning storm earlier, with downpours and hail, and then it all passed by and was sunny again! Crazy! However, it was very gusty, so when I finally found some of the pink flowers, they were waving around every which way, and as I bent down to take pictures, I realized I would be wasting my time so I went to find some sort of cover from the wind and hoped I might find some flowers there. When I got to a place behind a burn pile, there were no flowers but I didn't care at that point. I noticed a tiny something on a dried Tarweed flower husk and looking closer, I was excited to see that it was a fuzzy Bee Fly! It had its proboscis extended and at first glance I thought it was a huge mosquito. However, they aren't even related, and I'm glad...I have no interest in taking pictures of those nasty blood-suckers! The long proboscis you see is used to probe flowers for nectar, not to puncture flesh for blood! ICK! This fly was about 1/4" long and was very docile. At one point I accidentally bumped into the dried plant and it waved all over the place. Amazingly, the fly just hung on and then began grooming itself!! I have a picture of that to share too! :) I was so amazed when I looked at these pictures on my computer--you would never know it was so windy! This is one of the very best fly pictures I've taken so far! :D Edward Osborne "E. O." Wilson (born June 10, 1929) is an American biologist, researcher (sociobiology, biodiversity), theorist (consilience, biophilia), naturalist (conservationist) and author. His biological specialty is myrmecology, the study of ants, on which he is considered to be the world's leading authority. Wikipedia: E.O. Wilson Explored on September 6, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#36).

5 more pictures in notes above! ENJOY THE FLOWER SHOW!!! :D Today Steve and I needed to go into Medford for some shopping and other errands, and I brought my camera along for a change of scenery! Everywhere we went, I wandered around outside taking pictures. It was a lot of fun! In fact, I got too many pictures to process today, but I did finish 6 to share! My biggest treasure trove was just inside the doorway to a store called Trader Joe's, where they had many beautiful Strawflowers for sale. Though the light was bad, I managed to get a bunch of really pretty images! However, my pick of the day was found at one of our first stops. Steve needed to go into a bike shop for some parts, so I enjoyed myself looking for interesting things to take pictures of outside. I found a perfect orb web on a bush but was so bummed because the spider wasn't there! *tears* I found a neon green leafhopper that was so cute, but too small and far away to get a proper picture of. I found a tree with a huge eye on it (which I'll try to process!), and then I went around the side of the store and found interesting berries in different stages of development, and under them... I found the leaves you see above! The second I saw them I got excited because I knew they would look fantastic as a picture! (Thank you so much to Alida Maspero for identifying these leaves as coming from the Nandina plant, otherwise known as "Heavenly Bamboo", though it is not actually related to bamboo!) When I got home and started working on this picture, all I needed to do was select the leaves, which were already on a very dark background, place them on a new layer, make a black background, and add a bit of my standard sharpening filters to the leaves and a touch of saturation to match what I saw, and PRESTO! My Picture of the Day!! :D Helen Maria Hunt Jackson, born Helen Fiske (October 15, 1830 – August 12, 1885), was a United States poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government. She detailed the adverse effects of government actions in her history A Century of Dishonor (1881). Her novel Ramona dramatized the federal government's mistreatment of Native Americans in Southern California and attracted considerable attention to her cause,[1][2] although its popularity was based on its romantic and picturesque qualities rather than its political content. It was estimated to have been reprinted 300 times, and contributed to the growth of tourism in Southern California. Wikipedia: Helen Hunt Jackson Explored on September 8, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

While walking around at Michael's place, I wandered down the sidewalk to the next house over, and found a bushy tree with all kinds of odd, prickly, brown fruit on it. Thanks to Leapfrog (Art) for identification, I can tell you this is a Buckeye seed pod, and they are totally COOL! I enjoyed taking pictures and then I looked under some branches to see what it looked like, and I found this poor, sad seed pod that didn't quite make it! :D Instead of being 3" in diameter like the normal seed pod, this dud was about 1", cracked and looking like a strange alien from another planet! Totally fabulous!!! :D Explored on September 15, 2013. Highest placement, page 5.