What’s in a Name?

We were at the neighbors’ farm in Hardy, VA this past weekend.  They graciously allowed the grandchildren to pet the baby pig and the baby turkeys.

Anna asked what the pig’s name was-  “Doesn’t have one.”

The baby mini-mules and their miniature horses don’t have to worry but then again, they have NAMES!

Bob the Mule.  Heart the Horse.

The egg-layers are spared.

Oh yes, they have a couple of ducks.  And their names?      Christmas and New Years.

The second image? Those are a couple of (seven pounds apiece) pork butts that Pap smoked for the Paleo crowd.  The veg branch of the family didn’t come this past weekend.             I don’t think the meat had names.

Bruno’s Gastro Truck Near Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia

We had just seen the Ice Cream Float Boat on the lake.

Food trucks are hot, hot, hot these days.

Spotted Bruno’s Gastro Truck in the parking lot as we were stopping to buy a few rolls of duct tape at Capps Home Building Center .  Anna was going to make a duct tape wallet for her Dad’s birthday present.

We’d just been boating with the family with a rented pontoon boat on Smith Mountain Lake and we were headed back to Hardy, VA.  Next time we’ll have to try something to eat from this shiny truck.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer

You’ve seen Ice Cream Trucks.  How about an Ice Cream Boat?

Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. 500 miles of shoreline.

We were 35 miles from Roanoke. Celebrating Mark’s 36th birthday today.

Memorial Day Weekend with the family.  Rented a pontoon boat and enjoyed a hot summery day on the lake.

Ice Cream Boat

 Ice Cream Boat

Mirror Mirror On The Wall

Convex traffic mirror. At the zoo.  Not a monkey.  Self- portrait.

Maybe I got the title after viewing the scary preview of the movie which is coming out June first.  No dwarfs to be seen. Definitely not for children.

And then I researched convex mirror and find the Pulitzer Prize winning book Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror and the lengthy title poem of the same name by John Ashberry.

Wikipedia says “Round convex mirrors called Oeil de Sorcière (French for “sorcerer’s eye”) were a popular luxury item from the 15th century onwards, shown in many depictions of interiors from that time.[1] With 15th century technology, it was easier to make a regular curved mirror (from blown glass) than a perfectly flat one.”

And of course they mention the Arnolfini Portrait  by Jan van Eyck which everyone is familiar with but may not know the painting’s title.  See the convex mirror in the details if you click on the Arnolfini Portrait link and scroll to the section Mirror.

Okay, just trying to make a photograph of me a bit interesting to others. Convex mirrors seem interesting to me.

Sea Lion Viewing Window at the Pittsburgh Zoo

Pittsburgh Zoo trip with K-2 grade.

The Sea Lion seemed to enjoy looking at the students!

I could have stayed there a long time to watch the sea lions swim by and blow bubbles at us.

Such Expressive (and Unexpected) Taxidermy

Beware of Fox!

It’s been up on this porch roof for at least a couple of days.

I was driving to the zoo from school on Monday.

The story I heard from the guy out in front of the house next door?

The guy who lives there does demolition and probably got it from some home he was tearing down.  It is the season of demolition around the city as you know.

A photographer has no choice but to pull to the curb and shoot the scene.  Remember the days of women’s stoles with fox heads dangling and tiny paws with claws? Beady eyes?  Ugh. Wonder if they take him in if it rains?

The last book we read in 2nd grade Intervention Group was the Fantastic Mr.  Fox by Roald Dahl.

Night Game- Pirates 5 – Mets 4 – PNC Park – Pittsburgh PA

 

It was a beautiful night, capturing the sunlight as the sun went down.  And it ended up being an exciting game with a win by the Pirates.  A few fireworks.  Perfect weather. They close the Roberto Clemente Bridge for pedestrians to walk across to the Park. Reggie Howze is the saxophonist standing on the bridge.

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