Random or Odd

What the Heck?

May, 2018 Well folks, I just really don't have any words for this photo other than it truly does fit well into my "Randon and Somewhat Odd" gallery. :-)) This photo was taken from the top deck of a double decked tour bus on a rainy day in Dublin, Ireland. This interesting blow up doll was in the back of a taxi.

There Could Be Some Crazy Fun Here

December 4, 2015 The Asylum is a bar in Ketchikan, Alaska. We didn't get a chance to visit there, but I loved the name of place, and I thought that the crazy photo of Jack Nicholson from the movie "The Shining" was perfect decoration. This is a severe crop of the photo in order to isolate the upper floor of the building. I took this shot from the balcony of our ship's stateroom, which was a long way away from the actual building. I also thought it worked best in black and white. Enjoy and I hope this brings a smile to your face today! "With my sunglasses on I'm Jack Nicholson, without them I'm fat and 60." ~ Jack Nicholson Thank you for your comments and critiques. Have a satisfying day today my friends! TGIF!!! Linda

Circa 1918-1919

November 16, 2015 This forest green silk turban features tan, black, brown, red and green braided straw accents. Trimmed with an iridescent orange and green plume from an Asian Pheasant. When Ferdinand Magellan returned to Europe with skins from birds collected in New Guinea, they were so beautiful that people believed they must have come from out of this world. These exotic "Birds-of-Paradise" became so highly sought-after for their richly colored plumes that by the early 1900s up to 80,000 were being killed annually for export. Birds-of-paradise were not the only victims. Hundreds of millions of birds were killed for women's hats. The plume trade helped drive the Carolina parakeet and tthe New Zeland Huia to extinction and nearly eradicated great crested Grebes, Rheas, Emus, Africa's Ostrich herds and Britain's Gull and Kittiwake colonies. America's Snowy Egrets and the Great Egrets were especially favored for their beautiful breeding plumes. In 1903, these feathers sold for $32 an ounce, essentially twice their weight in gold. Small birds were not immune either. On two walks through New York City in 1886, biologist Frank Chapman identified 40 bird species on hats. In Florida, in an effort to control plume hunting, the American Ornithologists Union and the National Association of Audubon Societies (now the National Audubon Society) persuaded the Florida State Legislature to pass a model non-game bird protection law in 1901. These organizations then employed wardens to protect rookeries, in effect establishing colonial bird sanctuaries. Such public concern, combined with the conservation-minded President Theodore Roosevelt, who by an executive order of President on March 14, 1903 established Pelican Island as the first national wildlife refuge in the United States to protect egrets and other birds from extinction by plume hunters. These and other efforts began to stem the tide of harvesting bird feathers for fashion. Today, it is (thankfully) illegal to possess many of the exotic bird feathers. Have a great day today! Thank you for your comments and critiques. Linda

Colorful Containers

October 31, 2015 Happy Halloween everyone! This is a shot of containers that have been off loaded from many ships. I took this from the Pacific Princess just as we were leaving Vancouver for our Alaskan adventure. I loved all the colors here. Best viewed in large sizes. Thank you for your comments and critiques. Have a colorful day, and enjoy the goblins, princesses and pirates that may visit you tonight. Linda

1931 Cord

October 30, 2015 WOW - thank you all for your comments on yesterday's POTD of the Yellow Dahlia. They are all very much appreciated. This photo is of a 1931 Cord automobile is an L-29 series Cabriolet and introduced exquisite styling to the automotive industry and is considered by many to be one of the most beautifully designed cars of all time. The L-29 was the first big luxury car with a long, low racy look, made possible by the absence of a conventional real-wheel drive mechanism that allowed the chassis to sit 10 inches lower than usual. The exceptionally long hood was needed to house the engine, clutch, transmission and differential front-wheel drive package. Cord was the first manufacturer to introduce the false grille fron to hide the radiator. The L-29's grille featured thermostatically controlled shutters that regulated the amount of air entering the radiator. The Pilot Ray Driving Light pivots with the front wheels. This Cord has less than 14,000 original miles on it, is wonderfully preserved, and still has it's original top and interior. That's Bill standing to the left admiring this awesome old car. Thank you for your comments and critiques. Have a grand day today friends! Linda

Dungeness Crab

October 26, 2015 Thank you all for your comments on my TopazGlow shot of the snow covered and cloud shrouded Alaska mountains! Much appreciated!!! This photo for today is the aftermath of a Dungeness Crab feast that the four of us had while in Alaska. I had never had Dungeness Crab before, and I have to say that I absolutely loved it, it's even better (IMHO) than Alaska King Crab. Too bad there's not any in my local grocery store. :-( Thank you for your comments and critiques! Have a wonderful day full of good surprises. Linda

Blood Moon

October 14, 2015 I've tried many times to get a nice clear shot of the moon and have never been very successful. However, during the recent eclipse, I tried again, and voila! I was pretty pleased with this shot of the moon just as the eclipse started. I got some other shots that were good too, but I liked this one the best. "Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun." ~ John Lennon Have a great day today my friends! Linda

Fun in the Fountain

September 1, 2015 These were two brothers that were having a blast in the water fountains in front of the Bloedel Conservatory in Vancouver, BC. If every you are in Vancouver, this place should be on your list to visit. Have a fun day today! Linda http://lgood.smugmug.com

As Seen Through the Glass

July 6, 2015 Thank you all for your comments on my shot of the light and shadow play on the leaves yesterday. I was thrilled and enjoyed each of your comments. Today's shot was taken by my P&S camera several years ago. This is a gathering of my co-workers in San Antonio. I rather liked the reflections of Andres' face (the man behind the glass) in the surface of the wine inside the glass. "I'm like old wine. They don't bring me out very often - but I'm well preserved." ~ Rose Kennedy Thank you for your comments & critiques! Have a fine day today! Linda http://lgood.smugmug.com

Old Wavy Window Glass Reflections

April 16, 2015 Recently Bill and I had dinner at the Sushi/Japanese restaurant on the downtown square of Waxahachie, Texas where we live. The square is surrounded by loads of old buildings that were built in the late 1800's and early 1900's. A great deal of the window glass in those buildings are original and made by the older technique of making glass that is wavy. I love that old glass. The restaurant that we ate at this evening is in the Rogers Hotel that was built originally in 1856. The original hotel was destroyed by fire in 1881 and then rebuilt. The third iteration of the hotel, which is still standing today, was rebuilt in 1911. Anyway, as we walked out of the hotel, the windows of the building across the street form the hotel caught my eye. This building dates to the early 1900s. When I saw the amazing reflections in the old wavy glass, I had to take a photo. Unfortunately, I didn't have my good camera with me or even my point and shoot, so this is a very quick (and skewed) iPhone shot of the windows and their reflections. "The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face." ~ William Makepeace Thackeray I hope you enjoy. Thank you for your comments and critiques. Have a lovely day today my friends! Linda http://www.lgood.smugmug.com

Really?

Seen on a van in Page, Arizona. I just had to laugh. Hope this brings a smile to you too.

Giant Hand & Dragonfly

As I was driving the back-roads from Shawnee, OK back home to Dallas after the April, 2014 'girlfriend's weekend" I saw this wonderful creation out in the middle of nowhere. It was near Statford, OK. I saw it, had to drive about 1/4 of a mile to turn around. I stopped there to take a shot of it. This shot gives you a perspective of the size. I couldn't stand it. I drove back to the place and parked in front. It was a Sunday afternoon. There was a break in the fence that I could squeeze through. About the time I was squeezing through the fence another car arrived. The gentleman driving looked like a local, so I stopped squeezing between the gate, and walked over to talk to him. I said, "I know I"m trespassing, but that is such a cool creation, I'd like to get a closer shot." He laughed and said, "People stop here all the time to take photos of the hand. Have fun, let me open the gate for you." To see a close up shot of this unique piece of art, click here: http://lgood.smugmug.com/Daily-Photos/Daily-Photos-1/ As I was leaving, another truck came to the gate and I was a bit worried. The man driving the truck stopped at the gate, saw that I had a camera and approached me in a friendly way. I said, "I couldn't help but stop and take photos. Some older gentleman was here earlier, and he said it was OK." He smiled, and said, "Sure, it's ok. This is my brother's place & he fancies himself as an artist. Have you seen the sunflower down the way?" Well no I hadn't, so I walked through the field to see it, and took more photos. What a neat experience and fun find! I was a happy girl. Have a "handful" of a day today my friends. Check out my Daily Photo Community Post of a close up of this creation here: Linda

Boot Fence

Another Boot adorning the top of one of the MANY posts that held boots and caps. Seen near Fredericksburg, Texas. Shot December, 2013

Boot Fence

This is one of the most unusual set of fence decorations I've ever seen. We stumbled across it while crusing the hill country near Fredericksburg, Texas. Each fence post had either a boot atop it, or a cap. It was great fun to see and photograph. Taken in December, 2013 and posted in January, 2014

Deadly Beauty!

October 26, 2013 Another fungi.... We saw a good number of these unusual mushrooms along one of the trails. Some were flat like this one, and some were cone (rounded) in shape. I'm not sure if this one isn't the older, andt that's how it became flat? Any information that the talented and knowledgeable group of Smugmuggers can share would be greatly appreciated. "I am... a mushroom; On whom the dew of heaven drops now and then." ~ John Ford Have a super duper cool Saturday! Linda

October 25, 2013 "There's a fungus amongst us." ~ Unknown As seen on one of the fallen trees along a trail we were riding in Colorado. Check it out in larger sizes for the detail. I get to go home today, it's been a long week. Looking forward to seeing Bill and sleeping in my own bed. Have a fantastic Friday! Linda

Man At Work

August 3, 2013 This is one of those "thing-ies" (that's a technical term) that I shot of Bill's activities in the home workshop. He's drilling into a metal bar and the 'waste' metal from the hole was coming out in all these cool spiral, abstract forms. This is one of the longest of those that I got a photo of. I also like that in this shot you can see the smoke that is being generated by the drill bit against the metal. Bill's still working on the expansion of his home workshop adding another 3,000 feet to it, but it's almost finished & in this photo he's working on a brace for one of the metal struts. Thanks for all your wonderful comments on all of my photos the last several days, I'm sorry I haven't been able to comment as much as I would like in the last few days, but I will get caught up over the weekend. You guys are the best!!! "The Industrial Revolution was another of those extraordinary jumps forward in the story of civilization." ~ Stephen Gardiner Have a satisfying Saturday! Linda PS - late edit.....the thing-ie I was referring to is the spiral piece of waste metal that was coming out of the metal block that Bill had on the Drill Press. :-) Thanks for all your comments, you all MAKE MY DAY!!! Later PS - Bill was wearing safety glasses, but I wasn't Arctangent, thanks for the safety reminder. :-)

July, 2013 The Naked Cowboy playing to the street crowds in New York City.

Cowgirl Fashion

April 6, 2013 Fit for a Princess! A cowgirl princess that is. Loved the red color and the bling of this cowgirl hat found in one of the stores in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Thanks so much for your wonderful comments on my Longhorn Steer shot from yesterday. You guys are awesome! Have a red-letter day today my friends! Linda

Bling, Bling!

April 4, 2013 Another from the archives. This colorful display of necklaces were in a shop in the Stockyards area of Fort Worth, Texas. I couldn't resist taking a picture of it, because I am a self described "color-holic" Colorful, shiny baubles can be a girl's best friend on a dark, rainy day. Thanks for all your awesome comments on my "original" 1969 Charger shot yesterda . Indeed the "new" Chargers are great too ! Thanks for making my shot of the 1969 Charger the #5 shot of the day ( at least it was the last time I looked at Smug) Smugmuggers ROCK!!! Have a colorful day today my friends. Linda

Enjoying lunch at a local Japenese place, and watching the most talented cook. He put on a great show, and the bowl of fried rice in the foreground was yummy! Have a wonderful day!! Linda

Safe!

March 31, 2013 This is another shot from the archives, and is of an antique safe found in the basement of one of the bank branches that I toured on one of my many, many business trips. It's an old Mosler Safe, that you can tell in it's day was just lovely. The sad part is that the combination has long been forgotten, and I couldn't find any dates on it, but would guess it may be from the 1920s to perhaps the 1950s. I'm not really sure. The First State Bank of Rio Grande City, TX was chartered in 1910 and was the first owner of this safe. According to Wikipedia: In 1859 Charles Diebold, a German immigrant lock repairman, and Fred Bahmann started the "Diebold, Bahmann & Co." manufacturing safes. However, Diebold and Bahman split up and Bahmann formed a new partnership with another immigrant, an Austrian newspaper editor this time, named Gustav Mosler. Mosler had immigrated to the US in 1849. He engaged in the manufacturing of "cigars" in New York and then Cincinnati until his funds were sufficient to open a lithography business in 1859. He also became a member of the firm od Diebold, Bahmann & Co, in 1859. His energies in managerial and financial abilities were valuable assets to Diebold, Bahmann & Co. The new company was the "Mosler, Bahmann & Co." Gustav Mosler died in 1874. In 1876 the son's of Gustav Mosler formed the Mosler Safe Company. Fred Bahmann continuing the Mosler-Bahmann Co. In 1888 the Mosler Safe Co., sued Mosler, Bahmann & Co., over an apparant pat'd infringment, and in 1892 both companies were still listed as manufactures in Cincinnati, Oh. It was Diebold who had the last laugh, though—in 2001, it purchased the bankrupt Mosler safe company. And, Diebold is still a well known name in the 21st century banking world. Thanks to everyone for your great comments and suggestion about my photo slump, I'm following several of them and I'm sure I'll 'get my photo groove' back soon thanks to all of you!!! Have a blessed Easter Sunday. Linda

February 20, 2013 The show is over! The minute the Safari International show closes it becomes a beehive of activity. You can kind of tell that from some of the motion blur in this shot. After a long, hard show, everyone is anxious to get their booth's torn down, all of the stuff packed, loaded and be on the way home. I thought this fellow had a unique way of caring the carpet roll. Enjoy! Linda

Trade Show Aches and Pains

February 19, 2013 "Oh............ my poor, aching feet!" Anyone that has ever worked a trade show or convention knows that it's long days and it's hard on your feet and back because you stand almost 100% of the time. And the Safari Club International show was no different. This lady and another stood out in front of the booth across the aisle from Bill's booth, all day every day. They never sat down. I could feel her pain. For the deer hunters that are members of the Daily Community, I invite you to check out the following photo of some of the most incredible antlers I've ever seen. http://lgood.smugmug.com/Travel/Vacations/18186464_wfxNtK#!i=2371099824&k=WNx43SP Have a red-letter day today my friends! Linda

Speed With Bling!

September 8, 2012 Valerie Thompson's helmet - I LOVE the bling - check out the rhinestones all over. Her gloves even had rhinestones on them too. I tried to find what her results were for this year's Bonneville Salt Flat Land Speed Trials, but couldn't locate. In 2011 at Bonneville, her speed was 196 mph - on a MOTORCYCLE. Yikes. Google also noted that on a recent run (not at Bonneville) she ran 201.1 mph. Way too fast for me. Nevertheless I enjoyed seeing her equipment. Click here for a photo of Valerie chatting with others at the start line. http://lgood.smugmug.com/Travel/Vacations/18186464_wfxNtK#!i=2064789568&k=23jsRcd Have a sparkly day today my friends, Linda