In The Woods

(Click for larger image.)

Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo…

It’s snowing in the Woods,
just snowing in the Woods,
What a glorious sight,
despite the frost bite.
I’m laughing out loud,
and dancing around,
The sun’s coming out
No shadows on the ground.

Let the blustery wind chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the snow!
There’s a smile on my face
As I skip down the lane
with a happy refrain
It’s snowing,
Snowing in the Woods!

Yeah,
Snowing in the Woods!
Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah
Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah
I’m happy again!
I’m singing and dancing in the snow!
I’m dancing and singing in the snow…

Lyrics by DQ Jones
(Tune of “Singing In The Rain”)

Photos by Cheshire D Smith.

It’s snowing in the woods…

A Song For The Journey

I didn’t follow the song verse for verse.  I used them as guidelines as my own song developed its structure.  All in all, I am pleased with the result.   Cheshire D

P.S.  Yes, I used an online rhyming dictionary!  The initial inspiration needed a little assistance. 

Christmas Song:  Away in a Manger
     
Away in a manger,   (6)
No crib for His bed    (5)
The little Lord Jesus    (6)
Laid down His sweet head   (5)

The stars in the sky    (5)
Looked down where He lay   (5)
The little Lord Jesus    (5)
Asleep on the hay    (5)

The cattle are lowing    (6)
The poor Baby wakes    (5)
But little Lord Jesus    (6)
No crying He makes    (5)

I love Thee, Lord Jesus   (6)
Look down from the sky   (5)
And stay by my side,    (5)
Til morning is nigh.    (5)

Be near me, Lord Jesus,   (6)
I ask Thee to stay     (5)
Close by me forever    (5)
And love me I pray     (5)

Bless all the dear children   (6)
In Thy tender care     (5)
And take us to heaven    (6)
To live with Thee there   (5)

          

New Song

Away on a donkey              (6)
I’m going to ride.            (5)
Many friends at my side,      (6)
Enchanteur as guide.          (5)

Away on the donkeys           (6)
we’re going to go!            (5)
Under and over,               (5)
Beyond a rainbow!             (5)

All the stars in the sky,     (6)
the grasses & trees,          (5)
the rocks & the rivers,       (6)
all whisper to me.            (5)

Of the ages gone by,          (5)
And ones not yet come,        (5)
Of joys and woes both         (5)
Transformed to wisdom.        (5)

And that’s the great Story,   (6)
we’ll tell as we go           (5)
On the path less travelled    (6)
which everyone knows!         (5)

So get your gear ready!       (6)
The Muses await,              (5)
With gifts to bestow,          (5)
What will we create?          (5)

Away on the donkeys           (6)
we’re going to go!            (5)
Under and over,               (5)
Beyond a rainbow!             (5)
 

Image #2

Well, I had an idea for a new blog…  And I wanted an image for it.  But I couldn’t find something I liked that wasn’t copyrighted, etc.  So obviously it was up to me to create an image…  I went back to a couple of images I had found which I could use (under a creative commons license) and this is the result.  I like it.

CosmoNautilus     c) 2007 by Cheshire

More about the new blog later.  Right now I am in the delicate dreaming stage with it.  Musing about possibilities, structure, etc.  But the name/image was ready for sharing. 

Image #1

I would like to say thanks to Lori, Genece, and Vi for being inspiring examples of digital artists.  And this is the first digital image I have created.  I was simply playing around with some options in paintshop pro and liked the outcome.  I think I will be doing more of this kind of work.

Nautilus Rising     c) 2007 by Cheshire

Snoqualmie II

12/04/07

Today was a day to go to the falls. Recent rains (plus mountain snowfall coupled with a higher temperature) created rising rivers. So I grabbed the digital camera and headed northeast to the falls. The water level in the photos below average about 18,000 cubic ft per second going over the edge. For the falls to completely spread from one side to the other takes a volume of approximately 10,000 cubic ft per second. I have been present when the volume was around 28,000 ft per second. It’s virtually impossible to photograph at that point due to the amount of water vapor/spray in the air though. The summer lows are about 2500 to 3000 cubic ft. (I’ve included a photo of that for comparison.) There’s a website I can check for water levels in order to know when it’s time to rush to the falls for photos. The one condition at the falls I have yet to photograph is snow. Snow rarely accumulates at the falls. And the few times it has snowed at the falls, the severity of the weather made it difficult for anyone not living in the immediate vicinity to reach the falls. I would need to make plans before it snows in order to be able to photograph it. It would not be the spontaneous trip I made today.

At the top of the falls there are three viewing areas. One is near the Salish Lodge, the second is the main viewing platform, and the third is just below the main platform.

For a map of the falls area, use this address: http://www.images.beggerlybend.com/photos/snoqfalls/SnoqFallsInfo.html

(Click on images to see larger versions. All photos c2007 by Cheshire.)

This is the sight which greeted me at the falls. Oooh-wee! Who wants to go over in a barrel? (Taken from main viewing platform.) For a size comparison, note the white truck in the background in the upper left area of photo.

This view is from the area near the Salish Lodge. (#1 on the map mentioned above.)

This is the view looking down at the rocky area below the falls. The place I usually go when I visit the falls. But not today! The next photo is the same view, but it’s one I took in May 2007 and included in my first posting about the falls.

Quite a difference!

No secondary river of water (a release from the power plant–#6 & #10 on the map) and Fisherman’s Rock (#9 on the map) is visible. In the previous photo, only a fish can get to Fisherman’s Rock.

A side view of the gushing water.

The view today from the main platform.  (#2 on map.)

The same view on 8/01/07. (The volume was under 1,000 cubic ft per second on this day.)

And finally,

The view from #3 on the map. You can see a small corner of the Salish Lodge in the upper left portion of the photo. (The Salish Lodge was the exterior view of the Great Northern Hotel, aka the Black Lodge, in the Twin Peaks television show of the early 1990s. Twin Peaks: where the owls are not what they seem and the dwarf talked backwards. My kind of show.)

Now I think I’ll wander over to the Double R Diner for a piece of that damn fine cherry pie.

Elephants!!

What do you get when you cross an elephant with a kangaroo?
  Bloody great holes all over Australia.

How do you know if an elephant is under your bed?
  If your nose is touching the ceiling.

What do you call an expert in elephant skin diseases?
  A pachydermatologist.

Why are elephants wrinkled?
  Have you ever tried to iron one?

How do you keep an elephant from charging?
  Take away his credit card.

What do you get when you cross an elephant with a hooker?
  A two-ton pick-up.

Who is the most famous female singing elephant?
  Elephants Gerald.

How do you make a dead elephant float?
  Well, you take 10 dead elephants, 10 tons of chocolate ice cream, 5 tons of bananas…

Trick or Treat!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Halloween! 

From the ghost in the old rose bush to…

The pumpkins invading the backyard!

The neighbors are having visitors too!

And this one is for Heather B and Quinn M …

Not one, but two of my housemates are Halloween cats. 

Blitz is inspecting the pumpkins.

Blitz in the yard while I was photographing the pumpkins.

And the grand finale!

Photos by Cheshire; pumpkins carved by Phil B.

Halloween Advice

Top 10 Houses to Avoid when Trick-or-Treating

10. Any house that seems to be imploding into a hole in the ground.
9.  Any house made of food.
8.  Any house that has ornamental lawn hyenas.
7.  Any house whose only entrance goes to the basement.
6.  Any house where high-tension power lines seem to stop.
5.  Any house that keeps growling, “Get out”.
4.  Any house where the furniture seems to be walking around the living room.
3.  Any house that looks more like a giant, pulsating orb floating 3 feet
 above the ground than a house.
2.  Any house with a yard full of statues of people in odd running poses.
 
And the Number One House to Avoid…
1.  Any house that wasn’t there a couple of seconds ago.   
                                                                                                                                                                  

from Mary L.  (who gives the credit to a Hallmark card)

Thirteen Halloween Jokes

1)  What do skeletons say before eating?      
        Bone appetite.

2)  Why are haunted houses so noisy in April?  
        That’s when the ghosts do their spring screaming!

3)  What is a cold, black candle called? 
        The wicked wick of the North.

4)  What do you call eyeglasses for a ghost?  
        Spooktacles!

5)  What monster flies his kite in a rain storm?
         Benjamin Frankenstein

6)  What’s a vampire’s favorite dance?
        The fang-dango.

7)  What does a little witch hope to get for her birthday?
         A haunted dollhouse.

8)  What noise does a witch’s breakfast make? 
        Snap, cackle, pop.

9)  What kind of music do ghosts like?
          Rhythm and boos.

10)  What do you call a skeleton who acts in Westerns?   
              Skint Eastwood.

11)  Where would you find the graves of famous English ghouls?   
             Westmonster Abbey!

12)  What do you get if you cross a dinosaur with a wizard?   
             Tyrannosaurus Hex.

13)  What is a monster’s favorite desert topping?   
            Whipped scream
                                                                                                                                                           

Thirteen Halloween Jokes  (the credits!)

1)  www.scatty.com/jokes/scary/index.html
2)  www.Jokes.Net
3)  www.scatty.com/jokes/scary/index.html
4)  www.Jokes.Net
5)  www.looniebin-of-jokes.com
6)  www.familyonlinemagazine.com
7)  www.rainbow-magic.com/holidays/halloween
8)  www.scatty.com/jokes/scary/index.html
9)  www.theteacherscorner.net
10) www.scatty.com/jokes/scary/index.html
11) www.Jokes.Net
12) www.scatty.com/jokes/scary/index.html
13) www.jeannepasero.com/spookrids.html

Halloween II

And now for something truly tacky and tasteless but very much in the spirit of Halloween…   There was a cannibal named Hannibal…

What does Hannibal call his hot tub?
 A crock pot.     

What does Hannibal Lector eat with scrambled eggs?
 Kevin Bacon

What’s Hannibal’s favorite kind of Pepperidge Farm Cookie? 
 Alyssa Milano

What is Lector’s favorite Pall Simon song?
 50 Ways to Cook Your Liver.

(Collected from random internet sites.)