Friday Fences - Snow Fences in Kiev, Ukraine

Today we have our first significant snow and icy roads in Louisville so I thought it might be an appropriate time to show you a different kind of fence. Look closely at the lower right hand corner of this photo and you'll see a snow fence on the rooftop which is used to control the movement of snow in places with heavy snowfall. Like here in Kiev, the capital city in Ukraine. I took this photo from my apartment window in December 2001 when I spent almost a month working with farm councils in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine.

Before I retired I worked for a large farm organization, teaching leadership, board training, strategic planning, and cooperative council work. One of my most unusual work assignments was to go to Ukraine under the sponsorship of U.S. Citizen's Network for Foreign Affairs Agribusiness Volunteer Program. I worked with mostly women farmers in western Ukraine helping them to set up farm councils. They were just learning to operate privately owned farms since being under communist collective farms up until the mid-1990s.

I've written two posts about my work there and the experience of visiting Ukrainian farms, living in a remote mountain village with a local family. There's lots of on the scene photos and tales of adventures and mis-adventures if you're interested in a peek at another culture.

# 1 Ukraine Assignment

# 2 Zakarpattia Women

For other Friday Fence photos, be sure to stop by Janis' place at Life According to Jan and Jer

Watery Wednesday - Corporate Duck Pond

Last Sunday evening I drove past a favorite spot in my neighborhood as the sun was beginning to set. At one of Louisville's corporate headquarters there's this small pond with a walking path all around and arched bridge spanning the pond. It is enjoyed by employees as well as people in the community who come here regularly to feed the ducks and walk around the pond, sometimes with their dogs.

Sunday was a gorgeous day with white billowy clouds as you can see reflected in the water. The sunset was a yellow glow against the clear blue sky:

The ducks were in luck today. One family came with a sack of cracked corn which everyone seemed to enjoy as a change from stale bread for dinner. I don't think these guys waited the recommended half hour after dinner to go swimming!

Another view of the pond and woodland area with a walking trail. You begin to see the sunset reflected in the water.
I'm glad that we have this little watery escape in the middle of one of Louisville's industrial parks. The ducks appreciate it too, I'm sure.

Want to see some more "watery" photography? Click here for the players.

Teaser Tuesday -Spencer Quinn's Thereby Hangs a Tail & Dog On It

This nose belongs to Chet, the canine half of the Little Detective Agency in Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie mysteries. As Chet describes it "We run a detective agency, me and Bernie, called the Little Detective Agency on account of Little being Bernie's last name. My name's Chet, pure and simple. Headquarters is our house on Mesquite Road, a nice place with a big tree out front, perfect for napping under, and the whole canyon easily accessible out back, if it just happens someone left the gate open. And then, up in the canyon--well, say no more."

Chet is the delightful narrator for these two mysteries. We don't learn much about him except that he has mis-matched ears, is a self-described "one hundred pounder" and chief worrier about the detective agency bringing in enough income to keep up child support for Charlie, Bernie's son and Chet's best buddy,--and repair money for the aging Porshe and dog food. Chet loves riding shot-gun when they're out on a case and welcomes the occasional perk of taste testing a new line of dog treats or sharing a donut with the local police. Chet manages to be pretty much on the case, ready to leap and take a bite out of a perp's leg if necessary. But Chet also is the first to admit that he has occasional lapses in judgment. It only takes Bernie's warning "Che-et!" to get him back on task!




I just love Chet--and so does everyone else who reads these two books. So much that I couldn't limit to just two sentences for this week's Teaser Tuesday. Instead, here's some Chet lines that made me just laugh out loud:


Adelina (potential client)looking him over when they first met: " 'He looks big. I don't recognize the breed. And what's the story with his ears?' My ears again? How rude."

Lt. Stine gives him a treat: "I took the cruller back to my seat and had some quiet time".

When he and Princess (a kidnapped show dog)were on the lam: ". . .felt a pain in my head, a kind of heavy throbbing pain. It made me want to puke, so I did."

His dislike of horses: "Totally unreliable, always twitching for no reason, but humans don't seem to get that, go on and on about how beautiful they are until I just want to trot over to one of those weird legs, the real skinny part, and give it the tiniest. . .but I would never do that, at least not again, after what happened that time at the ranch."

On self restraint during an investigation: "Something about Bernie--or any human--on hand and knees always got me going so I had to wait outside with Colonel Bob."

Teaser Tuesday is described by its host, Miz B over at Should Be Reading ,as a "weekly bookish meme" open to any reader who wants to play along. If, like me, you're always curious about what people are reading or on the lookout for the next great read, then this may by your meme. To play, just click on Miz B's link above for the simple rules.

(Image credit: Chet's Nose- Philip and Karen Smith/Getty Images)

Watery Wednesday and Winter Photos, Day 14 - Beargrass Creek

I took these photos of Beargrass Creek that runs through Seneca and Cherokee Parks on a very chilly New Year's Day. These two parks are part of the Olmsted Parks Conservancy, named for Frederick Law Olmsted, said to be the father of American landscape architecture. Olmsted designed our Louisville, Kentucky parks system. There are several bridges spanning Beargrass Creek. This one I thought was particularly beautiful.

Want to see some more "watery" photography? Click here for the players.

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Starting on the first day of winter, several photographer-bloggers have been posting daily photos of wintry subjects. We call the meme Two Weeks in Winter Photos. Today is the last day of the challenge. Other players:
Janis @ As Jan Sees It
Kim @ Kim USA

Two Weeks in Winter, Day 13 ~ Snow Frosted Ivy

Yesterday we had enough snow to frost the ivy. And yes, I'm busted. On January 2, I still had not cleaned the fall leaves out of the ivy bed.

If you'd like to join me in this challenge, just post your daily winter snapshot for the next two weeks. Leave a comment here and I'll let everyone know you're participating. Here's the list so far:

Janis @ As Jan Sees It
Kim @ Kim USA

Two Weeks in Winter Photos, Day 12 ~ Blue Bird of Happiness

I snapped this rather out of focus bluejay--I think--on New Year's Day. Although the bossy bluejay doesn't exactly fit the traditional image of the Bluebird of Happiness, I'm taking his appearance on January 1 as a good omen for 2012. Okay?

If you'd like to join me in this challenge, just post your daily winter snapshot for the next two weeks. Leave a comment here and I'll let everyone know you're participating. Here's the list so far:

Janis @ As Jan Sees It
Kim @ Kim USA

First of the Month and Winter Photos, Day 11 ~ Cherokee Park

I took these three photos of Baringer Hill in Cherokee Park this afternoon. Louisville, Kentucky has a great public parks system designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903), the father of American landscape architecture. Mr. Olmsted is most famous for designing Central and Prospect Parks in New York City. Baringer Hill is a popular playground for sledders, children and dogs and is at the summit of Cherokee Park so you can look out over the trees at all seasons of the year.

Last year for the First of the Month photography meme I focused on Kentucky skies. The idea is that we look at our surroundings and record the changes from month to month. The host for this meme is Jan at Murrieta 365 . Here's how it works: "The goal is to capture one thing repeatedly on the first day of each month. It can be a landscape, a person, an animal, a project; whatever your focus is fine. It can be a record of where you are each first day of the month." This year I decided to photograph Olmstead Parks here in Louisville.
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Two Weeks in Winter Photos - We are near the end of a two week winter photo challenge. However, if you'd like to join me for the remainder of this challenge, just post your daily winter snapshot. Leave a comment here and I'll let everyone know you're participating. Here's the list so far:

Janis @ As Jan Sees It
Kim @ Kim USA