Harvest Moon

During the late summer harvest of the wheat and hay fields here, the air is full of dust which causes the moon to appear the most vibrant of orange. Sadly my night photography is not up to par to capture the full magnificence that this scene had. I thought this photo would be appropriate for the date however, Halloween. I have duplicated this entry on my Favorite Photos blog. If you haven't seen that blog yet, it is full of many more of my photographs.

Everyone's favorite sponge

That's right, just in time for Halloween, it's Spongebob! I have to admit that my children...which includes my husband...love the sponge. Other than his VERY annoying laugh which my middle son likes to torment me with practice to perfection, I have to admit that Spongebob is a pretty funny character. This one was part of our recent parade but it would make one awesome Halloween costume for tomorrow night!

Pulling wagons

This pair of Draft Horses was wonderful to see at the parade. I loved the marching bands and all the other excitement, but these huge horses have always held special appeal to me. Each year in Sandpoint, Idaho there is the Idaho State Draft Horse and Mule International Show. You can actually bid on one of these magnificent animals and take them home with you. I can't imagine the amount of food they would require daily, but I do know how much work they would be!

Colorful with a message

Another of the parade participants, this time the Gay Straight Alliance at U of I made their presence known. I loved their colorful banner and they were smiling, waving, and carrying signs with various messages for acceptance and pride. I was unsure what a Gay Straight Alliance was, but curious enough to Google it, and found that the GSA educates against discrimination based on sexual orientation as well as supporting equality in human rights and preserving dignity.

Dalmatian Fire Dog

Parades are great for the local civil services to polish up the vehicles, give the dog a bath, and go out in full regalia to strut their stuff. This ladder engine was my sons favorite thing, especially when he saw the dalmatian riding inside. If I had been thinking about it, I would have asked the firefighter what the dogs name was.

The mighty blue and white

At yesterdays parade I enjoyed seeing all the local area high school marching bands and cheerleaders. These are the Greyhounds of Pullman High School who are currently 6-1 in football.

Tuba Pomp

This morning we decided to get up early and see if we could find any yard sales. This late in the year they are becoming scarce as everyone would much rather head into town for a hot mocha than stand in the cold selling their excess knick knacks. We did find a few though, and then went downtown just in time to watch the University of Idaho Homecoming Parade. The marching bands are always one of my favorites...especially when I am standing 2 feet away as they pass by and can feel the music pounding through my body. My youngest son enjoyed the mornings festivities and was happy to run into the parade route down Main St to collect all the candy that was being tossed out. Tonight the Vandals play the New Mexico State Aggies. Go Vandals!

Bucktoothed Jack

It is a tradition this time of year to carve a pumpkin and set it on your front step to mark Halloween. I would have to say that we really don't celebrate this holiday in the fullest sense, but we do let the kids dress as something fun and go trick-or-treating. No scary costumes here although my daughter once had me make her a disco Barbie costume and then she actually wore it...THAT was scary! So this year, the kids butchered carved out this funny looking Jack-o-lantern as our contribution to Halloween festivities and it currently resides on our front porch, complete with tealight for lighting at night. I love how they gave him buckteeth!

Blues Jam

Moscow is dubbed the "Heart of the Arts". It is a very culturally diverse area and there is definitely a love of the arts here. You can see this at many of the local hot spots. Moscow Bagel & Deli is just one such place. Jeff Smith opened this eatery 2 years ago, and along with the great art deco, it offers the most amazing array of bagels one can possibly imagine. My favorite is the Raven with added avocado. It is fun to come by for lunch and sit out on the sidewalk people watching. It's never dull on Main Street.

Quiet reflection

One thing I enjoy about going about town is the opportunity to see what people have done with their landscaping. This house on Cleveland St was sold a few years ago. Before it was sold, it had just a grassy side lot with a carport. The new owners have added these beautiful plantings, rocks, and a lovely screen fence that is just a few panels long, but does the job of shielding part of the area from passersby. The interior has a bench which I imagine would be a great place to sit and reflect on your day.

The Million Bead Project

In 2005 all the local area elementary schools were given a project; design a work of art using a million beads. This piece was done by Moscow Charter School 3rd - 6th graders around a mirror. The drawing of the girl in the center was done by one of the current students and is actually a reflection from the wall behind me.

Red Maple

I just love this Red Maple tree. I have fought the city over it and more recently, the electric company. It remains intact from the ritual summer 'trimming' the city always feels is necessary along the streets and utility lines. In two more weeks it will be a glorious shade of red and bathe the living room of my home in a lovely shade of rosy pink.

Autumn carpet

Autumn is definitely here. It is chilly and all the leaves are turning and falling to carpet the roads. This is Lincoln Street just south of East City Park. I was happy to capture the photo without any cars parked to the side...not an easy task!

Bears Homecoming

Is there anything more American than a Friday night high school football game? Last night was the Moscow Bears Homecoming game and the stands were packed to see the Bears defeat the Lakeland Hawks 41-21. They scored several times on punt returns and their passing game just couldn't be stopped. It was a fun night and I am glad we have a reason to attend the games this year. I really enjoy them!

Brick entrance

At Hwy 95/Main and Sweet Streets is the official entrance to the University of Idaho campus. The entrance is marked by this brick structure and includes the U of I seal. During the late spring and summer, the fountains at the bottom are in action, but here they have been turned off in preparation for winter leaving the water deposits on the brick surface.

The Kibbie

The University of Idaho has this structure called the Kibbie Dome, named after Bill Kibbie, and home to the Idaho Vandals! Inside it has an artificial turf playing field for football and when the field is not in use, it can be removed to uncover a 93,000 square foot tartan surface for tennis and track & field events. There is even a flooring surface that is put down for Vandal basketball games. All sorts of non-athletic events take place here each year, one of which is the graduation ceremony for Moscow High School. You can read more about the dome here.

Blog Action Day 2008 - Poverty

My photo today is part of Blog Action Day, 2008. The subject chosen this year was Poverty.

When the word 'poverty' is mentioned, many people might imagine hungry children in a third world country such as Africa or India or Haiti. Poverty can have a different meaning for each individual. For me, the term poverty implies needing assistance because you cannot meet the basic needs of life which are love, food, shelter and clothing. I mention love because I believe it is the most important.

The members of St Mary's Catholic Church here in Moscow provide this food bank (out of love) to meet the needs of those who cannot quite provide enough food to feed their families. In preparing for this post today (I had only two days to prepare), I have done a bit of research, but one thing stuck out to me in our small little town where we don't often see signs of poverty, "One out of eight children in Idaho go to bed hungry every night" To me that number was a shock. This is Idaho in the good old US of A. There should be NO poverty here. We are the wealthiest nation in the world! How is it then, that a child could be hungry or homeless?

Then I look at the statistics worldwide. It is staggering, really. Here are a few for you:

Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.
Because obviously weapons are more important than educating children that war really solves nothing.

2.2 billion children in the world, 1 billion live in poverty (that is every second child).
EVERY. SECOND. CHILD!

1.6 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live without electricity.
Imagine a life without electricity. Just imagine it.

In 2005, the wealthiest 20% of the world accounted for 76.6% of total private consumption. The poorest fifth just 1.5%
Because we want all this stuff so that we can be happy. Never mind that the average amount spent for a month of cable service for entertainment would feed, clothe and educate a child for 6 months and really make a difference in that child's life. We would just DIE without the latest 'reality' show on the tv...their reality show is that, According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”
Kinda makes who is getting booted off the island a little less significant.

The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined.
Just WOW!

You can view these stats and more at http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats.

Smooth and rough

During our walk at the UI Arboretum, I came upon this Birch tree. I have never been lucky enough to have one in my yard, but they have the most unusual bark, don't they? The bark is almost translucent and looks like it has a layer of ice crystals on it's trunk.

Po-Ping's Bench

We took a late afternoon walk yesterday at the University of Idaho Arboretum. The Arboretum is 63 acres and has groves of plantings from different parts of the world. I think it is definitely the most beautiful part of the U of I campus. This granite bench is one of 27 that can be found throughout the gardens, and all are dedicated with names or sayings. I loved the look of this one with it's Chinese script (which I believe says "Dedicated to all immigrants who cherish the American way of life - one nation of many peoples. I came, I saw, and became a citizen." --Po-Ping Wong, UI '54). I wonder what became of Po-Ping Wong...where is he now and what did he do with his life? I was especially pleased to be able to capture the water tower painted with the UI logo in the reflection.

Empty spaces

My oldest son let me know he was coming home a few days sooner than expected from his extended trip to Hong Kong. I arrived at the Pullman Regional Airport at 9:30pm to pick him up and was greeted with the scene before you. Lights off at the single ticket counter and not a soul in sight. This airport has 2 gates just beyond the security checkpoint you see ahead, and a seating area in front for maybe 30 people. The airport is about 3 miles from both Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, Washington and services Alaska and Horizon Airlines. The runway is a modest 6731 feet long and set among the rolling wheat fields of the Palouse.

I think one of the nice things about living in a small community is that everything else is small as well...and there are no lines to wait in!

Just run

Just a few weeks ago, right before school started, the track at the Jr High was resurfaced. It took them a few weeks, but seeing the finished surface was worth the wait. The track circles the football field and has 7 lanes...four laps in lane 7 is equal to 1.10 miles. Every day when I go by, it is in use by local residents or the PE classes from the school. At some point I will be using it as well...perhaps when it is warmer!

Minus the water

From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend each year (3 months), Moscow area residents can enjoy this small water park at the Hamilton-Lowe Aquatic Center. $129 USD will buy a family of 6 a summer pass good for all hours of operation...a pretty good deal and one we have taken advantage of every year! Today it looks pretty sad with all the water drained and everything winterized. Anytime we pass by the center, my youngest son asks when we can go back to the pool. Memorial Day weekend, 2009 seems so far away for him.

Pile of pumpkins

Everyone knows that Halloween is right around the corner, and with that comes the truckloads of pumpkins to every supermarket. All around town we see them displayed, these were at Rosauers. My kids wanted to get the big one above the sign, but we couldn't get to it!

Glimpse of Autumn

Autumn leaves are starting to turn all over town. This red maple tree is usually the last to change, but when it does it is glorious. I thought it was odd that the red leaves are on a single branch so far!

Hills of the Palouse

The wheat fields off Darby Road have all been harvested now, but this is representative of the area at the moment. That is Moscow Mountain to the north.

Beauty in the gloom

Another overcast morning here looking through an old ironwork trellis.

Sunflowers

Digging in the dirt is so much fun for my younger children...and me too! Early in the spring, my youngest son and I planted a row of sunflower seeds. He drowned watered them daily, watching with excitement and amazement as they grew taller and taller. Finally, he was rewarded with these big beautiful flowers!

Saturday wake-up

At the crack of dawn Early this morning we were awakened by the sound of one of our resident woodpeckers whom I call NOISY! She hasn't been around as much this year as in the past few, but she comes to the same spot on the utility pole outside my sewing room window...sometimes it is her 'mate' with his bright red eye puffs. It rained ALL night long and then the sun came out for a few hours...I guess she was taking advantage of the clear skies to look for her brunch. I am not sure what she can find in that old utility pole, but she pecks away for about 15 minutes and then flies off. Today she watched me intently as I hung out my window ever so slowly opened the window to take this shot. Wasn't she cooperative? A few minutes later she left empty beaked...or did she? Who can tell?

A moment of sun

Our two kitties, Pip and Maggie, took the opportunity to snag a few moments of sunshine on our front landing. Our weather this time of year can be unpredictable...maybe they know that rain is in the forecast for this weekend?

Harvest begins

In my own backyard I have an abundance of mature fruit trees. Apples, cherries, plums and a solitary pear...although I use the word pear tree loosely as it it not even 5 ft tall with more than 3 branches! Each year it produces a few small pears which are very tasty. I had planned to make apple pear jelly with a few of my apples and these pears, but we ate the pears instead.

It starts with bubbles

I will start this blog with a picture of my beautiful daughter. This is the photo that really started my obsession for capturing interesting moments although I have always loved photography. I just love the composition of this one and consider it one of my finest captures.