The Full Picture

This post isn't going to make much sense to you if you aren't already familiar with the previous post entitled A Part of the Picture. In it, I published some images which focused in on a small portion of a piece of artwork photographed while shopping. I asked you smart readers to use your imaginations to guess what each of the full items might be and several of you had wonderful and amusing guesses. Others figured out some of the correct responses. Those answers are below.

The photos are in the same order as the partial images which appeared on the previous post, so you can scroll back and forth between the posts if you'd like to compare. The image at the top left corner is the expanded version of what appeared in that location on Thursday's post. You can click on the images to enlarge them.



A few of you guessed correctly that this was a lamp. I think I'd like to go back and get it. I'm just not too sure where I'd put it.





Dragonflies. These colourful, wooden creatures balance and bob nose first on a wooden stick. I did buy one of them. Remind me to photograph how it looks some time.





Some of you clever people knew that these boots belonged to a table. Did you know that it was just a small occasional table? It might be the partner to this set of legs.





That bright, spiral-shaped sunshine belonged in the belly of this whimsical metallic frog.





The colourful sparkles were being served up in these decorative bowls.





If you look deep inside this stranger's eyes. you'll see the camel from the previous post.





Some of you were in tune with this musical instrument.





Perfect for a masquerade ball. Mardi Gras, anyone?





Who could be irritated with this monkey face - despite the rude gesture?





Stacked baskets. I thought the colours were pretty.





I'm still not exactly sure what it is that this angler caught...





And last but not least, this metal lizard adorned the railing along the stairway. I'd kind of like to take him home too.. maybe for my stairway. Nah!

Thanks to everyone who played along and to those who said that they enjoyed the previous photos and the concept. As always, your encouraging comments mean so much to me.

A Part of the Picture

At a recent family wedding, my cousin Phyllis and I discussed our respective blogs. We shared our awe at just how many wonderful people come by to leave encouraging comments, and we marveled about having readers who visit from countries, large and small, all over the globe. We each expressed how much we enjoyed putting our posts together, knowing that when we hit "publish," our words and images go out to all of you fine people and in very little time - sometimes just a few minutes later - readers are leaving feedback.

Phyllis' blog is an invaluable resource for food safety information. She posts daily food and product recalls and allergy alerts for products sold throughout the world. She's right on top of food-related illnesses such as Salmonella and E. coli outbreaks, and quickly posts information as it becomes available. If you have concerns about what's happening with your family's or your pet's food, you might want to subscribe to her blog at eFoodAlert.com.

While Phyllis and I were chatting, she mentioned a blog theme I had played with a few times in the past which I called Perspective is Everything. I would photograph a common household item and crop the image so that only a tiny portion of the object was visible, and readers were to guess what these items might be. She nudged me into thinking about trying my hand at that again and I believe I might just do that soon but the conversation triggered a similar idea.

Frank and I have recently returned to one of our favourite shopping spots and as I took a few more photos of various items throughout the store, I began to notice how many of their creative designs had art within art - sometimes just in how they were displayed. When I uploaded the photos, I cropped some of them closely, hiding much of the rest of the image.

I've decided to post just the close-up images today, and invite you back in a few days to see the full pieces of artwork from which they were taken. I think some of them might surprise you though some will be obvious - you're a clever bunch. Please do feel free to guess or suggest what you think the full image might be but keep in mind that they are pieces of art and couldn't be further from the everyday items I've posted in the past. You can answer any or all of them. There is of course a "right" answer but not necessarily a predictable one. I would like to know where your imagination takes you. What do you see when you look at a part of the picture?



Turquoise and black. Horizontal and vertical lines. Light and dark. What might it be?





What do you think these colourful, patterns belong to?





If your eye were to look above this boot, what would it see?





Orange, yellow and green with a spiral circle. It's kind of the middle... of something.





Light and multiple colours. It sparkles and shines.





A dromedary and a man about to load something on its back. But what's just outside of this picture which will change how you look at it?





Tubes of some sort.. but what?





Bright and bedazzled. Any ideas?





How rude! Who would do such a thing?





What idea does this image weave?





This guy has been fishing for a long time. What do you suppose he's caught?





Colourful, aren't they? Fingers? Petals? Something else?

Posts of the Week

The icon/award to the left here is yours for the taking if your blog post has been named as a Post of the Week - either as top post or as a runner up, today or in past weeks.

This week's top Post of the Week is:

Thankful 25

by Meredith Teagarden

at The Things We Carried

Other wonderful posts in no particular order are:

Comedy of Errors

by Brian

at WayStationOne

One Memorable Day

by Gaelikaa

at Gaelikaa's Diary

Autumn in Clinton - Part 2

by MaggieGem

at This Life Thru the Lens

Please, Please, Please...

by Kathleen

at Easy for Me to Say

My Rambling Take on 2012

by Risley

at Cedarflame

Give Autumn Fifty Bucks and Ask Her to Leave Quietly

by Erin

at In Through the Back Door

Insert Word of Choice

by Daryl and Toonman

at Out & About in New York City

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

by Thumbelina

at Secret Worlds

Reader's Choices:

Recommended by Jane:

You Before Me

by Janine

at Sniffles and Smiles

Recommended by Nancy:

Givin' Back

by Bogey

at View From The Fairway

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them. Thank you.

The Fire of Autumn

Three weeks have passed since the trees looked like this, but since I have these photos to share, I'll take you back to late October, and the fire of autumn. Please remember to click to enlarge.

"Ho! for the leaves that eddy down,
Crumpled yellow and withered brown,
Hither and yonder and up the street
And trampled under the passing feet;
Swirling, billowing, drifting by,
With a whisper soft and a rustling sigh,
Starting aloft to windy ways,
Telling the coming of bonfire days."
~ Grace Strickler Dawson





"When the trees their summer splendor
Change to raiment red and gold,
When the summer moon turns mellow,
And the nights are getting cold;
When the squirrels hide their acorns,
And the woodchucks disappear;
Then we know that it is autumn,
Loveliest season of the year."
~ Carol L. Riser





"Autumn burned brightly,
a running flame through the mountains,
a torch flung to the trees."
~ Faith Baldwin





"It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life."
~ P. D. James





"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne





"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
~ George Eliot





"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."
~ William Cullen Bryant





"Every leaf speaks bliss to me,
Fluttering from the autumn tree."
~ Emily Bronte





"The milkweed pods are breaking,
And the bits of silken down
Float off upon the autumn breeze
Across the meadows brown."
~ Cecil Cavendish




"A tangerine and russet cascade of kaleidoscopic leaves, creates a tapestry of autumn magic upon the emerald carpet of fading summer."

~ Judith A. Lindberg

Autumn Treasures

While browsing through my recent photos, I discovered that I have taken quite a few of this past autumn season. I'm glad I did because most all of these trees are now bare and awaiting their first dusting of snow - which I hope will hold off for at least a little while. The images below will take us back to just a couple of weeks ago. I hope you enjoy them.

There is a harmony
In autumn, and a lustre in its sky,
Which through the summer is not heard or seen,
As if it could not be, as if it had not been!
- Percy Bysshe Shelley

Every season hath its pleasures;

Spring may boast her flowery prime,
Yet the vineyard's ruby treasures
Brighten Autumn's sob'rer time.
- Thomas Moore

"Come said the wind to

the leaves one day,
Come o're the meadows
and we will play.
Put on your dresses
scarlet and gold,
For summer is gone
and the days grow cold."
- A Children's Song of the 1880's

"Ere, in the northern gale,

The summer tresses of the trees are gone,
The woods of Autumn, all around our vale,
Have put their glory on."
- William Cullen Bryant

"Falling leaves

hide the path
so quietly"
- John Bailey

"A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air."
- Eric Sloane

"Swinging on delicate hinges

the Autumn Leaf
Almost off the stem"
- Jack Kerouac

"It was Indian summer, a bluebird sort of day as we call it in the north,

warm and sunny, without a breath of wind; the water was sky-blue,
the shores a bank of solid gold."
- Sigurd Olson

"Leaf falling on leaf,
on mounds of leaves, rain splashing
in pools of rain ..."
- Gyodai

I'll have some more photos in a few days.

Posts of the Week

A pre-scheduling boo-boo sent today's and tomorrow's post up at the same time. I apologize for that. That ghost of a post will be back tomorrow. Please enjoy the post of the day.

The icon/award to the left here is yours for the taking if your blog post has been named as a Post of the Week - either as top post or as a runner up, today or in past weeks.

This week's top Post of the Week goes to a brand new blogger. He's a wonderful writer and I'm certain you'll enjoy:

Eternal Autumn
by Cricket
at Cricket and Porcupine

Other wonderful posts in no particular order are:

To Know Her Is To Love Her
by Kathleen
at Easy for Me to Say

Scene of the Crime
by Jim
at Suldog

Healing Powers
by Saz
at Fat, Frumpy and Fifty

First Date, First Kiss
by Jane
at Gaston Studio

Ben
by Cabo
at Hey Cabo!

Hello Harry
by Dianne
at Forks Off the Moment

How to Fold a Fitted Sheet - Me vs Martha
by Kelly H-Y
at Cross Your T's

Unbelievable!

by Nancy
at Life in the Second Half


So You Want To Date My Sister, Huh?
by Kat
at Seeking Sanity

Also Reader's Choice:

Recommended by Kathleen:

Sometimes Reality is Stranger

by J

at Occasionally J

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific top post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Recipe for Autumn Cheer

Last weekend we experienced temperatures which warmed to 20C (68F), allowing us one final fling with summer before the earth hibernates for the long months ahead. Frank and I were sitting outside, having our morning coffee when our neighbours Erin and Ron brought their little guy, Winston over for a visit.

Winston and Benny provided us with entertainment which was nourishing to our collective soul. I'd like to share their recipe for Autumn Cheer. Please click on each image to enlarge

A leaf-biting, puddle-stomping, snow-eating, bubble-chasing, stick-fetching little dog.

A leaf-tossing, beer-guzzling, bank-robbing, Bam-Bam lookalike, rosy-cheeked little boy

Brilliant orange, gold-tinged, vibrant red, sunshiny-yellow, seasonal splendour.

Serve warm with giggles and laughs.

Second Helpings, anyone?

Winston and Benny in action.

And a little something extra for dessert.

A turtle hat.. whale.. pohipopus.. hipopus.. oppopis.