abc wednesday - X is for "Xeriscaping"

. . . which is a method of landscaping that uses 

drought-resistant plants in order to

conserve water. That doesn't mean just

cactus, though—this lavender that's making 

my bedroom so fragrant right

now came from a Xeriscape garden.

[See how others interpreted X here.]

Ruby Tuesday

As I may have mentioned— :~} —you won't

catch me forking over any euros to ride in

a gondola. But that doesn't mean I don't

appreciate their beauty!

[You can find more touches of red at

the Ruby Tuesday meme, here.]

Mellow Yellow Monday

This building is on Manhattan's Upper West

Side; it's about two blocks from Central Park—

which is why I can't see why someone

hasn't grabbed this cool kite and run with it

right to the Sheep Meadow.

[You can see more Mellow Yellow here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

Here's the Colosseum, in Rome.

Even 2,274 years later (!), can't you just

see the gladiators down here waiting to

face their fate?

[See more Shadow Shots here.]

photo Hunter — "purple"

If I have to choose, I think maybe the purple

flowers are my favorites. How about you?

[You can see more purple here at tnchick's PhotoHunt.]

Skywatch Friday

Have to say that I'm sometimes

(pleasantly) surprised by what my

point-and-shoot camera can do

(even without a tripod)!

[See more Skywatch pics here.]

Thursday Challenge: Soft

I was going through my photo archives

looking for shots of big fluffy clouds—then 

I remembered what it feels like

to touch a horse's muzzle. C'mon, you

know you want to reach right out 

and pet that velvety nose!

[You'll find more softness here.]

abc wednesday - W is for "window box"

I pull out my camera whenever I see a window box, 

and I saw these in Cannaregio, in Venice. They 

may be my favorites—because they're so lush and 

gorgeous and because my friend Shell Sherree turned them

into something even better.  Thanks, Shell!

[You can find others' interpretations of W here.]

Marry Me!

Came across this romantic scene as I was crossing the

Brooklyn Bridge one evening. I was SO sorry I 

couldn't hang around until Paula got there. The fellow 

here on the phone is clearly the one in all those 

photos (he's probably talking with his fiancée-to-be). 

 And I'll bet that when she arrived, she did say yes!

{And I hope he didn't do what this other romantic fellow 

did a few months back.}

[See more of the world here.]

mellow Yellow Monday

I just hope that whoever is in this ambulance

doesn't wind up on the island in the

background—that's San Michele, Venice's

cemetery island.

[You can see more Mellow Yellow here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

I've encountered this group of obsessive

exercisers a few times while walking

(fast, but still walking) across the Brooklyn

Bridge. They jog across the bridge and stop

at each pier for some extra torture. I really

do admire their stamina (and their willingness

to put up with their gung-ho trainer). 

 Hey, I guess I'm just not a joiner.

[You can see more Shadow Shots here.]

photo Hunter — "six "

This part of the gondola is called the fero

(iron). It sits at the bow, whose shape mimics the 

curve of the Grand Canal. At the top is a

stylized doge's cap. The six "teeth" below that

represent the six sestieri (from "sesto," which

also means six) of Venice: Castello, San Marco,

Canareggio, Santa Croce, San Polo, and Dorsoduro.

(Or at least that's what I've been told.)

[See more interpretations of the theme "six" here

at tnchick's Photo Hunter blog.]

Skywatch Friday

Do you recognize this? It's the Vendome

Column, the first thing you see when you exit 

the Ritz Hotel, in Paris. It was originally

erected by the little guy with the big ego—no, 

not Sarkozy, Napoleon—and modeled

after Trajan's column, to celebrate the

victory of Austerlitz.

[See more Skywatch photos here.]

Thursday Challenge: Metallic

This soon-to-be completed 76-story

Frank Gehry building on Spruce Street, in the 

financial district, will be New York's 

tallest residential tower. It's clad in 18-gauge

stainless steel and the shallow setbacks make it appear

to ripple in the sunlight—pretty cool.

[You can see more Thursday Challenge

photos here.]

abc wednesday - V is for "Vatican"

Always impossible to see this place 

without hordes of people.

So here's an online tour of the Sistine Chapel. 

It may take a minute to download,

but totally worth it because you can use your

mouse to move around the room, and zoom in to see 

the details—AND you have the place all to yourself!

While you're there, check out the figure of King Minos 

(the guy who's having a painful problem

with a big snake) in the lower right corner of the

Last Judgment —it's Michelangelo's caricature of his 

enemy Biagio da Cesena, the Vatican official

who declared Last Judgment "unfit for sacred walls." As if!

[See more of ABC Wednesday here.]

New York Then and Now

It's the graceful 40-story Municipal Bldg.,

right by the Brooklyn Bridge. The older

photo was taken in 1904, during its construction. 

Unfortunately, the Verizon building now obscures the

view of this one when you're crossing

from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Oh well.

[This is part of "That's My World" Tuesday.

See more of the world here.]

Mellow Yellow Monday

Here are two bottles of the good stuff for

toasting the 2nd anniversary (!) of this blog—and 

all the wonderful people who visit (you know who you are).

Some of you I've met in person, some are still 

virtual pals—but I consider all of you true friends!

(As always, a special shout-out to "mon capitain," 

Eric from Paris Daily Photo, who started 

it all and inspired SO many daily photo bloggers.)

[You can see more Mellow Yellow here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

This is Burano, off Venice—land 

of saturated colors . . . and 

 hi-def shadows!

[See more Shadow Shots here.]

Photo Hunter — "bubbles"

Another beautiful child captured by

my camera—found this little girl

amusing herself with bubbles in

Prospect Park when I was there last

summer celebrating my own

"little girl's" 30th birthday. 

[You can see more "bubbles" here.]

Skywatch Friday

I think it's time for another sunset. I caught this

one as the sun went down over the Piankatank

River, at the home of friends down in the

Virginia delta—one of the most beautiful

spots in the whole country!

[See more Skywatch here.]

thursday Challenge: Urban

Since I live in New York City, I had plenty

of choices for this challenge. It was kind

of difficult to pick just one—but I 

hope this covers it.

[See how others answered this photo challenge here.]

abc wednesday - U is for "university"

This is the university in Padua, the second

oldest in Italy. It was founded in 1222 and

Galileo taught geometry, mechanics, and

astronomy here from 1592 to 1610.

Seriously—can you imagine studying

astronomy with Galileo?

[See more abc wednesday here.]

Ruby Tuesday

This is Tony Rosenthal's steel

sculpture "5 in 1," which represents the 5 

boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn,

Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.

Check out this link to see what it looked like 

in its prime and why it doesn't still 

look quite that pristine and shiny. 

 I also learned that graffiti has been a big 

problem—which is a bit surprising when you 

consider that this thing is in front of 1 Police Plaza!

[See more from around the globe at

That's My World, here.]

Mellow Yellow Monday

Didn't come to swim myself (just for

a walk on the pier), but I'm glad to see that 

the lifeguard has a bright yellow

surfboard in case he has to rescue someone. 

 No MP3 player though.

Believe it or not, last year a lifeguard

at one of the Brooklyn beaches was

caught all plugged in while he was on duty—

one day after someone drowned in a riptide!

[You can see more Mellow Yellow here.]

shadow Shot Sunday

I guess this would have to be one of my

all-time favorite shadows—shot from the

campanile in Piazza San Marco, of course

(preferably like this, at high noon, when

the bells are ringing and the shadow falls

across the Procuratie Vecchie, which have

been here since the 12th century).

[See more Shadow Shots here.]

Photo Hunter — "sparkles"

I was once lucky enough to stay for a few days at a

house up above this river in Idaho. When the sun shone 

on the cool, clear water, it positively sparkled.

There was a lovely spot set up down on the bank where 

you could sit and meditate on this beautiful

scene—if you could stop worrying about one of 

the local bears joining you, that is!

[See more "sparkles" at TNChick's place here.]

Skywatch Friday

The other morning, as I was walking across the

Brooklyn Bridge on my way to work, this police

helicopter kept circling the bridge the whole

time—around and around and around—and I have 

to say it made me a little nervous! After

all, the BB is a pretty high-profile NYC landmark.

I won't stop walking across it though (also have

to ride the subway, and, frankly, I worry 

about that sometimes, too).

[See more Skywatch here.]

Thursday Challenge: Family

I watched this family of snow monkeys

for a long time. The little one was being a 

total pest—and if he was looking for

attention from his elders, he definitely got it.

 Looks like he knows he's in trouble now!

[See how others interpreted this challenge here.]

abc wednesday - T is for "time"

The owner of this shop was NOT thrilled

to see me taking a picture of his nifty

clocks. He'd probably be even less

thrilled to find me sharing it here.

So I'm putting all you clock designers

(and I just know you're out there) on

the honor system—no "borrowing," okay?

[See more "T" posts here.]

Getting Ready to Run

This group of folks met with a trainer

on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge, 

did a few "pushups," and set off

across the bridge at a jog.  Good for

them—but you really can't take pictures

while you're jogging, so count me out.

[See more of That's My World here.]