Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Steve's hand

(+2 insets) My fluffy little alarm clock let me sleep in this morning! I woke up at 7am for once and the extra sleep was so wonderful! I sprang out of bed so happy because it's WINTER SOLSTICE!! HOORAY!!! Now the days will finally start to get longer...THANK GOODNESS!! I was buzzing merrily around in the kitchen this morning until I got to the part where I opened the 'fridge to get Pumpkin's bowl of fruits and veggies...ACK! Sound the general alarm! There weren't any! I'd forgotten to cut up a new batch the night before. BOO!! "Ah well," I thought to myself, "no worries! Let's get this party started, shall we?" Reaching down to the veggie compartment, I pulled it open and grabbed the bags of celery, bell peppers, carrots and apples, turned around and plopped them onto the counter as the refrigerator door closed behind me. From her perch at the kitchen window I distinctly heard Pumpkin chuckling at me as she watched the latest episode of the Mama Bird Show... I stepped over to the other counter and grabbed one of our pretty bamboo cutting boards and pulled out my favorite knife. It's a 6" J.A. Henkels from Spain that Steve's had for many years. I just love it because the blade stays so sharp. Perfect for cutting up Chicken's fruits and veggies! (Pumpkin has a million nicknames but our favorite is Chicken . Others include Fluffball, Fuzzball, Fat Pants, Fluffy Butt, Chick-pea, Fruit Bat, the names go on and on!) Pumpkin whistled back and forth with me while I rinsed, sliced and diced two spears of celery, half an apple, a dozen baby carrots and half of a red bell pepper. Before I chopped up the celery, I cut off the ends and tossed them to Molly. She was ready and waiting with perked ears and bright eyes. Enthusiastic crunching soon filled the room, a sound which made me smile and elicited a bemused cackle from Pumpkin. I pulled out a sliver of carrot and handed it to her, who gronked joyfully and munched with gusto. Sweeping the pile of fruits and veggies into a metal bowl, I mixed them up, grabbed one of her blue food dishes and loaded it up as usual. Yay! Now Pumpkin had a brand new batch of fresh food. I covered the metal bowl, put it in the 'fridge and continued with my routine, finally bringing Pumpkin upstairs with her food. As I closed the door to the bedroom, Pumpkin was diving into her bowl and gronking with joy, "YUMMY BREAKFAST!!!" Oh, how I love that little girl! :) Initially I thought that it would be nice to share a snowy picture today to honor Winter Solstice, but instead I've decided to honor Pumpkin instead! I got Steve to hold her on her back, a position she loves--it's also so adorable that I thought you would all enjoy it too! I also included an inset to show the food I cut up for her and a holiday greeting to all of you. :) Pam, it was so wonderful to get such a lovely note from you yesterday on my latest picture! I am overjoyed that things are a little better for you these days. Let's hope for continued improvements in the following days my dear! *BIG HUGGGGGGGGS*!!!!!!

At the end of June 2014, I was upstairs in our home and walking in the hallway, when I noticed movement on the ground. Peering down at our beige carpet, I could hardly believe my eyes. "NO WAY!!!" It was an adult praying mantis!! I could barely see it on the carpet because it so perfectly matched the color! Somehow, this praying mantis managed to find its way inside our house and climb up our stairs to the second floor. Who knows how long it had been lost inside, but I figured it was probably very hungry, thirsty and weak. Trotting downstairs to get a jar, it took me a few seconds to find it again when I returned. Amazed, I gently coaxed it inside and brought the jar downstairs, where I stared in awe at the "space alien of the insect world". I ran upstairs to get Steve and after admiring our cool friend, we went outside to let him disappear into the dried grass which it so perfectly matched. Just before releasing him, Steve held him for a photo session, and I managed to get lots of great pictures! What a magnificent insect!!! :) Information about camouflage and the praying mantis: These masters of camouflage don't change colors within minutes like chameleons can. Instead, they change colors every time they molt to match the current environment they're in. They molt approximately every two weeks as they are growing up, but once they are adults, they no longer molt, and they cannot change color after that.