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Snapshots Sunday: Red Oak Brew Haus & Bier Garten 2.0

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I’ve never done a Snapshot Sunday before (new companion to the Shutterbug Saturday) but, it might come in handy in the future. Saturday posting was impossible with all of the reunion festivities. All photos are my personal collection. ~Vic

Red Oak Brew Haus & Bier Garten 1.0

Brew Kettles Image One
Brew kettles.
Bronze Busts Image Two
Bronze busts in the drinking room.
Ivory Statue Image Three
Carved ivory? Alabaster? White marble?
Fire Pit Image Four
Fire pit.
Bronze Lady Image Five
Bronze lady of the fountain.
Dog Area Image Six
Doggie area with doggie water.
Buddha Image Seven
Buddha at the fire pit.
Bronze Fish Image Eight
Bronze fish and bronze girl.
Stone Wall Image Nine
Stone wall or…phallic symbol?
Whirlwind Image Ten
Yeah, I have no idea here.

Foto Friday: Sky Gazing

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Flick Friday is a bust. No releases for today. So, it’s another installment of Foto Friday. Submitted for your approval…my walk this evening. ~Vic

See Sunsets Local as well.

Sunset Over Garden Image One
Capturing the sunset in the Butterfly Garden
at Gold Park
Waxing Crescent Moon Image Two
Waxing crescent Moon above the pines.
Glowing With The Moon Image Three
A glow beside the Moon.
Sky Fire Image Four
Sky on fire.
Pink Glow Image Five
Pink glow amid the wild flowers.

FFTD: Azaleas

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Azaleas are usually Springtime visitors. Some of them, well, they are the late bloomers. This is a small bush on the First Baptist church property. ~Vic

Azaleas Image
09-23-2018

Flower for the Day

POTD: Abandoned Barn

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Snapped this on a trail walk. ~Vic

Barn Image
09-13-2019

Shutterbug Saturday: Animal Friends

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Update: I am changing the headings to all of my wildlife posts to Animal Friends. ~Vic

The deer in this town are so used to not being hunted, they will come out in broad daylight, eat, play and stare at you. Some are almost tame and you can get rather close to them. They’re cute but, they will mess up a garden if it is not properly secured. I learned the hard way not to plant tulips and I discovered that they like green/white Hosta but, not the green/yellow. They will not touch Narcissus. ~Vic

Wildlife Image One
Evening Walk
04-30-2019

Wildlife Image Two
Around Town
05-22-2019

Wildlife Image Three
Grazing, fear free.
05-22-2019
Wildlife Image Four
Tried to zoom in a bit.
The fuzziness makes it look like a painting.
05-22-2019

FFTD: Royal Blue

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I will have to figure this one out, later. ~Vic

Update:
After much digging, I found this to be a Salvia Guaranitica or Hummingbird Sage.

Royal Blue Flower Image
10-06-2018

Flower for the Day

Strawberry Moon 2019

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I did a post nearly a year ago for 2018. Last year, the Strawberry Moon appeared after the Summer Solstice. It’s also referred to as the Flower Moon and this year, it is also a Fathers’ Day Moon (I just made that up). Full illumination occurred at 4:30am EDT. Howl for me! ~Vic

Strawberry Moon Image One
Standing in my driveway.
I supposed my photos could be impressionist like Monet.

The colorful name is closely linked with the spread of warmer weather across the Northern Hemisphere and many Native American and, First Nations peoples, have special names for this full moon. The Algonquin tribes of what is now New England coined the nickname Full Strawberry Moon because the phase marked the best time of year to harvest the wild fruit. Similarly, the Cherokee of the southeastern woodlands knew the moon as the Green Corn Moon, the time of year when fresh corn ears grow best.

Farmers Almanac Strawberry Image Two

The sweetest full moon of the year is June’s full moon […]. While the full moon itself is inedible, despite how round and delicious it may seem, the Full Strawberry Moon marks strawberry harvesting season in North America. Most Algonquin tribes understood that it was a sign that wild strawberries were starting to ripen and ready for the harvest. Delicious though ripe strawberries may be, June’s full moon has another name that’s even sweeter. What could possibly be sweeter than strawberries? Try honey. In Europe, June’s full moon was actually known as the Honey Moon. Other European names for it included the Hot Moon, signifiying the beginning of hot summer days, or Hay Moon, because of the first hay harvest. Those names aside, European names for the Full Strawberry Moon overall tend to have sweet, romantic connotations, a good example [being] the name Full Rose Moon. June’s full moon is also called Mead Moon, which could refer to the mowing of meadows during summer but, there’s another more romantic interpretation as well.

Strawberry Moon Image Three
Power lines always get in the way.

In Europe, it’s traditional to gift mead or honey to a newlywed couple during their first moon of marriage. The name Honey Moon, itself, has now become a common word in the English language, used to refer to the honeymoon holiday that couples go on right after they’re married. It used to be that newlyweds in ancient Europe would go on a sweet romantic holiday around the time of June’s full moon because the moon phases were seen as a symbol for the phases of a marriage with the full moon signifying the fullest and happiest part, the wedding itself. The Full Strawberry Moon is tied to romance and marital bliss all around the world. In India, for example, June’s full moon is celebrated as Vat Purnima where married women perform a ceremonial ritual to show their love for their husbands. Vat Purnima is based off a legend from the Mahabharata about a beautiful woman, Savitri, who is determined to save her husband, Satyavan, who is doomed to die an early death. Savitri fasts for three days before Satyavan dies, upon which she successfully negotiates with the King of Hell for the resurrection of her husband. Similarly, married women nowadays dress up in beautiful saris, fast and tie a thread around a banyan tree seven times to wish that their husbands will lead long, happy lives.

Strawberry Image Four
Peaking through the Willow Oak.

It is no wonder, then, that the Pagans also call June’s full moon the Lovers’ Moon. This is an excellent time to work on the connections in your life, romantic or otherwise, by showing affection to your loved ones and allowing yourself to be vulnerable to encourage intimacy in your relationships. During this Honey Moon, some Hoodoo practitioners will even use honey in magic rituals to sweeten other people’s feelings towards the practitioner. An example of a sweetening ritual is to pour honey into a saucer containing the target’s name before lighting a candle on top of it. Another example of a honey ritual is to tie two poppets together with honey between them in order to heal a broken relationship between two people. Honey rituals aside, true magic may happen when you invest your time and effort during this month to work on your relationships and, appreciate the love you have in your life.

[Source]

FFTD: Tree of Lavender

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This is a tree on the church grounds. It’s huge and gorgeous. I have no idea what kind, though. ~Vic

Update:
This is a Rhododendron, courtesy of a fellow blogger. Thank you!

Lavender Flowers Image
Tree of flowers.
04-07-2019

Flower for the Day

FFTD: Bright Yellow

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I haven’t a clue what kind of flower this is but, I will dig around and see what I can find.

Update:
This looks very much like a Forsythia. ~Vic

Yellow Flower Bush
Around town.
Neighbor’s bush.
03-31-2019

Flower for the Day