Author Promotion and Birthday Giveaway

 
Win this beautiful windowpane afghan, edged in the colors of your choice, on my birthday


In progress, made by me, finished size approximately 60" x 75"
Should be done by the end of April

Enter as many times as you like– here’s how
There are 2 parts to each entry: 1- do it, and 2- make sure I know you did it.

How to do it:
any of the following gets you 1 or 2 entries
      1 entry- share something about my books in a public place (Facebook, a blog, at your workplace, etc)
      2 entries- post a review of any of my books on Amazon, Smashwords, Goodreads, B&N, etc
      2 entries- buy one of my books, print or e-book

How to make sure I know you did it:
      Best method- email me at jhyshark@gmail.com
      2nd best method- leave a comment at Joan of Shark
      Not so good method- tell me in person
      Totally unacceptable- assume I saw that you did something

Example: Buy one of my books, write a review and publish it on Amazon and Goodreads; result, you get 6 chances for the afghan.
Example: Buy a book, share a picture of you reading it on Facebook, you get 3 chances
(a previously purchased book would only get you one entry for the share).
Example: Buy two books, get 4 chances
In all cases you MUST tell me what you did and how to contact you- I have no way of knowing who buys my books online, and I may miss something you share.
Many other combinations, or types of sharing will count

You have until midnight EDT April 24, 2016 (my birthday) to create entries.
Drawing will be held for the winning entry on Monday, April 25, 2016.
      1st place- windowpane afghan
      2nd place- one book of your choice


For all books by Joan H. Young visit Books Leaving Footprints

	See Joan of Shark
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Winner and the Neverhood!

 
I spent a good part of the day playing a favorite computer game, The Neverhood. It's old now. In fact, it would barely play on Windows 7, so I'm glad I went through it one more time just for the fun of it. I had solved the puzzles long ago, but it's still challenging to see if you remember them.



This was prompted by the fact that a successor game is due out in 2015. Hoping it won't cost an arm and a leg. The new game is called Armikrog. You can read about it at Armikrog the Successor to The Neverhood if you are interested.

We are going to meet Loretta tomorrow for our T-day. So today was just a day to relax. I figured a game qualified!

Meanwhile, I put the 11 entries in the contest into a box and pulled out two. We have one on each side of the "pond." Winner 1 is Chuck of Secondary Roads. Winner 2 is Jean Knill who shares at Jean's Musings.

Thanks to all who entered because I hope it got me an extra few views. That was the point.

Chuck and Jean, just let me know which book you would like. Chuck, I'm good with an address for you, but Jean, you'll have to get me mailing info.

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Blogoversary Number Six- Win a Book

 

Can you believe it? I've been doing this blog for six years. I've missed a few days but even so, this is post number 2154. I've survived the demise of Entrecard, CMS, and Adgitize (as have many of you fine readers). I've lived through changes at Blogger and have figured out how to make Facebook work for me.

You've hung in there (if you are reading this), and some of you still comment here. I appreciate all of you, even though I manage to respond to comments less often than I used to. I've met some of you face to face. Many of us have lived through the anguish of pets who have passed away and shared our grief.

In appreciation, here's a chance to win one of my books. I know I tend to make contests too complex (because that is the kind I like), but the goal was always to increase the traffic here. So here's how this contest will work. It's pretty simple (I hope). From now until November 26, every time you promote this blog somewhere else, you get one entry. That includes sharing it on Facebook (not just liking a post of mine), tweeting it, blogging about it, writing an article about it on some writing site that's still viable, etc. Please say something about your opinion of the blog. Send me the link, or take a screenshot- some way to show me you've done this. For every time you do this, you get one entry. My email is jhyshark [at] gmail [dot] com

On November 27, yes, Thanksgiving, I'll draw two of the entries at random, and each of the two winners will receive a book of mine, of their choice. That includes any of the books pictured below.



North Country Cache: My adventures hiking the North Country Trail- even non-hikers enjoy this. It's not a journal.
News from Dead Mule Swamp (includes the Hollow Tree at DMS): books 1 & 2 of the Anastasia Raven cozy mysteries
Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp: book 3 of the Anastasia Raven cozy mysteries
Bury the Hatchet in Dead Mule Swamp: book 4 of the Anastasia Raven cozy mysteries
Would You Dare?: Twelve short biographies of historic Christians.

You can read blurbs and even excerpts at Books Leaving Footprints

Ready, set, go!

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Bloggy Stuff

 
If you were a member of the Adgitize network, have you noticed changes in the circle of bloggers we frequent since they folded? My traffic is down, comments are way down, and my motivation on my other blogs is lower too. (Adgitize rewarded us for regular blogging.) In all honesty, I'm only visiting blogs that really interest me, not a wide selection from a network. I've found several more nature blogs and a couple of new personal ones I'm reading and commenting on, but if I'm getting return traffic, the visitors aren't commenting. I visit 50 blogs pretty regularly.

However, my motivation for this blog hasn't lessened. It's just difficult to find new readers. Entrecard isn't much use these days, either. When I even remember to place ads, they get almost no clicks.

Are any of you finding good ways to attract new readers?

As I'm sure you noticed, I changed the background for spring. Here's the original picture of a mini-iris 'Katharine Hodgkin:'



I did a kaleidoscope design with it, and came up with this:



And I also made a new 125x125 image that will start showing up on Entrecard ads soon:



It's just over a month until my birthday. I'm thinking about another contest. How about it? Would you participate? What kinds of prizes would you like to see?

	See More About the Contest for last year's prizes
if you like this blog, click the +1

A Fish from Rose

 
I entered Rose's little contest to win a "whimsey" over at What I Made Today, and I won!

The gift I selected was a painted wooden fish on a hand twisted cord. I wove the cord into my braid, and the little fish dangles at the end. It's hard to see the light green cord in the gray hair, but it's there.

Thanks, Rose! I love my little fish.

if you like this blog, click the +1

Fourth Place Winner of Birthday Contest

Stories inspired by this picture were submitted:

First place went to: John Lottery. He chose the ad for a year as his prize. Second place goes to: Ivy, and she chose the copy of my book. Third place goes to another new entrant, Canadian Doomer., and she chose North With The Spring

Here is the final winner, Chuck of Secondary Roads. Chuck you can choose from the garden book or a mystery. If you want one of the mysteries, I'll be sure to hunt up which ones I have duplicates of.

Grammy and Baby Kay

It was early summer of 1948. Baby Kay was sitting on the grass enjoying the warm sun under the watchful eyes of her great grandmother. Grammy enjoyed being with family. She had rejoiced when her granddaughter had married her high school sweetheart. That had happened shortly after he had returned from WWII just in time for Christmas of 1945.

Kay’s Grampy had not returned from The Big War (WWI). He didn’t go early, because he had a daughter,. Yet he was eventually called. And he went. It was neither bullet nor bomb that prematurely ended his life. It was sickness. The doctors did what they could, but it was not enough. They had buried Grampy in France just a few months before the war ended. At least the fighting had ended.

The daughter, Sarah (Kay’s grandmother), had married a farmer. The farmer grew the crops and raised the animals that helped feed a nation as it struggled through hard times in the 1930s. Grammy’s girl Sarah and her farmer raised four sons and a daughter, Rachel who would be Kay’s mother.

As 1940 began, Europe was at war. In September of 1939, Germany had invaded Poland without warning. The British and French declared war against Germany within two days. Within a week other nations had joined the fight. The burning question was if and when the United States would enter the fray. In March of 1941, congress had passed and the president had signed the lend-lease act. There was no desire for the nation to go to war. And yet before the year was over, the United States had committed to fighting war in Europe and across the Pacific.

That war had lasted nearly four years. It left an impact on every family. Fathers, brothers and sons enlisted or were drafted. Those that remained at home saved and sacrificed to help the war effort. Those intense years and everyone left home that could work did work. The nation not only tasted victory on two fronts, but it had transformed itself into an industrial giant in the process.

And so the men and women returned home. They wanted so many things that they couldn’t buy during the war. Houses, appliances and automobiles were high on the list of consumer desires. That meant plenty of work, and that included work for Kay’s parents.

Grammy would spend a couple of months with various family members and then she would pack her earthly goods into a single suitcase and move on to the next family member.

In the early summer of 1948, she had come to visit Rachel and her family. She especially wanted to get acquainted with Baby Kay. It was a wonderful time for Grammy.

Six weeks later, she would move on to be with one of her grandsons. Sixteen months later, Grammy passed quietly one night in her sleep. The family mourned her loss. Later, Kay felt sad that she could not remember the woman, but had to rely on the stories that the family told about Grammy. Kay knew her great grandmother through pictures of which this one was her favorite.

Chuck, you can go to More About the Contest and choose your gift. Be sure to send me your address!

Top Commenters, and a Flower

I'm a month late with this! I do apologize, but hey... I'll try to not let it happen again. I've added March and April together this time. There were 62 different people who left messages, and a total of 475 separate comments (not counting my own responses to them).

The top 10 commenters for the past two months are:
Ann's Snap & Edit (Ann- 62 comments)- Ann and Duke are busy blog travelers
Carmen's Chronicles (Carmen- 42 comments)- she likes yellow and good eating, and has a lifetime of world pictures to share
My Journey (rainfield61- 32 comments)- rainfield always brings a new perspective, tied with
The Best Parts (Ferd- 32 comments)- he and Gail share their lives and birding adventures
String Too Short to Tie (David (vanilla)- 29 comments)- a man with a perspective and a sense of humor
Duxbury Ramblers (Carol- 28 comments)- always great plants and animals from across "the pond"
Duck and Wheel with String (Lin- 26 comments)- "mom" to teens and cats and frogs
Spinning Lovely Days (Ivy- 21 comments)- she's back, the nausea of the first trimester at bay
The Joys of Simple Life (Betchai- 19 comments) beautiful hikes in the western US, tied with
Secondary Roads (Chuck- 19 comments)- who's been resting his wrists, but did all right anyway!

I really value all of you! The small banner in the sidebar for a month is just a tiny way to say thanks for sharing your thoughts.

And the flower? Trailing Arbutus, Epigaea repens. Last year, I found ones open on April 10... this year, May 6.

Third Place Winner of Birthday Contest

Stories inspired by this picture were submitted:

First place went to: John Lottery. He chose the ad for a year as his prize. Second place goes to: Ivy, and she chose the copy of my book.

Third place goes to another new entrant, Canadian Doomer.

Mabel watched her great-granddaughter playing in the grass. I'm going to be the one scrubbing the green out of those white clothes, she thought. Her mother is so wasteful that it makes me want to scream. She carefully kept her gaze on the child and pretended not to see her granddaughter's husband take a picture with his new camera. He was so proud of that contraption. She knew they thought she was an old fuddy-duddy, and she wondered what they would think if someone had taken pictures of her in her youth. They thought of her as Grandma, of course, not a wild suffragette who had spent many nights in jail. She had, in fact, been one of the first in her town to own a pair of rollerskates.

Suddenly, Mabel clapped her hands. "Time to get inside. The baby will catch cold if she's out here too long."

"Grandma!" Jane laughed and sent an appealing look to her husband. They were, Mabel thought, children and far too young to be married. "Grandma, it's healthy for her to be outside. You live in the last century, you know." She ran up and kissed Mabel's cheek. "We do love you, though, even if you forget that it's 1947." Jane knelt beside her grandmother. "The war's over, Grandma. I know you're not worried about Alice catching cold. You're worried about ruining her clothes with grass stains. But the war's over. Rationing's over. We're in a new era. Isn't that right, Mr. Scientist of mine?"

Arthur, to whom Mabel realized she had taken an instant dislike, shot her a wide, insincere smile. "She's right, Grandma. We're entering into a golden era. Nuclear energy. Unlimited cheap fuel - so cheap it's practically free. Our children will grow up with disposable clothing. Even disposable diapers! Alice will grow up without knowing a single want. Everything will be available to her, without work or effort."

Mabel pushed herself to her feet and then lifted the baby. "Nothing's free." She looked at the two of them, trying hard to be part of their exuberance. "Nothing's free."

CD, you can go to More About the Contest and choose any gift except the blog ad or my book. Be sure to send me your address!

Second Place Winner of Birthday Contest

Stories inspired by this picture were submitted:

First place went to: John Lottery. He chose the ad for a year as his prize.

Second place goes to: Ivy. Her story will be featured today.

Neighborhood Watch

Now, here’s a good spot. If I angle this chair just right, I can see clear down the block. I wonder if young Linda will receive another bouquet. That boyfriend of hers must have been up to his old tricks again. Showers her with flowers and candy anytime he’s been caught. Yesterday it was lilies. He’s a bad lot, but she’ll probably marry him anyway. That type is a martyr for cheaters the likes of him.

She’s just like my friend Mary Sul- “Daisy! Don’t you dare put that slug in your mouth! Put it down! I said put. It. Down.” Sigh.

So, I grew up, got married and took care of children, then I grew old and here I am still taking care of children. I don’t mind that much. I’ve got cute grandkids, not like those doughy little monsters poor Edna ended up with. I swear I’m not going over there anymore when she has them. That small one ate every crumb of that pie Edna served me, and her thinking it was funny! That bigger one kept on shooting rubber bands at me and Edna just sat there ignoring it. I won’t be surprised if they all grew up to be delinquents someday.

Now, I do say the good Lord blessed me with fine kiddies. Well, so long as they don’t mess with my bingo nights. I’m on a winning streak too, which is making Clara as spiteful as anything. Is it my fault that I can work 15 cards all at the same time? She should put in –

“Daisy! Let that dragonfly go!” Little imp. She was about to put the thing in her mouth too. I bet she’s already had some helpings of grass and dirt anyway, sneaky thing.

Oh, isn’t that Pastor Ken’s car? Yes, it is. I suppose he’s up to visit Jim. Rascal didn’t go to church two Sundays straight, probably claims it’s his lumbago. Lumbago, my foot! I’m sure as anything he just didn’t wake up in time, him hanging out all night at that watering hole near the river with his fishing buddies. He’ll be sorry when the - Now, hang on. Who’s that moving around Mabel’s house? The place should be empty. I’d go over and investigate if I didn’t have Daisy with me. Should I call the police? The last time I did that, they didn’t thank me for my troubles. How was I to know that that foreign boy was hired to clean the windows?

Whoever started that rumor about me being a Nosy Parker is just plain unkind. I’m sure I don’t go around minding other people’s business. If I sit out here and get to observe everything under my nose, that’s not poking it where it doesn’t belong. If I seem to know more about something than the next person, it’s just plain oincidence. There’s no need to make snide little cracks about it. I really didn’t appreciate Tom’s joke the other day. As if I go about town snooping for gossip!

Anyway, what to do about Mabel’s house? It could be she came home early from her cruise. That’s not likely. I’ll never forgive myself if she gets robbed and I could have stopped it.

“Come along, Daisy! Now, don’t howl. Buttinski or not, I have to do my bit to keep this neighborhood safe.”

Ivy, you can go to More About the Contest and choose any gift except the blog ad. Be sure to send me your address!

Winners of the Essay Contest

Everyone was a winner! There were four entries and six awards, so anyone who entered gets to choose a gift. The only question is the order in which the entrants get to make their selection. Here is the picture that was to inspire a story of 300-600 words.



The stories were judged by members of the writers' group that I've been attending. The stories were judged on their appeal, not perfect English or mechanics, although none of the entries was poorly written.

First place goes to: John Lottery. His story will be featured today.

Second place goes to: Ivy.

Third place goes to: Canadian Doomer, a new blog friend whose real name I don't even know yet!

Fourth place goes to: Chuck. (Sorry, buddy- but somebody had to be fourth)

The Photograph

Perhaps the earliest memory that I can remember is playing in the grass on a warm spring day. Grandmother had packed a picnic lunch for the two of us and we pretended to be visiting the Park As we walked out of the house, I saw a butterfly zigzagging aimlessly just above the grass. I ran down the steps and followed the critter around the house. Round and round we went, as if the monarch led me on a leash.

Grandmother watched in absolute amusement. She placed her chair at the foot of the steps and listened to my childish giggles. As if on cue, the butterfly alit on a dandelion just feet away from Grandma. I quietly tiptoed to where it twitched its wings, careful not to scare it away. Then, I slowly sat down and spread my legs. Oh, how I wished I could fly.

Living in a small Michigan town, we knew there was rarely any traffic. Occasionally a neighbor would peek out the windows or shake out a rag. But no distractions would interrupt my imagination.

The winter was harsh, but the three feet high snow had finally melted. The grass was turning green and had the fresh cut smell. My sisters were in school and wouldn't be home until 3. Mother worked in the dress factory and would walk home with the women at 4pm. So it was left to Grandmother to be my babysitter, playmate, and friend until I was old enough to go to school.

Easter was around the corner and I hoped that the butterfly would lead me to the Easter bunny. Oh, what a day, sitting in the sun watching the magnificent orange winged creature that I believed to be an angel.

Grandmother handed me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I took a bite and offered it to my friend She flapped her wings and instantly flew onto my nose. It tickled my cheeks and I started to giggle. But the butterfly didn't move.

Watching me play, Mrs. B walked out of her house and crouched on the sidewalk. "Smile" she said and clicked the trigger of her Brownie Instamatic camera. Just then, a gust of wind blew across the yard and the butterfly was gone. Higher and higher it went until I could see it no more. Oh how I cried after I lost my dear friend. For the next few days, I would search for this bug inside and out, but could not find it anywhere.

Alas, Mrs B came to my rescue. She had her pictures developed and had a present for me. It was the photograph of me, sitting on the grass with the butterfly on my nose. Grandmother was behind me, pleasantly smiling.

Though 80 years have passed, I always sit in the grass, clutching my photograph and waiting my turn for the butterfly to return and carry me into the heavens of eternity.

John: Go to More about the contest and claim your prize.

More About the Contest

Here is more information about the prizes for the birthday contest. First of all, let me explain that none of these gifts are new (even the copy of my book has a bumped corner and I can't sell it as new). That said, they are all pretty good stuff, and I'll send them to you at my expense.

The first prize winner will have their choice, followed by 2nd place, etc. Don't worry, I won't be hurt if my book isn't chosen first. I have six things to offer, so it seems like there's a good chance that a high percentage of entrants will win something unless there is a big rush of surprise entries. Here are the prizes to choose from

New York to North Dakota, snow- banks or blazing sun, afternoon strolls and backpacking treks, Young serves up an eclectic collection of essays chronicling 2300 miles of hikes on the longest footpath in the United States, the North Country National Scenic Trail	A classic for those who love natural history. Written in the 1960's, the book still is scientifically viable, and always appealing. Edwin Way Teale and his wife drove 14000 miles from Florida to Maine from the spring equinox to the summer solstice, searching out both and ordinary and special places in the eastern United States.	Your family-friendly site, advertised on this blog for one full year, with a 125 x 125 banner
This is one of a series of notebooks which had to be purchased in packets of pages. I managed to buy the whole set. I recently acquired this partial notebook, and so I don't need it. I really like the detailed and excellent information in these flyers. Even though not complete, this is good stuff.
a mystery book- one of the Nero Wolfe series exact title to be announced, but I know I have a couple of duplicates	a suspense book- a Mary Higgins Clark exact title to be announced, but I know I have a couple of duplicates	??? mystery gift?

OK... the final "prize" for everyone. After all the stories are in, I'll write an essay of the true story of the puzzle picture.

Don't forget to enter- rules in the sticky at the top of the blog

Contest Day- Win an Ad for a Month

Are you ready to write? I've let you off the hook for a couple of months, so it's time for some creative wordcrafting. I bet you can even guess what it might involve. You are so smart!


Just the other day I was given a slightly naughty Re-CAPTCHA code of "tityperp Vernon." Now, if that doesn't scream for a story, I don't know what does! I also have seen "imillown Amelie." Here's one I put together from two Blogger verifications: "bobobabi pymate." And there are two examples above. So, here is your assignment:

1. Choose two Captcha words. They can be shown together, or separately and you just like them together. You can use one of my samples, or find some of your own. It's not as if they are in short supply!
2. Those are to be the title of an essay/story
3. Write that essay/story of 300-500 words
4. Both words must appear in your story at least twice each
5. Send your story to jhy@t-one.net before 11:59 pm EST, Monday, February 28, 2011 (yes that only gives you three days- no sense prolonging the agony- you either plan to do it or not!)

The winner will be chosen by... YOU. I'll post the stories without the authors' names, on Tuesday, and you can vote for the one you like best!

Winter and Winner

We can't match Lin's 24 inches of snow for this storm, but we did get 14 inches. The big problem is that it blew, and blew, and blew! I got up at 5:30 and cleared the driveway so Om could get out, and cleared it again at 10 am so that he could get back in. It had drifted closed in those five hours. The picture above is our front yard. The drift is only about 4 feet high... hardly memorable for us.



By contrast, check out the blizzard of January 1977. Steve was two. That's him in front. Our oldest (we don't see him anymore) dug out the tunnel, and is peeking through from the back. Why were they doing so much digging? That's in our driveway. The highway was only two lanes then, and it drifted completely shut, deep enough to cover a car. The car's owner spent a night with us. They had to clear the road with a front-end loader.

But, I know why you really came by. You want to know the winner of the contest to pick a craft project for Ivy's coming baby.



She chose the "Teddyghan," a blanket that looks like a teddy bear, and she would like it made in yellow. This pattern was submitted by Ann, of Ann's Snap, Edit and Scrap. Ann always has a few projects of her own going! So Ann wins an ad for a month, and I'll show you how this project progresses. (The picture is not mine- from the pattern page)

Other entries came from my SIL Loretta (no blog)
Chin Chin at Stay at Home Blessings
Ian at A Lonely Planet It Is Not
Sir Rob of Be a Lifesaver of Goodness

Contest Day- Win an Ad for a Month

A bit of cold sunshine this afternoon, just to break the gray day.

I'm going to take a completely different tack with this month's contest, but perhaps it will pull in some different contestants, and you don't have to write anything or use your imagination.

Ivy, over at Spinning Lovely Days has recently announced that she is expecting. I first got interested in reading her blog because her daughter's name is Marguerite. It's not too common, and it was my grandmother's middle name. The more I got to know Ivy, the more I discovered that we have a lot of the same values, and even some of the same obsessions. She has recently announced that Marguerite is Going to Be a Big Sister.

So, here is your mission! First, leave a comment for Ivy and her family on the post where she made the announcement. Then you must search the internet for FREE patterns for baby items, either knitted or crocheted- don't worry about the difficulty of the pattern. When you find one you like, send the URL to me at jhy@t-one.net. Keep in mind that she lives in the Philippines. The baby probably won't need something like a Norwegian pullover!

If this seems daunting, it's not really. Just search for free baby knit(or crochet) patterns in any search engine. There are also some blogs that offer free classic patterns. Grandmother Wren is one of them, and she has an index.

I'll pass the URLs to Ivy, without telling her who sent them. She will pick the one she'd like me to make, and the person who submitted it will be the winner.

I think the only way you could go wrong here is that you need to make sure the pattern is FREE. I can't buy pattern and yarn and pay for shipping, all three.

You may enter as many patterns as you like and each one will be an entry. But don't delay... entries are due by 11:59pm, EST, Monday January 31.

What fun! I get a new project, and Ivy's new baby will get a gift.

Top Commenters- December

We are getting our winter back- Hooray! It is a soft and gentle snow, so it was fun to be out in it.

Despite the holidays, a surprisingly large number of people took time to comment here. Thanks to everyone! There were 42 different people who left messages, and a total of 236 separate comments (not counting my own responses to them).

The top 10 for this past month are:
Ann's Snap & Edit (Ann- 32 comments)- Ann's been unbeatable for comments!
My Journey (rainfield61- 25 comments)- rainfield was feeling talkative this month
Carmen's Chronicles (Carmen- 22 comments)- and Carmen has been her a lot!
Spinning Lovely Days (Ivy- 19 comments)- if you read her blog, you'll wonder how this busy gal finds time to read any others
The Painted Veil (Jackie- 18 comments)- Jackie is currently quite ill- leave her a note
Duxbury Ramblers (Carol- 16 comments)- Carol leads us on wonderful hikes across the pond
Duck and Wheel with String (Lin- 11 comments)- Lin loves her froggies, but apparently sharks too
Dennis the Vizsla Dog (Dennis' dada, James- 9 comments) James is currently busy finishing a book, tied with
The Everyday Adventurer (Ratty - 9 comments)- look who is feeling better! welcome back
The Joy of Bird Watching and Living a Simple Life (Jean- 8 comments)- Jean has wonderful feathered visitors

One comment from Maggie to all of you... "HAVE FUN, Arf!"



P.S. Does anyone care about seeing which posts from the past year were the most popular? I see other people sharing this info, but... is it interesting?

What Are Those Goofy Pictures?

Here are the "official" answers to the December contest. But, I appreciate the fact that a few people just let their imagination rule for a little while! I think the fact got lost that Rose, of What I Made Today, won the contest, with four correct answers. Her banner is in the sidebar for a month. Congrats!

Other entrants were Ann of Ann's Scrap and Edit with 3 correct, Ken of Adgetize with 3 correct, and also my SIL Loretta entered and Shydub of Simple Happy Life


1. This is the inside of a large hole drilled in a tree by a pileated woodpecker. Some of you read about this in March at The Pileated Pine Project. Guesses included: fungus inside a mouth, bee's nest, car wash mitt with water drops, beautiful moss, carpet.



2. Guesses included: tracks of rabbit that can split in half, tracks of deer with a split personality, tracks of a squirrel, bunny tracks. I was hoping someone might notice how small the tracks were compared to the grass and a shrubby tree. These are mouse tracks. I liked that two of you thought of an animal that can split in two- that was pretty creative! I'll have to show you more mouse tracks in the future.




3. Guesses included: ice cream cone, tunnel vision, hot air balloon, green house. This was a paper lantern in one of the displays at the Philadelphia Flower Show this year.




4. Most everyone got this one right. It's birch bark. Guess that means it was too easy, eh? Some of you read about this in April at Maggie Says Let's Hike.




1. This was exactly what it looks like- beans. But, some of you read about what they were made into in March at Philadelphia Flower Show Masks. Guesses included: flip flop decorated with beans, alien eyes, beads that look like seeds, beans.






6. I loved the guesses for this one! They include: landscape viewed from a hot air balloon, something in winter, ink blot drawing of a cat (entrant assures me no drugs were required to spot this!), Martian landscape. It's actually the almost clean copper bottom of a pan. Not the same picture but I told a related story in October 2008 at Copper Oaks.




7. Guesses included: the inside of a Christmas Cactus, peony petal, a rose, and everyone was on the right track. But which one? It's the rose!




8. This is the trickiest one of all. I like Ann's answer best: optical illusion trick picture. I counted that as a correct answer. Other guesses were: black snake, and a secret tunnel to an opossum's lair. Very creative. In reality, it's an amazingly clear reflection of some red cliffs in a small pool surrounded by black rock. The larger picture won't even help you visualize it, so I'll just show you the cliff.



9. This is just a plain old bunny track. At least everyone knew it was a track! Guesses were: track of a rabbit with a heavy tail, Oh NO, Mr. Bill's tracks, rabbit tracks, squirrel tracks, dog paw print. You can see more bunny tracks at Rabbit or Squirrel?




1. I wondered if anyone would recognize this patina, and Rose, the winner, did. It's copper. Other guesses were: wall painted with sponges, weathered stone sculpture of Pinocchio (entrant can see nose and eyes), moss growing on tree.



This is a picture intensive post. That's enough! See you tomorrow.