color Carnival #26 --- Color New Mexico way

Color Carnival is a Sunday meme where we celebrate all the colors in God's rainbow. Today I would like to share some of my shots taken during a stroll through the booths of the sidewalk vendors in Santa Fe during our recent travels.







To join the fun or to check out all the colorful entries of other players, visit Martha and her friends at Color Carnival.

Shadow Shot Sunday -- scallops on pebbles

Welcome one and all to this weeks edition of Shadow Shot Sunday.

This week I have a guessing game for you. Can you name what is making this shadow? If not then proceed to the second photo to get your answer. These shadow shots were taken in Albuquerque at the Balloon Fiesta. But, that is not a clue. The place or event has nothing to do with the answer.



Well, what is your guess? The correct answer is the plastic fence that was keeping Fiesta goers from wandering into the wrong places.


Have a great week everyone. For more great shadow shots click the camera badge to visit Hey Harriet and join in the fun.

We learned first hand the value of ICE

As you can tell by all the photos posted here recently we have just returned from an extended vacation to the West Coast and back. During our trip we had three separate stressful situations happen. First, the Old Salt became ill and we had to call an ambulance to take him to the ER. Second, we lost our cell phone. Third, we were driving down the street and came across an elderly man lying unconscious on the sidewalk with only a cell phone and no ID.

At the time we had not yet entered the ICE code into our cell phone. Luckily, when Frank got sick I was with him. The person who found our cell phone was very caring and scanned our phone for the ICE entry to use it to return our phone. Not finding it but finding the entry entitled Mom he called that number and got ahold of my Mother who new how to contact the person we were visiting so our phone was quickly returned.

In the third case we called 911 and with the help of another person who also stopped administered CPR. The man did not have ICE in his phone when the paramedics checked and the police began knocking on doors in the neighborhood looking for someone who knew the man. Regrettably, the old man died right there on the sidewalk from the heard attack he had while out walking. He was several blocks from home with no ID. No one in the neighborhood was outside on a hot New Mexico afternoon so he laid there until we drove by on our way to Frank"s nieces house, which was in the next block. It took quite some time for the police to be able to identify the old man.

Knowing that both the Paramedics and the police checked that old man's cell phone for the ICE code, and having just learned that the person who found our cell phone also new to look for the ICE code, we entered it into our cell phone right then.

Today I received an e-mail suggesting that you use more then one ICE entry on your cell phone incase the first can't be contacted. So we immediately added two more ICE numbers to our phone. Now if we have an emergency the authorities have three options to call and will hopefully reach one of the three.

I suggest that you read the following message written by the police chief of our neighboring town of Eureka Missouri which appears on the City of Eureka's official website and follow his advice. We have and we sure wish that old man in Albuquerque would have done the same. Put ICE in your cell phone now. It may save your life or the life of a loved one. Or it just may get your lost cell phone returned. Either way you win.

ICE - In Case of Emergency

Have you put ICE in your mobile?

WHY: You might not carry "In case of emergency, notify X" in your wallet or purse or car, but I'll bet you carry a cell phone. And what about your spouse? Your teenagers? Putting ICE in a cell phone contact list - along with a name and telephone number - enables Emergency Services (Fire, Police, EMTs, Paramedics, ER personnel) to contact the right people in the event of an emergency.

HOW: Create an entry in your cell phone directory for ICE (In Case of Emergency) where you list the number you want a paramedic to call if they find your inert body on a sidewalk. For multiple numbers, create ICE1 and ICE2 entries, and you may help ES a little more by entering them as ICE1 - Spouse and ICE2 - Mom entries.

WHERE: From CBS: A campaign to use cell phones to help in the treatment or identification of accident and disaster victims has taken off worldwide since the recent bomb attacks in London. Mobile phone users are being urged to enter a number in their phone's memory with the acronym ICE, for In Case of Emergency, with the contact person's name and number.

Paramedics or police would be able to swiftly to find the number and use it to reach a relative or friend who could help identify deceased victims and treat injured ones, by providing vital personal information, including details of any medical conditions.

ICE is the brainchild of British paramedic Bob Brotchie, who told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen Tuesday the idea came to him "just from reflecting on difficulties I've had in obtaining information about patients. The vast majority of people don't carry emergency contact details or next-of-kin details, but the vast majority of people carry cell phones."

While the campaign had already been launched, it had limited impact until the first series of London blasts. Those explosions rendered many victims unidentifiable, which sparked an e-mail campaign to spread the ICE idea around the world.

Do it right away while you're thinking about it and spread the word to your family, friends and co-workers!
Chief Michael A. Wiegand
Eureka Police Department
120 City Hall Drive
Eureka, Missouri 63025
(636) 938-6600
FAX: (636) 938-6602
e-mail: mwiegand@eureka.mo.us

Pink Saturday------ pink, pink and more pink

Welcome everyone to this weeks Pink Saturday. My shots for this week are some more of the photographs taken during our recent cross country travels.

I want to start off with this photo of one of the Old Salt's granddaughter's and her teammates, who were all decked out in pink, for their big win the day we attended their soccer game.


Next we have another granddaughter returning from her evening ride on a horse with a pink bareback saddle .


This pink pig hot air balloon was captured at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.


I found this pink settee in the lobby of a small hotel in San Francisco.


My last pink capture for today is a San Francisco Victorian Row House all decked out in a coat of pink paint.


To join the fun or visit the other participates visit How Sweet the Sound click here.

Theme Thursday -- halloween

Halloween is the subject of this weeks Theme Thursday. I had to really give some thought to what I would post this week. I debated on writing about what Halloween was like back in the dark ages when I was a child. I contemplated a piece on how the holiday has changed over the course of my lifetime. Then I considered taking my camera around town so I could show all of you how a small rural town decorates for the season. In the end I decided to showcase some photos that had nothing at all to do with Halloween at the time they were taken but certainly give that sense that the little ghost and goblins will be ringing the doorbell anytime now

This first shot is of the Old Salt and his brother checking out the jack-o-lantern sculpture at Laumeire sculpure Park in St. Louis.


Next we have some very Halloween-ish looking hot air balloons what we captured recently at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque.














To join the fun or visit more participants from around the world visit Theme Thursday

Three or More Tuesday -- Cutthroat trout

Hello Everyone. It is time for 'Three Or More' - Tuesday, the weekly event where we share items we have three or more of. This week I have a school of fish to share with you. Not just any fish either. These fish are Cutthroat Trout and I found them appearing to leap from the lake of stones they occupy near the convention center in downtown Santa Fe.





I could not find any information about these fish at the site where my photos were taken. A web search informed me that this group of twenty-seven cutthroat trout make up a sculpture called "Santa Fe Current" designed by Colette Hosner who was paid $100,000 dollars for her work.

Each fish is two feet high and three and a half feet long and weight 650 pounds. In a interview I read with the sculptor, describing her artwork, Ms. Hosner said her artwork was designed to encourage public interaction. The composition is meant to draw people from the sidewalk into the plaza, inviting visitors to wander among the fish, to intermingle with the stream. The fish are sturdy enough for adult to sit on them and children can slide down their backs.

I also learned that the Cutthroat Trout is the state fish of Mew Mexico and there is a campaign to have it added to the endangered species list because of threats to the cold water streams it calls home.

To join the fun or check out more collections of three or more join Tam at the Gypsy's Corner

Ruby Tuesday --- Code Takers and Navy Week.

Welcome to Ruby Tuesday the day we show off our photos that contain some red.

My photos for this week's Ruby Tuesday were taken during our visit to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We planned our visit with the Old Salt's nieces and their families to coincide with Albuquerque's annual Balloon Fiesta. But, luck was on our side when we stumbled onto two other events we were unaware would be happening at that same time. One was a book signing by members of the World War ll Navajo Code Talkers.

The book is titled "It Had to be Done -- Navajo Code talkers Remember WWll" by Stephen Mack . The Navajo Code Talkers were several hundred Navajo Marine's who used their language to transmit military messages on enemy tactics, Japanese troop movements and other battlefield information in a code the Japanese never broke. Code Talkers took part in every assault the Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, and are credited with saving thousands of lives.





The second event was Navy Week. Albuquerque's Navy Week was one of 21 Navy Weeks planned across America in 2009. Navy Weeks are designed to show Americans the investment they have made in their Navy and increase awareness in cities that do not have a significant Navy presence. We were able to catch the performance of the U.S. Navy Band Southwest "Destroyers," when they preformed at the Balloon Fiesta. This photo of one of the sailors in period costume getting his book autographed by a code talker turned up in one of the online Navy journals the Old Salt subscribes to.



For more things red, or to join the fun visit Ruby Tuesday at WORK Of THE POET

mellow Yellow Monday ---- flashes of highway

Welcome everyone to this weeks edition of Mellow Yellow Monday.

I have noticed in my travels that no matter where we go the roadways, be they interstate highways or gravel country roads, seen to always have some for of plant life growing alongside them. Even the most arid desert roadways will have some form of grass, bush, or cactus that seems to grow wild for miles upon miles of roadway. Today I have chosen to share some of the yellow plant life I captured during our recent cross country travels. I can not identify any of these plants by name and they could just as easily be weeds as some yet undiscovered new species for all I know. But, I found them to be a ray of sunshine in some very dull and desolate landscapes. If you can name them then please let me know.

This first photos was taken along I-70 in Kansas and this plant could be seen along a few hundred miles of interstate.

This shot was taken at a rest stop in Colorado. But, I noticed it in patches all along the highway.

These yellow delights were captured in Nevada.

I found these yellow tinted cactus along the roadway in Arizona.

These little goodies were just everywhere along the interstate in New Mexico

Have a good week everyone. To join in the fun or visit other Mellow Yellow shots visit Drowsey Monkey and her friends here

Color Carnival #17 ---more of the embarcodaro

Color Carnival is a Sunday meme where we celebrate all the colors in God's rainbow. Today I would like to share some of my shots taken during a stroll through the booths of the sidewalk vendors and shops along the embarcadero in San Francisco during our recent travels.

This first shot shows the colorful table covers of one of the sidewalk cafes. We walked by just before they opened. On the walk back every table was full of folks enjoying lunch along the wharf.






To join the fun or to check out all the colorful entries of other players, visit Martha and her friends at Color Carnival.

shadow Shot Sunday -- on the dock

Welcome everyone to Shadow Shot Sunday. I hope there has been lots of sun in your week.

This week I sharing a few of the shots I took recently while on vacation in San Francisco. These captures were made on the dock at the embarcadero as we waited for the ferry to take us to Sausalito.


Lets start with the delicate shadows this plant left on the column they were planted in.

The area was full of birds hoping to score from diners at the many sidewalk cafes.


This shadow of this fire hydrant wearing its cone cap reminded me of one of the gnomes in my neighbors garden.

This was one of our fellow passengers waiting on line for the ferry.

If I would not have had to tote it around all day I would have purchased this mug as a gift for the the Old Salt from one of the sidewalk vendors.

Have a great week everyone. For more great shadow shots click the camera badge to visit Hey Harriet and join in the fun.