Can You See Me?

As I pulled the trash can to the street, this little squirrel quickly tried to blend himself into the crook of the tree. He thought that he did a great job, but I didn't waste any time in snapping some photos.

I'm Invisible


He stretched out, and clawed to tree to fit in the nook of this tree with a look of success. I creeped up slowly trying desperately to have a good picture of this squirrel who wanted to play hide and seek.

She Saw Me


As I came closer, he looked at me, and the whole time I was having a conversation with him. I saw you, little booger! I saw you, but good job trying, anyway.

Now What?


Well, tell me now, can you really still see me? I am blended in with the bark of the tree, yes? I heard him saying. Then he lifted his head high as if he wanted to ask "Now what?" He had an attitude of wanting to test me, so I gave up and went on my way.

Yay..my first clear picture of a squirrel!

Aster in Natural Sepia

This is how the white New England aster plant looks now. For some reason, this plant seemed to last much longer than others did by the corner of my neighbor's house.


If look carefully, you still can see some white flowers left on this plant, and the leaves are wavy/curly. This plant stays strong even now, under two feet of snow.


I was looking for a nice background of this aster plant, but due to its location, I can't find any other angles to capture it.

The colors are all natural, look just as if it is in sepia, but I didn't add any special effect to it.

Black Squirrel

My son took these photos of a black squirrel in the back corner of our house. The crab apple tree has only branches left. The sky was just as gray that day as it's in the pictures!

Looking for a Way Down


The crab apple tree is very close to the house, and I think the black squirrel, plus the birds find some warm from this spot. They congregate in this corner and on this tree most of the time.

Going Down


JoJo loves taking pictures of squirrel, and I have to say, he has better luck than I do. You can see his first set of Photo Story of a Squirrel from last year here.

Have a Wonderful Holidays

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Playing With Foods

We waited until two days before Christmas to do our last minute shopping. Although we didn't have too much to buy, waiting in long line made us really hungry.

One of JoJo' favorite restaurants is Red Lobster, and you can see below his favorite dish! Yup, my son has a taste for seafood.


Once in a while, JoJo craved for this Alaskan crab leg, and I decided to treat him before he take off for a week with his dad over the Holidays season.


How many children do you know that would not play with their foods? He stuck his fingers between the claws and said "take a picture mom." And I was very happy to do so!

Now You See Me, Now You Don't

Unfortunately, this is not a wordless post! The story had to be told, according to two little boys.

We saw this bunny running around on a pile of dried leaves three weeks ago. Its fur had a mixed of brown, white, gray, and tan colors. At first, we couldn't see the bunny since it almost blended in with the leaves.

JoJo, Roco, and I watched this bunny through our front window, as I slowly removed the screen to take these two pictures. Around our neighborhood, we have many different kinds of rabbits, and street cats, but watching bunnies is our favorite pastime.

Blooming Cactus Flowers

It seems there will be more snow coming our way, and the sky is so gray today. I go looking for things to take pictures, but nothing strikes my fancy, so I rely on my archive for photos.

This blooming cactus flower does the trick! The colors are vibrant and bring such a cheerful mood on a day like today.


When I see cactus flowers, my thoughts run to Diane AZ and betchai, my two blogging friends. They have such beautiful photos of cactus, and they know their cactus's names, unlike me! Maybe they can identify this cactus flower for us.


This cactus flower is found at the Belle Isle Conservatory in Metro Detroit. If you need a dose of colors, visit the Conservatory, help keep the door open for many people to enjoy, and also lift your winter spirit.

To all my readers and followers, I'm currently taking on paid ad reviews for a living. Therefore, sometimes I will have to publish two posts a day, two to three times a week, and have to repeat the same subjects over and over again.

I've tried to select the best subjects that interested me the most to write about, but at times, that's not possible.

Thank you all for your support, and taking the time to comment! I'm blessed to have you in my life.

Shining Through

I knew my camera has a feature to take black and white photo, but for the longest time, I could not figure out how to use it. Then one day, I accidentally set it to this mode, and aim at the sky for a few shots.

The Sun Shines Through


I am used to see the sky with its various and amazing colors, but with these black and white shots, the sky is just beautiful. Partially, it was a gray day with occasional sun shinning through.

Entanglement


I caught the sky just right when the sun came out, and the black and white pictures turned out even better than the color one.

In Full Colors


This picture was taken on the same day, only at a different spot, and as you can see there was hardly any colors except for a couple of blue spot.

The Forgotten Building

If I am not mistaken, this building on Belle Isle used to be a casino back in the 1970. Although I didn't get to see it up close lately, the building looked beautiful on a nice sunny day.

I don't remember ever stepped inside this building because of my religious belief. Besides, when my father brought us to the island, we were just kids, and he only took us to either the Conservatory or the Aquarium.


Since this building was no longer in working order, I don't know what it is used for. However, seeing its gorgeous reflection in the water, I remembered hearing it as a casino before. Maybe in the summer, I can take a closer look and find out more about its history.


I love the arches around this building! Though abandon for many years, the building still retains its beauty from afar. I must admit I didn't pay attention to this building before, but after a trip to the island looking for photo opts, I find this intriguing.

Thanks to James for running Weekend Reflections! Visit him by clicking on the image below!

My Puppy and I

My name is Roco, and this is my story. I am very allergic to all kind of fur animals! If I am near them, I will break out in hives. I will also have runny nose, red itchy eyes, and start wheezing.


My auntie took me shopping one day, and I was bored to dead. See me in the first picture? I was just hanging there with the basket, and I asked my aunt to take my picture. She always had a camera in her pocket. I wanted her to give me all her attention, instead of looking at boring clothes.

She went back to her shopping and told me to sit on the bench by the puppy! I didn't pay attention to the puppy at first, but then I stroke him, and fell in love. Can you tell I love my puppy? I was not allergic to this kind of dog!

Mom, can I take this puppy home?

Christmas Colors Bush

I saw this bush on the ground of our Elementary School, and it has the colors of Christmas. For those of us who take pictures of everything, I for one, couldn't pass by without snapping.

Red Leaves and Red Berries


While I was grouching on the ground to take these pictures, I saw our principle looking at me. I figured he must have not seen too many people admiring this bush, or carefully picked out certain branches to take pictures.

Branching Out


This beautiful branch was full of red, green, and maroon leaves. I could not believe that nature turned this neglecting bush into something so beautiful and magical for this season.

Red All the Way


This tiny little branch was all red, and shiny. On a sunny day, it stood out vibrantly. The day I took these pictures was very cold and windy. I spent as much time as I could, and had to seek for warm area.

Merry Christmas From Nature


I just love the colors from this bush for this season. In the Spring time, this bush also produces beautiful tiny white flowers. I have also included the photo below.


Anyone knows what the name of this shrub?

Resting Water Fountain

Here are some pictures of the water fountain on Belle Isle, and it has actually turned off about two months ago. It is now resting but still receives some visitors now and then.

"Water from a fountain quenches the excessive heat which would destroy this life. Thus water can be called the only everlasting source of continuous being."
~Nicola Salvi

"Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as the water from a fountain. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass the fountain"
~Lao-Tze

"Happy in all that ragged, loose collapse of water, the fountain, its effortless descent and flatteries of spray... "
~Richard Wilbur

White Berries

There was a trail that leads to the light house on the Detroit River that only serious fishermen knew. My son and I followed this guy who had a bucket full of perches, sun fishes, and some other ones.

He told us to stay on the trail and reached the river at the end of the trail; that's where the big fishes were. We got to our destination, but my son didn't catch any fishes that day.

Growing Along the Trail


We saw many bushes like this with white berries growing along a side of the trail. We spend more time looking, and inspecting our surrounding for pictures than concentrating on fishing. My son found these white berries while I was looking at flowers.

As White as Can Be


The trail was quite a long walk for me, and we saw dead snakes as well as live ones. I got turned off completely when I saw snakes, so we left in a hurry.

Orange Beauties

These flowers can be seen at the Belle Isle Conservatory in Detroit. When making a trip to the island, I must visit the "flower house" as my kids lovingly called it. There are so many beautiful flowers there throughout the year for enjoyment.

"Orange" You Beautiful?


I spotted these flowers right away from their beautiful colors. They looked very hardy, including the petals, and the plants.

Are We in the Lily Families?


They looked like lilies to me! These plants situated way in the back where there was access to be closer so I could not find out their names.

A Group on Display


Whatever they are, they bloomed in group and just gorgeous to see. Between my daughter, my son and I, we took hundreds of flower pictures at the Conservatory every time we go.

Pink Rose

These light pink roses were the last blooms from the rose bush by my son's school. I was surprise to see them still blooming in late November, and after they received a light shower, they looked amazingly beautiful.


Along side to the main office of the school, there was a wild rose bush. I said it is wild because it grows out of control, and it seems to give so many blooms throughout the summer and late into the Fall.

Staying Strong


I volunteer one hour a week to my son's class, and upon walking by this bush, I have to stop and take the pictures, especially right after the rain.

Drooping Under the Water


As you can see, some pink roses were still holding their shape, while others were drooping. Nevertheless, it was still so beautiful standing strong in this cold weather.

Until Next Time


These beautiful pink rose survived for another week after I took these pictures! They were all gone now, so I will see them next year.