Parc des topiares

"The greatest Topiark Park in the smallest town in the world"

If you are a fan on plants shaped into forms, I would recommend going to Durbuy, Luxembourg. You will see many different shapes and sizes of plants designed into ducks, people, sports, etc..

Here are just a few of the many topiaries they have.

http://topiairesdurbuy.be/-Topiaires-Durbuy-.html
(the website if you want to see more...just click on the British "button"...has a red cross)

The Kayakers!

Lady In The Tub

Prayer

Faith-Hope-Love

The Dog Park

Beware of animals!

"It was this big!"

Shootin' Lodge

Since I showed what the lake at the shooting range looked like, I wanted to show what the old house looked like. I have always loved westerns and the simple/scary times of the 1800's. That would be a time I would like to travel back and see. And, I also like porches! Always have. I guess it represents that old time charm where people can sit on the front porch drinking a soda pop and talkin' 'bout the olden days and not worrying about their hectic lives.
This old farm house represents what I like about westerns and porches! Unfortunately, this house has been vacant for years, except for the rodents and any other critter that needs a place indoors.

Back when this house was uninhibited by rodents, it was a place for local men to ride their horses to and get away from their city lives. Yes, they rode horses. No, they didn't have cars at the time. I can just imagine them sitting on the front porch talking while their horses are tied up out front.

I like the angle of this photo. The window reminds me of the cross and the view is what God created for us. I know I would have ridden my horse 10-20 miles to sit on a front porch with this view!

Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay

Who doesn't love the boat in water pictures? There are probably some that don't, but I for one enjoy looking at the boat that is headed somewhere on the water. I don't know the specifics as to why I like it. Maybe it's because it represents serenity. The boat, all alone, cutting through the glass-like water. Or maybe because it represents adventure. Either way, it makes me jealous because I wasn't the one to be on the lake ready for an adventure-the other photographer got that chance.

I always kick myself for not taking photographic opportunities, but not this time. This time I was taken to a place that had the glass-like water and the boat! I had gone to this location to shoot some guns with my dad and uncle. Not that I do this often, but I hadn't been in a long time and wanted to go spend some time with them. (side note...I did better shooting my targets! Not sure to be proud or not considering one can barely see out of one eye and the other had bad arthritis.Oh well) This place is an invitation only hunting and fishing club. It has an old house and a lake full of algae that has unfortunately killed all the fish. All that's left are a few old boats and ducks. But the view is sure "purdy."

So did I enjoy my adventurous boat ride on the water? Heck no! It was way too cold to get in a metal boat and row myself around. Besides being cold, I am known to be a bit of a klutz! I will admit that I have scars from running into walls (7 stitches), swimming into the coral reef (scar for life), falling off a skateboard (twice- 7 stitches each time), and many other scars and scratches with really cool stories! So if I can fall off a skateboard twice, then the chances are HIGH of me falling out of a cold metal boat and into a cold, algae infested lake. Though I am a strong swimmer, my feet could get tangled on the algae and I couldn't get out and the only ones able to help me are blind and crippled! Imagine my luck....so I decided to take my opportunity to walk around the lake and take pictures of my non-moving/non-adventurous boats!

Four-Wheelin'

Some of you might not know this, but between Tatum, NM and Roswell, NM is the Mescalero Sand Dunes. It's a great place to take your four-wheelers and go riding. I apparently know some crazy guys who like to live on the edge! Here's a few shots I got.

Lake Bonito

Sorry it's taken over a month to post pictures. I added 4 pictures to make up for not posting any. These pictures were taken outside of Ruidoso on Lake Bonito. I hadn't been here in a long time! I was excited to see what the lake looked like and I got a great view.

As I made my way over the dam, I caught view of the lake that was completely frozen. I have never seen a lake frozen in person. Maybe a pond or puddle, but never a lake. As I enjoyed the peace and quiet of a place the could be heaven on earth, I started to hear loud cracking noises and my mind went to thinking bad things. 1st-I am in the mountains where wild animals live without any means of protection other than my cell phone. Pretty sure that won't get me out of danger. 2nd-If I trip(which lets face it, I do that on a daily basis), I am most likely falling into the thinly frozen lake. So out of my brilliant thinking and realizing that the noise was only the ice cracking and moving since it was a warm day, I decided to go sit on the shore and take in the beauty.

I have friends who like to show off their feet with the ocean behind them, so I decided to show off boots with the frozen lake! So there!!! I wish I had gotten to stay there longer, but I had my life to get back to and attend some meetings. If only I could have a moment like that everyday. A moment where I can sit back and enjoy the simplicity of something so majestic.

I find it difficult at times to take a gorgeous landscape and put it on film. When I first put this pic on my computer, I tried to take out the sunlight. I thought it ruined the river, but as I looked at it longer, I realized I loved how the sunlight was streaming through and highlighting everything. It was like God shined a light on this picture

I loved the way these trees were leaning, so I took the picture. It was that simple. So for those people that say they wish they could take good pictures, practice makes perfect. Snap it till you like it.