Home Sweet Bonassola Sky Watch ...

After a two week stay in a lovely Italian villa I had walked past this scene several times per day.  Sometimes I was strolling to lunch or dinner.  Sometimes I was rushing to catch the train for a side trip.  And more than once it was strictly for gelato, always a chocolate coconut combination.  

With each passing, the kayaks were never in the same order.  And the sky was always one huge moving picture.  The villa had spectacular views of the Mediterranean from the two verandas we spent all sunsets but a few.  The sky played an important role in my trip ... exactly like it does in every day of my life.

I was by myself this late cloudy afternoon and a day away from leaving for home.  I sat on the beach and waited and I loved the way the boats were fanned out.  A thin layer of clouds came over and I got the shot I had been waiting for.

Check out Sky Watch Friday ... you will find another's story, another's photograph, and someone else who wants to let you into their world.  

Sky Watch Friday ...

It's been a while since I have posted a photograph of the old Homestead.  I really love the sky action in this one I took last week.

We leave for our two week trip to Italy in a few days.  I like the huge contrast between where I live and the places I travel.  Hopefully, with the ability to post, next week's shot could be of the Leaning Tower of Pisa or David.  Whatever it is, there will be a a fantastic sky in it, I promise.

See Sky Watch Friday, where someone else wants to stay in touch and make you a part of their vacation.

Beatle Bailey Big Stone Sky Watch ...

We saw The Twins lose to The Mariner's yesterday but Target Field has the best hot dogs ever.  On the  scenic drive home we made our way to Big Stone Lake to hook up with Jolene and pick up the family nail gun.  A guy named Beatle Bailey sculpted this incredible Walleye which sit's atop the deck where we chowed down on a great dinner at SoDak Resort.  

All is well on The Prairie ... the corn is dead but we are moving on.  At Sky Watch Friday there is a sky that caused a photographer to think of you.  Check it out ... who doesn't love the Sky ?

Red Barns Sky Watch Friday ...

There's just something about a Red Barn.  The ones dearest to my heart are built years ago, that someone has just lovingly lapped on a fresh coat or two.  While many go for the browner shades, I will come to a dead stop in a Highway ditch for a closer look at a glowing classic Red Barn such as this.  I wasn't even looking at it's complimentary cloud backdrop.

This is the shade of both the nail polish and lipstick my Mother wore when I was a child.  It's the shade of Christmas.  It's the shade of my old Dining Room in Houston/West University.  It's the shade of my Geraniums.  And yes, here on The Prairie, it's the shade of my very own Barn.

Check out Sky Watch Friday ... today someone else cared to send you their very best.

Big Storm Cloud But Still No Rain ...

Here on The Prairie we don't do well without moisture.  As a child I remember my parents making calls out to my Great Grandfather's farm, continually asking the question, "Did you get any rain"?  My Uncle Don and his wife Josephine held this very valuable land at the time.  I'm sure they didn't have crop insurance.  And irrigation systems hadn't come into style.  


Now I understand the mechanics of being the World's Bread Basket ... it isn't going to happen this year.  Check out Sky Watch Friday to see what your Peeps are saying about their Sky.  

Sky Watch Friday ...

Yesterday I followed this cloud for a while as I was making my way home from Henry, SD.  The Lorinda Cemetery is five miles or so from the farm my mother and her 4 siblings were born on.  I really should make a road trip out there with her when she returns from my Brother's place in Pierre.  They are fishing for Walleye and Salmon on the Missouri River  ...  a sure sign of summer on The Prairie.  Here, East River, we are feeding the pheasants, watering the sun flowers and praying for a nice steady rain for the gorgeous corn fields we're surrounded by.  
At Sky Watch Friday you can check out another sky, another story, and another's prayers.  

Mount Rushmore Sky Watch Friday ...

We took a road trip this week out to the Black Hills with Mom, my Step Son, Brad, and his kids, Ian and Liliya, who live in Houston.  We visited Chief Crazy Horse's monument, rode the 1880 Train through Custer State Park, took the trail along Roughlock Falls, drove through Spearfish Canyon, and when you have a Geologist in the family you always visit the rock shops. But the true highlight of a trip to the Hills is always Mount Rushmore, the work of Gutzon Borglum, a Danish/American Sculptor, and his son, Lincoln.  Construction of this mighty granite memorial to presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln began in 1927 and was completed in 1941.  There are monumental skies from all around the world at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com.  

Sky Watch Friday ...

A shot of the bluffs from the boat, Nebraska side of the Missouri River, Yankton, SD. 

Appreciate what's going on above ... visit Sky Watch Friday for another's view.