Prayers for Colorado

 Photo source: Colorado Springs Gazette.

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know my children live in the beautiful state of Colorado, in the Denver area.  Many areas of Colorado have been besieged by wildfires of epic proportions this past month, most caused by lightning hitting extremely dry trees and brush. One of the latest fires of concern is in the foothill areas of Colorado Springs, the second largest city of Colorado, about an hour driving distance from Denver.  As you can see by the photo above, this raging fire is extensive, and out of control!

 Photo source: Colorado Springs Gazette

Tens of thousands of residents have had to flee their homes, and many neighborhoods are being destroyed by the flames.

Photo Source: Colorado Springs Gazette

The United States Air Force Academy is located in Colorado Springs, and as you can see by the photo above of the Air Force Chapel surrounded by smoke wafting across the canyon, it may also be in danger if the fires are not quickly put under control.







If you watch the heartbreaking CBS video above (it begins with a brief commercial) you will see that one fleeing resident of Boulder County took only one possession--the American Flag that was his son's. His son lost his life in the military in Iraq.


There are more than eight large wildfires burning across the state, the latest in Boulder County, north of Denver, which was also caused by a lightening strike.  Record high temperatures above 100 degrees and extreme drought and high winds have been fueling all the fires and smoke, exhausting the thousands of firefighters on duty, and hindering the more than 100 airplanes and helicopters that are trying to dump water and fire retardant on the flames. 

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people and state of Colorado, for their safety, that a good long soaking rain will help quench these fires and prevent new ones  I am worried about my children and grandchildren, that they also may face the danger of fires in their area. Please keep them all in your prayers!

I am adding this post to Jenny Matlock's "Alphabe Thursday" weekly blog event -- the letter this week is "F"  Sadly the word fire more than qualifies. Thanks, Jenny! 

Thank you.

Endangered Animal Portraits

Bengal Tiger

It is time for Vee's monthly note card party, where bloggers chose four photographs that they previously used in a blog post that they feel would be nice to turn into note cards.  I decided to share some majestic animal portraits I made in Taronga Zoo, Mosman NSW, Australia in 2011. You can see that post, and many more animal photos from that magnificent zoo on this link.

Lioness

Koala Bear

Giraffe

Taronga Zoo is home to over 2,600 animals on 52 acres (21 hectares), making it one of the largest of its kind. The zoo places emphasis on the promotion of world wildlife conservation. Since 2008 the Taronga Foundation has spent over $200,000 helping protect endangered species in the wild, helping save and regenerate natural habitats and working with local communities to reduce conflict with wildlife. 2010 was earmarked as the International Year of Biodiversity where the Taronga Conservation Society supported nine projects focusing on education, anti-poaching, population management, wildlife health and habitat restoration. These projects are taking place in Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Fiji, Nepal, Tanzania and Zambia and will help protect the habitat, health and safety of a variety of animals. You can see a full list of all the animals living at the zoo at this link.

I really enjoyed visiting this zoo and I think a wonderfully expressive animal face note card would be a fun card to receive.  What do you think?  You can check out Vee's and see links to all the other note card selections over at A Haven For Vee blog beginning at 8:30 PM EST Tuesday evening.  Why not post your own card selections, link up, and join in all the fun?

I'm also linking up with "Outdoor Wednesday," Jenny Matlock's "Alphabe Thursday" -- the letter this week is "E" -- endangered animals fits the bill, and "Camera Critters Saturday."

Many thanks to all the blog hosts!

A Reminder: For a chance to win a $1,000 gift card Sweepstakes from BlogHer and CT Tourism please comment on my  " Consider Connecticut" post and tell me where you would like to visit in the beautiful state of Connecticut at this link. Thanks, and good luck!

Wedding Day Bliss -- Part Two

I've already showed my daughter's wedding ceremony, which you can read about on this post, and also more photos are on this post, so now, as promised, I want to show some photos from the wedding cocktail hour and dinner reception celebration that took place afterward. All of the photos are a conglomeration of many photos taken by family and friends, all of which I have been enjoying immensely while we wait for the professional photos taken that day.

The wedding ceremony was followed by a cocktail hour, held right off the veranda of the catering hall where the ceremony was held, both outside and indoors. The string quartet we hired played a selection of songs during the entire hour.  I loved this photo of my daughter and son-in-law enjoying their antipasti selections...my daughter has a napkin neatly tucked into her bodice to protect her dress.

The cocktail hour was an Italian "abbondanza" buffet, as in addition to the usual cocktail hour hors d'oeuvre selection we added on a "Tuscan Table" of an assortment of Italian cheeses, sausages, olives and breads, plus pasta selections, and a roast suckling pig.  We also had a deluxe seafood selection of lobsters, shrimps, mixed seafood salad, oysters and calms on the half shell, with an open bar of premium liqueurs.  My husband and I hardly ate anything, as we tried to walk around and greet everyone, but we were very pleased that our guests were enjoying all the food. My grandsons were very good, as were all the assortment of young nephews and great nieces and nephews. There are so many children in both families that my daughter and son-in-law felt they couldn't chose one ring bearer or a few flower girls, so none of the children were part of the ceremony, but they were all happy guests.

After the cocktail hour our guests were called up to the main dining area for dinner and dancing. As you can see from the photos above the room has almost floor to ceiling windows taking in Brooklyn's fabulous view of the East River, and both lower and mid town Manhattan and the Williamsburg Bridge. One of the table centerpieces is shown in the upper left of the photo collage. They were a full blend of white and purple springtime flowers in a square glass vase, surrounded by square votive candles. The wedding cake was on display, and was also decorated with purple and white roses and flowers.

After the parents, and bridal party was announced by the DJ and entered the room one by one, my daughter and son-in-law were announced and made their entrance to the applause of the guests.

They then begin their first dance as husband and wife.  Their wedding song was a beautiful Blake Shelton song: "God Gave Me You," which you can hear on this link.

My husband gave a speech welcoming everyone, and the best man and matron of honor gave their heart felt toasts to the new couple.

At this time the bridal party was called back outside to take more photos and the girls took the opportunity to change into the purple sneakers my daughter had given them as gifts, so that they could dance the night away.

 It made a fun photo!

The sun slowly set...

.....and more dancing began, as the music played in between dinner courses....

We all had a wonderful time!

Later in the evening there were the very touching and special father and daughter, and and son and step-mother, dances....

..... followed by the cake cutting ceremony. My daughter and son-in-law chose a chocolate and raspberry flavored cake with whipped cream frosting...it was very delicious! We also had a three tier tray of fresh fruit, cookies and assorted pastries set on each table for our guests to enjoy.

One of the last dances of the night was the traditional Italian Tarantella! If you can not see the video above you can watch it on this Youtube link. My older grandson was trying to swing around with me so exuberantly I had to pick him up at the end of the dance so we wouldn't fall down.  It was such a wonderfully fun and celebratory party!

By the end of the night the city was ablaze with twinkling lights.

It was the end of a beautiful day...

..and a beautiful wedding!

Our little girl who delighted in trying on my wedding dress when she was four years old was now all grown up and herself a beautiful bride, and we couldn't be more pleased and happy for her. Thank you for sharing our happy and blessed day with us and for all your best wishes to the new couple!

 

I'm linking this post to Jenny Matlock's "Alphabe Thursday" -the letter this week is "C" and since this is a continuation post about my daughter's wedding I thought I'd join in!

A Brooklyn Bride

So where does a girl and a guy who were born in Brooklyn, New York, go to have wedding portraits taken? Of course they go under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn Bridge Park! My daughter and son-in-law wanted to have this iconic landmark as part of their wedding shots, even though they now call the state of Colorado home.

Their professional husband and wife photography team went to great lengths to get their shots, and we were so happy the weather cooperated with us.

I had brought along my point and shoot camera and was able to take these photos while we waited. In this shot my daughter is waving to people cheering their congratulations from a Circle Line Sightseeing cruise passing by in the East River.

Because we were in Brooklyn Bridge Park on a beautiful day, we were sharing our photo opportunity with quite a few park goers. On the other side of the park were picnickers and Jane's Carousel in full use. I've blogged about this wonderful new addition to the park on this post.

The bride and groom -- my hope is that the construction fence in the background isn't seen in the professional shots!

 I captured the bridesmaids having a good time as they waited.....

...and one of the groomsmen took this photo of me with my son and husband.

Just look at this spectacular view only surpassed in beauty by the gorgeous line of young women standing in front of it!

At one point I caught my son and daughter-in-law smooching--I'm sure they were thinking about their own wedding day almost eight years prior!

The photographers moved us all into the historic ruins of the Civil war-era Tobacco Warehouse in the park.  It is a another popular place for photos, as you can see by my daughter glancing at another bride and groom having their photos taken.

Our photographers had the bride and groom stand still while the bridal party had to run, jump and leap behind them.  I'm sure these will be fun shots to see!

 Of course I could not take my eyes off my darling daughter and handsome son-in-law.

I also took the opportunity to take some more candid shots of my son and husband and daughter-in-law.

Finally, always being in a blogger mode, I couldn't resist taking this artsy shot of the Manhattan Bridge through the window frame of the warehouse.

I'll be back soon to show the wedding reception in my next post. To see the marriage ceremony click here.  Thank you all for your wonderful comment and best wishes -- my family has been reading and appreciating each and every one!  It has been a busy few weeks, and it has just about slowed down to a normal routine around here...bring on summer!

I'm linking this post to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday --the letter this week is "B,"  Seasonal Sunday on the Tablescaper blog, "Sunday Bridges on the San Francisco Daily Photo Blog.

Love in a Puddle

I just had to share two photos that I took with my cell photo camera this morning, which made me smile....

While walking near a local parking lot I saw two objects floating in a large puddle left behind after a rain's heavy downpour.   As I approached I was surprised to see they were two ducks, happily swimming around in circles!  They had obviously decided a puddle was as good a body of water as any, to take a little rest.

One was male, one was female.  Perhaps a new Springtime romance? 

It was a little serendipity that made my day, and I hope it also made you a smile today!

 

Adding this post to Weekend Reflections  Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Wednesday for the letter "W" = water and Camera Critters Saturday.   Thanks to all the blog hosts!