This tiny fellow oversees the garden, bringing luck and fruitfulness. It feels like his benevolent spirit is still there, even in the present cold and wet. For other ruby ideas from everywhere, click HERE.

I thought I’d show you something unusual. Here is a view of saguaro cactus near Tuscon, Arizona. I love the way they grow sprinkled in the landscape, a real forest! Remember, each of these is huge, maybe 30 feet or ten meters tall, and can be a hundred years old if not older. For more scenic photos everywhere, click HERE.

Thought I’d add a link to some info about these cacti HERE.

Here’s a shadow shot from a sunny day a few weeks ago. For more shadows everywhere, or to post your own, click HERE.

I’m just in a sunset mood. Here’s one from Arizona; hope you like it.

For more beautiful photos of skies around the world, or to post your own, click HERE.

Another post from the archives for Ruby Tuesday. This photo is one of my top faves, taken at a small town Northern California farmers market years ago. Hope you enjoy this depiction of abundance and the brilliant beauty of summer, which will come again! For more rubiness around the world, click HERE.

I crave summer and the flowers of summer. Here is a bouquet I picked in June for hubby’s birthday. For more flowers around the world, click HERE.

I keep looking at the photos I’ve taken in Arizona when I think of shadows. This time I’m including a zoomed-out one so you see what this place is like. Jerome, Arizona is a neat, touristy but artsy town way up in the hills a few hours north of Phoenix. Since there are ruins I figure the town’s been there awhile. The middle photo is a restored tin ceiling in a cafe. And the bottom one is the real shadow shot, taken about a week before the solstice and pretty far south, so that shadow is dark and short. This was taken just walking down the main street. A good shadow, I think! For more fascinating shadows from all over the world, or to post your own, click HERE.

Browsing through some old photos I found this I took somewhere in Florida in 1983! I really don’t remember where, maybe down in the Keys. But a pretty sky, a relaxing tropical feel, and a good start for the new year, I think. Here’s to scenic beauty and peace and relaxation in 2009.

For more skywatching photos, click HERE.

Last time we went to SF we took the Larkspur ferry to the new Ferry Terminal. Just wonderful, with super shopping and of course the scenery was perfect. This was taken on a warm day in February, and made me miss California so much. That’s the Bay Bridge in the distance.

For more watery photos, click HERE.

It’s winter here in Seattle and the two weeks of snow is gone, but summer is far away and seems almost impossible, somehow. But here are strawberries from July, sweet as sugar, to feast the eyes on, at least. For more ideas about the color red, click HERE.

This amaryllis is sitting on my windowsill, with our snowy landscape for the background. It is a ruby thing of beauty, I think. And has a bonus for me, too: not one, but two flower stems from the same bulb. For more Rubiness, click HERE.

This is also my Flower for Today. For more flowers around the world, click HERE.

We’ve had an amazing amount of snow here in Seattle. I’ve got studded tires so I can get out if I need to, but I sure hope the power stays on. While it’s awfully inconvenient, with lots of  cancelled events and parties, it is incredibly beautiful as well. Here are a couple of recent early morning snow photos for your enjoyment. Check out the third one with the snowy horse, too.

For more scenic photos around the world, click HERE.

For more shadows of all kinds, click HERE.

The horse you see in our neighbor’s pasture below is a mustang, so I guess she’s used to all kinds of weather and she didn’t feel like going into her barn just for a little snow. Later on she did, and I for one felt better.