SPRINGTIME SMILES (Blogophilia 6.5 with photos)

Blogophilia week 6.5 - "Hilaria"

Bonus Points:
(Hard, 2pts): include the Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopus paxarbolis)
(Easy, 1pt): include a jackelope

Final date to post BLOG: April 7, 2012 - Saturday, midnight Pacific Time
Final date to post ALL GUESSES: April 6, 2012 - Friday, midnight Pacific Time

Please highlight or otherwise point out your bonus points attempts.

Guess correctly who submitted the topic... and a correct guess at who submitted the picture earns you additional points!!

Guess correctly the secret "word or phrase" earns a chance at more points. Including the secret word or phrase within your blog content earns an additional point!!

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SPRINGTIME SMILES

So many things
put a smile on my face,
more than I can count,
but I'll share just a few.

I can't help but smile at
the ducks having fun
as they're paddling about
in the afternoon sun.




And dragonflies of summer,
laced-winged beauties of gold,
resting on lily pads
a sight that never gets old;
and squirrels taking naps,
dreaming the afternoon away;
and butterflies and rainbows
as the sun appears after the rain;
and kites soaring so high
on a day at the beach




and bubbles floating in front
of my face at the fair.




But there are a couple of things
I had forgotten up till now,
that put even more
than a smile on my face,
adding a welcome bit
of springtime hilaria
to an otherwise serious day,
as I recall the astonishing events
that made me feel this way.

The sky was crystal clear,
not a cloud in the sky,
waves of heat rising,
a desert mirage far away;
and suddenly an apparition
never expected appeared
right before my eyes,
a giant jackrabbit
with antlers so tall,
a jackalope wonder,
no doubt at all.





And not far away,
I swear that it's true,
an octopus in branches
hanging upside down
in clear view.
I don't know how it got there,
a Northwest PacificTree Octopus,
I have to presume,
quite out of its element
in this desert at high noon.





But there they were,
jackalope and octopus
right before my eyes,
fast friends already
certainly to my surprise.
I never expected
that trip to be so much fun
but when we got home
a great story to tell
and a springtime celebration
of Hilaria as well.


(c) barbara kausteklis 4-4-12
Written for Blogophilia 6.5/"Hilaria"

(Photos of tree octopus and jackalope
are internet images . . . .
and the other photos are my own.

http://www.myspace.com/blogophilia/blog/545525481


GUESSES:

TOPIC SUBMITTED BY: Ruggi

PICTURE SUBMITTED BY: Tyler





PHRASES:

April Fools, canned air, empty can, hot air, bogus, water under the bridge, empty air, airtight, joke, tin can alley, gas can, canned, evaporated into thin air, vaporized, invisible, scam, snake oil, Bernard's Baloney, Bernie's Blarney, hoax, jokes, tank of gas

A few interesting links:

Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest_tree_octopus

Jackalope info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope

Hilaria info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilaria

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Thanks so much for your visits and comments and for sharing another Blogophilia week with me. These are always such a fun challenge.

Big Hugs.

~barb~