Figurine

I'm trying to identify this figurine. There is an ethnic look to this old lady, but where did she come from. Is she Asian, African, European? Any ideas would be appreciated.

Ghostly Orb

On a bright, sunny Christmas morning (2006) there was a ghostly orb floating around in our back yard. I only had time for two pictures before it disappeared. (Or as they say these days, ". . . it went missing.")

Any explanations?

Sam had a good day at the lake.

I guess Sam was maybe six or eight years old when he caught this string of fish. Those are crappie, and they tend to stay in schools. Find a school and you can catch a lot of fish in a short time.
The reel is a Mitchell 300.

scooters by the herd

This is a herd of motor scooters grazing through our back yard.

Me and my trophy

There I am. Me and my trophy. I'm mainly posting this so everybody can see how well the old mug has healed up. My face got smashed one week ago today. How's that for a comeback? If you look real hard, you might see a little evidence, but most of it is gone.

Hawiian Tree

I don't know what they call them, but trees like this are common in Hawaii. This one is in Lahaina town on Maui.
For more Hawaii pictures, go to http://looongweekend.blogspot.com/ and scroll down to November 18.

Evelyn's Quilt

My sister-in-law, Evelyn, right, made this quilt. The pattern is "Fan." If you don't see it, just notice that each circle is made up of four parts that look like a fan.
Looking on are Willette, left and her mother in the middle. All three of these ladies are long-time quilters.

Fossils

These fossils were found in three different states. At the top, the cephlopod is from a layer of limestone in Tennessee. It is probably 300 million years old.
The other two fossils are from Kentucky. They are sections of stem from a woody plant. They are not as old as the cephlopod, but still a couple of hundred million years would not surprise me.
The second picture shows some crinoids that I found in a dry creek bed in Oklahoma. They are about the same age as the cephlopod. Crinoids are sea creatures that look like a plant. These are part of the "stem." Like many marine animals, they attached themselves to a rock and stayed there.
The last picture has a nickle in it for scale.