I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

Category: photography

  • Reminiscing Wimbledon: A Golden Era of Tennis

    Reminiscing Wimbledon: A Golden Era of Tennis


    What’s that sound I hear – that tick, tock, tick, “tocking” away? Must be time passing through this year…winter turned to spring, and now summer brings heat, thunderstorms, and always at our casa wherever we lay our heads, the thrilling sounds of Wimbledon, the third major tennis event of the season. Manic Monday is no more, Federer and Nadal have retired in recent years; Red, Annie, and Spike have been called to higher ground, but return with me to a Golden Era of tennis and enjoy this blast from the past. The year was 2017, and we had moved that spring from our Casa de Canterbury to our Casita de Cardinal where we remain nine years later.

    Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive…it’s a train, it’s a plane, it’s Super Manic Monday at Wimbledon tomorrow and my head will be spinning like one of those old antique tops that we recently sold at our spectacular yard sale for Casa de Canterbury this weekend.

    Roger Federer in 2012 following his win

    Daddy WON Wimbledon again! Thank you, thank you

    (one of Roger’s twin daughters at the match in 2012)

    I lost at Wimbledon again – why me, o Lord, why me?

    (Andy Murray was the runner-up in 2012)

    The Red Man in the bleacher seats at

    Casa de Canterbury during Wimbledon in 2012

    (The Red Man was a serious Tennis Addict)

    Paw Licker Annie entertained herself in 2012…

    (she much preferred licking her paw to tennis)

    Spike’s first Wimbledon experience – 

    he didn’t quite catch the thrill in 2012

    Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in

    2014 Wimbledon Final

    Daddy lost Wimbledon…oh, no

    Rafael Nadal leaving Wimbledon in 2014

    (win or lose, Nadal likes to stay fresh)

    Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray a/k/a the Big Four will be flailing away at yellow tennis balls again tomorrow at the All England Club at Wimbledon in the round of 16 players still standing in both the men’s and women’s draws after the first week of tournament play. The ESPN commentators have dubbed this day Manic Monday because it is the final time both the men and women will be playing on the same day on the grass courts of the 2017 tournament.

    With the yard sale in her rear-view mirror, Pretty will be up with me to catch the Magic Marathon that is the beginning of the second week of one of the 4 Major tennis tournaments of 2017. Roger Federer  won the Australian Open earlier this year, and Rafa Nadal won his record-setting 10th. French Open title a few weeks ago.  His 10th. French Open. Truly awesome.

    These guys are “oldies but goodies” as my friend Robin Lee says whenever she sees me.

    That’s how I feel about the men and women who continue to loom large in international competition even as they pass the 30-year-old hurdle that used to be the sign of the end of times for tennis players. Good for them. They crash their own glass ceilings every time they step on Centre Court. And we haven’t even mentioned the legendary Venus Williams who is playing in her 20th Wimbledon at the ripe young age of 37. You go, girl.

    Spike has grown fonder of tennis in the past 5 years and will watch Wimbledon with Pretty and Charly and me in our new bleacher seats at Casita de Cardinal this week. We have to hope The Red Man and Paw Licker Annie will have the best seats in their home away from home, too. Red will pull for Roger with Pretty, and Annie, well, she will keep her preferences to herself.

    Spike and I both love Nadal whether he has a shirt on or not. Vamos!!

    Enjoy a fantastic week of tennis if you are a fan and have access to sports channels on your TV.

    Thanks for staying tuned.

    *********************

    The second week of Wimbledon 2026 is off and running with upsets galore in both the men’s and women’s draws – who will raise the trophies at The Championships? Possibly a new name will be written down in glory. Regardless, the competition will be epic.

  • Exploring Crape Myrtles: Nature’s Art in My Neighborhood

    Exploring Crape Myrtles: Nature’s Art in My Neighborhood


    I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a crape myrtle tree.

    the colors are breathtaking

    I saw these crape myrtles on my walk in the neighborhood today

    the bright pink are my favorites

    STOP to take a picture

    almost home – I envy my neighbor’s crape myrtle trees

    But then, I saw another picture at the top of my driveway…

    I wish you would get out of that chair

    Behold, the two cats that look for safe spaces to beat the summer heat – they are unimpressed with the lovely crape myrtles that thrive in the summers. Food and water, please. And the occasional kind words if you don’t mind.

    And we don’t.

    **************************

    Stay cool, and please stay tuned.

  • What’s new, Pussycat?

    What’s new, Pussycat?


    Tuxedo cat was Carport Kitty’s best friend

    Yellow Cat is an indoor cat somewhere else –

    but wants his snacks here

    Yellow Cat loves the outdoor laundry room

    pick a chair – any chair – and get comfortable

    they were friends from the Carport Kitty glory days

    remember this cat who loved to help me do laundry?

    vanished without a trace on the 4th. of July, 2024

    Then along came the three kittens rescued by Pretty in 2025, and this little kitten we named Bennie for the amount of Benadryl I had to take for my cat allergies while Pretty found him a wonderful forever home with Cheryl in the Upstate. (I believe I overheard a casual remark at one point about sending me to live outdoors on the carport – and keeping Bennie inside. Thank goodness for Cheryl.)

    Our friends Nekki and Francie have a beautiful, sweet cat named Amelia. Amelia has a reputation for being quite particular about people she tolerates – of course, she adores Pretty when we come to visit.

    Who’s surprised?

    The End

    If you find your curiosity about the cat we called Carport Kitty becomes overpowering, the archives will give you information about the urban legend we called our Carport Kitty.

    http://www.iwillcallit.com/2022/10/23/the-urban-legend-we-called-carport-kitty-was-a-seeker/

  • From Windows to Wildlife: Artistic Birthday Gifts at 80

    From Windows to Wildlife: Artistic Birthday Gifts at 80


    Just when you think you’ve had all the fun you can have with a new decade of life, two creative friends who weren’t able to come to my surprise 80th. Birthday Party on March 20th. (celebrating my actual birthday on April 21, 1946), contacted me about bringing gifts by the house in the past week.

    My friend Saskia found this window on her street, placed there by a neighbor who put several on their street after replacing his old windows with new ones. She rescued two of the windows and decorated one for my birthday. These are her photos of “before” and “after” work on her Elmwood Park originals. She brought the finished project over today, and I swooned.

    Before…

    …After

    The card that accompanied this awesome gift read, in part: Dear Sheila Rae, To celebrate and remember a pretty epic birthday month, I made you something a bit funky (for a funky lady). It’s a bit fragile and it may not last very long, but hopefully it will bring some smiles for the time that it does. (this window is about the same age as you 🙂 Too true.

    I am still smiling over my new art created by my friend who thinks I’m a funky lady. That’s a huge compliment from this younger woman who immigrated to the USA from the Netherlands more than twenty years ago. Funky – I like it.

    I also loved another gift made by the artist Donna Magrath who brought it by the house last week . Donna has birds and squirrels that frequent her apartment balcony where she feeds and pampers them. She’s recently begun taking their pictures and making postcards from the images.

    the concern by the bird on the far right seemed sensible

    (I love to see the well-fed birds enjoying a chat)

    This gift was made by Donna for not only my birthday but also for Pretty’s birthday which is May 21st. so this was a clever way to bridge two dates with three birds. Donna’s work is always clever.

    From the Birthday Bash on March 20th. to a Feliz Cinco de Mayo and all the festivities in between, turning to face a new decade has been a special time because of the love shared by family and friends at home in South Carolina, across the USA from California to Pennsylvania and New York via Texas, and across the pond to dear friends in Europe.

    Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone. I’m happy, grateful, astonished by the generosity of your spirit and kindness to a funky old lady who grew up in a tiny town in Grimes County, Texas, in a different century.

  • Celebrating Molly’s 4th Birthday: A Super Kitty Bash

    Celebrating Molly’s 4th Birthday: A Super Kitty Bash


    A steady stream of children took one look at the fun outdoors this past Saturday and decided the Super Kitty Fourth Birthday Party for Molly James was immune to the bitter cold and wind. The Bounce House in the backyard was an invitation to freedom from well-meaning parents who made efforts to encourage them to wear coats with little success.

    Molly seen climbing to the slide while Ella explained her rules

    one brave mother tried to manage the chaos in the cold

    Molly (L) and her best friend came inside to check out food

    Molly’s mom, Caroline, made the birthday cake, planned the party,

    made memories for her daughter that will last forever

    Gigi and John watched as Molly and friends inspected new stroller

    Nana on secret mission for more chicken nuggets

    let them eat cake – and they did

    Molly not interested in sharing her birthday cake or her Super Kitty candle from cake

    Molly was Queen of the Party and loved opening her gifts

    Big Sister Ella kept a watchful eye

    Ella so happy to see her friend, Thomas…

    …so happy she picked him up!

    oh, look! it’s a Super Kitty!

    Super Kitty Molly with her friend Charlie and her dog Sadie

    meow, meow, meow – I am Su-Purr Charged and Su-Purr Wild!

    and now I’m also FOUR years old

    The birthday party was a fun time for us on a day that we needed to celebrate hope for the future of our Molly who saw herself as a superhero – someone that went into the world creating good and righting wrongs. May she always have the courage and strength to keep those goals in sight wherever life takes her. She is already a superhero to her Nana and Naynay.