PhotoHunt - Me

We had clouds and rain most of the day, so I had a hat on when outside. The sun came out late and I took one more shot with my shadow included.

PhotoHunt - Shoes

I'm not one to buy a lot of shoes; and I use them as long as I can. This pair has been relegated to outside use only. I bought them in California when we were visiting grandkids. The newest was then just a baby and is now 16.

Morning sightings

This morning I spotted a crow perched at the highest point of one of the trees. The blue jays eventually chased it away. And then I spotted two deer bouncing across the wheat field, heading towards the creek.

PhotoHunt - Godiva mousse

This nice package from # 3 daughter, arrived for Marianne just in time for Mother's day. She is savoring it (and sharing with me!).

Iris as they were a year ago

From the front and a couple of days later, from the back.

Cats on watch . . . .

. . . . for the bushy-tailed nut thief.

More flooding scenes

We had over 4 inches of rain this weekend and a number of creeks throughout Frederick County were out of their banks. Earlier today there were reports of 14 closed roads due to flooding. This one is near us. Israel Creek normally runs down the east side of the flood place near the county truck blocking the road. With heavy rain, water also flows down the west side, flooding the fields and road. The farm below is to the right on the other side of the creek. (See earlier photos on Marianne's blog and my other blog.) From photos of this farm from a different vantage point, see here and there. I also posted flooding pictures on my Project 365 blog.

In another field down stream from the photos above this fence post just barely sticks out of the water.

This is the Monocacy River along MD 26. In the foreground is a catch basin which is overflowing across a parking lot to the river which is also flooding. The soccer fields to the right were still above water.

It appears that there was little damage from flooding in the Frederick area. There was flooding of homes and businesses in areas closer to Washington.

Going, going, gone

Going
Going

Gone

Marianne's sister went home today via Amtrak, catching the train at the Baltimore BWI station. Her brother and other sister left earlier in the week. We certainly enjoyed having all of them visit. Lots of conversation and laughs and songs and food and cards, along with a few tears, as we remembered the good times and the not so good. See Marianne's blog for more picures and comments.

PhotoHunt - Afternoon sky

I found these scenes in our backyard, just by looking up in three different directions. The photos were taken a few minutes apart, just before 4 PM. The clouds from the over night and morning rain were breaking up, with varied looks in different directions.

Overhead

To the west

To the southeast

Bridges Between - Cooper River Bridge

The new Cooper River bridge between the city of Charleston, SC and the town of Mount Pleasant, SC opened in 2005. It replaced two separate bridges, one built around 1930 and the other in 1968 and both obsolete. The new bridge overlooks Charleston Harbor and can accommodate the largest shipping vessels now in use. I remember crossing the older bridge when I was 9 or 10 years old. It was the first high bridge that I can remember and had a curve high over the water. We were going to visit my uncle who was in the Navy and stationed in Charleston. We crossed the new bridge on our way to visit Fort Sumter and this picture was taken from where we caught the ferry. For more info see the SC DOT web site.

PhotoHunt - Outdoor time

We have this little sundial to keep track of time in the yard; however, sometimes the sun and clouds do not cooperate (like Saturday). So we also have time and temperature hanging on the back wall.

Verse or worse

David McMahon regularly posts "Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime" which are witty, clever and sometimes carry wisdom. This time he has challenged us to post a short 4 line poem, so I answer his 2 questions with this:

Yes!
No!
Guess
so.

Big sprayer, puffy clouds and salvia bloom

Three shots from our backyard: Above, the second farm over was having something sprayed on his pasture. This machine can spray a 30-foot wide swath across a field, and clear corn several feet high. Late afternoon brought some puffy clouds and our salvia is beginning to bloom.