PhotoHunt - Furry creatures

Zoey is our furry, female Siamese mix who stays inside with us. And below is one of the several furry squirrels that feed on the acorns in our yard. He is having a snack as light snow fell.

Winter skies

Jan 23 - Late afternoon clouds

Jan 23 - Canada geese with clouds

Jan 24 - Sun behind the cloud

Jan 28 - Colorful clouds at dusk

Jan 29 - Early morning clouds

My World Tuesday - Visitors from Canada

This weekend we had lots of Canada geese fly by, sometimes settling in the field for the night. Saturday afernoon two flocks appeared, honking and circling. The flock above flew off to the west while the smaller flock landed in a nearby field. (More photos on Lew's Pics.) Then Sunday with the sun low in the sky, the small flock (about 180) returned to the field behind or house.

Monday brought the large flock of over 300 back to settle in for the night. Note the geese already in the field as more approach. Finally they all settled in for the night.

PhotoHunt - Wood chips

A bucket of wood chips that we used to start fires these cold nights.

Sky Watch Friday - Battlefield skies

These photos were taken when we visited Gettysburg National Military Park with 2 of our grandsons in June 2004. It is the site of the July 1863 battle that is considered the turning point of the civil War. Above is the monument dedicated to the Pennsylvania soldiers who fought at Gettysburg. The next three views are from the top of the monument just below the dome. And the last view is from Little Round Top near the southern end of the battlefield.

My World Tuesday - A little snow

On Monday we got an inch or so of snow falling gently through the morning and early afternoon. The snow left us with a thin white blanket; but about 15 miles west it contributed to a major accident that killed two people and injured more. About 40 vehicles were involved closing I-70 westbound for about eleven hours.

PhotoHunt - Hats

Here are our hats in the coat closet - Marianne's on the right and mine on the left. And here I am with the hat I wear on rainy days.

Sky Watch Friday - Varied skies

Looking southeast just after sunrise last Friday

Fog on Tuesday morning

Blue and white straight up Tuesday afternoon

Western sky Wednesday afternoon

Clouds at dusk on Wednesday

More PhotoShop - Wind chimes

Filter = > Distort => Twirl

I went out back this afternoon to take a few shots of the sky. Coming back in, I took one shot of the wind chime hanging near the door. The rather drab day led me to spice up the naturally monochrome image with PhotoShop elements. First, I did a twirl (above), then glowing edges (below). And finally I added a blue neon glow. The original photo is at the end.

Filter = > Stylize => Glowing edges

Filter = > Artistic => Neon glow

Original image

My World Tuesday - Red letter shopping

Red (and orange) seem to be predominate colors for stores around here. I went across town to Borders to get a book for Marianne and to Michaels to get some foam board to make a light box. Blinds to Go and Home Depot are in the same area. I picked up a few food items at the Giant near us.

PhotoHunt - The aftermath of Christmas . . .

is getting all the decorations back in the box!

Sky Watch Friday - New Year skies

Day 2 of 2009 ended with a nice sunset.

Then the gray set in for a few days.

Wednesday the gray clouds dropped some freezing rain.

And Thursday some blue peeked through the clouds.

My World Tuesday - Old barns

On Sunday I took a ride towards Pennsylvania to photograph some of the Frederick county historic bridges. This took me through some back roads that I had not previously visited. This northeastern part of the county is rural and beautiful even in winter on an overcast day. Along the way I also took these photos of barns, some well kept, some still working and the last one looking forlorn, but still better than its neighbor across the road.

Bridges Between - Bullfrog Road Bridge

This thru truss, single lane, historic bridge is located in the northeastern part of Frederick County near the Pennsylvania border. The bridge spans the Monocacy River, which forms the border with Carroll County, Maryland at this point. The bridge was built in 1908 by the York Bridge Company. The design is camelback truss. With a span of 183 feet, it is the longest single span historic bridge in the County. The top chord is 30 feet above the deck. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1996. It is on the US National Register of Historic Places.

Info from Frederick County Dept of Highways and Transportation.