We went to see our new Grandson, Lewis, on Sunday. He is not yet a month old and was sleeping when we arrived. As he awoke I took about 30 shots as stirred, looked around and let us know he was hungry. Here are a few of them. More shots of our visit are on Lew's Pics and Marianne's blog. 
What's that?
Why are you taking my picture?
One more minute,
Yawn
Hi Daddy
Feeding time! (compliments of Daddy) 
While we were sitting on the deck last week, one of the neighbor's cats wandered over to visit then settled into the splash block for a nap. He would have been surprised if we had a sudden rain storm!
Construction cranes make tall flagpoles. These two are a block apart in down town Frederick. 
This week the storm clouds drifted away and deep blue appeared.
Some bright white fluff appeared.
And there was green all around from the rain last week.
This style of bay windows seems to have originated in the Victorian area and has been carried forward in less ornate houses than we usually associate with the Victorian era. I took these from the gas station where I recently filled the tank without moving to get unobstructed views. I do not know the age of these houses. There are quite a few houses in Frederick with this style window and I expect you will see more of them in the future. 
We live a couple of miles from the Frederick airport; in the flight paths for both BWI and Washington Dulles airports; and Camp David is up towards the Pennsylvania border. So hearing planes and helicopters is not unusual. On a warm day with plenty of blue sky and gentle winds, the gliders are active. This was the first of a half-dozen gliders that were towed aloft and released today. But what got our attention was a low flying, noisy helicopter that I spotted heading north. Usually they keep on going and the noise abates. But not today! It sounded like it was circling just beyond the trees, but we could not spot it. After a couple of hours, I went to see what was happening. 
At the other side of our neighborhood, this was circling over a cornfield of the farm across the road. It appeared to be spreading fertilizer (see below).
Dropping the bucket for a refill.
This one is cropped for a better look.
An odd road sign to encounter, unless you are headed to a boat ramp. To see what is 400 feet ahead, see my second photo on this post.
Carolina blue was not the color of the sky for our visit last weekend. Though there was some rain during our trip and intermintent sunshine, these shots show the type of skies we saw. Above is a shot from one of the boat ramps around Lake Jordan. The two below were taken in Bro John's yard.
These two windows are above the doors leading to the deck at my Brother-in-Law's house. 
On Saturday we succeeded in surprising Bro John (light shirt right center) a few days in advance of his 60-th birthday! Marianne and her siblings have been doing this for the decade birthdays for some time and this time it was her brothers turn again. His wife came up with the idea of us showing up at a pig picking they were having to celebrate the end of the school year (she works for one of the local schools). There were 50 or so others there to enjoy the company and food. John provided the BBQ pig and chicken; otheres brought salads, beans, desserts. 
The food was great and there was plenty.
On Sunday, we celebrated his birthday; old family stories were retold and new ones told. We renewed sibling rivalries with card games and just enjoyed seeing each other, as we live in South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland and Connecticut. 
And the guys helped John load the tables and chairs to return to his boss who graciously loaned them to John.
We are in NC to celebrate the 60-th birthday of Marianne's brother! I left this image to post automatically after we arrived to surprise him. Will catch up on comments and your posts when I return. 
This is an old lock that I acquired at a tool auction some years ago. The date of the patent application was 1892. The lock still works.
While waiting for Big E's train on Monday I spotted these windows on the stair well of the parking garage. The yellow railings stood out in the afternoon sun.
Tracks to the north and lights on the new extended platform 
Northbound platform, station and parking
Amtrak's Acela speeds by
Big E's train arrives
Sheetz is a convenience store chain with with stores in our area. In addition to gasoline, they sell coffee, deli sandwiches, snacks, and non-alcoholic drinks. Their gasoline tankers are colorfully decorated with advertisements .
