Friday, November 23, 2012

Sky Watch - Happy Thanksgiving

Above the moon at dusk last Saturday. And then a cool Sunday morning, followed by two late afternoon shots of the western sky! In case you missed it, I posted three links to the recent eclipse of the sun.




Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Header Challenge - Over the River

or in this case, over Carroll Creek. (Theme chosen by Kathy.) The creek empties into the Monocacy River about a quarter mile beyond the bridge. Workers are putting the finishing touches on this bridge and a new road that runs through the eastern side of the City of Frederick. You may wonder why a creek that is normally 10-12 feet wide and 2 feet deep needs such a large bridge. When heavy rains  come, the river overflows and so does the creek. Below is a view across the creek taken in August after Sandy drenched us. Those cows in my header woudl have been swimming. (The farmer keeps them on the hill during flooding).


Another interesting subject for "Over the River" is the Monocacy Aqueduct, built in 1833. It carried the C&O canal over the Monocacy River. The canal follows the Potomac River from Washington to Cumberland, MD. During the mid 1800's barges were "on", rather then "under" the bridge.



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Our World - Sleeping cats

Recently both cats shared the bed near my computer.
    
Buster likes the afternoon sun.
 
And Zoey in pike position.


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Sky Watch extra - Solar eclipse

For those who missed it, NASA has posted some images of the total solar eclipse as seen from Queensland, Australia. Posted on the November 15, 16 and 17 were these three images:


I have followed the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for a number of years and thoroughly enjoyed the images and info. Each post contains a brief explanation and usually links to additional information. The photos range from the sights we can see above us to our galaxy and beyond. At times the posts are about early telescopes and the people who invented and used them. The skies of APOD most of the time are beyond the reach of my Nikon. My thanks to Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell for bringing us these views of our universe.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Sky Watch - Sunrise - sunset

 Sunrise November 10 a little before 7 AM (3 images)



Sunset (a little afer 5 PM)

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Header challenge - Orange

Fall in this part of the world offers many choices for the color orange. Our maple trees make a progression from green to yellow to orange to red. In between storms, the colorful hot air balloons drift over head. Pumpkins and gourds offer shades of orange and so do the late afternoon clouds. But for my header I chose the fall arrangement Marianne created for our buffet.



Sunday, November 11, 2012

Our World - Leaves and more leaves

October 26 - Yard raked, leaves ready to transport.

November 2 - Sandy has passed, most of our leaves are off the trees.

November 6  - Other neighborhood trees still have nice color (and will have raking to do later!)

November 7 - Took another van load (my second of the day) of leaves to the mulching site. The pile on the right is free mulch. The pile on the left is yard waste dropped off by residents. People are still bringing limbs and brush destroyed by storm Sandy. The worker who had just finished piling stuff higher said they would bring in the grinder from the other site soon to work this pile. He also said he still had trees down at his home and no electricity. I hope the power company is at his house today.