Shadow Shot Sunday ~ winter sunshine

I happened to see these shadows the other morning by our front door.

'Twas just a dusting of white stuff.  ;-)


It's fun seeking and finding shadows. Join in the fun each weekend at Shadow Shot Sunday 2.

November 7 storm ~ and so it begins

Thursday morning in our backyard.

Oh look! Icicles. How fun.

Everyone is posting snow photos on Facebook this morning...I thought I'd be different and post mine here.

Wednesday evening at our house.

 I have more, but you get the idea.

Shadow Shot Sunday

I snapped this while sitting in my car in our church parking lot. The feathery shadows caught my eye.

I was going to post it three weeks ago! Better late than never.

See more shadowy photos from all over the globe at our awesome Aussie friend Tracy's Hey Harriet blog.

Friend inspires icy photo

I saw the sunshine glinting off of an icicle this morning and took a pic. I admit I copied the idea from a blog friend, but I don't think she will mind...

Happy January!

Harbingers of an early spring?

~ Please click on photos to enlarge ~

Ralph and I were startled this morning to see not one, not two, but a bunch of robins in our front yard and across the street. I ran for the camera and took several photos.

Not sure if these were taken through the window. I tried to open the door to get a better shot, but they got scared away.

My theory is that it was so cold down South that the robins decided they might as well come back home to Connecticut. They are the state bird, after all.

See gull?

I took this several weeks ago, but didn't post it because I wasn't happy with it. It's a seagull taking off from a frozen pond, but at this angle the wings are hidden.

If you click on it you get a better view of the bird.

I'll chalk this one up to practice.

January beach day

Today was a good day for the beach, if you are one of those people who wants it all to yourself.
Let's just say it was cold out there.

Full disclosure: there were people walking on the nearby paved walkway. But I like these photos without anyone visible. It was rather windy, and Ralph and I didn't last too long outside, without gloves or scarves or hats. We weren't prepared for the chill.

Sun sets on Sunday snow

Since our camera no longer works, Kid One came to the rescue yesterday and took some photos of the new fallen snow as the sun was setting. She did a great job. Here you can see we didn't stack up the patio chairs and table before the snow.

* Happy winter to all *

That 4-letter word that begins with 's'

This was my view outside the back window this afternoon. I thought I'd share this chilly scene. Too cold for the deer and the antelope today, I'd say.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

In Black & White:


and some sepiafied snow:

It's berry interesting

I feel like I've seen quite a few photos of berries around the blogosphere in recent days. Was it just me?
I thought I would get in the swing and photograph a hedge in our yard which has red berries growing in just one small area of it.
So here goes:

And below, with hue and saturation:


Trying to do close-ups with my point and shoot.


And below with some hue and saturation:



The white in the background is snow.

If you don't like these pictures, I have more photos of my felines to share...just sayin'.

Good thing I'm not a perfectionist . . .

...or I would never be able to post any of the photos I snap when I'm out and about.

Now this one is crooked, I know. But scroll down, and you'll see how I got around that.

Woo hoo! Less building, less crookedness.

I then tried sepia, which I thought worked pretty well with a 19th-century edifice.
Does this look like a church? It's actually our city's public library.

Doing some Internet research, I discovered that although the building was dedicated in 1892, it sat vacant for four years because the town fathers refused to provide the $1,500 a year toward the library's operating expenses. (info taken from www.biblio.org.) It opened in August, 1896.

I hadn't planned to take a picture of it. I was in the neighborhood Friday to cover the opening of a food bank located in the basement of a church directly across the street. When I came out of the church, a majestic-looking building in its own right, the red stone library against the blue sky caught my eye.

Below I used the ink sketch application, and in the last one I used oil painting. Which is the most pleasing to the eye? Any thoughts?

Snow-way

I took these photos first thing Sunday morning, but didn't get a chance to post them until now.

Brrrr...
It looked rather Christmas-y when I woke up, so I poked my head out the front door and snapped a few photos.
I'm glad the snow didn't last though. We can see the grass and leaves again, thankfully.
I mean it's not even winter yet.

Brrr...

Sunday on Monday

Just a bit more about Sunday. I promise it won't be too boring.
When we got off the highway in downtown Hartford, I snapped away as best I could during a rain/sleet storm.
I didn't think much of this first photo until I noticed one of Airhead's (stuffed) bears on the dashboard in front of me. The flash made the bear all washed-out looking, yet the reflection in the windshield is nearly perfect. I thought that was cool. So I decided to share the photo.

Below we have the Soldiers and Sailors Arch, a historic monument in Bushnell Park in Hartford, which I wrote about here. Those turrets attract the eye, don't they? I must go there some nice warm day and play the part of a tourist.


Below are rain drops on the windshield sparkling in the lights from oncoming cars. I thought they were rather pretty.That's my post and I'm sticking to it.

A *wintry* mix kind of day

It sure felt like winter today. Here are a few cold-looking photos from our ride to church (no, I wasn't driving).
This is heading down the first part of the hill.

This is further down the hill, on Elm Street. Coming up on the left is the birthplace of Gen. David Humphreys, who was a Revolutionary War hero, aide-de-camp to Gen. George Washington, teacher, poet, ambassador, and industrialist.

We drive past Humphreys' birthplace (above) many times a day. The house serves as the headquarters for the Derby Historical Society.
His father, the Rev. Daniel Humphreys, was one of the earliest pastors of the First Congregational Church to which we belong. (Below)

This last photo is a bit tilted. My excuse is it was sleeting out as I was trying to take the picture.

That's it for today. Stay tuned for more of Ralph and Patti's excellent Sunday.

* Ruby Tuesday *

This is a weed, I know. But it produces pretty (possibly poisonous) red berries in the winter.

I played around a bit with the original (top) and decided to just post one of the other versions.

I made it with a blue hue as well, but that wouldn't fit in with the Ruby Tuesday theme now,
would it?

To join in, visit Mary, The Teach. She has a great blog!


Happy Ruby Tuesday.