January 28, 2016

Fence and Snow, Middletown


Belle Grove Road
Sharing with Good Fences


Not a Fan of the Snow

Flash did not like snow that was taller than he is. On Saturday morning, he could not even go out for a walk until Frank dug a path. Then he discovered he was walled in by snow twice his height. And he couldn't go very far and it was cold! 




Sharing with Thoughtless Thursday


January 27, 2016

Snow Day Blue Jay






Three Snapshots, Alexandria Archaeology


archaeology program

These pictures are from several decades ago but they were among a bunch of negatives that were scanned recently. I was a volunteer at the city archaeology program in Alexandria, Virginia and I took these photos at a program at the Lloyd House. I believe the objective was to show olunteers the facility and it's research collection.



alan calmes

January 26, 2016

Peace Inside, Blizzard Outside





January Snow Scenes


The first two landscapes are from a year ago. Our current snow is deeper and there are few places to pull off and take a picture of a barn without getting stuck in a snow bank!



Sharing with The Barn Collective



Sharing with NF Trees and Bushes


January 25, 2016

Getting Out Again



Little Squirrel came back today. He apparently stayed in his home during the snow storm but with the sun shining today, he came looking for something to eat.

We got out today too! The main roads were clear and the secondary roads were passable, so we were able to pick up some groceries and have lunch out.

Since I took quite a few pictures while we were snowbound, I made a collage of various scenes. (Thank you, Fotojet!)

Sharing with Mosaic Monday 


January 24, 2016

The Case of the Disappearing Bench

Friday Afternoon

We have a couple of benches in our yard. This one happens to sit between our living room window and the lake so it appears in quite a few of my photos. After the snow started falling on Friday I zoomed in on it with the geese in the distance. Most of the lake is covered with snow except for the open spot where the geese like to gather.

Snow fell from noon Friday until after dark on Saturday. It measured 24" next to the back door but that was in a sheltered spot. The official measurement in a nearby town was 32 inches.

The vertical picture shows our view this morning, beautiful but cold. As you can see, most of the bench has disappeared.

Late this afternoon I zoomed in on the bench for a close-up. A little of the snow has melted and the bench casts a dark shadow. I hope the sun will bring the rest of the bench into view over the next few days. 

We accomplished some significant shoveling in the front yard today. Frank completed a path to the street, and a neighbor helped dig out the car that I had parked near the street. I finished clearing the front porch and started digging a path to some of the bird feeders. (They aren't empty yet but the birds are hungry!) Also Frank cleared a path to the heat pump and removed snow from it, which you are advised to do to protect the unit.


Sharing with Shadow Shot Sunday and Sundays in My City

Today's Tips:
  1. Buy lawn furniture that you think will look nice in photos.
  2. Before a snow storm, park your car close to the street so you don't get stranded. 
  3. Clear snow off your heat pump. If that's not possible, switch to emergency heat. 
  4. If you get an unusual amount of snow, get help in clearing it. 

Birds in the Blizzard

Junco 
Cardinal and Sparrow

Female Cardinal 
Male Cardinal
These birds braved the storm yesterday. They don't seem to mind the snow.



January 23, 2016

Tree, Birds, and Two Feet of Snow

Before the storm ended,  our total snowfall was even more than two feet! My guess is 30 inches so far, an unusual amount for Virginia. We did have that much in 2003 at Bryce Resort. We weren't living there then but had gone up for a long weekend and were snowed in for 5 days!


Chillin' on the Couch

It's a good day for chilling on the sofa because there's snow outside. Frank brought these steps out of a closet and placed them here to make it easy for Flash to get up there when his arthritis is acting up.

Sharing with Sepia Saturday

January 22, 2016

Our First Big Snow of the Season

Is a Really Big Snow!

(Across the Street to the Right, Zoomed)
Thanks to technology, weather services gave us plenty of notice that a huge snowstorm was due today. It will continue through tonight and tomorrow and provide a huge (to us) amount of snow. Since it didn't begin until noon, we only had about six inches by sundown. We heeded the pleas of highway officials and stayed home.

One thing I did this afternoon was taking pictures (of course). Since temperatures were below freezing, I stayed inside and took them out the windows. Fortunately we have good views in several directions
A tiny glass kangaroo posed for me in a house plant.
View from our Family Room
Since I had filled our bird feeders and put up four additional ones, plenty of birds visited our yard. This handsome one is a red-bellied woodpecker.

If you're in the storm's path, I hope you stay safe and warm.



Something Told the Wild Geese




When I walked the dog this morning, flocks of geese were flying overhead. After we came inside, I went to the window and took pictures of the activity on the lake. Canada geese were busily flying and splashing down and taking off, much more than they usually do at this time of morning. They knew change was coming.

We've been hearing about the weather system for days. A major winter storm was on the way. Snow was predicted to reach our part of Virginia around noon.

It did. The forecasters were right and so were the geese.
Sharing with Skywatch Friday

January 21, 2016

Some Old Photos Recently Scanned

#TBT (Throw Back Thursday)
Marie, Lynn, and my Dad
My Older Daughter Lynn
Younger Daughter Marie