Winter Birds 2024

A variety of birds hang around the local creek in the Winter when the osprey aren't visiting.  We enjoy watching them and their variety of behaviors.  There has been a huge flock of geese.  I was surprised to see a pair of swans two days ago since I haven't seen any on the creek for several years.

Canada geese

Buffleheads

Trumpeter swan

Happy President's Day 2024!

 Happy President's Day! I was thinking about the times I have visited places to do with the U.S. Presidents. As a child, we visited Mount Rushmore in South Dakota while camping. It was so huge!

In High School, a man in the community decided he wanted the local Penncrest High School band involved in politics, so he somehow got us invited to be part of the Richard Nixon inaugural parade. We weren't in the parade, but just gathered on the parade route and played music and probably marched around a little. This was for Nixon's 2nd term. We got a police escort part of the way to DC and received medals for our participation. It was very cold that January, so we took shifts, hanging out in the school bus to get warm.

Another year as a young adult, I saw a speech by Ronald Reagan in Media, PA in front of the court house. We didn't know he was coming, so we were pretty far away and our boss let us watch it during office hours, since such a powerful man didn't visit our little town, EVER. I think we stood on something high just to see his face.

It would take awhile to track down any old photos if there are many, so here are some photos of the Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial in DC.

Lincoln Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

Happy Valentine's Day This Week

I have found hearts in all sorts of places, even unexpectedly.  Enjoy Valentine's Day with your friend, lover or just enjoy my photos taken in many different years, seasons, and places.

Cute Buffleheads in the Creek

I just love watching the bufflehead ducks in the nearby water in the Winter.  They bob up and down looking for food.  They are very quick and very cute to watch.  I am sure they are just trying to stay alive by constantly feeding.  They eat water insects, snails, crustaceans (crabs in this case) and water plants.  They are pretty powerful swimmers and known as the smallest North American duck breed.  From a distance they look black and white, but closer up there are more greens and purples visible in their plumage.

Here are some older favorites of the little birds.

Annmarie Gardens January 2024

I visited Annmarie Gardens to pick up my "Romantic Couple" photo from the Warm and Cozy exhibit on Friday January 26th, the day it was about 80 degrees briefly.  I had a spare hour unexpectedly, so I took a walk and photographed some of the fun art on the path.  I was there last month for the Christmas display, but it looks a lot different in the daytime. 

A rocking chair rainbow

Part of Leviatano by Michael Shewmaker

Cabbage

Fun clay art

Zig zag

My photo, "Romantic Couple" from Warm and Cozy that was on display and for sale

My Winning End of Year photos from 2023 Camera Club Competition

We are a small camera club, but it was very nice to have some winning photos in the End of Year competition 2023 (competing winning photos from earlier in the year).  Frankly, I think everyone in our club is quite talented and they all deserve recognition for their photography and their hard work helping with club activities.  See our website, https://www.smccc.org for more information about the club.

Final Note (River Concert Series) First Place Open

Izamal (city in Mexico) Honorable Mention Open

Honolulu First Place Theme (cityscape)

Honorable Mention Theme (water droplets)

White rose photos

I played around with white roses to create some high key photography for the camera club.  I like the rose on lace the best. 

The instrument is an Irish drum called a Bodhran (Boran).