Village Christmas Lights Montage

Sunset Maple in Winter

Winter Trees and Grass

The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo

Winter Scenes

Murmuring Pines

Full Moonset Reflection

These were taken just before the total eclipse, which was not visible from here.  There was quite a bit of flare from taking them through a screen.  Better angle from the raised porch but no way to avoid the screen.

Blue Jays of Meh

The Blue Jays of Meh were prolific around this Oak Tree.  Honest--there were more than two.  Any color other than black, white, brown or gray in Winter is more than welcome.

Moonset Over West Indian Ocean

Extemporaneous night shot of waxing gibbous moonset over the lake through a screen.  A second photo had less movement but I liked the composition of this one better.  Night photography is easy with a tripod but still fun without one sometimes.  Perhaps this was not one of those times.

etihW eniP dna skaO

I find that taking photos of the reflections of trees gives a slightly different perspective.  As if we are in the water looking up at the tree instead of being equals.  I think trees deserve respect and should always be looked up to, no matter their size.

Black Vulture in Flight

This one was with a Turkey Vulture but it's clearly a Black Vulture as evidenced by the wing-tips and the shorter tail.  You can see one foot extending behind the tail.  The only other possibility is a juvenile Turkey Vulture but I don't think so.

Birds of a Feather

Winter Trees

I know it's still Fall officially but I believe there is now such a thing as Meteorological Winter that starts in December.  That's what I'm subscribing to.  I love the long shadows in photographs but I don't like driving with the sun in my eyes.  This is looking over the West Indian Ocean.

American Airlines goes Rogue

American Airlines has announced in the aftermath of their new "restructuring" plan that they will be flying 'off the grid' at an average altitude of about 50 feet from now on.  This will not only save them the trouble of filing IFR flight plans but passengers will benefit by having a better view of such popular sights as the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and numerous cell phone towers flashing past the windows.  There will be no requirement for supplemental oxygen and the time from putting your seat back and tray tables in the upright position for landing to actual touchdown will now be about 2 seconds.

Blue Spruce with Lights

This is our other surviving ex-Christmas tree, a Blue Spruce from our living-Christmas tree phase. (see Nov. 30 blog comments)  I think this might have been #1 in fact.  Last year about this time I took a string of lights to put on it but when I got there I realized the little Spruce was much taller up close, and also the wind was blowing.  So I flung the string, from upwind, onto the tree hoping they would sort of drape magically over it like in a Disney movie.  Instead they wrapped themselves tightly around the trunk in the manner of a homesick Koala.  I then had the chutzpa to actually plug them in and turn them on at night sometimes.  They were really kind of pretty in an avant-garde sculptury kind of way when you couldn't see the tree because it was dark.  In another more down-to-earth way they probably appeared more like the lights of a small sloop lost in a North Atlantic storm.  I never took them down last January so they are the only Christmas decorations we've gotten up so far this season.  I do believe in the saying that anything worth doing is worth doing well.  I just don't always adhere to it.

First Snow

   First Snow of the Season   

Nov 29, 2011; Looking across the North Sea