When the lighting is good...

Under the right lighting an ordinary scene can look good. I realized this years ago when I was walking along the upper Patuxent river. Like other Piedmont streams, the Patuxent in its upper reaches isn't very scenic. Mountain and flat tidal streams often are photogenic even when the lighting is commonplace, but those in the mid-range often don't merit a second look. 

One afternoon, however, I hiked a stretch of the upper Patuxent whose waters I had often fished for trout. Although this was well before digital cameras were built into phones, I had brought along a 35mm camera just in case I spotted some wildlife or something similar to photograph. It was late winter or early spring with the late afternoon sun getting lower in the sky and I turned to look upstream where my eyes took in a look at the river which I hadn't seen until then.  The slanting sunlight on the river painted a beautiful scene. Of course, I immediately took the picture and still have a framed enlargement.

Lighting can make a plain woman lovely or a beautiful woman drab. I have passed by the spot in the park shown in the photo below possibly thousands of times without it ever getting my attention until a morning a few days ago. Suddenly, the light and the sky brought out beauty in an ordinary scene. The building is a public bathroom, and you can't get much more ordinary than that.

Honor at Breakfast

 

Pam made a quilt for Honor

 

She'll give it to our granddaughter when they come down from Brooklyn for Christmas.

Post (?) Pandemic 1: Basketball

Friday, December 2, I went with Stan and two others to watch Maryland play Illinois. It was my first athletic event in almost three years because of the Pandemic. Although the game didn't begin until nine P.M., I stayed alert because it was exciting. The capacity crowd was wild and very happy that the Terps won. The new coach Kevin Willard has won his first eight games.

 

Post (?) Pandemic 2: Thanksgiving

 Actually, nine days after the actual holiday. The plan for the actual holiday was for Pam and I to drive up to Sean's brother Ryan's new home in Towson, Maryland and join Sean's parents, Tim and Zenny, and Rebecca, Sean, and Honor who would come down from Brooklyn. Unfortunately, the Pandemic has not fully passed, and Rebecca and Sean caught Covid for the second time so were unable to make the trip

Pam and I drove up anyway and shared a nice Thanksgiving dinner with Ryan and Katie, and Tim and Zenny. We didn't take any pictures that day, but nine days later Rebecca and Sean had recovered sufficiently to drive down so everyone was able to get together at Ryan's and Katie's. Theirs is a nice house which is over 100 years old, and that day pictures were taken.

Left to right are me, Pam, Rebecca, Honor, and Sean. The Logue line-up is below:

Left to right are Sean, Rebecca, Honor, Tim, Zenny, Ryan, and Katie. Knowing that others in the group liked beer, I brought some. Apparently, Tim and I are no longer used to having a beer that early in the day because we both fell asleep on the couch while watching the World's Cup soccer on TV. In the center is Arnie, Tim's dog who was sleepy even though he didn't have any beer.

Heron in Flight

 

Over the years, I've posted many photos of Great Blue Herons but I believe this is the first of one in flight. When I was fishing a great deal I'd often find myself sharing the water with them, and because we were there for the same reason I've felt a certain kinship with them. Generally, herons are less tolerance of our presence than we are to theirs, but I suppose this is understandable as they are in and around water for a more serious reason than we are. They're there for food; it's how they make their living.

Once when fishing the upper Potomac river, I encountered one who ignored me even though I was fishing close by. Normally, however, if I got within about fifty feet of a Great Blue Heron he would fly off and express his displeasure with a cranky-sounding screech. At the pond in the park the big birds seem to tolerate my passing by much closer but become uneasy if I stop. That's what happened with this one who flew as soon as I raised my phone camera to my eye.

Whether still or in motion they are magnificent birds.

Autumn foliage in the park

 

Two views of the pond in the fall

 

Halloween Trip to Bethany Beach

 The view from our room at the Addy Sea:

The beach soon after sunrise:

The Delaware coast had been hit by Hurricane Ian a month before. The storm there didn't cause the massive damage that it had in Florida, but the dune that was created to protect the town was partially eroded. This photo shows that erosion at the center of town.

The birds are undisturbed by the surf.

Halloween trip to Bethany Beach

 Here's Pam at the breakfast table at the Addy Sea Bed and Breakfast where we like to stay for short trips.

Here I am in a hospital emergency room after collapsing at dinner Friday night at the Blue Crab restaurant. After a number of tests it was determined that I had been dehydrated, and I was allowed to go without having to spend the night. All in all, it wasn't a terrible experience.

Autumn on the west end of the pond

 

I guess this is some kind of algae. I like the pattern it formed one morning a few weeks ago.

Fall heron photo

 Have been seeing them often. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday morning in the park

 I thought the autumn light was interesting, so I took some pictures.

The trees are beginning to show their fall colors:

Our new kitchen

 Although Pam posted on her blog about the kitchen remodeling project last January, I didn't get around to including it here. This is one vioew of how it looks now:

September Wildflowers

 

September Clouds

 

One more beach photo...

 Just before everyone left for home, Sean took this shot of the whole group:

Beach Week 2022- Honor on the Beach

 Sean and Honor arose early on the last day, and Sean took this picture of the sunrise:

Earlier in the week, photo by Pam (as were most of these):

Beach Week 2022- In Town

We went out for crabs:

 

The last night I took a picture of  the town of Bethany Beach:

Beach Week 2022- At the Beach House

 As always, the star of the week with a picture she and her grandmother studied daily:

The the last couple of days, Sean's brother Ryan visited, and here he is on the back porch with me, Rebecca, Sean, and Honor:

Here I am on the porch eating again with Sean:

Pam and Honor outside the house:

Beach Week 2022- On the Beach

 Nana (Pam), Honor, and Rebecca:

Sean and Rebecca burying Honor in the sand and shaping her bottom half like a mermaid:

The three of them in the water:

Clarence with tongue extended

 

More clouds

 

Around the Pond, East end

 I don't think the pond has ever before been surrounded by these wildflowers. This photo represents my best attempt at capturing the number of hibiscus plants that have bloomed this year. With my modest equipment (my phone), I could only get the east end of the pond, where the blooms are heaviest.

Pam's view of the pond

 Taken during a walk we had a few evenings ago:

Are these wildflowers?

 Pam tells me these are hibiscus flowers, and we first started seeing them on the floating islands in the pond where we believe they were planted. The flowers have now spread around the edge of the pond, but if they were originally planted do they qualify as wildflowers?

I don't know the answer to that question, but I know they are beautiful.