Saturday, January 31, 2009

Camera Critters #43

Camera Critters by Misty Dawn, go here to see who's participating.

I just got back from a trip to the Austin,Texas area so I'm sharing a pair of House Finches which I saw on the trip. This is the male in the tree.
The female was also in the same tree.
This was the next day and the male was on a ceiling fan on the deck. I really enjoy the red in the male.
The female also was on the same fan in a different position. They are neat birds.
Be sure to visit the web site to see a lot of neat critters.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Sky Watch #29

The new Sky Watch Friday is doing really well. Please check out the site and link in if you wish to participate. There were 333 people last week with beautiful Sky photos. We had Mr. Linky problems again so some couldn't sign in. You can link in from my side bar or at the start of this post.


These winter skies just keep coming. The Sun is working hard to shine.
It does make for some interesting views.
Here is another day with a red sky sunrise. We had snow that night.

Go and visit some great skies throughout the world. I will be traveling until the weekend so if I don't visit that is the reason.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Brady Lake Trip (continued)

Here is a photo of the playground and Brady Lake. No-one plays when the snow gets this deep.
The ducks are all gathered in a line on the lake. You can click on the photos to get a closer look. You can see where someone has crossed the lake in the foreground.

I will be traveling until the weekend so if I don't visit that is the reason.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Brady Lake Trip

Here are some other photos I took at Brady Lake. Here is another pontoon boat in the ice. This was a neat house across the lake that I brought in close.
I will be traveling until the weekend so if I don't visit that is the reason.

Monday, January 26, 2009

My World #15

This is my posting for the My World meme . It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar,Sandy, Wren, Louise and myself. Last week there were 101 people showing their worlds to us. Won't you join in, I want to see where you live and thrive. Here is part of 'My World'.

I'm going to show one more bridge across the Cuyahoga River. This is the closest to my house and one I use quite often. It is a two lane arched bridge. This picture was taken shortly after a train derailment and the bridge was closed.
The city finally opened one lane after several weeks. this has caused much congestion in the area. There was a sewage line damaged and the crane is being used to assist repairs.
This is a view from the side showing the cement structure over the river and one of the train tracks.


You can see the damage to the cars from the derailment. The cars were carrying coal and it also had to be cleaned-up. You can click on the photos to get a better view.
The coal is under the snow in this shot.
The bridges of Kent are in trouble with two of the 5 main bridges being repaired.
Visit other sites to see others worlds that can be discovered.

Today's Flowers # 25

My friends Luiz, Denise and Pupo run the Today's Flowers Meme, check it out. Come and join with your flower photos. Sunday at 7 GMT is the post time.

One of my favorite symbiotic relationships are flower and bees. The flower is pollinated by the bee and the bee receives the food to sustain its life. These are bumblebees that were working a batch of flowers at the library.
There were several colors of this flower and the bees were enjoying them all.
These bees were having a ball jumping from flower to flower and didn't mind me getting
close-ups.
I had an accident yesterday and was unable to get in and visit because of being in the emergency room with a split lip. Thirteen stitches later I'm back together and looking sad.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Camera Critters #42

Camera Critters by Misty Dawn, go here to see who's participating.

I was in the Wal-Mart parking lot early November and there were a bunch of Sea Gulls flying around.
I like flying birds so I spent some time trying to capture them against the gray sky.
I enjoy any flying capture but find it hard to do.
It was fun trying and these are my best shots.
I finally said goodbye as they flew away.
I do hope you enjoyed the show and will visit some of the other critters Misty has to offer on her Meme.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Sky Watch Friday # 28

The new Sky Watch Friday is doing really well. Please check out the site and link in if you wish to participate. There were 339 people last week with beautiful Sky photos. We had Mr. Linky problems so some couldn't sign in. You can link in from my side bar or at the start of this post.

Yesterday I showed a New Years Day photo and here are some more from the Winter sky. This was taken at 11:30 AM. I had some lens reflections from the bright Sun which I left in. It was 1:00 PM and the clouds had overtaken the Sun.
I was able to get a couple of angles on the Sun.
I then take you to the 6:30 PM sunset with some great colors in the sky.
Go to Sky Watch to see some great sky shots.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A Special Award From a Far Away Land

Susie of Jeddah Daily Photo gave me an award. Susie has a neat site and she is located in Saudi Arabia so there are a lot of neat views of that area of the world. The Van Gogh’s Ear Award is for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in art, photography, writing, philosophy, comedy, and/or blogging. Since Van Gogh cut off his ear, it can be passed around. Thank you Susie for the honor. I would like to pass this on to:

1. Jo from Texas even though she doesn't post award because of her neat art blog. Maybe she will like this one because of the artist.

2. Michele from British Columbia for her wonderful photo blog.

3. Tina from PA for her neat bird photos.

4. Becky from South Carolina for her neat writing blog.


This was a artistic sky I took on 1/1/09. I did nothing with the colors and this is what the camera saw. You can see the blue in the sky at the bottom left of the photo. I remember a grey sky.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Another Photo Tag

Sherri of Sherri K Photography has tagged me on her blog. In turn, I have to post the 4th photo from the 4th folder in my computer and tag others to do the same.

Here is my photo: It is a photo from my bird folder of a Common Grackle. This photo was taken in late April in the back yard and even if it is not perfect focus I love the eye and the colors in the bird.
I do hope Darla, Salty, Willard and Warren will play.

Tricia had wonder what Brady Lake looked like in the Winter. I tried to get this same view as last Fridays post. The fence along with the sunken tree must be there in the water as a fish attractant because they haven't moved all Summer.

Monday, January 19, 2009

My World #14

This is my posting for the My World meme . It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar,Sandy, Wren, Louise and myself. Last week there were 102 people showing their worlds to us. Won't you join in, I want to see where you live and thrive. Here is part of 'My World'.

I started a series of bridges in My World # 8. Last week was the second in the series and this week I give you the Haymaker Parkway Bridge. It was named after John Haymaker who came from Pittsburgh, PA to the banks of the Cuyahoga River in 1805 the year when Ohio became a state. In 1807 he built a grist mill on the river. This is the only bridge in town that crosses both the Cuyahoga River and the railroad tracks that split the city of Kent into two parts. This is at the crossing of State Routes 59 and 43 in Kent. You can see it is well lit and has protection from anyone jumping off the bridge.
This is a view from the river of the bridge from river level. You can see it is a high level bridge.
This is a view from under the bridge showing the structure of the bridge and the graffiti that people have left on the span.

You can go around the world by visiting the sites shared on My World.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Today's Flowers # 23

My friends Luiz, Denise and Pupo run the Today's Flowers Meme, check it out. Come and join with your flower photos. Sunday at 7 GMT is the post time.

I am going to share some small Spring flowers today. We just went through a period of extreme cold with the temps reaching -12F. I can see snow outside and that is all. It is beautiful today but flowers are far from my view when I look outside. I know the dawn will break and these beautiful flowers from the Spring will come again.

I cropped this one with the main flower color. I love this little purple flower and the Spring show they put on.
They will fight their way through snow and also will force there way around a large garden stone to show their beauty.
Go to my link to see some other great flower sites.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Camera Critters # 41

Camera Critters by Misty Dawn, go here to see who's participating.

The temperature was 4F yesterday, after -10F overnight, and I saw these two American Crows sitting in a tree with a blue sky background. The blue skies have come with the freezing temperature. Today it is snowing and will go to 21F, a real heat wave. I parked the car and got as close as I could to them.
I did get one fair shot in the tree.
I had captured this one in the Fall in amongst the tree branches.
Check out Michele's American Crows for a real photography treat. She got fluffy crows.

I've Been Tagged By Tricia

Ms. Hays of Bluff Area Daily tagged me for this game, I guess is what it's called. Here are the instructions: The rules are to open a document or file picture folder. Then click on the 5th folder and then the 5th photo. Post the photo and describe it. Then tag 5 other bloggers.

Here is a picture from my Brady Lake folder. Boy, was I lucky. This is a photo I never have shown but was really nice. I visited the lake on a beautiful Spring morning it was very calm and reflective. The element seen in the lake, beside the reflections, are a fence in the water with a fallen tree. There are also two submerged docks. I didn't crop the shot and it is as taken. Here is who I will tag.

1. Ivar of Ivar Ivrig photos What great photos he has.

2. Louise of Potted Frog New Mexico's friendliest person.

3. Becky of Twisted Fence Posts What special stories she will tell.

4. Carolyn of NC Mountain Women Her post are always Golden on Fridays.

5. Tina of Bird Yarns Special photos of birds from my home state, PA.

I do hope you play.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Sky Watch Friday #27

The new Sky Watch Friday is doing really well. Please check out the site and link in if you wish to participate. There were 361 people last week with beautiful Sky photos. You can link in from my side bar or at the start of this post.

We have had gloomy skies lately and a little blue is really nice. We are at 1F this morning with a cold night coming tonight. I am staying with some shots along the Cuyahoga River for Sky Watch. You can see Winter in the sky. I'm posting the street light photos for Dot the originator of Sky Watching.
There was this small blue patch with the sun fighting to get out. The old train station, Pufferbelly Restaurant, is in relief in the shot.
The lamp posts always make a good sky foreground.
You can see a portion of the Cuyahoga River in this photo.
I added this one to show how much brighter it looked if you used the blue section of the sky. That wasn't the true sky I was seeing.
There will be brighter skies through the world but I feel my skies show the time of the year in North East Ohio. It has been a tough Winter so far.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Wednesday Potpourri

Tonight for my Wednesday Potpourri I'm going to Jan 1, 2009. Becky from Twisted Fencepost posted her first kiss with the Captain. This brought back memories of the first time I met my wife. We both went with separate friends to a record hop back in the 50's. I know I wasn't driving yet so it had to be 50 years ago. I told Becky I remembered my first dance with my wife. I was the brave guy out of our crew at dances so I saw this cute girl and asked her for a dance. She accepted and we had our first dance of many to follow. We danced to Dion and the Belmont's singing "Where Or When", I hope you hear it then listen to Josh Turner singing about my "Soul-mate". Somethings you never forget when you meet your soul-mate.

My pictures tonight go back to New Years Eve and the weather was a little rough. It was cold and snowy. Wait, it is still cold and snowy. I guess this weather came in with the New Year. This Global Warming is tough when we are to go to a low of -4F tomorrow night. Just think how cold it would be. We went to the Tangier's Cabaret for a buffet and band show.
We were dressed for the occasion and my wife's eyes after the operation were almost healed.
The Tangier's was decked out in Christmas regalia.
The buffet was loaded and you had to get enough to eat.
The band show was a jazz band called Charisma with some neat music. They had both a man and women lead singer so could do a lot of jazz tunes. The band leader on keyboard was once with The Commodores.
It was a fun time watching all the action and the different couples. New memories made and cherished.