Day 91 - Rainy night

Not much of a day for photography, so I decided to try a night picture. (If this bud looks familiar, it was the rainy day photo on March 19.

Day 90 - Omens of spring

Not the show of color that I showed you yesterday. It still surprises me how much the 50 miles to Washington makes in the appearance of flowers every spring. The clematis around our lamppost is starting its growth. When the temperature gets a little warmer, it will grow a foot a day and and completely encase the lamppost. For a preview of June color, check out Marianne's post from last year. Around the clematis is a green ground cover called snow on the mountain.

Day 89 - Rites of spring

There are several traditional rites of spring in Washington and today they coincided: cherry blossoms, kites, the National Marathon, baseball and crowds. Marianne (see her pictures here and there) and I went specifically to photograph the cherry blossoms and in the process found the two of the other rites. I thought we could photograph the blossoms and Jefferson Memorial from Lady Bird Johnson Park across the Potomac. Wrong! The entrance is blocked due to road construction in the area. So we crossed the river into DC to go to Hains Point, which is lined with cherry trees and away from the more famous tidal basin. We quickly found the crowds, still in their cars looking for a place to park! So we followed along and eventually found a place to park and take some pictures.

First, the beauty of the cherry blossoms

Slow crawl to leave Hains Point

Fully blossoming tree by the Potomac

Crowds near the Washington monument

Still a few kites in the air!

Day 88 - Spring growth and baseball

The willows along the creek are putting forth leaves and Baker Park is turning green. At the other end of the park the little league fields are ready for play.

Day 87 - Camel

Today was just not very Spring like and the plants haven't changed since Monday when Marianne took a picture of the lilac bud. So as I sat at my desk pondering subjects for today, I spied this little camel. My daughter brought back a bunch of them from Iraq in 2004. This one hung on my bulletin board at work until I retired and now hangs on my desk lamp.

Day 86 - Sedum makes an appearance

The sedum has poked its new growth up for sunshine. The white stems are from last year's flowers.

Day 85 - Spring sunrise

First just a peek . . .

Then a little more . . .

Almost all the way up!

Day 84 - Spring has sprung in Virginia

I was in Virginia today and many of the trees are in bloom. I took this across a parking lot along Leesburg Pike at dusk. Spring usually arrives near DC three to four weeks before it gets to us (about 50 miles southeast).

Day 83 - New life

The message of Easter is new life and now the cherry and weeping maple trees are showing their new life.

Day 82 - Barn with green roof

I passed this barn on the way to work for years. Finally today, I stopped to take its picture.

Day 81 - Moon and fountains

Two for the price of one today. I saw the fountains today outside a place that makes headstones, statues and other monuments for cemeteries. The picture below was taken at dusk yesterday as I was filling the gas tank. Just one small cloud drifting across the darkening sky.

Day 80 - Bonus - Marianne at the creek

I got this shot of Marianne taking her picture today.

Day 80 - Green moss by the stream

In our travels looking for Easter related scenes, we wandered down a country road with a small, picturesque stream running along side. The green moss gave us the tie to Karin's theme. Marianne's picture was taken a few yards up stream from this one.

Day 79 - A bud in waiting

The rhododendrons have recovered from the winter and now have green leaves and buds, just waiting to warm up and bloom.

Day 78 - Black on green

Did some one say "starlings"? Marianne's green field was invaded today with a hundred or so starlings. Just before the above picture was taken, they were in our yard. The four below stayed behind. Their heads and necks have an iridescent shine in the sun that is quite striking.

Day 77 - Happy St. Patrick's Day

An appropriate place to celebrate today, but I'm not sure the Colorado brew will be the first choice of the Irish in our midst!

Day 76 - Tree by the road

Marianne wanted to photograph horses today, so we wandered around some of the back roads near us. The cows were out, but the horses were in the barns or somewhere else. Near where she spotted the llamas, I stopped to take this picture of a solitary tree and the road ahead. A few miles further down this road we found the horses.

Day 75 - Air transportation, Frederick style

Frederick Airport does not have commercial service, but it does have business jets and smaller aircraft. The AOPA has offices here. The September 11 restrictions on aircraft in the Washington, DC area increased traffic at Frederick and other further out airports.

Day 74 - More traffic

While stopped in traffic today, I took a few shots of driving in Frederick. Above, waiting for the light to change. Below are two shots while stopped to merge onto I70.

Day 73 - Night train to Frederick

Passenger rail service is provided by MARC with 3 trains going to Union Station in Washington, DC in the morning and 3 returning in the afternoon and evening. MARC operates 3 different lines: Brunswick (which serves towns west of DC) and two others which run east through Baltimore. The ride from Frederick to DC is about 90 minutes.

The Frederick Station is recent. It is also the Greyhound bus station and a major stop for the Frederick transit buses. The old station is a block west.

Day 72 part 1 - Bicycle escape car

Marianne and I went out late this afternoon searching for transportation (Karin's suggested theme for this week) subjects to photograph and get a bite (actually a burrito) to eat. We saw this colorful little vehicle as we were leaving. The questions are "Is this the car used to escape the bicycle?" or "Is this advertisement to get us to escape the car?"

PS: The bicycle shop is next to the burrito place.

Day 72 part 2 - Up, up and away ...

As we returned home, Marianne saw a scene she wished to photograph, so we stopped. I happened to look in the opposite direction and saw this mode of transportation chasing the sun into the west.

Day 71 - Transportation costs going up

Our cost to move around the county is NOT free. Here's a sample from around Frederick today. I paid around $3.10 a few times last May, but not this much.

Wildcats going to NCAA tournment!

Davidson 65 - Elon 49
Southern Conference Champs!

Day 70 - Big guy's trike

Marianne and I went looking for modes of transportation today and found this cool travel method on the streets of Frederick.

Day 69 - Three windows times 3

This church near Baker park has distinctive windows in set in threes.

PhotoHunt - West and east difference

When I went into the store for a few things, the sun was shining after a day and a half of rain. When I came out there was this eerie look to the apartments and dark clouds above. Turning my camera to the east, I found blue sky with a silhouette of the roof and trees. This was a fast moving thunder storm that caught me in a few blocks after leaving the parking lot.

Day 68 - Three birds in a puddle

When I stopped to take this picture several of their feathered friends flew away - but not these three!

Day 67 - 3 coins from the 30's

When these were minted, Dad could get 2 good cigars and a pack of gum with them. When I was a kid, they would buy an afternoon at the movies. What can you buy today with eleven cents?

Day 66 - Threes around town

I spotted these in my travels today. Above are two chillers on top of the Morningstar dairy processing plant on the east side of Frederick. Below is the front of Panera Bread restaurant near us. We often get soup and sandwich here for dinner.

Day 65 - Another spire

This spire is not on a steeple, but stands at the east end of Baker Park where Carroll Creek goes under Bentz Street. Notice the unusual elements used in its construction.