Reflections - Twin spires

For another view of these spires, see Afternoon light.

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Santa Claus was here

Santa made a pass through our neighborhood (and others nearby) Saturday with the assistance of the local fire and rescue companies. Lights flashing and sirens yowling certainly got our attention. I believe that Santa was doing his final naughty and nice check, before returning Tuesday night with quieter transportation.

 

Reflections - Gray and black

Tree and wires reflected against a gray sky. For some reflections in windows see Our World Holiday Windows.

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Reflections - Christmas tree

Our tree and its reflection in the window by the door.

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Reflections - on a ball

What do you see reflected here?

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Reflections - Morning sky

A reflection of the sky on November 10 just before sunrise. You can see the unreflected sky here.

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Reflections - in chrome

Just playing with some items in the kitchen. (The original job was to put another roll of paper towels on the stand.).

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Reflections - Ghost cat

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Reflection - in blue

The tinted windows in this building always provide a wonderful reflection.

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Reflections - Flood control

Carroll Creek was almost out of its banks in Baker Park and certainly was on the other side of Frederick. The water fall actually drops the overflow into underground conduits to the eastern side of the business district Hurricane/storm Sandy dropped by this week leaving flooding, wind damage and power outages. Most of the creeks are back in their beds and the majority of Frederick residents have their power. The damage here was not anything like you saw on the news from the coastal areas, New York City and New Jersey. We had no damage. More photos are here.

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Sandy Update 31 Oct 1206 AM

Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy (aka "Hurricane Sandy") has left our area for Pittsburgh and areas north. Along the coast there is much destruction from Maryland to New York. Across Frederick County there is flooding, trees down, and power outages, but not much damage to homes and businesses. The above photo was taken at 10 AM from our house. Israel Creek normally is in the trees on the far sde of the water and cows graze in the field. The photo below was taken about 3:30 PM. Note the tree on the point above and the water rise.

Carroll Creek runs through the downtown section of Frederick City and regularly flooded parts of the city. A flood control project some years ago now routes excess water through three underground conduits to the east side of Frederick. One channel of water stays above ground flowing through the linear park along the creek.  

 



This road crosses Israel Creek upstream from the first photo. The road closed sign is permanent and folds shut when the road is open. Also note the power company's tree trimming to keep our computers humming.

 

I saw minor damage to trees on my trip to the dentist and downtown. However, there were still  50 roads closed due to down trees and flooding.  Some 20,000 customers were still without electricity. Power has been restored to around 12,000.

Sandy Update 10:30 AM

Sandy has moved north. We have gentler winds and light rain. It is still a big storm. NOAA radar shows in stretching from the New York City area to Lake Michigan. In Frederick County there are 27,000 customers without electricity. At midnight it was 32,000 so the crews have been at work. The creeks are still out of the banks. Road closures are now 82, with many of the new closures due to downed trees and utilities. From our house it looks like the only issues are small limbs and leaves. The dentist is in - so I will be out to see a little wider view of the area this afternoon.

Storm Watch - Sandy update

October 29 11:30 PM

 

Sandy has moved across Delaware and New Jersey and is north of Baltimore along the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. The storm is moving northwest across Pennsylvania and is expected to turn to the northeast Tuesday evening crossing New York into Canada on the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Storm surge, wind and flooding have caused major damage along the Jersey and New York coastal areas. My daughter and son-in-law in New Jersey reported trees (and fences) down and power outages in their neighborhood.

 

As of 9:30 PM Monday, 52 roads were closed in Frederick County, most due to flooding and a few due to trees or utility lines. 12,000 were without power. Schools will be closed again on Tuesday. The Monocacy River is expected to crest near 32 feet, 17 feet above flood stage. This could be second highest on record. It is also getting colder. In the higher elevations of West Virginia and western Maryland Sandy is creating blizzard conditions. Perhaps an early start to ski season at some places?

Storm Watch - Sandy

October 29 7:50 PM
Still raining (and will all night). The creek is out of its banks (photo here). Wind is still not strong but is expected to get stronger. One power hit so house dark for about two seconds (and all clocks blinking "12:00"). Power is out at my daughter's house in New Jersey. Local TV stations are in full time weather report mode. 

October 29 9:30 AM EDT

Steady rain, no wind. Dentist office canceled my appointment for today.

October 29 1:10 AM EDT

Hurricane Sandy spent the day off the North Carolina coast pounding the beaches with wind, rain, and strong waves. Hurricanes normally veer to the northeast and stay over the Atlantic, but Sandy is turning more to the north and is expected to come inland around the Delaware/New Jersey shore. Tropical force winds extend out 500 miles from the center, so warnings are up for most of the northeast US and Canada. Flooding and power outages are expected over a wide area. Government officials are urging people to evacuate flood prone areas. Schools, government offices, and businesses will be closed on Monday. The TV weather people are out in force, with hair blowing and wet faces, to bring us pictures of waves crashing ashore.

 

We have light rain and wind today, but 60 mph wind and 5 - 10 inches of rain are predicted for the next 36 hours. In our area, flooding creeks are likely to close some roads and falling trees may cut off power, but the worse damage will likely be east and north of the Washington, DC area. We brought in stuff from the yard, including the witch that smashed into the tree, for safe keeping.

 

Keep safe everyone!

Reflections - Ghostly

This pair awaits the trick or treaters expected on Halloween. The reflection of fall colors on the storm door added the eerie vision.

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News Flash - Witch dies

The wicked witch of the east died today during her annual flight through our neighborhood to survey the preparations for the invasion by hoards of young ghosts and goblins next Wednesday. She zigged when she should have zagged, missed the big oak tree, but smashed into the maple. We believe she was overwhelmed by our fall and Halloween display (photo below).

 

For other strange events nearby, see Charges filed in the Frederick News/Post.

 

Reflections - Four sides of the cake

With mirrors, one can photograph four sides of an object with one click of the shutter. At our granddaughter's wedding, the room had mirrors on two walls in the corner (in the center of this picture) where the wedding cake was placed.

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PhotoShop - Candle goblet

I use PhotoShop Elements to prepare my images for posting. Generally, I resize to a 900x600 or 600x900 pixel size and save in low resolution. (Note that Blogger further reduces the size depending on the template.) I rename the images I want to save (so I can search by subject) with date (YYMMDD), subject, edits applied. The edits loosely correspond to the PhotoShop commands (-s900 for size; -crop; -con for contrast; etc.). If your browser supports "right click, properties" you will see the edits I have done. The above image was taken with the light from our living room window behind the candle holder. It has only been resized. Below are two steps which to me yield an improved image. 

 Cropped a little and adjusted shadows.

And finally, auto adjusted color and added a little contrast.

Reflections - of Fall

Marianne has been decorating again! Ghosts and goblins to follow soon.

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Reflections - A bite of wedding cake

During our granddaughter's wedding I did not always have the best camera angles. Luckily, the mirrored wall gave me a shot of her back and a reflected view of both of them during the traditional cake serving.

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Reflections - By PhotoShop

Did you ever try to get a butterfly to pose in front of a mirror? Neither did I - it's hard enough to get one to sit still long enough to focus and click the shutter! But this one did give me a nice side view on the right half of the bloom. So with a little cropping, copy and flip the image, then merge the two I have a PhotoShop created reflection.

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Reflections - Warped

A glass storm door with and some imperfections, a street light and clouds behind me yield two eerie reflections. Perhaps I should have saved them for Halloween.

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Reflections - Under the roof

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Reflections - Fire music?

The engine of United Steam Fire Engine Company is reflected in the window of Downtown Piano Works in Frederick.

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Reflections - The sky and I

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Reflections - Culler Lake

The lake in Baker Park with houses on one side and Carroll Creek on the other.

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Reflections - Another under ground

This is the same pool in Luray Caverns that I posted on August 3. This view looks deeper into the cavern to the left of the previous view.

 

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Reflections - Trees and lake

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Reflections - Underground pool

Stalactites reflected in a pool of water in Luray Caverns in Virginia.

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Reflections - Turtles three

Christopher and I found these three on our walk around the lake at Greenbrier State Park.

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Reflections - Spider and sky

Found this little spider sunning itself on our van window. Got its shadow and reflection as well as a reflection of the sky with one press of the shutter.

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Reflections - Double bright

The sun is actually in  front of the camera, reflected off the van window and then the garage window.

Reflections - Wires & clouds

If your train is south bound, this overhead walkway gets you to your platform.Which wires are reflected and which are not?

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Reflections - in red

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Reflections - Arch bridge

This bridge over Carroll Creek has appeared on my blogs several times. Last week's reflection was taken from the top on the arch.

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Reflections - in Carroll Creek

An image from March that I have been holding. Today seemed like a good time to use it.

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Reflections - Bird's eye view

The reflection as seen by the birds visiting our birdbath on May 10.

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Reflections - in rock

Actually a slab of polished granite that was install today on our new kitchen cabinets.

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Reflections - Sky and trees

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Reflections - Sky and buildings

The windows of this building always have a good reflection.

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Reflections - And lighting

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