Day 121 - Bright yellow in the sky

I caught a glimpse of the blimp while driving through Frederick and pulled around the corner to park and take a couple of photos. When we see the blimp, it usually means there is TV coverage of a major sporting event in the DC area. Don't know if that was the case today.

Day 120 - Bright reflections

The late afternoon sun made for some bright reflection of trees, blue sky and a few white clouds.

Day 119 - Bright spots in a gray day

Karin's theme this week is "Bright". Our weather is not cooperating, however I did manage to get a shot of a bright spot in the gray clouds and because of the rain, we have lots of bright green around the yard.

Day 118 - Pink azalea after the rain

Detail from one of our azaleas that has started to bloom. (Taken early this morning after the rain.)

Day 117 - Waiting for a ride?

Our resident squirrel watching for cars. Is he expecting a ride to find more walnuts?

Day 116 - Two more for nature

Nature continues to treat us kindly. Above is a late afternoon photo of one of our cherry trees with the sun shining through the tree. Our bedroom is above my office. This view of the backyard and fields behind us is from the bedroom window on the upper level of our house.

Day 115 - Climbing for the top

Our clematis sprung back to life in late March. Here is progress in April as it climbs its way to the sky. If you just can't wait to see what it will bring forth in another five weeks or so, check Marianne's pictures from last June.

These pictures were taken on April 12, 18 and 24.

Day 114 - Multitude of blooms

Today was bright and sunny and we only had to point the camera to find beautiful colors.

Day 113 - After the cut

Marianne showed you the machine. Here is the result after pushing it around for about 2 hours.

Day 112 - After the rain

The low land on the farm behind us regularly floods when we get several inches of rain (4.5 per the Frederick Airport reports). Israel Creek is on the far side of the flat land beyond the first tree line and flows into the Monocacy River a little ways to the right of the picture. The second picture shows the Monocacy about 2 miles down stream and definitely out of its banks, though not flooding any housing or business areas. Some roads were closed and a few people rescued who drove into the water. See Marianne's post for photos of last year's flooding in the same general area.

Day 111 - Blooming in the rain

The sunny skies of the past few days are gone today, but they did wonders for the dogwoods in our back yard. I took the above photo a little after 3 PM and 15 minutes later our deck looked like this:

The weather service says we have had almost 4 inches of rain and more to come. See Marianne's post for the front yard view.

Day 110 - Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was one of my favorite authors back in the days when English literature were required courses. So when the "literary" theme appeared in Karin's post, I immediately thought of Poe. Today Marianne (see her post here) and I visited the place in Baltimore where he lived with his aunt and cousin (later his wife). Though the Poe family was well established in Baltimore, Edgar Allan was born in Boston, lived in many places. His parents died when he was not quite three and he was raised by stepparents. His family home was Baltimore and that is where he died during a visit back to the city. See the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore web site for chronology and other info on his works.

203 Amity St, where he began to get some recognition for his writing.

Westminster Hall and Burying Ground was a church built over an existing cemetery. It is maintained by the Westminster Preservation Trust, Inc., a private, nonprofit organization under the leadership of the University of Marland School of Law. Many Baltimore leaders of the revolutionary period are buried here, but it is Edgar Allan Poe who attracts the most attention. There are plaques in the burial grounds with many details of Poe and others interred there. Wikipedia also has information on his burial.

Evermore the resting place of Edgar Allan Poe

Detail from monument

One of many informative plaques in the burial ground

Day 109 - St. Mary's Church, Rockville, Maryland

While Marianne was taking photos for her post, I took these shots of the church. The original St. Mary's Church was completed in 1817. In 1979 it was renamed the Chapel of Our Lady. Above is the view from near F. Scott Fitzgerald's grave. Below is the front of the Chapel.

This is a view of the new St. Mary's Church from the front of the Chapel.

Day 108 - Old wall by Carroll Creek

Today's pictures were taken from the amphitheater beside Carroll Creek. The library (Marianne and my posts yesterday; and new post added Apr 18) is across the creek, just out of view to the right. The suspension bridge is one of several pedestrian bridges along the creek. Most of the buildings along this section of the creek are either new or renovated. However, behind the amphitheater is an open plot of ground with just one wall still standing.

An old doorway at one end ...

and a highway sign storage area at the other?

This last one makes for an odd shot, doesn't it?

Day 107 - Frederick library

This is the main entrance to the library named for C Burr Artz. This entrance is part of a renovation and expansion completed in 2002 that doubled the size of the library. The library greatly increased the use of computers and online access to data and other resources, however we can still borrow books! Marianne has posted a picture of the statue to the right of the steps and a view from the creek side of the building.

Day 106 - Literary photographer

Ansel Adams started taking photographs of Yosemite when he was 14. He grew up with the age of photography and was one of its major contributors. I have admired his photographs since I first saw them in Popular Photography when I was 9 or 10. I especially liked his pictures of the mountains in the western US. He was also a writer of books and articles on photography and preservation of the natural beauty of the west. His autobiography is as much about the growth of photography as an art form as it is about his life. His images are well known and his letters span his life from 14 years old to near his death at 82. I suspect he would have adapted his talents to this digital world as well.

Day 105 - Espresso window

While in one of the parking garages in Frederick, I spotted this window in the back of one of the restaurants along Carroll Creek. The reflection of the parking garage and the tables in side the restaurant make an interesting pattern.

Day 104 - Metallic symbol from the past

While Marianne was photographing the big red sculpture, I was looking down and found this symbol from the past. Since the Bell System became different names across the country, I was surprised to see this vestige from the past. The picture below is just an interesting metal pattern.

Day 103 - Stalking big game

Cat in the grass

When I glanced out the dining room window this morning, I saw one of the neighborhood cats lying in the grass and decided to snap a picture. After the first picture I got my telephoto lens to take a close-up.

What's that?

Breakfast?

Sneaking up

Getting closer

About this time the squirrel exited left and up the mulberry tree in the farmer's field. I don't think kitty even saw which way the squirrel went.

Day 102 - More plants and storm coming

I took the leaf blower to the last leaves in the flower bed beside the house and found these purple plants reaching for light. It is a large hosta (the picture is about one third of the plant) and its leaves will be a couple of feet across. Later, I went to pick up some carryout for dinner and took this picture of another farm near us. The clouds dumped some good rain while we were eating.

Day 101 - Marianne takes her photo

See the results on her blog. For more pictures of our spring progress, see my other blog.

Day 100 - Lock and handle

Here's the metallic lock and door handle on our shed.

Day 99 - Metallic revenue

To us, it looks like a pile of junk; to this recycling company it is revenue. We have dropped off some junk from time to time and made a few $ ourselves. Our paper, plastic, glass and cans are picked up for recycling by our local trash service.

Day 98 - Metallic art

We bought 2 of these sculptures at an Annapolis art festival years ago. The sculptor created the different patterns and colors on the strips of metal with heat. He also made beautiful earrings and pendants with the same techinique.

Day 97 - Catbird seat

Where are the birds?

How do I get down from here?

We usually see robins and other birds perched on the fence posts out back. And there usually is a bird's nest in the honeysuckle bush. But not today! These three stray cats (and a few others) wander across our yard almost daily. Anybody want to adopt a few kitties?

Day 96 - Morning sun and tree

The oak tree in our yard makes an interesting silhouette against the early morning sun and clouds.

Day 95 - Our nutty squirrel

When I first spotted him across the street, I thought he was a black faced squirrel. Turns out he had a black walnut and was coming to bury it in our yard. Soon the walnut was under ground and he was off to get another one!

Day 94 - Tickled pink and NOT funny

It was a cloudy day starting early, with light rain that became heavier at night-fall. In my travels through town, I spotted this beautiful pink tree and on the way home I came to a stop for a definitely NOT funny accident, especially for the people involved. After the cars on the left shoulder moved on, I (and a bunch of others) did a U-turn and took another way home.