Earlier in February, I spotted this lone sea gull cruising low over the water. The reflection of the poles near the soccer fields beside the water made for an interesting pattern. Below is a shot from a week earlier with a gull flying near the nets (on those poles) that keep the balls from landing in the water.
Two shots of Key's birthplace. See My World Tuesday for more images and text.
We have oak trees and usually there are several squirrels busily eating or burying acorns in the yard. There are also several neighborhood cats that drop in hoping for a meal. A couple of days ago we watched as above cat snuck into the yard while a squirrel seemed to be only interested in the acorns. When cat made his moved, squirrel disappeared, leaving the cat at the base of the tree with no clue as to where his lunch went. Said lunch was safely 20 feet up. So far I have not evidence of a successful hunt by the cats. I posted other unsuccessful hunts last year (black and yellow).
Recently we have a had a few days with temperatures in the 60's F. Yesterday I found a lily poking through the mulch in search of sun. This morning a thin blanket of snow and sleet falling as I went to get the paper.
At noon the geese were still bedded down in the field waiting for better weather to fly. They have settled in for the night in this field numerous times in recent weeks, but always departed before I got up in the morning. I did not see them leave, but they were gone by 12:30. 
And then around 3:00 PM, they returned - first a dozen or so, then another group and another. Interestingly, they circle the area couple of times, flying lower each pass, then final approach into the wind as they touch down.
This morning when I went out to get the paper and check the sky, this monster vacuum was parked in the vacant space next to our house. Later some county workmen showed up and I asked them what was happening. The county has started a program to clean the main sewers on an annual basis and this week it is our turn. The truck is capable of sucking leaves and other debris out of the sewers and letting the normal stuff flow on to the treatment plant. Sure beats using a shovel!
As we drove into Frederick to see the ice sculptures, we encountered a beautiful sunset being eclipsed by the approaching clouds. I snapped this just as the light turned green.
Shab Row is a 2 block section of Frederick next to Evereredy Square that was restored by a Frederick businessman in the 1970's and 80's. These 100+ year-old houses now are home to specialty shops selling antiques and other goods. These two images are from our visit Saturday to see the ice sculptures (scroll down). The bird was perched inside and I took the picture from outside.
The Downtown Frederick Partnership sponsors a monthly event on the first Saturday of each month. Today the theme was ice sculpture. We went to check the event at Everedy Square. It was a balmy 61 degrees, so the sculptures were dripping, but well done. Above is a basket and below is bird.
Here is some of the crowd. After walking around this section of Frederick, we drove up Market St. (the main drag). Market St. was more crowded and more ice sculptures. There were over 30 in all. Hot chocolate was being served and marshmallows available for toasting on small fires along the way. Marianne also posted some shots from our visit.
A little snow, a little rain and not very cold left drops on the branches of the weeping maple by our deck this morning.
When the news reported that the Smithsonian wants to add Aretha's hat to its collection, I remembered that I had this image captured from our TV as we watched the inauguration. The broadcast was fading from Aretha singing to Obama listening. Purely by chance I caught it and did not realize it until looking at the images later that night.
