Scattered

This is not a sight one sees very often: autumn leaves mixed with winter snow. We've been hammered by a freak nor'easter. Trees, branches & wires are down on nearly every property. There are nearly 900,000 customers without power in Connecticut alone. We are among them. They are telling us it may well be a week before we get it back. We're lucky in that we have a woodstove, so we're not cold; and we're campers, so we have Stuff to cook on. But right now, I'd nearly kill for a hot shower! I'm posting from my cell phone so I have limited Internet access. I miss your blogs! I promise to get back to enjoying them as soon as I can.
365/2011

Storm update

We're out of power & likely to remain this way, maybe for days. 70% of our town is out; over 800,000 customers in CT, the worst outage in history, including the hurricanes. We had big branches come down from our apple & magnolia trees, the latter fortunately missing out cars by inches. Trees & wires are down all over town. No school tomorrow as several of the schools are out. We do have a woodstove so at least we have heat. We'll be sleeping in the living room tonight. I'm posting this on my cell phone but the battery is fading. I miss you all!


365/2011

October Nor'easter

Well, we're being socked by the first nor'easter of the season. We've already lost power along with the rest of the town & probably a good portion of the state & the region. Trees are down on our street, and the storm is just beginning. I'm posting from my phone, but I have to conserve the battery. I don't know when we'll get power back--it could be a while. So please forgive my temporary absence on your blogs.


365/2011

Creepy

I found this fish on display to be pretty creepy.
365/2011

Flat

A wet maple leaf flattened against the window of my car.
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Dessert

What better dessert than luscious fruit from the local orchard?

Minimalism

Earth, sea, sky: as simple as it can get.
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Neglected

On the off-seaon, the life guard station of a New England beach is abandoned and neglected.
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1-2-3

Me and John, and in the center, our lovely daughter, Sierra Rose. The angle's a bit askew, but I took it with the iPhone when we were visiting her at college this evening.
365/2011

Sunshine

Yes, there were a lot of clouds up on the hill at Karabin Farms today--but the sunshine that teased from behind them produced some dazzling light.
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Pointed

This goat (sheep? I'm really not sure which...) has pointed horns.

Leading lines

The furrows created by mowing provide leading lines in this field in upstate NY.
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Autumn

It is slowly becoming apparent that we are not going to have the iconic sort of vivid New England autumn that fuels us for living through an equally iconic but interminable New England winter. Between being drowned by incessant rain (the sixth rainiest year in recorded history) and battered by storms, most of the maple trees that haven't had their leaves stripped by wind are turning a dispirited yellow or brown. These in our side yard are an exception.

Free theme: Rain

A co-worker trudged across the rain-soaked parking lot. It's a tedious sight here in the sodden Northeast. Perversely, people in the west of our country are enduring unprecedented drought.
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Sizzling hot

These chili peppers--which are growing upstairs in an AeroGarden in my "Mom cave"--are sizzling hot. Put two of them in a pot of chili or a stir fry, and it'll have a nice bite. A few more and you're at the "five star, no refund" level. BTW this is the first finished photo take with my new D-SLR. As someone suggested, I'm spending time learning one feature at a time. This was the Macro mode.

Evolution

A long time ago, I read "Green Eggs and Ham" to my younger brothers and sisters. Later, I read it to my children. Still later, I read it to my granddude, Aidan. Now Aidan is reading it by himself. It made him laugh out loud It sort of looks like he's dozing over the book, but that's because of the angle of the shot. I didn't want to distract him by being overt about taking his picture, so I just hovered near by, using the iPhone with the flash off.
365/2011

Slow

It's a slow ride out to the pumpkin patch, seated on bales of hay and pulled by a tractor. But on a crisp New England afternoon with the leaves just starting to turn, who's in a hurry?
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Faces

My granddudes, Aidan and Craig, at Lyman Orchards after we'd conquered the corn maze.
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Fast Food

McDonald's at a rest stop in Massachusetts.
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Store fronts

Evergreen Walk--a shopping center "concept" here in Connecticut. I've never been really convinced that classy outdoor shopping venues will work here in New England. It's COLD here for a good half of the year. Maybe that's why a lot of the stores here are closed.
365/2011

Tractor

An aged tractor on a farm in upstate New York.

New camera

I'm so excited--I just bought a D-SLR. I've been wanting one for some time and was stashing away a 20 here and there to save up for one, but it was slow going. Then I got a totally unexpected consulting job that provided me with the rest. I bought a Canon EOS T3. It's still in the box. After years of handling a point-and-shoot and my iPhone, I'm half scared of the thing. I'll peruse the manuals tonight; this weekend, I'll be able to get out to play with it. I'm pretty sure I'll still be taking most of my photos with the iPhone. After all, the best camera is the one you have with you, and it's always in my pocket. But the Canon should give me the opportunity to stretch a bit. I'm looking forward to climbing the learning curve.

Barn

This is the old weathered barn on my mother's property in upstate New York. The rising sun cast shadows onto the morning mist.

Flight

I just got back from a long weekend visiting my mom in upstate NY. No Internet access...but lots of beautiful sights, including Lake Otsego, plus some good family time.
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Blurred

The Ferris wheel at the Berlin Fair.
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Chocolate

A handful of chocolate bars tossed out on the table at a meeting tonight.
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Metallic

Two ancient trucks abandoned in a field.
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Drink

Coca-Cola, America's iconic drink.
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Fear

Perhaps not exactly fear, but at least apprehension, as the "victim" in the dunking booth at the Berlin Fair anticipates her fate. Profits go to the high school marching band.
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Eight!

I knew there were eight piggies! One of them must have gotten up and wandered away between shots.
365/2011

Eight

Eight baby piggies under the watchful eye of their mother at the Berlin Fair today.
365/2011

Vacation (Letters in Nature)

At Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, back in the early 1800s, these names were written in candle smoke on ceilings deep underground.
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Back home!

We have been in an Internet dead zone for the past few days--which included time spent in caves. We're home now. It'll take a few days, but I'm working on catching up on posting and commenting.