Road trip to Washington DC

We were planning to spend next week camping on the beach at Assateague, doing a bit of kayaking, hiking, pony watching and generally relaxing.  Unfortunately, the Weather Gods got wind of our plans,  The first few days, temps in Delaware (where we were going to stop off and visit some friends) were going to be in the 30s at night.  After that, rain is in the forecast at Assateague.  We'd be dry camping with the 36 gallons of water we carry and only the electricity from our battery.  Camping on the beach in cold rain is no fun.  So we are going to Plan B.  (After well over 20 years of camping, nine of them in tents and six in a pop-up, and us always on the bad side of the Weather Gods, we are accustomed to advancing down the alphabet as far as Plans are concerned.  I can remember one  time, when I announced we were gong to Plan B, a weary little voice from one of my children: "Have we EVER done Plan A?") 

So tomorrow morning, we are off to Washington DC.  I haven't been there since my senior class trip in 1970.  We'll spend one night camping in Pennsylvania on the way down and back, and we'll have four nights in Maryland not far from the city.  Internet access may be spotty, so I don't know how much I'll be posting.  I promise to catch up with everyone else's blogs when we get back. 

Urban/The City

The City of Hartford, looking abandoned, as it does every weekend. 

Camera: iPhone 4s   Processing: PSE

Nature/Radiant

Glowing late evening clouds at Hopeville Pond.

Camera: Canon EOS T3, Tamron 18-270 lens    Processing: PSE

Activities/Wide Angle

We were camping this weekend on what turned out to be the first day of fishing season.  These optimistic anglers turned out to line the shore of aptly named Hopeville Pond.

Camera: Canon EOS T3, Tamron 18-270 lens  Processing: PSE

Colors/Stand out

The bright colors of this couples' rain jackets stand out against the gloomy rain-drenched parking lot.

Camera: iPhone 4s  Processing: PhotoToaster, Tilt Shift Generator, Color Blast

Outdoors/Warmth

Last night, we camped for the first time this season.  It's still chilly here in New England once the sun goes down.  I appreciated being able to toast my tootsies at a nice campfire.

Camera: iPhone 4S  Processing: PSE

Nature/Blossom

I usually have a host of daffodils in my yard, but this year most of them were lagging behind and hadn't yet bloomed...and today the Lawn Dude mowed them down. Only this one and its companion, which are planted way out back, survived. It's past its prime, but it has character.

Camera: iPhone 4s Processing: Dynamic Light

Nature/Aged

An early warm spell caused the magnolia in our driveway to bloom before its time. Then a frost hit, and the cold-sensitive blossoms were browned just as they were at their full. They looked sad and forlorn on the trees, but once fallen revealed fascinating patterns.

Camera: Canon EOS T3, Lensbaby Muse, 4x macro lens Processing: PSE

Nature/Sundown

Sunset behind the reservoir in Southington that we pass on our way to church.

Camera: iPhone 4s Processing: minor adjustments in PSE

Nature/Motion

A pair of mallards float on the rocking motion of the water this evening at Paper Goods Pond .

Camera: EOS T3, Tamron 18-270 lens Processing: minimal adjustments in PSE

Beginnings/Recreation

A father teaches his son the art of fishing at Paper Goods Pond

Camera: EOS T3--one of the first photos taken with my new Tamron 18-270 lens: a new learing curve! Processing: PSE

Urban/Building

A classic brick building in downtown Hartford is overshadowed by taller sleeker structures--but it retains its charm.

Camera: Canon EOS T3, Lensbaby Muse Processing: basic adjustments in PSE

..Is in the Details

Up close with a dandelion in the night sky phase: stars seen within the moon.

Camera: Canon EOS T3, Lensbaby Muse, 10x macro lens Processing: PSE

Flowers/Macro: Apple Blossoms

The trees at Rogers' Orchards are in full bloom.

Camera: Canon EOS T3, Lensbaby Muse, 4x macro lens Processing: PSE

Money/Gathering: Town Budget Meeting

Our town is still small enough that the citizens are able to come to an annual budget meeting to present their questions, concerns and opinions to the Town Council. Town meetings are an honored tradition in New England. Unfortunately, unless there's a major crisis or conflict, few people take advantage of this opportunity. Tonight, the Council members almost outnumbered the audience of citizens. This is one of the members of the Board of Education, explaining why funding the schools is important.

Camera: iPhone 4s Processing: Skip Bleach, Plastic Bullet, SP PhotoTada

Agriculture/Animal: Goat

A goat on our friends' farm. I love goats. I would just love to have a goat but even if I could talk John into it, town zoning restrictions wouldn't allow for it.

Camera: Canon EOS T3, Lensbaby Muse Processing: PSE

Youth/Yummy

My buddy and pseudo-grandson, Isaac, shows off his cherry Jell-o egg just before it was devoured.

Camera: iPhone 4s Processing: PhotoToaster, Iris, Dynamic Light, Bleach Bypass

Agriculture/Big & Small

The sheep at our friends' farm were skittish today--probably because we were unfamiliar, and they have five young lambs that the adults needed to protect.

Camera: Canon EOS T3, Lensbaby Muse Processing: PSE

Games/Round

Checkers in a jar at the library.

Camera: Canon EOS, Lensbaby Muse, 4+ macro lens Processing: PSE

Gloomy

A raw wet afternoon in late March, Plainville, Connecticut

Camera: iPhone rs. Processing: PSE

Colors/Unexpected

When I was a little girl, I lived in Manhattan and then Brooklyn, places where the sky is too small to hold a rainbow. I thought that oil slick rainbows on the street were among the most lovely sights. I have to confess that even now that I know they are pollution, they have their own compensatory beauty.

Camera: iPhone 4s Punched up a bit in PSE

Pastimes/Family

Granddude Aidan and his dad study the rules to a very complicated game before we played it this evening.

Camera: iPhone 4s Processing: PhotoToaster (which is rapidly becoming my favorite photo editing app)