Tag Archives: Photography

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Ladder to the Sky

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This past Saturday, I attended a friend’s Absolute Auction.  Her mechanical contracting business is closing after a long, very successful 57 years in business.  I had the good fortune to be able to document the history of the business, the fascinating aspects of an auction, and the culture of contractors, subcontractors, small business owners, and incredibly hard workers. It was a bittersweet day but a successful, and even a joyful day, as we celebrated all that was this business and the family associated with it.

Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be sharing some photographs and thoughts from that day, but for now I’ll share this one.  My friend Kelly gave me the most perfect title for this photo.

Ladder to the Sky

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Sadly, but fitting for this Ladder to the Sky post, I had to say goodbye to my Abby this week.  She was a sick little thing and could not recover.  I’ll miss her presence in my home and my life.  Abby was the last of my pets, with two dogs and another cat having gone on before her, and for the first time in 28 years, I have no children (pets or human) in my home.

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Abby was a cute little thing and like her human, knew what she liked and what she didn’t like.

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Rescued and with six toes on her two front paws, Abby was a joy and a pain, as only cats can be (I say that with a smile).

Thank you, Abby, for allowing me to share your life,

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Blue and White

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So …. what clever name would you have given this post?

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Blue and White just doesn’t quite work, does it?

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These photos were taken the day after our lovely big snow 2 weeks back.  The ground is clear of snow now, but the temperatures are low and the threat of snow is in the forecast.

More importantly, California is getting rain!!  Come on Mother Nature, ease that drought!

Thank you all for your visits and comments.  I’m a bit backed up in visiting everyone’s blogs … but each day I visit a few and I am confident that soon, yes SOON, life will calm a bit, and I’ll get back on track!

February 28th Update:  Some have asked about the glass structures on the fence posts.  They are antique glass insulators http://www.collectorsweekly.com/tools-and-hardware/insulators.  Insulators were originally designed to keep the wires linking telegraphs and telephones insulated from the wooden poles that held them aloft.  They peaked in the 1920s to the 1940s, are now prized collectors items.

March 4th Update:  I’d sent an email to my friend Wilson, one of the owners of these beautiful glass pieces and I was wrong about the insulators!  Even though the link that I included showed very similar pieces, the blue glass pictured “on the fence, rounded top, screw bottoms, are covers for airport runway lights”.  Wilson says “I got them at a sale at Hubbell Enterprise in C’burg. I have mostly blue, a few red. I don’t know how valuable they are; they certainly weren’t when I bought them”.

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Reflecting on a Favorite Place

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While visiting a dear friend on Saturday, I was struck by the clarity of his beautiful farmhouse reflected in the pond.

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While the house and pond looked great in B&W, I had to retain Mother Nature’s colors in this final image.

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February 18, 2014 Update

My blogging friend, Lynda, over at Life on the Farmlet, used the last photo as inspiration for one of her marvelous short stories! What an honor it is for me, especially because I love the way this woman writes!

Please check it out at http://pixilatedtoo.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/die-grauen-schlund/#comment-11015

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Planning for the Near Future

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We woke to a brief but lovely snow the other morning.  The few flakes that fell were gone in an hour, but it was peaceful and pretty while it lasted.  Lynda (Life on the Farmlet) – those sparkles are for you!

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For some reason, the pace of life has kept me from spending much time with my camera even though I carry it with me everywhere.  I am so ready to improve and have the outcome match my vision.  No negativity here … I am patient (sort of!).

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I do have some trips, for both pleasure and business, coming up in the next 6 weeks and I look forward to sharing the journey with you.

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And then, of course, I’ll be test riding some bikes and hoping the joy of the wind in my face is far greater than any anxiety I might feel.

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That Chain … Again

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What is about this chain that draws my eye when I walk outside each morning?

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I’m looking forward to the weekend and more studying of the new camera.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

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It’s a Good Morning!

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Saturday morning, the GOAs are waking, and it’s time for coffee and catch up.

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This is one of my favorite mornings of the year.

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Coffee – Companionship – Comfort

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Decades of Friendship, Warmth and Light

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Life. Is. Good.

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The Boars Head Inn

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The Boars Head Inn in Charlottesville, VA, an historic hotel in the Blue Ridge Mountains, sits on the site of Terrell’s Ordinary, a modest inn where, during the 1700s, westward travelers stayed the night (these comments, and some of the next are taken from the Boars Head website).

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By the 1960s, the Ordinary was but a memory and in its place was the quintessential Virginia Inn.

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The heart of The Boar’s Head was built from the timbers of an abandoned gristmill along the banks of the Hardware River, which dated back to 1834.

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I’m lucky enough to attend a quarterly Board Meeting for my Nurse Practitioner organization at the Boars Head, but this time, I met my parents and one of my sisters and stayed as an overnight guest as well.

Situated on over 570 acres, the Inn features beautifully renovated rooms, afternoon canapes in the tea room, and five course dining in the Old Mill Room (which showcases beams from that 150 year old grist mill).

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We were still experiencing frigid temps while there, yet the geese on the frozen pond seemed to have adapted pretty well.

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The sunrise reflecting off yet another frozen pond was an incredible way to start the day.  I’m not sure when I’ve seen colors like this.

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I spent several hours learning the new camera yesterday, but that was after my time at the Boars Head Inn.  I look forward to applying some of what I have learned on my next trip back to Charlottesville.

Consider stopping in for a visit if you are near Charlottesville.  You will not be disappointed!

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Returning to the Scene of the “Crime”

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While I still have not found time to learn the camera or even adjust the settings (this Sunday for sure!), I am taking the advice of many of you and shooting everything I see!  While on the way to work, I passed by the site of my Amateur Mistake and decided to try again.

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One more thing … I’m attending a meeting at the Boars Head in Charlottesville, VA.  This next photo is a a completely unedited photo of the sunrise on the ice of the pond.

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Practice, Practice, Practice