Rain

Photograph taken on Friday, January 01, 2021 by Henry
Rain

Rain

It was a rainy day today, a quiet way to usher in the new year. In spite of the rain, though, we wanted to get outdoors. We went to a small park owned by the Isaak Walton League and walked around their pond and into the woods for a while. There were hooded mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) on the pond and I got a few photos of them, good enough to identify them conclusively but not really that great. One of these days I’ll get a long lens but today is not that day. We also saw a hawk of some kind, which flew away from us in the woods. We’ll probably come back here in the spring or at least when it isn’t raining.

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Ten Years

Photograph taken on Thursday, December 31, 2020 by Henry
Cathy

Cathy

For Christmas, 2010, Cathy gave me a new camera. It was a Canon 60D to replace the 10D that I had been using since 2003. On January 1, 2010 I decided to try my hand at something a co-worker had been doing. It was called Project 365 and the idea was to take at least one photo each day for a year. I posted those photos on Facebook and managed to establish a (very) small but loyal following. At the end of the year I set up this blog and continued taking at least one photo a day. I’ve been doing that for ten years now and I think that’s a pretty good accomplishment.

I have decided that as of today, I will no longer be taking a photo a day. I still expect to take my camera with me when I’m out and I still plan to take pictures, just without the pressure. I figure 3,652 consecutive days and over 180,000 photos is enough. So, some days there will be photos and other days there won’t. To my small but loyal band of followers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you all.

The first photo in this project (see Saturday, January 1, 2011) was of Cathy and I thought it appropriate that I end ten years with another of her. Yes, we’ve both aged a bit in ten years, but we’re still here. God bless you all.

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My 2020 Reading

Photograph taken on Thursday, December 31, 2020 by Henry
My 2020 Reading

My 2020 Reading

This year was something of a landmark for me in terms of reading. For a while now I’ve been trying to read some of the books that I should have read in high school or college (or perhaps that I should have been supposed to read, if you follow me). Over the last dozen years or so, I’ve gotten through a significant number, including fiction by Austen, Bronte, Dickens, Dostoyevsky, Dufoe, Hardy, Melville, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, and Zola, to name but a few. I’ve read some of the classics, including Greek and Roman historians, playwrights, and philosophers and some significant modern non-fiction, as well. Late last year, though, I decided to step it up a notch. My goal was to read 26 books with some significant number of them being big, important or serious books. As it turns out—and no one is more surprised than I am—I aimed low.

All the books I read this year are pictured here. Some of them are short and very easy to read, but a few of them are what Dorothy and I have taken to calling “Lifetime Achievement Books.” Specifically, the three volumes of The Gulag Archipelago (weighing in at a combined 1,818 pages), Moby Dick (‘only’ 459 pages but seriously, get to the whale already!), The History of the Peloponnesian War (574 pages), The Tale of Genji (1,139 pages), and War and Peace (1,136 pages).

My 2020 Reading

My 2020 Reading

Here is the full list of books read in 2020 in the order I read them. Overall, I’ve enjoyed much of what I read. Some were not so much enjoyable as worthwhile. For instance, The Gulag Archipelago is not light or enjoyable, but it’s important. Personally I think it should be required reading, along with The Hiding Place. Obviously Jack London, the Narnia books by Lewis, and a few others are on the other end of the difficulty spectrum and provided a needed respite.

Order   
Read   		 Title Author Date    Notes
1 Anna Karenin Tolstoy, Leo (September 9, 1828 – November 20, 1910) 1878 I actually started this on December 23, 2019, so only a third or so was read this year. My first book by Tolstoy and I have to say I really enjoyed it.
2 The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Volume 1 Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isayevich (December 11, 1918 – August 3, 2008) From 1958 and 1968, English translation by Thomas Whitney, 1974 I believe this should be required reading at some level (high school or college). Although the Soviet Union no longer exists as it was, what happened there can—and almost certainly will—happen again, although in a different guise.
3 Brideshead Revisited Waugh, Evelyn (October 28, 1903 – April 10, 1966) 1945 A miniseries was made in 1981 that is pretty faithful to the book. But the book is still better. Enjoyable and even a little thought provoking.
4 Moby Dick Melville, Herman (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) 1851 One of those books that everyone knows but few have actually read. You could make a much shorter, abridged version and not really detract from the story. I mean, seriously, get to the whale already.
5 Silas Marner Eliot, George (Mary Ann Evans, November 22, 1819 – December 22, 1880) 1864 A lovely short story. I really enjoyed it.
6 The Man With The Gash London, Jack (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) 1901 Short Stories, set in the arctic.
7 In Parenthesis Jones, David (November 1, 1895 – October 28, 1974) 1937 A book length, modern poem about the First World War.
8 Tristram Shandy Sterne, Laurence (November 24, 1713 – March 18, 1768) between 1759 and 1767 I bought this because the title seemed familiar to me, bit I’m not sure if I’d classify it as a classic. Enjoyable but not great.
9 Beowulf: A New Verse Translation Unknown, translated in 1999 by Seamus Heaney (April 13, 1939 – August 30, 2013) 8th century I haven’t read Beowulf since collece and when I came across this new verse translation, I thought I’d give it a read. It has the Anglo-Saxon on the left and the modern English on the right.
10 The Republic Plato (circa 425 – circa 347 B.C.) 375 B.C. My goal is to read all of Plato’s dialogs.
11 Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus Shelley, Mary (August 30, 1797 – February 1, 1851) 1818 Not really much like the movie, in case you are wondering. Much more nuanced.
12 Confessions Augustine of Hippo (November 13, 354 – August 28, 430 AD) A. D. 397 I read an old translation years ago but wanted to read it again. I saw this new (2001) translation by Philip Burton and figured the time was right.
13 The Jugurthine War Sallust (Gaius Sallustius Crispus, 86 – circa 35 B.C.) 44 B.C. The Jugurthine War was fought between the Romans and the Numidian King Jugurtha from 112 through 105 B.C. This book also has a second work, The Conspiracy of Catiline, dealing with events in Rome in 63 B.C.
14 Macbeth Shakespeare, William (circa April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616) around 1606 You know the story, probably. Don’t do what he did.
15 The Tale of Genji Murasaki, Lady (circa A.D. 970 circa 1030) early 11th century This is a long novel (three pages longer than War and Peace), written about 1,000 years ago, set in imperial Japan. Quite fascinating to read, although a cheat sheet with names would be helpful.
16 Recovering Eden: The Gospel According to Ecclesiastes Eswine, Zack (born 1969) 2014 One of the few books written by a living author this year. I understood what he was saying and basically agreed, but I found his way of talking a little to hip for my teste.
17 The Hobbit Tolkien, J. R. R. (January 3, 1892 – September 2, 1973) 1937 The classic (and much better than the movie).
18 The Lives of the Twelve Caesars Suetonius (Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, circa A.D. 69 – sometime after 122) A. D. 121 About (not too surprisingly): Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian
19 The Canterbury Tales Chaucer, Geoffrey (c. 1340s – October 25, 1400) between 1387 and 1400 Like the edition of Beowulf, this has the modern English along side the original, which I find interesting. I can’t say that I enjoyed this as much as I thought I might.
20 The Practice of the Presence of God Lawrence, Brother (c. 1614 – February 12, 1691) late 17th century Compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort around 1692. I love this little book and try to read it every couple years. I also try to put Brother Lawrence’s practice into practice, but without a huge amount of success.
21 The Death of Death in the Death of Christ Owen, John (1616 – August 24, 1683) 1647 The introduction by J. I. Packer is probably worth the price of the book. This is a fairly lone defense of the doctrine of limited atonement.
22 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Carroll, Lewis, (a.k.a. C. L. Dodgson, January 27, 1832 – January 14, 1898) 1865 This book contains Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), Through The Looking-Glass (1871), and The Hunting Of The Snark (1876).
23 The Consolation of Philosophy Boethius (Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, c. A.D. 477 – 524) A. D. 524, I found this quite interesting. How philosophy personified came to the aid of a man in desperate circumstances.
24 The History Tacitus (circa A.D. 56 – sometime after 117) between A. D. 100 and 110, More first century Roman history, written around the time of Hadrian.
25 The History of the Kings of Britain Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095 – c. 1155) 1136 Covering Britain from the earliest time, from its founding by Brutus, great-grandson of the Trojan Aeneas through King Cadwaladr in the latter half of the 7th century.
26 Five Dialogues Plato (circa 425 – circa 347 B.C.) 5th or 4th centuries, B.C. More Plato
27 The History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides (circa 460 – circa 400 B.C.) circa 400 B.C. Published as The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War War, 1996, by Robert B. Strassler. This was easier to get through than I expected. Athen’s really should have left Syracuse alone, though.
28 The Magician’s Nephew Lewis, C. S. (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963) 1955 I decided to read through the seven Narnia books in chronilogical rather than publication order. This one deals with the founding or creation of Narnia by Aslan.
29 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Lewis, C. S. (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963) 1950 The four Pevensie children find themselves in Narnia.
30 The Horse and His Boy Lewis, C. S. (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963) 1954 Set during the time of the Pevensie kingdom, this is the story of Shasta and a horse named Bree.
31 Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia Lewis, C. S. (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963) 1951 The Pevensie children return and meet Prince Caspian and help him in his fight against his uncle Miraz.
32 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Lewis, C. S. (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963) 1952 The two younger Pevensies, Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia with their cousin, Eustace Scrubb, and travel with Prince Caspian.
33 The Silver Chair Lewis, C. S. (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963) 1953 Eustace escapes to Narnia with his classmate Jill Pole and they travel with Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle to rescue Prince Rilian
34 The Last Battle Lewis, C. S. (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963) 1956 The end of the old Narnia and the beginning of the true and better Narnia.
35 The Fire Next Time Baldwin, James (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) 1963 This is a very worthy book on race relations and rightly a classic. Baldwin sometimes paints with too broad a brush, but then, it’s hard not to, sometimes.
36 Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.) 4th century B.C. I think I’m more of a Neoplatonist than an Aristotelian. But we need to read people we don’t always agree with and this is a classic that should definitely be read.
37 The Hiding Place ten Boom, Corrie (April 15, 1892 – April 15, 1983) 1971 I was given this book last year and once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended.
38 Purgatory Alighieri, Dante (c. 1265 – 1321) 1308 Translated by Dorothy L. Sayers, (June 13, 1893 – December 17, 1957). I read the first portion of Dante’s Divine Comedy, Inferno, in late 2015. Of the three parts, I think I enjoyed Purgatory the most. Are we allowed to enjoy purgatory?
39 War and Peace Tolstoy, Leo (September 9, 1828 – November 20, 1910) 1869 With the exception of a few sections, I enjoyed this book almost entirely. If you dropped out Tolstoy’s philosophy of war, there’s really be nothing to complain about. It’s long, but worth reading.
40 The House of The Seven Gables Hawthorne, Nathaniel (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) 1851 I think I was biased against Hawthorne because we had to read him in school. But this story is really nice. Not necessarily happy, but nice.
41 The Epic of Gilgamesh Unknown possibly 18th century B.C. Probably the oldest thing I’ve read, from a time and a place we know little about.
42 Paradise Alighieri, Dante (c. 1265 – 1321) 1321 Translated by Dorothy L. Sayers, (June 13, 1893 – December 17, 1957). The third and final part of Dante’s Divine Comedy
43 Roumeli: Travels in Northern Greece Fermor, Patrick Leigh (February 11, 1915 – June 10, 2011) 1966 Fermor writes beautifully and if you have any ethnographic interest in Greece, then this book is for you. His writing is like stepping into a time machine.
44 The Mill on the Floss Eliot, George (Mary Ann Evans, November 22, 1819 – December 22, 1880) 1860 Not as happy a book as Silas Marner, but a beautifully written, sad tale of life.
45 King John Shakespeare, William (circa April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616) 1595 The first of Shakespeare’s histories. My goal is to read through them all. This one, unsurprisingly, is about John, King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216.
46 Lord Jim Conrad, Joseph (December 3, 1857 – August 3, 1924) 1900 Dark and somewhat mysterious. I’m not sure whether or not I’m a fan.
47 Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese Fermor, Patrick Leigh (February 11, 1915 – June 10, 2011) 1959 This one wasn’t as interesting to me as Roumeli, but still worth a read if you’re interested in the area.
48 Beat to Quarters Forester, C. S. (August 27, 1899 – April 2, 1966) 1937 Originally published in England as The Happy Return. If I want something light to read, I often look to either Horatio Hornblower or Matthew Hervey. Chronologically, this is the eighth Hornblower novel.
49 The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Volume 2 Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isayevich (December 11, 1918 – August 3, 2008) From 1958 and 1968, English translation by Thomas Whitney, 1974 These three volumes are not easy to read. But, again, I believe they should be required reading.
50 Cybernetics Wiener, Norbert (November 26, 1894 – March 18, 1964) 1948 This was a book my dad had. It was written by a the famous mathematician and philosopher who was a professor when my dad was a grad student at MIT. I can’t say I understood all the math, but there was some interesting concepts that make the book worthwhile.
51 The Problem of Pain Lewis, C. S. (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963) 1940 One of the best by C. S. Lewis.
52 The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Volume 3 Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isayevich (December 11, 1918 – August 3, 2008) From 1958 and 1968, English translation by Thomas Whitney, 1974 It’s easy to find used copies of the first volume of this trilogy but I had to hunt to find one copy of volume 2. I never did find volume 3 so I had to buy it new.
53 Rumours of War Mallinson, Allan (Born February 6, 1949) 2004 I mentioned Matthew Hervey above. He’s sort of the Horatio Hornblower of the Light Dragoons.
54 The Early History of Rome Livy (59 B.C. – A.D. 17) 29 to 27 B.C. Books 1 through 5 of Livy’s 142 volume History of Rome, which cover the period from the founding of Rome to 386 B.C.
55 The Old Man And The Sea Hemingway, Ernest (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) 1952 This is the first book by Hemingway I’ve read and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
56 Out of Africa Dinesen, Isak (a.k.a. Karen Blixen, April 17, 1885 – September 7, 1962) 1937 I sort of expected this to be a novel, but it’s really an autobiography. Still, interesting glimpse into a time and a place that’s changed since then.
57 Under The Greenwood Tree Hardy, Thomas (June 2, 1840 – January 11, 1928) 1872 I find that I really like Hardy’s novels. This is a short one and was written early in his career. Recommended.
58 Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky, Fyodor (November 11, 1821 – February 9, 1881) 1866 The third book by Dostoyevsky that I’ve read, after The Brothers Karamazov and Poor Folk and Other Tales. This is more of a psychological thriller. I liked Brothers K, for the most part. This is very different but also a great read.
59 A History of My Times, (Hellenica) Xenophon (circa 430 – 354 B.C.) 4th Century B.C. Covering Greek history in the years following the Peloponnesian War.
60 Smith of Wooton Manor and Farmer Giles of Ham Tolkien, J. R. R. (January 3, 1892 – September 2, 1973) published in 1967 and 1949, respectively This is a short book with a pair of fun stories.
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Deer In The Yard

Photograph taken on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 by Henry
White-tailed Deer

White-tailed Deer

Cathy called me from the basement this morning as I was finishing up my breakfast. She had looked out the back window and seen these two white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) that appear to have spent the night in the pachysandra at the back of our garden. I took a few photos from inside through our not-so-clean windows and then risked opening the kitchen door to see if I could get any without the extra glass in the way. They looked at me as I opened the door and continued as I walked out onto the patio. They didn’t actually get up until I moved out into the lawn and even then they didn’t seem too concerned.

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Stuff

Photograph taken on Tuesday, December 29, 2020 by Henry
Stuff

Stuff

This is the top of a small hutch in our dining room. Most of the things on the shelf have appeared on the blog at one time or another but I thought I’d post a photo of the whole collection (or this shelf’s worth, anyway). On the right is a nurse that my grandmother made the clothes for and that was in a store window during the war as part of a display about collecting for the community. In front of her are three matryoshka sets including a traditional one on the left, one with Russian political figures in the middle (that’s Leonid Brezhnev), and a east Asian one on the right. The wine bottle was found in what is now the ghost town where my grandfather was born. Next to that is a figurine that Cathy got from her family of a baby sucking on its thumb.

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Genna and Dorothy

Photograph taken on Monday, December 28, 2020 by Henry
Genna and Dorothy

Genna and Dorothy

Dorothy and a few of her friends are flying to Florida to visit another friend for a few days. When they get back they will quarantine together for two weeks. Three of the friends came over this evening to spend the night here so I could take them to the airport early in the morning. While we were all talking I asked if I could take a few photos. This is Genna, one of Dorothy’s housemates and friends. Lydia and Tony also came but didn’t make it in time for the photo.

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Winter

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 27, 2020 by Henry
Black-eyed Susan Seeds

Black-eyed Susan Seeds

As we pass through the darkest days of the year, it’s good to remember the brighter times that are coming. In the summer, the yard was filled with colors, green, yellow, pink, red, and purple. In the winter most things are brown or grey. But the cycle repeats. The brown seeds grown into green plants that bloom in all the colors of the rainbow. But even the browns can be pretty. I wondered around the yard this afternoon and took a handful of photos, including this of black-eyed Susan seed heads. In a surprisingly short time, the yard will be in bloom again.

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C&O Canal

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 26, 2020 by Henry
C&O Canal, between Violets Lock to Blockhouse Point

C&O Canal, between Violets Lock to Blockhouse Point

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went to Violet’s Lock on the C&O Canal today and walked south past Blockhouse Point. The river was fairly high and very wild looking. It was fairly cold and there were icicles hanging from the rocks on the other side of the canal. We happened to see two adult bald eagles in a tree about where we turned around and then saw two more eagles—one adult and one juvenile—flying overhead. I took quite a few photos and enjoy this one quite a bit. It was a pretty day and nice to be out, although also nice to get warm again afterwards (not that I wore a heavy coat, mind you).

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Post Christmas

Photograph taken on Friday, December 25, 2020 by Henry
Post Christmas Gift Wrap

Post Christmas Gift Wrap

At Cathy’s parents house, there was a step down to get to their front door. As packages were unwrapped, the scrunched up paper was thrown into that area. Generally at least one photo would be taken of that pile of paper, often with a child, a dog, or even a parrot hiding in with the papers. We don’t have as good a spot for that and there really wasn’t enough wrapping paper this year to justify trying. Nevertheless, in honor of that tradition, I’m posting this photo of a bag full of balled up wrapping paper. Happy Christmas, everyone.

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Christmas Tree

Photograph taken on Thursday, December 24, 2020 by Henry
Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree

I think I mentioned a while back that we put up our Christmas tree earlier this year than normal. We put it up on the weekend after Thanksgiving, which for a lot of folks is traditional. For us, we generally would cut a tree and putting it up that early is asking for a lot of needles to be down by Christmas. For the last three Christmases we’ve used this artificial tree, so that’s really not an issue. The plan is to keep it up a little while longer, but of course, it won’t have the wrapped presents under it after tomorrow.

We may have gotten the tree up early but we didn’t really do as well buying gifts this year as we generally do. There are a lot of packages under the tree but a lot of them are food gifts. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but we generally try to do better. Still, we’re together and looking forward to our two Christmas meals (breakfast and dinner with enough to eat that we won’t be hungry between them). We also plan on having video calls with our two families tomorrow.

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Frost on Fern Fronds

Photograph taken on Wednesday, December 23, 2020 by Henry
Frost on Fern Fronds

Frost on Fern Fronds

It hasn’t realle been that cold yet this winter. We did have snow last week but it was only down into the upper 20s at night. It was chilly this morning and the forecast is for continued cold for a while, with lows around 20°F. Still not frigid, but colder. I took some mail out to the box this morning and noticed the frost on these fern fronds so I got my camera and went out a second time to take a few photos. The frost didn’t last long, melting shortly after the sun hit it. But I wasn’t going to stay out too long, anyway. I was in a t-shirt and barefoot. Bracing.

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Knicknacks

Photograph taken on Tuesday, December 22, 2020 by Henry
Knicknacks

Knicknacks

I’m nearing the completian of ten years taking at least one photo every day. As you know if you’ve been following me far any length of time, I started this on January 1, 2011, posting the photos on Facebook. I started this blog with my second year (and have posted some, but not all of that first year’s photos, as well). I’m pretty sure that I will stop taking a photo a day at the end of the year. I’ll still take plenty of pictures but perhaps you won’t be subjected to pictures of knicknacks quite so often.

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Foggy Morning

Photograph taken on Monday, December 21, 2020 by Henry
Foggy Morning

Foggy Morning

I love foggy mornings. I suppose if I had to drive in them I’d like them somewhat less. Otherwise, and definitely from the comfort of my yard, I like them pretty well. This photo was taken looking up the street through the large red oaks that were planted along the road when the neighborhood was first built in the late 1960s. I love the atmospheric feel of trees in fog. We don’t get it a lot but somewhat more in the winter than other times of year. Even then, it generally burns off pretty soon after the sun is up.

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Potomac River from Turkey Run Park

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 20, 2020 by Henry
Potomac River from Turkey Run Park

Potomac River from Turkey Run Park

As I think I’ve mentioned, we’ve been looking for new trails to walk on lately. What with working from home and not being able to go to church or to visit friends much, we really like getting outdoors. Turkey Run Park, on the George Washington Parkway in northern Virginia is one that I’ve seen signs for over the years but we’ve never actually been there. The walk was about 2 miles in total but felt like more than that. Parts of the trail were a bit muddy and slick and there were a few places where we had to scramble over rocks (scramble may be too strong a term, but you had to watch what you were doing, anyway). There were two places where we had to cross a stream on rocks. And coming from the river back up to the Turkey Run Park parking areas was quite a climb. There are wooden stairs where we made that ascent, which helped quite a bit, but it’s fairly steep. Anyway, we had a nice time being out and seeing the river.

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Poinsettia

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 19, 2020 by Henry
Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)

We got this poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) from our next door neighbor and it’s really nice. We have it on our dining room table, except when we take it to the kitchen to be watered. In the past we’ve tried to keep them going from one year to the next and while they aren’t that hard to keep alive, we’ve never had them perform that well in future years. It’s really not worth the trouble, when new plants look so good. As most people know, the red parts are leaves rather than flowers. The actual flowers are quite small and not particularly significant in terms of the ornamental value of the plant. But the leaves really are spectacular.

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Tiny Nativity

Photograph taken on Friday, December 18, 2020 by Henry
Tiny Nativity

Tiny Nativity

A days ago I posted a picture of a somewhat odd, folk art Christmas carol singing figurine (see Friday, December 11, 2020). In that post I said that I’d post a photo of a nativity scene that Margaret’s housekeeper made for her quite a few years ago. Well, here it is. As you can see, most of the people in the scene are made from peanuts, although one is made differently to the rest. The sheep are made with pumpkin seeds and toothpicks. They look a little like pigs to me, but I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt, because this is an scene in Bethlehem and pigs would be out of place. The angel (on the left) is a Hershey’s kiss.

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A Leaf In The Snow

Photograph taken on Thursday, December 17, 2020 by Henry
A Leaf In The Snow

A Leaf In The Snow

As usual when it snows around here, I took pictures of the snow. They really aren’t all that interesting and I know it’s cliche, but there you are.

I did like this leaf, peaking out from the snow, so that’s what you get for today. Not exciting, but again, there you are. I do remember a friend in high school telling me that shadows are blue. You can see that here, in the shade of the house.

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The Year’s First Snow

Photograph taken on Wednesday, December 16, 2020 by Henry
The Year's First Snow

The Year’s First Snow

We had what the new media breathlessly called “the most significant snow in three years.” Since we haven’t had more than an inch or so in that time, it didn’t take much to make their prediction come true. We got maybe three inches of very wet snow. Not exactly what you’d call a blizzard. We’ve been working from home since March, so it really didn’t affect us at all. We did get a small package delivered that I didn’t find right away because it got covered, but it was in a plastic envelope so that wasn’t a problem. I think the snow was lovely and I’m mostly a winter person, in any case (I didn’t bother putting shoes on to get the mail, for instance).

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Sunset

Photograph taken on Tuesday, December 15, 2020 by Henry
Sunset

Sunset

Who doesn’t love a sunset? I certainly do. They also come in handy when I haven’t taken any photos and it’s getting dark. I know I’ll have to find something indoors to photograph. But then when there is color in the western sky, it’s such an easy thing to get a picture of that I have to be really busy to pass up the opportunity. They seem to be popular, as well. Response on Instagram (where most people see the pictures posted here) is always strong for sunset pictures. They don’t quite compete with pictures of people, especially people who are popular, but the do a lot better than pictures of things around the house.

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Thea and Dorothy’s Hat

Photograph taken on Monday, December 14, 2020 by Henry

Thea

In fifth grade, Dorothy learned to knit. At the time, she struggled to actually finish anything. She’d get between a half and three quarters of the way done and then she’d pull it apart and start over. I guess I’ve been known to that sort of thing as well, although I’m not generally considered a perfectionist. Anyway, she decided to make a hat for a friend this year as a Christmas present. She stopped by this evening with another friend—Thea—and while she was here she happened to show us the hat.

The hat itself is a bit funny, with a nice shape and a tall peak. They ties a few different things to the end including the small wreath ornament you see here. I specially like the coordination of colors between the wreath and the green yarn that was used in the hat. I got another photo with the wreath turned properly and with Thea’s eye looking through it. Dorothy settled on a tiny little bell as the most appropriate.

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