Miscellaneous

Clear Water

What a beautiful day it was today. We’ve been getting more than our fair share of beautiful days lately (although come to think of it, I’m not exactly sure what our fair share would be, so perhaps we are getting our fair share, I don’t know). Anyway, I had a meeting over in the next building so I brought my camera with me. On the way back, I went out into the woods between our buildings to where there is an old, mostly silted up sediment pond. I took pictures of reflections in that but they didn’t really turn out as well as I had hoped. This is the stream that runs below that pond. When it’s been raining, the water is a murky brown, but today it was as clear as crystal.

Pine Needles

It has become quite windy and a bit cooler today. Yesterday started out sunny and warm but today there is a chill in the air. When we got to church this morning, much of the parking lot was covered by a thin layer of pine needles from the trees that surround it. In the bright sun they were quite orange and, to me, very pretty. If only I had my camera. Oh, wait.

Cathy

It had been a particularly busy day, with lots of things to do after work, as well as during work. Then, at about 10:00 this evening I realized I hadn’t taken any pictures. I generally prefer it when I happen to see something and think to myself, “I should take a picture of that.” Pictures like yesterday’s rainbow are especially nice, because there isn’t any question that I’m going to think about taking a picture. Having to pick up my camera and find something to take a picture of, that’s not so much fun.

Of course, taking pictures of Dorothy or of Cathy is an easy out, but I try not to do it too often, at least not for the purposes of this blog. Rest assured that I take pictures of them now and then, either together, with friends, or individually. This evening, though, I asked Cathy if I could take her picture for the blog and she happily said yes. Well, it sounded happily. I appreciated it, anyway. And if I say so myself, I think it’s a pretty good snapshot.

Silver Diner

We went down into Bethesda this evening. I really needed to buy a pair of dress shoes. My current pair were literally falling apart and it was to the point where even I couldn’t stand it any more (which takes some doing). So, we went to DSW and I found a nice pair for a reasonable price and we were done. I actually took a few pictures of shoes, but, fortunately for you, I’m not posting any of them. They are pretty poor pictures (without any soul, if you’ll pardon the pun).

After that we went to dinner at the Silver Diner. I haven’t been there since they moved, so I know it’s been a little while. Even with a line out to the door, we were seated in pretty short order. The food was good and we had a nice night out. It isn’t the best meal in town, but it’s reasonably priced, a friendly atmosphere, decent service, and the food was certainly good enough. I’d go back again.

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

It was a beautiful day today and although Cathy and I didn’t have a chance to get out of our offices during the day, we did take a short walk in the evening. As usual, I carried my camera with me and took a (very) few pictures while we walked. This sedum is growing next to a mailbox down the street from our house and was particularly pretty in the fading evening light. For us, it tends to flop. This wasn’t tied up or staked in any way, so I’m not sure what the secret is, but it looked good.

Pond Reflections

Cathy and I walked around my building a few times today at lunch time. It was a pretty day and we enjoyed looking at berries on various plants along the woods around the parking lot. We also walked down to the pond between our buildings and I took some pictures of the reflections and of the things floating in the water. Color and texture. That seems to be what autumn is about, in terms of photographs. Beyond the camera, though, there is the feel of chill in the air, sometimes a whiff of wood fire smoke (mostly in our neighborhood, not near our office), and often really beautiful light.

Dentistry Paraphernalia

I had a dentist appointment this morning, to replace a filling that was going on 40 years old but which was starting to hurt a bit. X-rays taken last month didn’t show any significant problems under the filling, so it was just a matter of taking out the old and replacing it. When I got to the office, I have a couple minutes to spare before Dr. T was ready to see me, so I took a couple pictures, including this one of some of his things.

Cracked, Hard Boiled Egg

I boiled a bunch of eggs today and two of them cracked while the water was coming to a boil. I didn’t watch this one cook, but clearly it cracked and the albumen started seeping out before the water was hot enough to solidify it completely but after it was hot enough to keep it from forming threads through the water.

The other cracked egg was much less interesting, just showing a small crack without the bulging innards spewing out.

This one is a little creepy looking, so that’s why I took a picture of it. It’s perfectly edible, of course.

Egg salad, anyone?

Watery Web

All right, no spider today, but still somewhat spider related. There are a bunch of little spider webs in our yard and garden and today they were all holding large drops of water. They’re kind of cool, because you can barely see the web filaments so the water droplets seem to be floating a few inches above the grass or pachysandra. This picture isn’t all that great and I really needed to get a tripod out and use it, but that didn’t happen, so this is what you’re left with.

Wrenches

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wrench like me? No, that’s not right. Good king wrench’s lass look out, on the Feast of Stephen? No, that’s not it, either. All right, I’ll stop with the feeble puns. I’ve been working on getting my basement organized and one major task is organizing my tools. Since we moved, they have been distributed between a few different cardboard boxes, two tool boxes, and a few wire drawers in an unfortunately flimsy frame. Anyway, I’m going through everything and putting all the tools in one area and will then sort them. This is the wrench box, obviously.

Broccoli

Do you like broccoli? I do. It’s one of my favorite vegetables, in fact. I prefer it to not be overcooked but can take it pretty much however. I don’t think it’s nearly as good when it’s been frozen, probably because that means you have to cook it longer to be sure you don’t have any cold spots. My preferred seasoning is a splash of vinegar and a little salt. Actually the one thing I don’t like much about broccoli is the spelling. I have a hard time remembering if it’s two Cs or two Ls.

Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Beans, and Basil

Cathy and I stopped at Albert and Brady’s after work yesterday. It was nice to visit and we ended up loaded with a bountiful harvest, as evidenced by this photograph. Albert and Brady have a vegetable garden and it’s gotten a little ahead of them. As you can see, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and basil all in profusion. We also got a lot of cherry tomatoes, which are really delicious. I made a big batch of tomato sauce this evening with almost nothing that wasn’t direct from the garden, and by “direct” I mean, picked today. Thanks, guys!

Reflected Lights

It’s been very hot this week, the hottest we’ve had all summer, in fact, and tomorrow is supposed to be the worst yet. Cathy and I talked about taking a walk somewhere this evening but we didn’t feel up to much. We decided to go to the Rio for dinner (Nando’s) and then walk around the pond. There was live music playing too loudly (and not terribly well, if truth be told), and it was still pretty warm but it was nice to see all the people enjoying themselves. This is looking back towards the restaurants from across the pond.

Farm Wagon

Like the picture I posted from yesterday evening (which was incorrectly dated as September 3), I took a few evening pictures today as the sun was sinking into the west. This time, I happened to be near the Agricultural Farm Park on Muncaster Road so I pulled in to see what I could find to photograph. This is an old wagon sitting near the barn and the late-day sun was shining on it very prettily. After about five minutes of taking pictures, though, the sun was behind the trees and the light was gone. Pretty while it lasted, though.

Dew Droplets on Glass Table

It’s been hot the last few days and the forecast is for even hotter today, but it was cool this morning and there was a very heavy dew on the ground. We have a glass table on our patio that was covered with large water droplets and I took some pictures of it this morning before heading to work.

I actually took the opportunity to take some pictures at different apertures that illustrate depth of field. This one was taken at f/32 and, as you can see, it’s pretty much all in focus except the extreme foreground and back edge.

Dripping Water

It rained quite a bit this afternoon. I had planned to doing a bit of yard work but didn’t feel like getting soaked. Cathy actually did a fair amount. I preferred to sit on the back patio, under cover of the roof, and read. I took a few breaks to take some pictures, including this one. There is a pile of patio chairs and water was dripping through them, making very nice rings. I like this one, partly because of the extra little rings around the main one.

Great Falls, Maryland

It felt like fall today, starting out in the upper 60s and only getting into the low 80s, with relative humidity levels below 50%. We went to Great Falls today and were not at all surprised by the number of people there. We walked to the overlook on Olmsted Island. The water level is pretty low, but that’s usual this time of year. In fact, it’s probably not as low as many years this late in the summer.

Cathy and Friend

Dorothy wanted to go to the County Fair this afternoon to meet up with a group of her friends. Cathy and I decided we’d go, as well, and see the place on our own. We started by walking up to the art building and saw some work of a few young people that we know. There were a few very nice pieces. Every year I think I should print a few photographs and enter them in the fair, but I usually think of it the week the fair starts, which is a bit late.

We wandered around a bit, looking at this and that, and stopping for a cone of ice cream. This is a picture of Cathy with a friend she made during our brief visit there. I don’t actually know his name or where he works, but I’m pretty sure he makes pizza.

Of course, we also visited the animals. That’s probably the thing I enjoy the most about the fair. The “new” Old MacDonald’s Barn, renovated in time for the fair last year, was very crowded but it was fun to see a camel, a fairly large Brahman, and a cow and her four hour old calf.

Future Lawn Mower Buyers

Walking past the farm equipment display, memories of my childhood came back. In fact, one of my fondest is when, as childred, we climbed over the tractors and associated farming machinery. They are like carnival rides without the cost. I suppose if we had grown up on a farm they might not have the attraction, but we grew up in the suburbs.

I enjoyed seeing these children sitting on the line of bright, shiny, new lawn mowers. Show me a kid who doesn’t enjoy sitting on new farm equipment and I’ll show you a kid who needs to get out more often.

Swings

Of course, the carnival portion of the fair is extremely popular with the crowds. I like rides as much as the next person and in fact probably more than most. On the other hand, I’m not a big fan of waiting in lines. Anyway, we weren’t really there for the rides, but I did take some pictures (I know that will come as a shock to you). This is one that Dorothy enjoyed from a very young age. I think she first rode on one at Hershey Park in 2003.

This part of the fair is always quite crowded, of course, and even more so if you wait until dusk, when most of the animal exhibits are going dark for the night. Then it really gets jammed. Moving through the sea of people is a challenge, but if you enjoy people watching, this is a great place to be. But we were on our way out by this time, and I didn’t hang around longer than it took to get a half dozen photographs or so.