Monthly Archives: October 2025

Rembrandt Puzzle

Photograph taken on Friday, October 31, 2025 by Henry
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee

We just finished this puzzle, which is of Rembrandt’s Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee. The original oil-on-canvas painting dates from 1633. It was purchased by art historian Bernard Berenson and was displayed at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston until its theft in 1990; its whereabouts remain unknown.

Cathy, Dorothy, and I really love that gallery and it’s very sad to me that this isn’t there. 1990 isn’t that long ago but I still wonder how something so recognizable can remain secretly hidden. My guess is that one day it will turn up, but I think it’s unlikely I’ll ever get to see the real thing. The museum has left the blank space on the wall where it used to hang.

This was quite a difficult puzzle. The ship itself wasn’t too bad, but the sky and sea are all very much the same color, so it took us a good while to complete.

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Silas Dressed for Halloween

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 26, 2025 by Henry
Silas Dressed for Halloween

Silas Dressed for Halloween

Iris and Seth invited us, along with the rest of the local family and a few friends, to a Halloween party this evening. We wore costumes, but honestly it was more about getting together than about dressing up. Eloise and Silas did show us their costumes. Eloise was a rain storm, with an “umbrella cloud” and Silas dressed in with this illusion costume being carried by a skeleton. It worked pretty well and occasionally he’d move his legs, crossing and uncrossing them, which really added to the effect.

Cathy and I wore fairly basic costumes. Cathy wore a Tajik dress, an Afghan hat and an Afghan scarf. I put on my cowboy boots, tied a bandana around my neck and wore my cowboy hat. I had already been wearing a denim shirt. So I was a cowboy.

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Cathy at Blockhouse Point

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 25, 2025 by Henry
Cathy at Blockhouse Point

Cathy at Blockhouse Point

We went to Blockhouse Point today, partly to enjoy the fall colors, which were lovely. There didn’t seem to be a lot of people out, which was a little surprising. After walking to the point, where this photo was taken, we walked on the Paw Paw Trail down to the north/east side of the C&O Canal. There were some interesting spots on the trail but in general, not a lot to see. The last bit is quite steep and we didn’t go all the way down, but now I’m wondering if we should have. Maybe next time. We also took the Callithea Trail to its end behind Callithea Farm Special Park.

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SPIRIT Club Mural

Photograph taken on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 by Henry
SPIRIT Club Mural

SPIRIT Club Mural

Through a friend of ours who works there, Dorothy got a commission to paint a mural at SPIRIT Club in Kensington. It turned out to be a bigger job than she anticipated, needing two and sometimes three coats of paint, but we all think it turned out quite nicely. This was one of two walls that were painted, along with three quotes, chosen by the manager of the club. Cathy and I enjoyed helping out a bit and experiencing a little of the SPIRIT Club experience. Their mission is “To offer a universal design for fitness that empowers people of all abilities to exercise successfully in a socially integrated setting.”

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Rose Hips

Photograph taken on Friday, October 17, 2025 by Henry
Rose Hips

Rose Hips

We walked from Woodlawn Manor to Sandy Spring and back today. It was a lovely day and I had some hopes of seeing birds, although I didn’t bring my long lens. We did see a few, but not many. The sun was out and the sky was blue and it was lovely, anyway. When were were going around the field near the spring, I saw these rose hips, probably from Rosa multiflora, which is quite an invasive weed, but still a pretty thing in its place. It was brought in as both root stock for hybrid roses and to be planted on highways, because it will generally stop out of control cars with less risk to the passengers than a metal, stone, or concrete barrier.

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Fort Frederick

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 12, 2025 by Henry
Fort Frederick

Fort Frederick

Both work and life in general have been stressful (work for Cathy, life for both of us) so we decided to go for a slightly longer drive today, heading up past Hagerstown to see Fort Frederick. The fort was built in 1756-57 during the French and Indian War primarily as a place of refuge for area settlers. Although it’s hard to imagine it now, this was the frontier at the time. The walls of the fort were rebuilt by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) in the 1930s.

We also stopped a few places along the river on the way home, including C&O Canal Dam #5 in Clear Spring and Cushwa Basin in Williamsport. It was a good outing and very relaxing, in spite of all the miles.

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Great Falls

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 11, 2025 by Henry
Great Falls

Great Falls

We decided to go to Great Falls today. Since I’ve gotten my lifetime pass to National Parks we feel freer to go there. We forgot, of course, that with the government shut down, there was no one to take the fee or see the pass, so it wouldn’t have mattered today. It was a lovely day and there were quite a few people enjoying the park. The Potomac River was quite low, as you can see from the photo. We’ve been there when all the rocks in the foreground of this photo are well underwater. It’s still a pretty place to be on a pretty day.

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Abutilon ‘Biltmore Ballgown’

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 05, 2025 by Henry
Abutilon ‘Biltmore Ballgown’

Abutilon ‘Biltmore Ballgown’

We went to Brookside Gardens this afternoon. There wasn’t a lot in bloom outdoors but even so, it’s a nice place to walk on a early autumn afternoon, especially on as nice a day as today. Before that walk, as usual, we went into the conservatory.

This plant, labeled Abutilon, also called flowering maple, is a variety called ‘Biltmore Ballgown’ and is quite pretty. The flowering maples have recently been reclassified in the the genus Callianthe, however.

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RCE Banquet

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 04, 2025 by Henry
Krystal, David, and Mike

Krystal, David, and Mike

One reason we went to see Dorothy yesterday instead of today was the Romanian Christian Enterprises (RCE) Banquet, which was held this evening. I had been asked if I would take pictures, and I did. As usual when taking event pictures, I took a lot that aren’t all that good but some that I like well enough and a few that I think are really good. This is one of the good shots, featuring our good friends, (from left to right) Krystal, David, and Mike. The sunflower came from Anna’s garden, which I featured two days ago.

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Dorothy’s Birthday

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 04, 2025 by Henry
Jeff, Dorothy, Anna, and Cathy

Jeff, Dorothy, Anna, and Cathy

Late this afternoon Cathy and I went up to Pennsylvania to celebrate Dorothy’s birthday. We stopped in Frederick to pick up dinner, going first to Cava where we bought food for Cathy, Dorothy, Jeff, and Anna and then to Black Hog BBQ where I got some meat for myself. Not the best BBQ I’ve ever had, but not bad. I liked the smoked sausage better than the Texas brisket. Nevertheless, I’d go again and try their Arkansas brisket and smoked pit ham.

We had dinner at Jeff’s apartment and then walked through town to Domino’s Pizza where we bought Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes. Instead of eating them inside or taking them back to Jeff’s apartment to eat them, they sat on the curb outside Domino’s and ate them there.

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Sunflower

Photograph taken on Thursday, October 02, 2025 by Henry
Sunflower

Sunflower

Having retired as of Tuesday, weekdays have become like weekends. Dorothy and Jeff were coming down this morning and I had agreed to meet them at Rocklands Farm where Dorothy was going to paint some signs for Anna. I got there a few minutes before they did and I wandered into Anna’s flower beds to take a few pictures.

There were some sunflowers which, against a deep blue sky, were quite beautiful. I’ve had times where the sky was so bright that I couldn’t combine the color of the sky with that of the flowers but today they balanced quite well and I am pleased with the colors in this photo.

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