Family Dinner

Photograph taken on Thursday, January 21, 2016 by Henry
Tsai-Hong, Ralph, Steve, Dot, Brady, Seth, Iris, Cathy, and Maya

Tsai-Hong, Ralph, Steve, Dot, Brady, Seth, Iris, Cathy, and Maya

Since last summer we have been trying to have a somewhat regular family dinner. Those who can get together on a Thursday evening at a local restaurant. We can’t all come every week but when we can, we do. It’s been a very good thing and I only wish we had started it years earlier. Over the Christmas and New Year season our weeks get quite busy with other things so it’s been a while since we were all together. Tonight we had a nice meal at El Mariachi. The meal was secondary, though, it’s always the people. So thankful for this funny old family of ours. It isn’t a great picture but at least you can see everyone.

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Wil, Ben, and Grace

Photograph taken on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 by Henry
Wil, Ben, and Grace

Wil, Ben, and Grace

We were over at Ben and Erin’s this evening for a prayer meeting and Bible study. Before we got started I took a few pictures of various people. The I let Wil and Grace both take some pictures with my camera (with decidedly mixed results). When I took my camera back, I got this picture of Wil, Grace, and Ben (in the middle). I think it’s a pretty decent picture, especially of Wil and Ben (sorry, Grace, you looked down just at the crucial moment). But then, I think they are pretty decent people.

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Moon Through The Trees

Photograph taken on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 by Henry
Moon Through The Trees

Moon Through The Trees

As the sun was getting low in the western sky last night, the tops of the trees were beautifully lit. A picture of trees lit by the setting sun, though, isn’t really all that interesting and even the color isn’t as impressive in most pictures as it is in real life. So, I moved until the moon was in the frame and hope that helps enough that you won’t walk away for good. I found it interesting that even as far away as the tree branches are, at 300mm and f/11, they are not within the depth of field with the moon. I could focus on the branches or the moon. I opted for the moon.

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Photograph taken on Monday, January 18, 2016 by Henry
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

I had occasion to walk over to the other building about midday today. On the way back to my office I noticed a heron down in the stream below the path. I had my camera bag with me so I was able to get some pictures. I set my bag down, switched to my longer lens and headed into the woods below the path. As I was taking them I heard an exasperated voice from the path, which said, “where in the world is your jacket?” It was a bit cool out today and if I had known I’d be stopping to take pictures I would have preferred to have a sweater on, or at least gloves, but I survived. I think this picture was worth it.

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Snow Flurry

Photograph taken on Sunday, January 17, 2016 by Henry
Snow on Monarda

Snow on Monarda

We had our first snow of 2016 today. It wasn’t much to speak of. It came down fairly hard for a while but was more pretty than annoyance. The ground wasn’t cold enough and it didn’t snow long enough for much to accumulate, except where it was kept away from the ground by plants, etc. I went out in the yard and took quite a few pictures. Snow is tricky to photograph because your camera’s exposure sensor wants to make your photo a middle grey while most snow scenes are much brighter than that. So, you have to override the camera. Then, if you make the dark things in the scene a proper exposure, the snow loses it’s texture and detail. In this photo, snow flakes have accumulated on a seed head of beebalm (Monarda didyma).

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Sunset Over 270

Photograph taken on Saturday, January 16, 2016 by Henry
Sunset Over 270

Sunset Over 270

I was out today running a fairly wide assortment of errands. I happened to be on Shady Grove Road and decided to run into Wonder Books (I still call it the Book Alcove in my mind but at least I’m finally remembering that that’s wrong and has been for a long time). When I came out the sun was setting so I looked for a place where I could see the sunset, which promised a bit of color. I found a parking lot overlooking Interstate 270 and took a dozen or so pictures through a chain link fence. It’s not the most spectacular sunset I’ve seen (even this week) but it was still pretty intense.

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Frost

Photograph taken on Friday, January 15, 2016 by Henry
Frost

Frost

It was cool this morning, below freezing but not bitterly cold. Yesterday morning it was 24°F when I got up north of Boston and it didn’t get above freezing all day. Today the forecast is for a high well into the 40s if not up to 50°F. But it was cool when I went out and there was a good coating of frost on the windscreen of the van. Before I turned on the heat and started the process of clearing it off, I pulled out my camera and took a few pictures.

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Lake Needwood at Dusk

Photograph taken on Thursday, January 14, 2016 by Henry
Lake Needwood at Dusk

Lake Needwood at Dusk

This evening the sunset wasn’t nearly as spectacular as last night but it was still quite pretty. I happened to be coming home via Needwood Road and stopped at Lake Needwood to take a few pictures. It was a bit darker than I would have liked and the sun was just hitting the tops of the trees on the far bank, but the sky was a beautiful blue and the wispy clouds over the lake were really nice. This was taken from right beside the road, standing on the low guardrail to give me a tiny bit of extra height.

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Sunset

Photograph taken on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 by Henry
Sunset

Sunset

I drove back from Boston today, having returned Dorothy to school for the spring semester. There had been mixed rain and snow overnight and there was ice on the parking lot when I got up. Once out on the roads, there were no real problems with the weather, though. The sky was clear in the morning and once I got away from Boston and the stop-and-go traffic on Interstate 95 things were fine. Late in the day I was driving directly into the lowering sun, which was tiring, but it meant that the sunset was directly in front of me as the sun sank into the west. It really was quite magnificent.

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Dorothy, Bobby, and John

Photograph taken on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 by Henry
Dorothy, Bobby, and John

Dorothy, Bobby, and John

Here’s one more picture from Tuesday, January 12. After a short break while I walked around the campus and then went and checked into my hotel, I went back to the school and picked up Dorothy and two of her friends, Bobby (center), and John (right). We went to Nick’s Famous Roast Beef for dinner. We weren’t sure they would be open, because in December the owners were indicted for conspiracy to defraud the United States (i.e., they are accused of hiding receipts from the IRS to avoid taxes). We were happy to find that they were open for business and we enjoyed a nice meal. When we left, it had begun raining and by the time I was back at my hotel, it was snowing a fairly wet snow. I wasn’t sure what that might mean for the drive home tomorrow.

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Coy Pond, Gordon College

Photograph taken on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 by Henry
Coy Pond, Gordon College

Coy Pond, Gordon College

As mentioned in my last post, also from Tuesday, January 12, I drove Dorothy back to school today. It was a mostly cloudy day, quite good for driving, actually. After we got to the school, Porter and Dorothy took their things to their dorm rooms. I was going to see Dorothy for dinner but she wanted a little time to settle back in, so I went for a short walk. I headed towards the library and then went down to Coy Pond, where I took a few pictures. I like the shape of this tree, as well as the drama of the clouds in this picture.

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Home For The Challahdays

Photograph taken on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 by Henry
Home For The Challahdays

Home For The Challahdays

It’s a sort of stale joke, I suppose and it certainly isn’t original, but I couldn’t resist. Dorothy was home for the challahdays and we really enjoyed having her here. Of course, having her here means getting used to having her gone again when she goes back to school.

Well, that’s today. We left home at 5:40, met Peter and Porter and loaded Porter’s things into the car and by 6:15 or so we were on our way to the North Shore of Massachusetts. It’s about 480 miles and a little more than half way is the Rockland Bakery. I have posted pictures from there before, on August 23 and again on October 04, 2015. If you are ever in the area around Nanuet, New York (just west of the Tappen Zee Bridge) then I recommend you stop in for a visit. The bagels by themselves are worth the effort, if you can get them as they come out of the oven, so hot you can barely hold them.

I brought cream cheese as well deli meat and sliced cheese for making sandwiches and we made a late lunch at about 2:30, after we arrived at the school.

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Thanksgiving Cactus

Photograph taken on Monday, January 11, 2016 by Henry
Thanksgiving Cactus

Thanksgiving Cactus

Dorothy is packing up to head back to school tomorrow and one thing she has to take back with her is a small box with a half dozen plants, including two Thanksgiving cacti. Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti are similar and related, both being cultivars of plants in the genus Schlumbergera. Christmas cactus are Schlumbergera x buckleyi, a hybrid between S. truncata and S. russelliana, while Thanksgiving cactus are S. truncata. There are a few distinguishing features of the Thanksgiving cactus, besides the earlier bloom date. The stem segments (those are stems, not leaves) have pointed teeth, their flowers are not symmetrical (the top is different to the bottom, the technical term being zygomorphic), and they have yellow pollen. The Christmas cactus has rounded stem segments, symmetrical flowers, and pink pollen. They are both native to the Organ Mountain range north of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

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After The Rain

Photograph taken on Sunday, January 10, 2016 by Henry
After The Rain

After The Rain

We had a pretty strong rainstorm this afternoon. It had been drizzling pretty much all day and then at about 3:00 it really came down. We heard that there was a rainbow and I saw some pictures that were amazing. We didn’t see it where we were, though.

I took some pictures while it was raining. I love the soft colors during a rainstorm. I also lover the sound of rain. If it isn’t too cold, I love being outside when it’s raining. Today was cool but not cold and it was quite warm inside so I enjoyed being outdoors in the rain.

It didn’t rain too long and as the rain stopped, the clouds started to clear and the sun was shining through and reflecting on the water in the parking lot at church. Quite a different feel from when it was raining. But pretty in a different way. A change from soft, muted colors it became dramatic with bright and intense colors.

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Cathy

Photograph taken on Saturday, January 09, 2016 by Henry
Cathy

Cathy

It’s been a fairly busy time and with the weather turning cold, we haven’t been out and about as much. Because of that I’ve had a harder time getting out to take pictures. This evening I asked Dorothy and Cathy if I could take their pictures and they both let me.

I’m going with one of Cathy that I think is pretty good. She’s not dressed up, wearing a soccer jersey, but I don’t think that matters at all.

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Mike

Photograph taken on Friday, January 08, 2016 by Henry
Mike

Mike

We have some really good friends. In fact, we often wonder how we have so many friends, because we’re somewhat antisocial at times and we have a hard time getting to know people. But somehow, it happens. Way back when Dorothy was in first grade, there were two first grade classes at the school. Dorothy had Erin as a teacher. The other class was taught by Krystal. Although we didn’t get to know Krystal well that year, in the few years that followed we did. We also got to know Krystal’s husband, Mike, pictured here.

Since getting to know them, they have become two of our very favorite people in the universe (and possibly beyond). We take every opportunity we can to see them, which isn’t nearly enough (life happens). We went with them to a newish Peruvian restaurant in Olney this evening and I took this picture of Mike, which I think is really good.

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Julia and Dorothy

Photograph taken on Thursday, January 07, 2016 by Henry
Julia and Dorothy

Julia and Dorothy

Julia came over this evening and she and Dorothy cooked with me. We made some yogurt that is taking longer than expected to “yog” but we also made some pretty wicked mac and cheese. After an enjoyable dinner, the girls (including Cathy) helped me narrow a collection of pictures to something manageable for a slide show for church on Sunday. We paused part way through and I took a few pictures (which I know will surprise you).

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Frost

Photograph taken on Wednesday, January 06, 2016 by Henry
Frost on Sedum

Frost on Sedum

It has gone from temperatures in the 60s and even 70s for a couple weeks down to about 10°F this morning. It’s noticeable. Yesterday is was cold but without much frost. Today there was quite a bit of frost and I decided to spend a little time in the back yard taking pictures. This is a small sedum plant growing in a container (thus the terra cotta color in the background) on the back patio. As you can see, it’s nicely rimed with tiny ice crystals.

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My Eye

Photograph taken on Tuesday, January 05, 2016 by Henry
My Right Eye

My Right Eye

Some of you know that I’ve had some eye problems over the last seven and a half years. About seven years ago I had cataract surgery in my right eye (pictured here). Then in 2014 I had the left eye done. Both procedures went well but in both cases I tore my retina in the weeks following the surgery and had to have a laser procedure to ensure my retina didn’t detach. I had another follow-up appointment with the retina specialist today and for the first time since 2009 I don’t have a follow-up scheduled. I’ll only go back now if I have any further problems. At the bottom of my eye in this picture you can see the edge of the lens that was implanted in my eye.

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Jacob, Kendra, and Dorothy

Photograph taken on Monday, January 04, 2016 by Henry
Jacob, Kendra, and Dorothy

Jacob, Kendra, and Dorothy

It’s been a pretty busy holiday season for us and we’ve had people over for dinner more than in any similar period in a long time (not necessarily more people in total, but more separate events). This evening we had Kendra and Jacob over for dinner and then we just hung out talking. They are heading back to college tomorrow and it was very nice to get an entire evening with them. I took some pictures through the evening but then at one point asked them all to sit together for a more posed picture, and this is the result.

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