Sunset

Photograph taken on Thursday, December 07, 2023 by Henry
Sunset

Sunset

As we near the winter solstice, it’s getting dark before I leave work, which is one of the things I like least about the winter. Still, it does mean that I’m more likely to see the sunset, as I’m not home and engrossed in some book or other. This was taken through the window of my office. Until last February my office window faced north so I rarely so the sunset directly through it. Now I face west, although, as you can see, there are trees along the back of the parking lot so the sunset is only seen through them. Still, pretty colors.

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Rob’s Birthday

Photograph taken on Wednesday, December 06, 2023 by Henry
Rob's Birthday

Rob’s Birthday

When we moved back here after living in England I was going into eighth grade. In many ways it was like moving to a new town, even though I had lived in the same house until only 14 months before. One of the people I met was Rob and we’ve been close friends ever since. It was really nice to spend the evening with Rob, his lovely wife Susie, and a large handful of their closest friends. I only knew a few of them and those not very well, but I enjoyed talking with them, regardless. This is Rob and Susie with three of those friends who were able to come.

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Woodlawn Manor Barn

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 03, 2023 by Henry
Woodlawn Manor Barn

Woodlawn Manor Barn

After stopping to see Cathy’s mom we drove to Woodlawn Manor. We’ve been there quite a few times but for some reason we haven’t ever walked around to the lower side of the barn. The stone barn was built in 1832 and its three floors house the Woodlawn Museum and Visitor Center. It’s only open from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays from April through November, so we were there at the wrong time on all three criteria.

From there we walked on the trail to the Sandy Spring, which is mostly through the woods. We took a short side trail to a hollow tree before continuing across the Northwest Branch Anacostia River and up through a field to the spring.

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Rat Gallery DC #2

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 02, 2023 by Henry
Rat Gallery #2

Rat Gallery #2

Back on September 30, Rat Gallery DC had their inaugural event. Tonight was their second and the turnout was very encouraging. For the first event, some people came, I’m sure, out of devotion to Dorothy, Rachel, and Katharine, the artists but also the organizers of the event. Tonight’s show featured three other artists and was even better attended than the first. While taste in art is about as varied among people as is taste in food, one can appreciate even what one might not pick to fit their home decor. So, while I wasn’t tempted to buy anything this time, I did enjoy the art and the people. Naturally I took photos. I could only wish it were a little easier to get to North Capital and O Street, Northwest. But it was definitely worth the effort. The next show, I believe, is in early February.

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Spice Puzzle

Photograph taken on Monday, November 27, 2023 by Henry
Spice Puzzle

Spice Puzzle

We finished another puzzle last night so I took pictures of it this morning. This is one that I got Cathy for her birthday. We’ll take a short break from puzzles because we need the puzzle table on Christmas and can use it for wrapping presents leading up to that. We’ll take it with us when we visit Cathy’s mom on Christmas morning and then have it available if we need more table space when my family comes in the afternoon. This wasn’t a particularly difficult puzzle, but we enjoyed it. We like the bright colors. As for what’s next, who knows?

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Cathy and Henry

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 26, 2023 by Henry
Cathy and Henry

Cathy and Henry

A few weeks ago I agreed to take portraits of folks at church for a new photo directory. It’s been quite a while since we had one and there have been significant changes since then, including pictures with children who are now young adults. Each Sunday I set up a mini-studio in one of the offices and took three to five photos of each family, couple, or individual (generally more for the larger families since it’s more likely that there will be closed eyes the more people there are). I had Tammy press the shutter release for me to get our photos and I think they turned out pretty well. So, here we are.

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Cathy

Photograph taken on Friday, November 24, 2023 by Henry
Cathy

Cathy

Cathy and I took the day off work today, as many people do the day after Thanksgiving. It was a pleasant, overcast day and we drove out to the Rachel Carson Wildlife Management Area on Zion Road in Brookeville for a walk. The trail we took starts along a field scattered with American persimmon trees (Diospyros virginiana). Then we headed down into the woods where we heard but never saw a barred owl (Strix varia). Eventually we reached the Hawlings River, which is nice as it tumbles over rocks. As we ascended from the river on the Greenway Trail we came upon a large outcropping of boulders which appear to be mostly quartz. This is one of a series of photos I took of Cathy on those rocks.

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Thanksgiving

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 23, 2023 by Henry
Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Iris and Seth hosted our family Thanksgiving feast this year and it was quite a feast. While I confess to being indifferent to turkey and while most of the sides are high in carbs, taking them off my regular diet, it is still a meal I enjoy. That’s more for the family I’m blessed to have than for the food itself. With three little kids in the house, it’s not necessarily a time for quiet chats but it’s still good to get together as a family. We missed having George and Carmela here, but they plan to come down for Christmas.

I made green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with oranges and marshmallows, and a fruit salad. Tsai-Hong also brought various fruits and amazingly, with my five fruits and her four, there were no duplicates. After the turkey came out of the oven and I could get some of drippings from that I made the giblet gravy, as well. The turkey was quite large and of course there was more than enough for everyone with leftovers to take home with us. There was dressing with chestnuts, peas, salad, bread, broccoli, and two types of cranberry sauce. Mom brought cake and Steve made both pecan and apple pies and of course there was ice cream. Trader Joe’s had a sparkling, rosé tea that Iris bought, which was really nice (but sadly appears to have been a one time thing).

It took two pictures to get everyone in.

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Abba and Hannah

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 19, 2023 by Henry
Abba and Hannah

Abba and Hannah

Abba, Hannah, and Sean’s visit ended today. I’m taking directory photos at church so I had to be there but the rest all went to see grandma again. She seemed a little confused but enjoyed having them there. They sang to the birds again. They got home about the same time I did. Before we took them to the airport I took a few pictures and this is my favorite, of the two sisters. With Abba not in the Chicago area, they get to see each other more often but we don’t get to see Abba as much as we did when she was in New England.

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Visiting Grandma

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 18, 2023 by Henry
Visiting Grandma

Visiting Grandma

As mentioned in the last two posts, Abba, Hannah, and Sean are visiting from Illinois and Dorothy has come down from Pennsylvania. We had a nice dinner last evening with their grandma and we went back to see her this morning. We went outside for a bit and I took a group picture with the camera on a tripod so I could be in it. Then Abba pushed her grandma around outside but we didn’t stay out too long because it was a bit windy and chilly.

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Dinner with Grandma

Photograph taken on Friday, November 17, 2023 by Henry
Dinner with Grandma

Dinner with Grandma

Last night Abba, Hannah, and Sean arrived from Chicago. Abba, Sean, and I had to work today. Cathy normally has Friday’s off but she had to work some, as well. Dorothy was here, though, and she hung out with Hannah and the rest of us were here, working on our various laptops. I had cooked shrimp, salmon, broccoli, and rice for dinner and it all turned out pretty well. The shrimp were a little spicy, cooked briefly in a little hot oil infused with chili peppers. We went out into the living room and Margaret sang to the cockatiels a little. We left with promises to return tomorrow.

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Sean, Abba, Cathy, and Hannah

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 16, 2023 by Henry
Sean, Abba, Cathy, and Hannah

Sean, Abba, Cathy, and Hannah

Two of Cathy’s nieces, Abba and Hannah, and Hannah’s boyfriend Sean came for a visit. We picked them up at the airport and as usual, I took a few pictures while we were there. Abba had planned to come when her dad came back in September but at the last minute had to cancel. At the time she said she’d do her best to come, and here she is, with Hannah and Sean thrown in for good measure. This was the first time we’d met Sean but he fit right in and we had a really good time with them all.

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Croyden Creek Walk

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 12, 2023 by Henry
Croyden Creek Walk

Croyden Creek Walk

After church and a visit with Margaret, we took a walk from the Croyden Creek Nature Center. We headed down to the creak and went downstream towards where Croyden Creek joins Rock Creek, just above where Baltimore Avenue crosses Rock Creek. Then we turned uphill to the north and followed a trail that loops around close to Norbeck Road and came back to the old cut for Avery Road, when is used to go through this way. We continued upstream from there past a small pond and returned by way of the civic center fields. It was a very pleasant walk. Most of the leaves were down, especially on the tulip poplars, which are the dominant tree in these woods. But there was enough color that it was still quite pretty.

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Netherlandish Proverbs

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 09, 2023 by Henry
Netherlandish Proverbs

Netherlandish Proverbs

We finished another puzzle. This one is of a 1559 oil painting by the Pieter Bruegel the Elder titled “Netherlandish Proverbs”. It depicts a scene in which humans and, to a lesser extent, animals and objects, offer literal illustrations of Dutch-language proverbs and idioms. We have no idea what most of them mean. This puzzle was surprisingly hard. At one point we realized we had an entire bock two pieces to the left of where they needed to go. We had a few other incidents where we finally figured out a piece was in the wrong place and that was holding us up. Nevertheless, we finally got it done.

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Craftsman Lawn Tractor

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 04, 2023 by Henry
Craftsman Lawn Tractor

Craftsman Lawn Tractor

Tsai-Hong’s friend Tina had this Craftsman lawn tractor and wasn’t using it any more. She asked if Dorothy and her friends could use it and they happily accepted it from Tina. Cathy and I picked it up a week or two ago, managing to get it into the back of our van by taking the mowing deck and the rear wheels off. It was about 1.5 inches too tall to fit into the van. At first I tried letting air out of the tires but they were too stiff for that to help much. It turned out they were easily removed, however, and we were able to get it in. Getting it back out was basically the process in reverse. We got it out of the van and put the wheels back on, followed by the mowing deck. This will be a huge help in keeping the orchard clear as things start to grow again in the spring.

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Viburnum acerifolium (Mapleleaf Viburnum)

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 28, 2023 by Henry
Viburnum acerifolium (Mapleleaf Viburnum)

Viburnum acerifolium (Mapleleaf Viburnum)

We went for a walk at Lake Needwood today. I didn’t get many pictures. We did see a few birds and I got a few of a great blue heron in a tree but they aren’t all that good. We saw quite a few of these mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) growing in the woods. It’s considerably more noticeable this time of year because of it’s striking fall color. At first I thought they were small maples but the dark blue (almost black) berries gave them away. Nice woodland shrubs. It was a popular day to be out and there were lots of people on the trail.

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Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum)

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 22, 2023 by Henry
Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum)

Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum)

After our Sunday visit with Cathy’s mom we went to the Sandy Spring Friends Meeting House and parked. We thought we’d take a walk south from there into the fields around the Sandy Spring. We ran into someone who asked if we wanted a tour of the meeting house, so we did that. My great great grandparents met there sometime before November 20, 1852 (since that’s when they got married).

After that we walked to the Maryland state champion white ash tree (Fraxinus americana) and then on to the spring. On the way back I got a few pictures of bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and a house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) and this shot of what I believe is a palm warbler (Setophaga palmarum).

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Cathy On The Potomac River

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 21, 2023 by Henry
Cathy On The Potomac River

Cathy On The Potomac River

We drove to Pennyfield Lock today and walked up stream past Blockhouse Point. We took a few detours off the towpath, heading down to the river. First we went around one of the artificial ponds between the canal and the river that were built, I believe, in the early part of the 20th century. We got off the towpath again north of Blockhouse point and that’s where this pictures was taken, sitting on the rocks on the side of the river. The river is quite low, even for this time of year, but I suspect we’ll start getting rain again soon and it will be back up.

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Widewater, C&O Canal

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 15, 2023 by Henry
C&O Canal, Widewater

C&O Canal, Widewater

Cathy and I went to Great Falls this afternoon and had a lovely walk. We went out to the Olmsted Island overlook and I got a few nice pictures of the river, which was quite low. Across the river at the Virginia Great Falls overlook we could see a couple have wedding pictures taken, with the woman wearing her wedding dress and the two of them on the rocks overlooking the falls.

We walked down the towpath as far as widewater, that section of the canal that’s in a more natural channel with rock sides. It’s a beautiful stretch of the canal and was especially so with the fall color coming on. The water there was low, as well.

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At The General Omar Bradley Oak

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 08, 2023 by Henry
Seth, Silas, Tsai-Hong, Iris, Eloise, Kaien, Dot, Cathy, Dorothy, and Henry

Seth, Silas, Tsai-Hong, Iris, Eloise, Kaien, Dot, Cathy, Dorothy, and Henry

We had a beautiful day at the farm with most of the family. The weather was amazing and it was really nice to be together. We walked to the big oak tree. Our neighbors named it the General Omar Bradley and we’ve adopted that name ourselves. We don’t know how old it is but it’s almost certainly over 200. The three kids each enjoyed sawing firewood (not from the oak) and we had a nice meal. We also walked in the orchard to see all the clearing work that’s been done.

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