Memories

E-mail is wonderful. I just received this from one of my correspondents. It was taken on Laurel Mountain, where I spent much of my childhood. I used to play right around these falls.

Ah, memories!

Harbor Views

It was sand-sculpting day at the Inner Harbor. I had things to do later in the afternoon but I got down to check out the early efforts. These are just rough blocking out of the images. It would be interesting to see how they turned out, but duty calls....


And of course there were other things going on at the Harbor.


Funny, I don't remember them being this big.

Tall Ships At the Harbor

Yesterday was a gorgeous day at the Inner Harbor. The weather was great, clear and in the seventies, and several tall ships were in town.


The ships brought plenty of peeps into the hood.


I wandered around with a camera, just soaking in the atmosphere.


The street scene is constantly changing. Never saw this guy before. Stopped and listened for a while. Nice! Hope he becomes a fixture.


There was even a tall ship from Canuckistan. You had to look for it. They were berthed behind the Aquarium, seemed to be in a bit of disarray, and weren't inviting people on board.


The backside of the National Aquarium.


Dreaming

A Boy, His Camera, and A Sculpture Garden

Yesterday "She" and some friends took a walking tour with prospective students around the Hopkins campus. It was hot, extremely humid, and my bad ankle was hurting so I begged off. So how did I pass the time? Easy! The Baltimore Museum of Art is right next door. I grabbed my camera and headed straight for the sculpture garden. Here's some of what I saw.

We've all had days when we feel like this.



I kinda like the simplicity of this, especially set against the foliage.



Ditto!



I suppose the sculptor is going for a contemplative image, but I find it scary.



Oh..., I like! I like!



Chuckle



Elegant (and yes I do like El Greco, too)

At the Harbor

The City has its attractions too.


The evening we got back there was a fireworks display right across the street.



And the following day I took my camera for a walk around the Inner Harbor.

There was even a tall ship to explore. Neat





Still miss the mountain, though.

Leaving the Mountain

Spent some time this week up on the mountain. The rhododendrons are starting to show, and boy are they beautiful. First the white, then the pink, and finally the deep reds will be coming into full flower -- the same sequence as the azaleas. Funny that!


Looking out across the peaceful valley.


And look at what my neighbor has got this year.

For some reason "She Who Must Not Be Named" insisted that we leave all this beauty and return to the city -- something about fulfilling social commitments. We will be back though, soon..., hopefully in time to catch the dark red blooms. They're the spectacular ones.

While We Are Gone

For some reason not entirely clear to me we are spending a few days down at the Inner Harbor. This is what we left behind.


The purple azaleas are just about all, but the reds are in full bloom.








And the trees are spectacular.


And so are the lilacs.



Even the weeds are looking good.

So why are we at the harbor? Beats me!

Tough Crows

So there I am standing out in a field on a hillside. Beautiful, bright sunny afternoon. Temps in the mid seventies. Nice gentle breeze. Sky clear except for a couple of dissolving contrails. Perfect! Aaaaah.

I start looking around for something to photograph.

One of my neighbors’ crabapple trees is in full bloom and looks pretty good. I decide to take a pic…, wha?

Damn…, left the battery in the charger. Oh, well…, at least I noticed before I went too far.

Turn around, trudge back up the hill to get the battery.

Snap, click. Ready to roll. Head back down the hill, muttering.

We have resident crows on the hillside. As I approached the bottom of my driveway they started to make a ruckus.

Aha! Something’s in the sky. Start scanning.

There…, it flashes by. A sparrow hawk?

No! Much too big. It’s a Merlin! First of the season. It disappears behind a stand of trees.

Grab my camera, do my best Grandpa McCoy imitation as I hustle past the trees.

Damn…, too far away to get a good shot. I watch as it disappears beyond the tree line at the far side of the field with two very angry crows in hot pursuit. [Like they really had a chance to catch a Merlin, and just what do they think they’ll do with it if they do catch up?]

Tough crows! Well, they have to be. When you build your nest right smack in the middle of the main migration route of the Eastern raptors, you toughen up fast, or you die!

Last spring I watched one of our resident blue-jays take down a kestrel…, hard!

It ain’t easy being a predator in this neck of the woods. The food keeps fighting back.

Trudge, trudge, trudge.

Well, I’m back in the field again, watching and listening. Dum de dum de dum….

A couple of crows fly by on perimeter patrol.

Dum de dum de dum…

Ah…, squawking. There’s a predator in the air again. This time it’s a red-tail, circling over the hill, heading my way.

Once again the crows rise to intercept the threat. They are trying to harass him into leaving, but him, he just keep circlin’.

I’m gonna get a great shot. I raise the camera, adjust the lens, point and click…, wha?

Nothing!

Shut it off, on, try again.

Nothing!

Take the battery out, reinsert it. Quick, get the shot!

Nothing!

Check the controls on the camera.

Aha! I had accidentally moved the auto-focus switch on the lens into a position that was neither auto or manual. The poor thing doesn’t know what to do unless I tell it. Set it back on auto.

Now…, where’s that damn hawk?

Gone, that’s where.

Oh, well. I can always take pictures of flowers. They don’t fly away. And one thing is sure. Here on Hawk Mountain there will always be another raptor.

Back to the Mountain

"She Who Must Not Be Named" and I returned to the mountains today. Her purple azaleas were still in their full glory.


And the reds are about to pop.



And so are the lilacs.


The Forsythia are past their prime, but check out what's behind them. The next few weeks should be fun.

Antiques At the Auto Club

On Saturday "She Who Must Not Be Named" and I got together with some friends and we all headed out to a party up in Hershey. The venue was the Antique Auto Club of America Museum. All I can say is "Wow!" Their "Top Brass" exhibit, which will be showing until the end of May, is amazing. It is a must see!!!

Here are a few samples of items on display:







Neat, aren't they?

Appalachian Springtime -- New Pics

Spent a few days up on the mountain. One of the nice things about living in two states is that you can prolong Springtime. The first wave of Spring blooms has crested down in Maryland, but up north it is just arriving.


One reason I really like the mountain in the Springtime is this. From my favorite workplace I see this when I raise my eyes from the computer screen.


And if I turn around and look the opposite direction I see this.



Or I can wander outside and see this.



Or this.



Or even better this.



And I have wonderful neighbors -- always a joy to watch. I was so taken with them that I didn't even notice the Turkey Vultures circling overhead. If you look really closely you can see a couple of them in the picture.



Here's a better picture of a TV. They always seem to show up right after I step outside. Maybe they know something....