U is for Under December Clouds #AtoZChallenge

Under December clouds
I looked to the west
and saw Lady Liberty​
contemplating the sunset.

G is for Goose #AtoZChallenge

“How is it 60° in late December?”

“I don’t know,” I replied.

“This pond should be filled with people ice skating, not geese swimming.”

“I know,” I said.

“I mean, it’s nice to be out, but it’s just weird. But I guess we should enjoy it, huh?”

I shrugged.

 

F is for Freeways

Today I’m combining challenges. It’s F day in the A to Z Challenge (I suppressed the urge to publish a blank post with the title “F is for Fuck it”). This week at Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge, the theme is Freeways, Highways, and Expressways.

This first photo was taken while riding on the infamous New Jersey Turnpike. (I recently watched Three Amigos for the first time in forever, so I had to use the word infamous.)

NYC from the NJTP

This photo was taken last summer in Virginia. You may be able to see the satellite dishes and other communication equipment that are part of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.

This one was taken on a snowy New England road.

These last two aren’t really freeways, but Cee said that’s OK 🙂

***

I’m participating in the A to Z Challenge for the month of April. The idea is to post every day, except Sundays, and end up with one post for each letter of the alphabet. It’s a good challenge to help me to blog every day.

Photo Challenge: State of Mind

This week we’re asked to share a photo and story that tells something about the state of mind we felt when taking the photo.

Mine comes from one evening last April, when I saw the setting sun around the corner of the building. At the top of the frame are branches from an ornamental cherry tree that was very close to blooming. This would be last round of tree blossoms outside, and I was looking forward to seeing one final brilliant display of pink petals.

My state of mind was that I was still happy that last year’s long winter was finally over, and that there were lovely trees and flowers and evening walks again.

Second Sunset

Here’s the second sunset of the year.

Inspired by my kids’ love of the twin suns of Tatooine. I imagine that the first one has dipped below the horizon, and here’s the second sunset.

And the Sun Sets Over the Chicken Coop

Photo Challenge: Half and Half–Evening

In a somewhat literal interpretation of this week’s theme of Half and Half, the image here is split by the rooftops of neighboring buildings and the evening sky. It’s halfway between sundown and nightfall. At the midpoint are the crows, who fly freely between the world of the earth and that of the sky.

Sunset Back at Home

Thanks, weather, for saving the thunderstorms until after we got back from a nice beach day. And then showing off a beautiful sunset, too.

Photo Challenge: Forces of Nature

Nature has the power to beautify anything, like this ugly old intersection at sunset.

This past week’s theme was Forces of Nature.

I would also like to add an image I used in the Photo101 course in March. This was my entry for the last assignment, Triumph. It’s amazing what nature can do. Such strength and beauty.

Opposite Weather Day

So today the weather was the opposite of what we had yesterday, which was a clear morning and then snow all day. Today was a grey, snow-covered morning that gave way to warm, sunny skies around lunchtime.

The snow this morning

I tried to photograph the same areas of the landscape to show the dramatic differences in just half a day.

By late afternoon, it melted off the trees

The snow was pretty in the morning, and I cheered up as it began to melt.

There’s a path through the trees.

Go, sun, go!

Oh, there’s the path.

And the day wrapped up with a pretty sunset.

I love the purple tones

I also have a sunset image here in my “blur” post for the weekly photo theme.