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52/50: Week 8–Lamberton Conservatory

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We live just a short walk away from a fabulous park designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. It’s beautiful during every season, but one of my favorite spots during the winter is the Lamberton Conservatory. When I just can’t take any more snow and cold weather, a walk throught the conservatory cures the winter blues. Here are some photos from this week’s visit. I neglected to write down the names of all the flowers so a couple are unknown to me.

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This looks like a variation of a shamrock plant, but I can’t be sure of it.

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There are lots of orchids, but these were the most beautiful.

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This little turtle was poking his head out as the koi swam about in one of the pools.

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The hibiscus are always a favorite of mine.

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But this one is my pick for 52/50 this week. I’ve taken other photos much like the ones above, but this back of the hibiscus is a different perspective.

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You can find more photographic inspiration here.

Winter Storm and Project 52/50

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It’s sunny, but cold here today. There is nothing but a remenant left of the storm we had a week ago. Unlike the east coast, we got lots of snow, but NO wind. The result was exceptionally beautiful as the snow clung to the branches for nearly three days.

It started like this:

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And developed into this:

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Here are a few more photos of the first two days:

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But it was Sunday when the snow came out that it became simply stunning. 

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Lots of these were taken with my iPhone and a few with my wide-angle lens. This one was taken with the 50mm and it’s my pick for the 52/50 project I’m doing this year. I’m linking it to Kent Weakley’s P52.

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You can find more photographic inspiration here.

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52/50: Weeks 5 & 6

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Last week I had only one photo to post for my 52/50 project. Although almost all my photos are taken with the 50mm lens right now, most of them have been of crafting projects or for reminders of our daily lives here. This week (Week 6) I took a short break and went to Powder Mills Park. We finally had a bright, sunny afternoon, but it was still so cold I couldn’t stay out for very long. I debated a while between the third and fourth photos, but am linking the last one to Kent’s P52, probably because it focuses on the blue sky we see so little of in the winter.

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This is the pond next to the Fish Hatchery.

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Loved the shadow of the tree next to the pond across the road from the Fish Hatchery.

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I’m always a sucker for reflections.

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The blue sky and the composition made this photo win out for the week.

And here’s last week’s photo:

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We don’t have any pets, but our neighbor’s frequently cross out patio.

52/50: Week 4

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At the last minute, my resolve broke, and I signed up for Candice Stringham’s “Flash of Brilliance” class at Jessica Sprague. I’m already glad I did. Tracy bought me a Canon Speelite 430EX for Christmas two years ago. I’ve been moderately successful with it, but had a lot of trouble at a recent Presbytery event. In just the first week, I’ve learned quite a bit.

Betsy and Skylar came to dinner last night, and Skylar was willing to let me practice a while. Here are some of my favorites, all taken with my 50mm lens.

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This little girl is almost always happy and agreeable.

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She loved crawling up into the rocker . . . 

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. . . and was able to rock herself. She didn’t want any help!

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But she was willing to sit in Tracy’s lap and rock.

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Although she doesn’t have many words yet, she can surely let you know what she wants, and she understands all kinds of directions. She’s also very good at signing for what she wants.

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It wasn’t easy to pick, but I’m linking this one up at P52 this week. I love the catchlights in her eyes and the expression is “so Skylar!”

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52/50:Week 3 and Florida Birding

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Here’s this week’s photo for 52/50. It’s been closely cropped, I was amazed how clear the details were when I zoomed in on the photo so our birding friends could identify it. The birds along the stretch of beach where we walked every morning are totally nonplussed by the human beings walking along the shore. They stand still and let you get incredibly close for a photo. I used my zoom lens at the Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel, but took photos for two mornings on the beach in Ft. Myers Beach with my 50mm lens, and was amazed at the photos I managed to get. I’m linking this first photo to Kent Weakley’s P52.

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A Double-crested Cormorant (50mm)

I thought I’d share some of the many bird photos I took at both the wildlife refuge and along the beach. Our friends are responsible for the fact that I know which bird is which!

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An Anhinga drying his wings. (zoom)

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This Great Blue Heron walked out into our path as we walked to the beach. (zoom)

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A group of Royal Terns (50mm)

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A Roseate Spoonbill and heron. I was so excited to actually see a Roseate Spoonbill. They were all a long distance off, so using the zoom was essential.

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White Ibis (taken with my Canon S95, a point and shoot)

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This, according to fishermen on the beach, is Walter. I got a great photo of him one morning and inadvertently deleted it. I was so bummed, but the next morning as soon as we walked onto the beach, there he was. He stood perfectly still for multiple portraits. Walter is a Great Blue Heron. (50mm) 

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American Oystercatcher (zoom)

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A flock of White Pelicans at the Wildlife Refuge (zoom)

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Cormorants on posts. Just as I got ready to take the first photo, one of the cormorants flew away, but when we walked back up the beach all the posts were filled. (50mm)

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A Yellow-crowned Night Heron (zoom)

In all we saw 29 different species of birds while we were on the trip including two American Bald Eagles (too far away for my zoom) and a number of Sandhill Cranes in fields as we drove across Florida from the east to west coasts. I’m quite sure there’s a scrapbook page(s) about birding in my future.

 

52/50: Week 2

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I’m down to the wire to post to Kent’s P52 site, but not because I was taking photos at the last minute. In fact, all the photos here were taken in Annapolis, MD on Monday. Since then, however, we’ve been without internet service so there’s been no opportunity to post (or comment on blogs.) We arrived in Ft. Myer’s Beach yesterday afternoon to stay with Tracy’s mom and her friends for four days. The weather is fabulous, and Dick and Carolyn (Ellie’s good friends) are experienced birders so our walk along the beach this morning was not only beautiful, but educational. I’ll have photos of that later.

Here are some photos from Annapolis, all taken with my 50mm lens.

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I loved this old wooden Native American outside a honest-to-goodness cigar store.

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Loved the textures of the ropes hanging at the end of the pier.

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The sea gull isn’t the attraction for me here as much as the reflection in the upper right of the photo.

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A view of the Capitol Building.

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But this is my favorite. I love the colors, the lines, and the reflections of this building along the main street. I’ll be linking this one up with P52.

52/50: Week 1

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It’s highly unusual that I would post twice in one day, but I found a new photography project for the year this weekend and wanted to link it up to Kent Weakley’s P52Sweet Shot Tuesday. The link closes tonight, so I need to be speedy. I found this project through a Photo Jojo post which took me to this site. The premise is to take one photo every week for a year, shooting only with your 50mm lens. I love my 50mm and need some inspiration to continue on with Capture Your 365, so once a week I’ll be using my 50mm and linking up with Kent’s blog.

Since I was down to the wire, I limited myself to our yard this morning. This is what I found.

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I’m linking the last of these to Kent’s blog though I debated about the other hydrangea thinking the composition was better. Ended up thinking the focus on the snow was best here. Which would you have chosen?

Storytelling Sunday: Pick Your Precious

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Sian has been hosting Storytelling Sunday for quite some time, but this is the first time I’ve joined in. She has a theme for the year, and I’m excited to tell the stories of some of my precious belongings. You can read more about Storytelling Sunday here, and link up your story here.

My old-fashioned Santa wasn’t the first precious object I thought of when I read about Sian’s plans for Storytelling Sunday this year. But as I put away Christmas decorations yesterday, I decided that he would be my first item to share.

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Santa was one of the first major purchases I made for our collection of Christmas decorations. Tracy was selling jewelry at a craft fair for his father, and Sarah, who was just a toddler, and I went up to pay him a visit. When I saw this Santa at one of the booths, I was immediately smitten. I loved his kind eyes,

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his darling sack of toys,

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and the cute Christmas tree tucked under his arm.

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Sadly, the price tag was too high for our budget at that time, so I wandered on. When we got back to the jewelry table, Tracy asked if there was anything out there worth seeing, so I told him about the Santa. He handed me the cash and said, “Go get it.” I’ve always treasured this Santa, and he’s had a prime spot in the living room ever since, some thirty years now.

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