Fall

“Summer's lease hath all too short a date.”  

― William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Sonnets

First day of fall. Soon the colors. But first a few more summer photos. Not too many words today. I'll let the photos speak.

Summer fog and sunrise

Final curtain.  Last night of summer. Gorgeous yet bittersweet.

My work commute

View from my porch

Morning summer fog

Perhaps my favorite summer photo. This captures it for me. A spectacular summer!

Waiting for the moon.

Morning fog feeling somewhat surreal

This is where I spent most of my summer. It doesn't get much better than this. I am grateful.

It was pouring rain on my work commute, that kind of rain where you can't see anything and you know you better pull off the road. Which I did and caught this photo of the corn. Love this shot.

Summer 2016

My little weather station said it was 36 degrees this morning. Yikes! Summer is slipping away. I've put my blog aside for too long again. Time to fill in the missing gaps. Will attempt to capture some of the finer moments of the season, probably my best summer in years. Not sure why, but every day felt close to perfect.
I worked 3-4 days during the week and the rest of my time was spent at a friend's lake. Weather was somewhat tropical in nature, which made the lake wonderfully warm. Lots of swimming, sailing, paddling my kayak, rowing a gorgeous wooden rowboat, not to mention great friends to spend time with.  And those 'dock'tails along with late dinners while watching the sunset. Ah, summer!
More photos to follow in the next couple days.

Janet Marie on Swago Pond

Sunset afterglow, near Swago Pond

Sunset on Swago Pond. My summer happy place.

Barn across the street with summer flowers in bloom.

Cows across the street on a misty morning. Love my nearest neighbors!

Day's end on Swago Pond. Perfect.

Sunset, Delaware River, Callicoon NY

Wondering how to catch up with too much time away. I use my blog to document my photographs  so I feel like I need to go back to Maine. Which was in April. Never too late, I guess.
Maine is my favorite state and this was my second year in Rockport. Stayed at the same place, but saw the area in a different light. And this year it even snowed one day! Wow. Magical. Here are some pics...

Spring snow in Rockport on Penobscot Bay

sunset afterglow from my motel room in Rockport

Maine coastline - love the rocks.

More Maine coastline, obsessed with the Maine coastline.

Pemaquid Point, one of my favorite spots in the entire world!

Ah Pemaquid Point. A privilege to be on your rocks alone when in just a few months I know these rocks will be overrun with tourists.

More Pemaquid.

and more..

June, already

Not sure where the time goes. I still haven't managed to post my photos from my Maine trip.

Today I'm thinking about what I see when I wake up. Sunrise comes early these days, around 5:30. I often say I've grown tired of sunrise/sunset pics, but then along comes a few dramatic moments. Here are some of those 'moments'

Rainy Days

I returned from a wonderful trip to Maine about 8 days ago - photos soon! 
Since my return, it has rained every day. Relentless weather. Today the sun finally popped out for a good part of the day. Ah yes, much needed!
Here's a photo from this morning with a bit of mist and the sun attempting to peek through.

The Sea

"Do you have a cure for me?"

"Why yes," he said, "I know a cure for everything. Salt water."

"Salt water?" I asked him.

"Yes," he said, "in one way or the other. Sweat, or tears, or the salt sea."

                        ~Isak Dinesen, from Seven Gothic Tales

For me, the cure has always been the sea. When I need to clear my head or just find a calm place, I head to the ocean.  I did just that somewhat spontaneously a couple weeks ago. Threw my bike in the car, a small bag of clothes, and headed to Rhode Island for a couple days - the Ocean State! What a lovely couple days. Biking along the sea, walking on the beach, taking photos, eating good seafood, breathing salt air - close to perfect. Yes, the cure!!
I'm posting many photos today. Some look alike, but for me they're all different. The sea changes dramatically moment to moment and I love trying to capture its various moods.

Ah, the sea... I am home.

Sunrise. The promise of a new day where anything is possible, even the sun breaking through this incredible heavy cloud cover. Which it did.

Crazy wild wind my first day there. Catch a wave!

grey is often the color of a peaceful day

Before sunrise. I admit to having to set an alarm clock for this shot. Do people really wake up ready to go in the dark??   Not me.  But, what a gorgeous time of day. Well worth crawling out of bed, especially with the ocean a few steps away.

Bless the ships at sea.

A desolate beach can be wonderfully restorative. It was.

salt air - part of the cure

Kayaking in March

Still playing catch up here on my blog. Weather was ridiculously warm mid-March, so I launched my kayak on the lake.  Of course, I took my camera along.

Glorious lake reflections

Into the sunset

Paddling out of the cove on Swago Pond, a special spot

Catching up...

Time is moving by too fast. I'm shooting photos almost every day, but can't seem to keep up with my blog.  I'm going to post some pictures from a few weeks in March. The warm weather was beautiful, but winter hit us in April. More on that later!

The Barn - never tire of it!

Around the corner from my house - sunrise.

Through the trees on Swago Pond

Sunset on Swago Pond.

Winter Thunderstorm #2

Drove through a horrendous thunderstorm last week with that cloud-to-ground lightning. Crazy wild. Rain was blinding, thought I'd have to pull off the road. This is where I ended up. Mist on Starlight Lake. Perfect.

Winter Thunderstorm

Last night was wild and crazy here in northeast Pennsylvania.  No one expected a thunderstorm in February.  Intense lightning, long rumbles of thunder, heavy rain, and strong winds. Seriously wild winter weather. More like spring or summer.  Charley, my cat, was underneath the bed for two hours.    Temperatures in the mid 40s today and supposed to be back up in the 50s on Sunday. Heavy fog this morning, which I'm always drawn to.  Managed to get outside during a lull in the rain and shoot a couple photos.
Love the following fog quote.

 “I admire the fog, how it fades into itself.”
― Marty Rubin
 

 

Here's one more fog photo from last year. Came across it yesterday as I was deleting unnecessary photos.  Feels like the sea, but it was taken right around the corner in a field.

Snow, sleet, freezing rain...

That's the weather forecast for tonight, so I'm hunkered down at home with Charley, the cat, by my side.  He loves to play with my fingers when I type. Cute, but sometimes annoying.

Still no real snow storm, but there is hope, possibly early next week. One doesn't want to live through winter for only snow, sleet, and freezing rain. The dreaded wintry mix.  I want to strap on my snow shoes!

We had a rather significant ice event on Tuesday. All the schools were closed and I didn't want to venture outside. Took the picture below from the kitchen window. A foggy, blustery morning.

Dead of Winter

Even winter — the hardest season, the most implacable — dreams, as February creeps on, of the flame that will presently melt it away. Everything tires with time, and starts to seek some opposition, to save it from itself. ~Clive Barker, The Hellbound Heart, 1986

It is cold, the brutal cold that makes me question why I am here this time of year. Granted, I can still get excited about an impending snow storm (non-existent so far this year), but when it's 6 degrees at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, that's too damn cold!  Wood fire is roaring and my house is relatively warm, but the wind howling outside seems to penetrate these walls, despite fairly good insulation. So, why am I here?! It is my job that holds me here, a good job that I like, hard to find I know. Plus, the cat Charley, who does not travel well. And hates being left behind. I have this humble abode

that I own and love here in the country, and many good friends. Therefore, I stay.
It has been too cold to take my camera outside the last couple days, so posting a few photos from the past week. There's a bit of snow on the ground but my driveway has yet to be plowed.  Snow in the forecast for Monday night, so who knows?  Maybe a real snow storm.  I'd like that.