nature – Page 10 – Ruth E. Hendricks

Waiting for Spring

The Spring Equinox is March 20 at 7:02 AM. Just THREE weeks to go. I checked the Old Farmer’s Almanac for the official word.

In another 5 weeks, it’ll look like this in our part of the country….I have to keep it in mind.

Blossoms and green grass, bulbs shooting up through the earth. The RedBud will bloom.

Three weeks ’til Official Spring. This photo was taken two years ago the first week of April.

March is Friday. I think I have it calculated right.

Old State Road in Columbus on the way home. (I pulled over!)

February 26, 2013February 26, 2013 by Ruth Categories: PhotographyTags: blossoming trees, Columbus OH, flowering pear, nature, photography, Pittsburgh PA, postaday, redbud, seasons, Spring, spring equinox, travel, weather 10 Comments

I Drove Home in a Snow Globe

and of course, returned to the park. It’s just blocks from my house. And the light was low, the visibility poor. A stark and magnificent beauty in the midst of the storm.

What were the trees doing today? One day winter, one day Spring, one day freezing and dark, one day a warm sun but a chill in the wind. I wanted to see the branches outlined in snow. The dark branches highlighted with the new fallen snow. Actually, falling snow.

I was rewarded with a stunning winter scene, just before dusk.

It had started to snow while I was at school. The sky heavy and gray. Big big flakes. Melting on the street as it was 38 degrees. I drove home in a snow globe.

Oh yes, today I got out of the car, scared off a squirrel and photographed the snowy park bench and my favorite tree. The sounds muffled by the new snow, barely sticking to the road but highlighting the curved lines.

these are unretouched color photographs

Two roads diverged….

Home to tea. Homemade spaghetti and cheese, steamed broccoli. Leftover fortune cookie and a mandarin orange. Winter.

February 13, 2013February 13, 2013 by Ruth Categories: In the snow, Photography, Things in the SnowTags: city scene, HIghland Park, nature, neighborhood, park bench, park bench in snow, photography, Pittsburgh PA, postaday, snow globe, Snowstorm, travel, trees, winter, winter scene 26 Comments

Tree in Snow, Tree in Sun

Another in my winter tree series. Actually I drove through the park today and the snow is gone. See the tree below.

I wanted to post the trees in silhouette, though and the sinking sun behind the trunk.

It ‘s the warmth of the sun on the snow that appeals to me.

My drives through the park after school on my way home have help me appreciate the beauty of the winter.

A different tree but this is the angle of the sun at the time I was driving into the entrance of Highland Park.

Today on the way home, the car thermometer read 63 degrees. Here’s what my trip into the park yielded Monday afternoon. Find the car to check the scale of the tree. Because of the mottled peeled bark, I believe it’s a giant sycamore. Long shadows and blue sky with pretty clouds made it feel like April.

February 11, 2013February 11, 2013 by Ruth Categories: PhotographyTags: city scene, HIghland Park, nature, photography, Pittsburgh PA, silhouette, snow, sunset in snow, travel, tree, weather, winter, winter scene 14 Comments

Taillight and a Tall Pine in the Snow

Back to the park after school. I was later today. The sun was sinking in the west and this was facing east. When I wrote taillight it didn’t look correct but I checked it out with Merriam- Webster online and it is spelled right! I thought about cropping out the car end but changed my mind. I think it adds perspective and information, allowing one to judge how tall the pine tree is. It looks dead to me, but I am not an arborist.

Looks like the snow glows from the reflected setting sun.

It is a pine tree, isn’t it?

detail

February 7, 2013February 7, 2013 by Ruth Categories: Photography, Things in the SnowTags: HIghland Park, nature, park, photography, pine tree, pine tree in the snow, Pittsburgh PA, postaday, travel, tree, winter scene 9 Comments

Dog Walker and a Snowy Tree

Scroll down for the crop with the dog walker and his dogs in the distance. Didn’t see him when I shot the photo.

Another color photograph that looks black and white. Shot with a EF Canon 50mm 1.2L Lens- 500 ISO f/16, 125 shutter. Wish I had tried a few more settings at the time but wanted to get home.

Thursday the temperature is to be in the 50’s. Unusual fluctuation- one day twenties and snow and ice, another day about zero, now up to sixty?

Something feels off.

February 6, 2013February 6, 2013 by Ruth Categories: Photography, Things in the SnowTags: black and white, branches, dog, dog walker, EF Canon 50mm 1.2L lens, HIghland Park, nature, neighborhood, photography, Pittsburgh PA, snow highlights branch lines, snowy tree, travel, tree, weather, winter, winter in the city 12 Comments

Old Trees New Trees on a Winter Path

After school I drove into Highland Park, right near my home. I’d taken a series of black and white photos for a film class years ago in this same spot and still have a print on my wall.

With the new snow today, I thought it might look interesting but the light was low and the sky thick and gray.

Found some new trees planted along the path, though.

I plan to return in the Spring.

There weren’t many dog walkers or walkers or runners or any activity in the park. The Super Playground deserted and covered with snow and ice. No bicycles. The fountain turned off. The reservoir a layer of ice. The sounds muffled with the snow, but barely a car driving around the circle today.

It’s in color but almost looks black and white.

February 5, 2013February 5, 2013 by Ruth Categories: Photography, Things in the SnowTags: black and white, city, Highland Park Pittsburgh, nature, neighborhood, photography, postaday, snowfall, trees in snow, winter, woods 7 Comments

Paynes Prairie Preserve Gators on Christmas Day

Paynes Prairie Preserve in Micanopy Florida. Photographed by my friend Kristin F.as she took a walk on Christmas Day.

(Just five feet away from these guys! Yikes)

Such a contrast to the frozen white world of Pennsylvania and Ohio. She says Jan 1st temp is 73 degrees! And I am trying to not fall in my driveway as I unload the suitcase and bags from my Winter Holiday in Ohio, prepare to return to school in the early AM. Thanks Kristin.

January 1, 2013January 1, 2013 by Ruth Categories: Guest BlogTags: alligators, Christmas, friendship, Micanopy FL, nature, Paynes Prairie Preserve, photography, travel 8 Comments

Plitvice Lakes- Waterfalls in National Park Croatia

Peaceful reflection in the National Park in Croatia-Plitvice Lakes

December 17, 2012December 17, 2012 by Ruth Categories: Photography, TravelTags: Croatia, family, landscape, National Park Croatia, nature, photography, Plitvice Lakes, reflection, travel, waterfalls 3 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Renewal

The Weekly Photo Challenge: Renewal.

Autumn offers no crocuses or tiny redbud blooms on trees. I thought of library books and contracts, being signed up for a team. Commitment.

Everything is preparing for dormancy, dropping beautiful gold and orange leaves in gutters like crazy. There is a sense of approaching winter, the urge to cocoon, make soup. And then the temperature is in the 60s and predicted 70 for Sunday. One day you are making up your bed with flannel sheets, boiling water for tea, making chili or soup. The next day you are ripping off your sweater and sporting a cotton T. The fluctuations feel strange and off.

As I left school, this is what I saw…

The fresh pine cones dangling for the pine trees branches, bobbing in the wind and the late day sunlight shining right on them said renewal to me.

Everything has been focused on the vibrant palette of the deciduous trees but look at this magnificent coniferous tree!

November 9, 2012November 9, 2012 by Ruth Categories: Weekly Photo ChallengeTags: autumn, coniferous, coniferous tree, daily post, nature, pattern, pine cones, pine tree, Pittsburgh PA, postaday, travel, urban scene, weekly photo challenge: renewal 27 Comments

Alien Under Toadstool, Fairy Godmother, too

This weekend I watched Maura (almost 4) while her family went to a swim meet with her brothers and sister. She saw me outside and asked, “Granma, Why are you in the bushes?” When she came over to see what I was doing, she said she liked the Fairy Godmother. One shot of each on the iPhone and then she and I played. I’d been sorting toys in the playroom. Saw the toadstool and went and got the two figurines.

Today’s photos? Just for fun. The fungus was enormous. And I had just been reading an article telling of the two cousins Frances and Elsie photographs with the Cottlingley Fairies. (1917)

Thanks to Annette who wrote and said that “ the blog is a daily vitamin for the creative soul.”

November 4, 2012November 4, 2012 by Ruth Categories: PhotographyTags: alien, Columbus OH, Cottingley Fairies, fairy Godmother, fungus, garden, iPhone, nature, photography, postaday, toadstool, toy, travel 16 Comments

Tag: nature

Waiting for Spring

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I Drove Home in a Snow Globe

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Tree in Snow, Tree in Sun

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Taillight and a Tall Pine in the Snow

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Dog Walker and a Snowy Tree

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Old Trees New Trees on a Winter Path

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Paynes Prairie Preserve Gators on Christmas Day

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Plitvice Lakes- Waterfalls in National Park Croatia

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Renewal

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Alien Under Toadstool, Fairy Godmother, too

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