Time for a new birdhouse.
It’s at least a dozen years old and was used every year until it deteriorated and split apart this year. It’s hanging in the birch tree out back st Mark snd Erika’s home In Ohio.
I bought this from the puppeteers, Charlie snd Laura who came to our school to perform and who are master gardeners and craftsmen.
When the outdoor world seems black and white and gray but your photograph is in color. Everyone has had enough of the cold, snow, ice and dark. They’re ready for crocuses and daffodils bursting through the earth, looking for light.
I’ve photographed this tree before. I always like how the snow defines the branches.
A friend drove over from Morristown to Morris Plains (New Jersey) today. It’s where I spent a decade of my growing up.
Photographed this evergreen for me. Sent me the photo. Between 40 and 50 feet tall now. Wow!
I was wondering if it was still there after all these years.
We had a live tree with the roots encased in a burlap sack just that single year. I remember how we watered it and of course it was really heavy to get out of the living room.
Usually we’d get a cut tree, close to Christmas Eve. You know the ones- sometimes hard to get level in the metal stand or the base of the trunk is too thick so you get a metal bucket and some rocks, the fresh trees that drop needles before Epiphany, or you grab the trunk and are dripping with sappy gum. These real trees evoke Christmas of yesteryear with the pine fragrance. Not a candle or soap or air freshener. True woodsy clean fresh pine along with a tangerine peel says Christmas to me.
This Christmas tree was planted behind St.Paul’s Church in Morris Plains where our dad was the rector. We lived in the Rectory across the street.
The photographer prefers anonymity to a photo credit but I’m grateful for the effort and can’t wait until my brother and sister see this magnificent tree. Thank you.
Happy memories. 
The Hendricks Family Christmas (1963) Tree today. 2-10-19
Do you think this is a ribbon leaf Japanese maple tree? I’d no idea there were so many varieties. I need to take a leaf identification refresher course.
Coney Island Ride, carousel poles, birthday candles. Hair in a twist. Lighthouse in Florida. A gnarled tree.
How fortunate my neighbors scheduled their trees to be trimmed,
The branches were growing into the side of their house.
After Steve moved the cars out of the garage and onto the street, I thought to myself- “hmmmm- People at Work, right in my driveway!” Perfect for an interesting photo shoot. Andrew agreed to allow me to photograph him working. You should see those spikes that help him climb up the tree. Takes a lot of skill and care. You have to know what you are doing. Ascend is the word of the week, showing upward movement.
Meet Andrew. I shot this with the 70-200 Lens.
Throwing down a branch he cut
When we arrived in the city Tuesday evening after the long train ride from Pittsburgh we walked down to the Hudson River after supper. It was dark so I didn’t see the colorful crocheted blankets on the trees.
Then yesterday we were on Hudson Street and WHOA- there they were brightening up the landscape.
Here’s an article about the creator of the project – Holly Boardman owner of Musée Lingerie on Christopher says ” It takes about one hour to crochet a single square, and we have over 1,880 squares on our Christopher Street block. That took about 80 days!”
A total transformation of ordinary tree trunks into colorful street art
Here’s the first one I spotted on Hudson Street and then we rounded the corner on Christopher…
I don’t see a lot of walnut trees in the city. These trees are at my friends’ home on Neville Island.
Crop of photo below taken with a 24-70 lens 
Preparing for winter
Photographed Monday
Look at the weather change on Tuesday afternoon,
blue sky and the temps in the 80s
WordPress has taken a week off from the Weekly Photo Challenge but fellow blogger Cee Neuner has created a Just A Fun Challenge- Hidden
check out her cats, hiding on Cee’s Blogpost 
if you’ve been following me since June 2010 you’ve seen my grandkids hiding under the Japanese Maple in their front yard.
Twisted- not a straight line