lavendertook

Happy Birthday, cali_se! I hope it's been a beautiful and magical day!

Happy birthday, wordweaverlynn!!! I hope it is a day filled with love and all good things to open a wonderful year for you!


Late afternoon light on a summer's day down by Greenbelt Lake. Below the cut are some pics from last fall there . . .

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So there's this stripped-down, bark-less tree stump along the path around the lake which has wonderful patterns in it that I really like.


In the right light, it looks like spun silver. I took these shots in April.

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. . . because we need the reminder. Here's some pics from down by the lake the weekend before last, as spring declared its commencement.



A very fluffy double daffodil ready for its close-up.

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We finally got full sunshine today, and the buds on the trees are starting to open, so it finally feels like the first day of spring. That helps. We're definitely 2 weeks behind on spring now, after winter coming over a month early, so it's been quite a slog this year.

The vet was supposed to call me today about a question I had concerning Saki's medicine dosage, and never did. This definitely isn't working out. I feel so let down by every end of the medical establishment at this point. Infrastructure? Just not working here. Surprised? No. I lost my dad to surgery and poor aftercare, so am familiar with this tune.

As I have a lot of hunting among reviews to do yet, and yelp.com hasn't worked out too well for me, I was wondering if any of you have used Angie's List and found it helpful? Have you found any other review source for veterinary, medical, and dental providers useful that you could suggest?





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One great Blue Heron has been living on the lake since I came to this town 19 years ago. I don't know if this is the same one I've seen every year, but it just may be. I call hir Dinosaur and greet hir with this name whenever we meet. Another Great Blue visited with hir a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't seen the second one since, though ze might be around.

And Happy Tolkien Reading Day, which I am participating in by reciting my part in the read_lotr_aloud project community after I post this entry. All my readings can be found at bbolger_baggins. One day I hope to sit down and listen to everyone's readings. And it is an especially good day to post pics of trees in JRRT's honor. From last October:





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. . . from a serene time, long, long ago.




( Breathe in a Froday's calm . . . )

. . . until Spring gives us something worth reflecting upon . . .








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So here is a serene reflection in the lake from last October to keep us from going stark raving mad as we wait for spring to decide to settle in.


( Sunken gold beneath a silvery sheet . . . )

More pics of the lake from last October . . . we're getting to the good stuff now . . .



( The trees ablaze . . . )

. . . still from before the show got really good. And keep in mind, this was not fixing to be that great an autumn, even if it didn't get cut short by Hurricane Sandy. Due to summer drought, many of the leaves just browned out. The colors were not as bright in 2012 as in some years, and a lot of the colors in my pics are from the late afternoon sun shining through the leaves, making them glow brighter. Still, some of the trees overhanging the lake with their roots in the water just ignored the drought the other trees were complaining about, and I've focused on those lucky sprouts. I sharpen and saturate the pics slightly, besides blurring the corners, but no more than I think brings them closer to my eyes' experience. Climate contextualizing disclaimer over and out. (-:



( Step along the path . . . )

I'm starting to feel better today, so the antibiotic ear drops are doing their job. Tomorrow everything should be covered in white--forecasters have just upped the number of inches we should expect, so it's definitely coming. It might be a good day to bake, if the power holds.

The pics below are from around the lake last October, before Hurricane Sandy yanked all our colors away. So here is a memory of bright colors to contemplate on a snow blown day:



( Follow the memory of falling leaves . . . )

More early October pics from around the lake. In the path pics here, the leaves that were turning were not that bright in themselves, but were set on fire by the setting sun. I cropped about a third of the right side off of this first pic because that part was washed out by the sunlight over the water. I like how the walker's blue shirt gives just the right touch of color. I've been blurring the corners of most of these pics because it gives a greater depth of field in the center and gives that touch of misty enchantment.
( Step through the door below, if you will . . .  )

A very happy birthday to the lovely lovethosehobbit! Come on for a walk around Greenbelt Lake . . .



This is how it looked a month ago when the trees were just beginning to put on their autumn finery. We had a brief autumn this year, cut short by the drought that browned out most leaves early, and ended abruptly by Hurricane Sandy and its tryst with the cold front that plunged us into an early winter. Normally, the leaves would be past peak right now, but there would still be many trees doing their own dances of bright color to prolong the loveliness past mid November, but the trees are uncharacteristically mostly bare now. Still, we had a lot of sunshine in October that made the few trees doing their dances of color shine with a subtler beauty, especially in the late afternoon light. So we'll continue around part of the lake below.

( Come walk around the lake . . . )

I've been getting through this heat wave by living nocturnally and staying in, only going out after sunset to feed the stray kitties (poor things in this heat) and get supplies. So these pics are a reminder of the good green world I hope to return to. (-; Tomorrow for a few days it will only be going up to the lower 90's for a breather (yeah, it's all perspective) and I will venture out into the daylight again. But in the meantime, I will continue to bring you the cool fresh air of this forest stream trail at Patapsco Valley Park.

I'm sorry for being so behind on replying to comments and commenting on entries! I'm still eager to continue the discussions on my LotR EE entries and will be back there. But I want to make sure I get more of this pretty trail to you during this heat wave some of us are experiencing. And hopefully the green is a soothing reminder for my winter-bound friends Down Under.

So here is another pic of one of my favorite things: clear stream running icily beneath lush ferns and moss. Please click on the pic to see it better.



Here's a question for LJ experts: I want to post these pics here at the same size they appear when you click through to the pic on my LJ scrapbook, which is double the size of what I'm posting here, so that you don't have to click through. However, when I do re-size them in the url for the entry, they come out fuzzier in my entry than they are on the scrapbook page you click to, even though the pics are the same size. Do you know how I can fix that so that I can post the pics clearly on my entries at the size they appear when you click through to the scrapbook? The LJ FAQ was no help to me at all. Thanks!

( Come along this woodland trail where you can feel the breath of the trees on your skin . . . )

Happy Hobbity Birthday, honeyandvinegar!!!! Here's a pic of the DC cherry blossoms I got last week before they were all open to help you celebrate!!!

Sunset at blizzard's end. We got around 2 1/2 feet. But with the plowed piles as high as me, this snow will be staying around a long time.
( Snow everywhere forever . . . )

Am tired, so I'll let more pics from Friday say my greetings to ya'll today. Hope you enjoy!

( Click for more sun-burnished snow )

Here are more pics where the reflections double the fun. I probably wouldn't have gotten these if my camera didn't have such a great low light setting. It's so cold here today with high winds, I was cold at work for once, but right now I got a Saki cuddling against me with her head tucked in against my leg, and a Moo is curled up at my feet.
( Follow the last burst of color as the light fades . . . )