365:144 - Vermont Stream

We went to eat at a scrumptious restaurant, and across the street was a little park with a stream. It was dark enough under the trees for me to play around with long shutter speeds to make the water look soft.

365:143 - Haircut

We spent the weekend with our friends Reanna and Dan at their home in Vermont. It was so nice to have some time to just relax and catch up.

On Saturday evening, Reanna gave haircuts to both Dan and me.

Reanna and Dan have such a wonderful place in Vermont...so green and quiet and peaceful. It made me really nostalgic for living in the country. I miss the dark, quiet nights.

365:142 - iPod

Eric and I left after work to drive to our friends' home in Vermont. I have become very bad at road trips lately, getting cranky way more quickly than I used to. We were driving through the dark, and I just wanted to GET THERE.

This song, though, makes me smile every time...it's so funny and ridiculous!

365:141 - Work Experience

When I went to volunteer at the library, as I usually do on Thursday evenings, the director came to talk to me about the possibility of a part-time job. Ohmygoodnessgracious I would love to get this job! Starting part time would be perfect!

So I dug out my resume to make sure I got it up to date before I sent it to her. We shall see what happens......!

365:140 - Skin

Just another last-minute magnetic poetry shot.

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365:139 - Christie Jumping

I got to hang out with my sister for a few hours when she and her husband came up to stay at my parents' home. After dinner at the church, as we were walking back to the car, I pulled out the camera and asked her to jump. She's very obliging and very expressive, so I was able to get a couple of fun shots.

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476:138 - Benny Beads

When we lived at Henderson Settlement, there was a gentleman named Benny who would attend the senior program in the Community Center where I worked. Benny has Downs Syndrome, and he's a very friendly guy, so he'd often stop to say hi to me while I was in the library.

One of Benny's favorite things to do while he was at the senior center was to string beads in the craft room. He made lots and lots of necklaces, and I was the lucky recipient of one of those strings of beads. It hangs on the CD shelf in our living room, and when I look at it, I remember Benny and our other friends in Kentucky.

Arrival of the Hummingbird

I noticed a hummingbird zipping around the yard a couple days ago. So yesterday, I dug out the feeders, cleaned them, whipped up a batch of nectar, and hung one up. When I got home from work this afternoon, I saw two males and a female vying for the feeder.

365:137 - AJ

When we went to camp for open house on Sunday, they had a lot of fruit in the lodge for people to munch on. While we were lounging around, Brookye came up to me and said, "AJ is about to eat a lemon. You will want to take pictures." She was right. This little man bit into this lemon slice, and his face puckered immediately! He seemed to like it, though--he kept going back for more and laughing about it.

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Goldfinches on a Sunny Afternoon

The goldfinches seem to have finished molting into their brilliant breeding plumage. As I was watching a handful of finches at the feeder yesterday afternoon, I really noticed just how green everything has gotten as of late. It became even more obvious when the goldfinches would dart to one of the nearby shrubs to continue eating. Ah, springtime.

365:136 - Pourin' the Rain

When we lived in Kentucky, we learned a lot of new ways to phrase things, and "pourin' the rain" was one of them. It was certainly pourin' the rain on Saturday evening, and I loved it. It's great to have a porch to hang out on when there's a tumult outside.

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365:135 - Ant on the Railing

It's officially spring--the bugs are out.

This evening was beautiful--sunny and warm with a breeze blowing and an amazingly blue sky. I took a bunch of shots, but this guy turned out to be my favorite. He hung out there on our porch railing for several minutes, munching on who knows what, and making it very easy for me to take a whole lot of photos of him!

365:134 - Baseball

We went to a B-Mets game Thursday night. Here are some of the things that made it awesome:
1. Cotton candy.
2. Rowdy fans behind us.
3. Eric caught a ball.
4. Salt potatoes.
5. The B-Mets came back to win in the ninth inning.

PS - This isn't a B-Mets player...I managed not to get any good shots of the home team.

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365:133 - Houseplant

Here's the newest addition to Eric's houseplant family - a hand-me-down from my mom.

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365:132 - Chimney and Tree

I would've liked to have captured more of the tree in this shot, but I took it through our upstairs bathroom window, and it's so tiny that I couldn't lean out much farther without getting stuck.

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365:131 - Afghan

When we were at my grandmother's house on Sunday, she passed along this afghan. Apparently a woman made it for a sale that was a fundraiser for their church. The woman had spent a lot of time on the afghan, and she was very proud of it. As the sale went on and nobody stepped up to purchase it, my grandfather decided that he would buy it. He didn't need the afghan, but he knew that his purchase would flatter the woman who had made it and let her know that she had made a valuable contribution.

Even though my grandfather has passed away, I continue to learn from him. I have fantastic role models in my life.

Mailbox

I took this photo this afternoon for a postcard project I’m working on at work. The joy of digital photography is that one can go from concept to product in no time flat.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the anonymous person who left a carton of eggs in the mailbox sometime on Sunday. It made our morning yesterday!

365:130 - Mother's Day

Eric and I got to hang out with my mom (and other members of my family) on Mother's Day, which was great! I didn't think to have anyone pose for any sort of portraits, so this candid is the only shot I got of my mom from Sunday.

Now that I think about it, though, it's probably good. My mom's not a glamorous, pose-y type of woman. She's a for-real woman. She didn't teach me how to put on make-up--she taught me how to care for people.

Thank you, Mom, for being an incredible example of honesty, faith, and love. I love you!

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365:129 - Ithaca Falls

Eric and I took a friend to visit Ithaca. Since our friend didn't know a lot about Ithaca, we had to visit some key places, and one of them was Ithaca Falls.

This waterfall is right in the middle of town, and it's accessible all hours of the day and night. One of my favorite memories of weekends working at camp was when a bunch of people decided to drive out to the falls in the middle of the night. I remember lying on my back on the rocks, looking up at the stars and hearing the falls and talking to a friend abou some deep, important subject (which, of course, I don't remember now).

It's a beautiful place that's linked with great memories for me.

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8

Close-up of the plate on the smokebox of the Baldwin locomotive on display in the 1902 Roundhouse at Steamtown. Portions of the locomotive's sides have been removed to allow viewing of the various sections of it.

Erie

On our way to Steamtown the other day, my dad and I stopped by the Starrucca House in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. There were several old cars on the side tracks beside the station. I really liked the rust mixing with the logo on this particular one.

365:128 - Rusty Drain

Eric and I went for another walk downtown in Binghamton on Friday evening, and we ventured along the riverwalk that goes under the bridge. This was some sort of giant drainage pipe. It gave me a chance to practice making the water look soft, especially against the rough texture of the rust.

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365:127 - Dickinson Statue

Eric and I went for a walk in downtown Binghamton after visiting the library on Thursday evening. It's incredible to look at these buildings and think about what the city must've looked like in its heyday.

This is the statue of....somebody important whose last name is Dickinson. The courthouse is behind him.

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365:126 - Penny Jar

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Photo Friday: Wildlife

It’s been awhile since I submitted anything for Photo Friday, but when I saw that the theme for the week was “wildlife”, I couldn’t resist. I happened upon this dark-eyed junco as I was stalking a wood thrush a couple weeks ago.

Steamtown

My dad and I went to Steamtown National Historic Site today. Upon arrival we took a short ride around the yard, pulled by the Canadian Pacific 2317 (pictured on the turntable.) It’s a 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive.

Bunny

On the cruise ship, the room stewards fold the towels into different animals. This particular day was a bunny rabbit.

365:125 - Wooden Duck

For Christmas, Eric got me a bunch of random tchotchkes from the Salvation Army--interesting-looking things to take pictures of. This duck is one of them.

Hello, duck.

365:124 - Delicate

These delicate leaves decorate our friends' wedding invitation that we found in the mail when we got home from Kentucky. Hooray for love!

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365:123 - Anne

Did I mention that our friends have cute kids?

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365:122 - Robert E. Lee Motel

Apparently nobody wants to stay at the Robert E. Lee Motel. Can't say I blame 'em.

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DR

The shoreline where we docked in the Dominican Republic, when I was on a cruise a few weeks ago. Picture Taken on Monday April 13th

Admiral Giving Instructions

Admiral Giving Instructions
Originally uploaded by Penlington Manor

So, I've been so busy birdwatching that I've failed to upload anything for quite some time (or something like that...) I love the expression on AJ's face as he talks with Sarah.

365:121 - Reflecting

This is a piece of the suncatcher in the window of Mike and Lori's dining room.

Our couple of days in Kentucky gave us a chance to catch up with many of our friends there. It was so wonderful to see them and just spend a little bit of time with them.

As I said to Eric, it felt so easy and comfortable to slip back into the community, but at the same time, it wasn't comfortable enough to stay. I loved our time in Kentucky, and I wasn't ready to leave when we did, but now I know that it was time to move on. I'm not saying that we've got it all figured out now, and I know that we're not sure where the road will lead us. Even though we seem to be floating a little right now, I feel like we're where we're supposed to be.

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365:120 - Straw and String

This is the cover on the coffee table in our Kentucky friends' Mike and Lori's living room. It's not a terribly inspiring picture, but we spent some time visiting and catching up with them, and I thought that was more important.

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