Pot of Gold

In the late afternoon on October 1, 2006, a hard shower fell just as the sun was setting. When the sky cleared, the most beautiful rainbow emerged. This picture is looking toward Tussey Ridge in the east. The rainbow went all the way to the ground, in a patch of brightly sunlit corn, reminding me of shining gold.

Flowers

Flowers are easy. They do all the work. All I have to do is point my lens and try to focus. This year, I took quite a few pictures of various bloomimg plants far and wide across the state. This is a small start. I'm browsing through my raw pictures and I'll post what I find soon.

Sunset on the Rocks

This last summer, on June 24, 2005, I was visiting my Mom in Silvara, while my brother Steve was also there. We spent the afternoon at my sister Tina's house, and it was just about sunset as we were driving back home. I thought of stoppping at Wyalusing Rocks and what a great idea that was. Here are just a few of the 50 or so pictures I took. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.

Bald Eagle Sunset

A little over a year ago, on April 4, 2004, I was leaving our local bookstore, when I was struck by the sunset over the Bald Eagle Ridge. You need to look closely in the dark, but the speed limit here is 15 mph. We take it slow here in Happy Valley. By the way, this view is no longer there. WalMart is expanding their store and they are building in this space. Just another slice of beauty trashed to build a mall.

Kingfisher

While hiking with my dog Queen along the Tuscarora Creek near my Mother's home in Silvara, Pa., I saw a Kingfisher fly over and land in a tree across the creek. He was trilling loudly, obviously upset because we were in his territory. Before I could bring up the camera and focus, he flitted away down the creek and I thought, "That is that, I won't see him again." Then Queen, bless her sweet canine heart, trotted on ahead sniffing around for whatever she could find, and she kicked the Kingfisher back up to the very same tree directly across from me. This is the only shot I got before he took off for good.

Berry Preserves

On the night of January 5, 2005, we had a heavy ice storm. A large portion of my sour cherry tree was a casualty, long with many other trees in the area. Tree carnage aside, though, the ice coated everything beautifully. I took several pictures, but this was my favorite. It's easy to see how branches would snap and power lines come down.

Morning Fog

This was taken in the early morning of October 6, 2004, as I was driving north through the Nittany Valley. I was struck by the delicate color of the clouds reflecting the rising sun and the peaceful fog settled on the farmland in the valley. The hard part was getting a decent picture without a telephone pole in the foreground. I had to climb 10-20 feet down a steep embankment, slipping on my butt at least twice on the way. Even then, most of my shots were marred by those freaking poles. I cropped the pole from this one and I'm pretty happy with the results.