Guilty Pleasures

Rituals.  The small joys of life.  So our Tuesday morning ritual is to go to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee and one donut each. We used to go to Starbucks every Tuesday after I retired, but they changed their frequent flyer program, and it really annoyed me, so now I am boycotting them.  I am sure they are feeling the pain...  I have a bavarian cream donut.  Every week. For eight months.  I get stuck in my ways. 

Who's Looking at Me?

I was on the way home tonight after a meeting, and I was taking the back roads.  I took a few photographs on the spooky looking roads, but there wasn't anything really that interesting.  I should tell you, given my history, that when I wanted to take a picture of a dark roadway, I came to a complete stop before shooting a picture.  See how good I am about this!  Anyhow, I couldn't find a picture that I liked, but when I came to a red light on a busy intersection, I saw this face in the sky, and realized that this was going to be the best I could come up with.

Inside Out

There is a house on the corner just up the road from us that has been there forever. It was sheathed with cedar shingles, weathered gray.  Recently some carpenters began working on the outside of the house.  But after a couple of days, instead of looking like some kind of minor repair work, it began to look like demolition.  They removed all of the exterior sheathing from around the whole house, and the complete roof over a small room on the other side of the house.  But they have left the interior lathe and plaster walls intact, so I think they are going to start rebuilding shortly.  I hope so.  I can't wait to see how this turns out.  I will keep you informed.  

Tulips & Fence

I was on my way to the recycling center when I drove up this short street, and saw a border garden of Tulips.  What grabbed my attention was that instead of the flowers just being in a garden with other flowers, or with just a lawn as a background, there was a fence directly behind them.  I am not sure why they jumped out at me, but the fence really got my attention.  Perhaps because it is a neutral background, instead of being a background of color.  Maybe the Tulips would be prettier amongst other flowers - now I am not sure.  But it was different, so here it is.  You can all vote on this topic!

A Do-Over

I decided after looking at the Dogwood tree today, that I wanted a do-over on yesterday's photograph.  So I went back and looked at the tree in different light.  The sunlight was shining directly on the blossoms, making them more prominent.  So this photograph shot from a low angle is perfect - you can see the constellation of blossoms, and, you can see the bare trunk and other bare branches beneath, showing that the rest of the tree is dead.

Then I backed away from the tree and stood up, and took this photograph.  At first glance it looks as if the tree is in full bloom.  It's kind of a pretty photograph, but if you enlarge it by clicking on it, you can see through the blossoms that the other branches are dead.  So my favorite of all the photographs is the first one on this page.

On its Last Legs

We had two Dogwood trees on the property when we bought the house, and our neighbor had another one right on the property line. So in Spring, it was quite beautiful with all of them in bloom.  But gradually over the years they have died off.  Now there is only one left, and it only has one branch bearing blossoms.  So sad to see them go - apparently is is a well-known fungus that it killing them off. So this tree is on it's last legs, but it still brightens everything around here in Spring.

A Walk in the Park

I was on my way home from the dentist today, and I was in a hurry when I passed this pond and saw the reflections of the trees in the water. Bummer.  So I came back about two hours later, and fortunately nothing had changed.  Except that the wind was blowing, leaving waves on the water, ruining the reflection, and the sun had gone behind the clouds!  But I was patient, and the wind stopped, and the sun came out, and I lucked out!