Fixer-Upper

This is the garage of G & H Auto in the center of town.  It opened the year we bought our house in Sea Cliff.  This photo was taken in February of 2020 after it closed down after 48 years in business.

It was a pretty beat up building, as you can see.

Here is a night shot which does a better job of showing what the inside of the garage looked like when it was in operation

But now!  Wow!  Workmen have been installing new modern metal windows, repairing the brick work, cleaning and painting both the outside and the inside and paving the parking lot.  I wondered if this was going to be an office for perhaps a new automobile garage.

This is the interior after being completely refurbished!  I saw this scene where the sunlight was pouring in a few days before, and I photographed it but I didn't have the camera with the super wide-angle lens on it, so I didn't get as wide a view.  When I went back when the sun was in the same place in the sky, there was a step ladder in the foreground and I couldn't get a good view without it.  The next time I went back, hoping that the ladder was gone, there were more things inside.  This looks as if it is going to be an art gallery!  I can't wait to see it when it opens!

 

The Feather

Ok so this is interesting...  I have no idea why I took this photograph.  This is one place along my way to where the old power plant was on my walk.  It is in front of a fenced in area that is completely overgrown with bushes and tall trees.  I think I discovered the other day, in talking to a person in the area that the land is owned by the town, and completely neglected.  It is the one area where snow removal never happens during the winter.  Anyhow, I saw this battered feather on the dead leaves.  Somehow both of these things go together.  The white feather was obvious when I saw it against the dark leaves.  I was drawn to photograph it, but I am not sure why.  I like the bluish tint to the feather, because I took this under an overcast sky late in the day. Maybe this photograph is about discarded things.

 

Sunset Walk

My apologies for forgetting to post last night!  Sorry for those of you who might get worried at the lack of a new photograph this morning.  We were watching a terrific documentary on the TV, called "Lucy and Desi" about their history and their TV shows and running a giant production facility in Hollywood, "Desilu Productions."  It is a great story, and a bit sad.  Anyhow I was distracted and forgot to post.  I went for my usual walk yesterday, and photographed this along the way.  I liked the reflection of the sun off the water, framed between two rocks on the tidal flats.  Just an ordinary sunset but beautiful nontheless.

 

The Thinnest Crescent Moon

 

Tonight I had a piece of grilled salmon for dinner.  I was standing by the grill in the back yard while cooking and happened to look up and saw this thinnest of crescent moons shining through the trees on the neighbor's property.  I thought it was so beautiful seen this way.  More interesting than to see the crescent in the empty sky.  I love how delicate a crescent moon can be.  It is 2.3 days old, meaning since the time of New Moon.  You need a clear sky to see such a thin crescent and winter is the best time of year to see this.

 

In Flight

This is funny.  I went for my usual walk today and I happened to bring my new 70-200mm zoom.  I don't always bring it with me because it is a bit heavy, but I brought it today.  I was walking on the sidewalk with the railing at the harbor's edge.  The wind was howling - it was blowing at 25 MPH!  The tide was pretty far out and seagulls were not that far from shore.  They were slowing flying alongside the harbor not far from the sidewalk while carefully looking down at the shallow water, looking for food, I believe.  The wind was so strong that the birds were hovering there almost motionless at times, because with this wind, they did not have to be flying fast to stay airborne!  Lucky me!  So as a bird would go by I would carefully follow it with my telephoto lens, clicking away.  And I was thrilled to get this shot, with the gull looking right at me!  What's funny is that I forgot that yesterday's post was about seagulls as well!  OK so I am now done with bird photos for the next month!  Well, unless I get a good one!

 

Man, Do Not Feed the Birds!

Man, do not feed the birds!  It is just not good for them!  When we were having coffee and donuts, we noticed a man drive up with his car, and take out a huge black garbage bag and dump it in the parking lot!  It was filled with rolls and sliced bread!  It made a pile about a foot high and a huge number of gulls gathered around and started eating.  I am guessing that the man works for a restaurant.  It was a huge pile of breads! The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation says this about feeding Gulls:  Feeding gulls may be fun and appear beneficial for the birds, but this food threatens their well-being as well as presenting a threat to drinking water supplies. Before deciding to feed the gulls, please consider the following impacts. Foods like breads, crackers and french fries are commonly offered to gulls, but these items are nutritionally inferior and poor substitutes for natural foods. Gulls with a highly artificial diet may suffer long-term health problems.

 

The Cat Who Sits Funny

The cats are endlessly fascinating.  This is one of Grace's favorite places to sit because she can look out the back window and get a clear view of the side yard.  It seems like a funny way to sit.  Sometimes the white chair is further from the window, and she looks even stranger because she still sits on the chair and has to reach even further with her front paws to reach the windowsill.  I love how her tail conforms to the back of the chair, then the top of the pillow and then starts down!  I think that the way her tail was arranged is why I first stopped to look at her, before taking the picture.