Second Sale... Gallery Show of Feb 12 - Mar 4, 2010

My neighbor had a fuchsia plant which was gorgeous... until they went away and I didn't notice to water it in their absence! This image is my favorite of the photographs I took and was included in my gallery show where it was the second sale on the evening of the "meet the artist" reception.

First sale: Jeweled Heart of a Yellow Chrysanthemum...

If you have been following my blog, you know I have a gallery show running from Feb 12, 2010 - Mar 4, 2010 at Orchard Gallery in Bethesda, MD. This image, framed and matted, sold at the Meet the Artist reception (held Friday, Feb 19, 2010) and is the first photographic image I've sold. Here's hoping it won't be the last!

Sparrow at the feeder... February 10, 2010... snowing and blowing...

The sun is shining at the moment... but they are telling us more snow is on the way... 1-2 inches at most is what they are telling us. I sure do hope they are right because I cannot take another blizzard! The birds are sure happy to be fed during all this mess but I'm out of patience with the mess AND almost out of bird seed!!!

A blizzard of snow AND robins in our holly tree...

Robins, desperate for food during out back-to-back blizzards of earlier in the month, came by the hundreds to dine on berries in my huge holly tree. I'm not good at estimating heights but can tell you that our holly tree is as tall as our two-story house plus A-frame attic (which adds at least 8 feet to the height of the house). There are three main trunks to the tree which we've trimmed to allow walking underneath and kept it mostly rounded above that point. Unfortunately for the tree, the heavy wet snow of the Feb 5-6, 2010 storm broke one minor branch and one of the major trunks about 2/3 of the way toward the top of the tree.

Are you taking my picture again? Female Cardinal at my feeder... February, 2010

We have had SO MUCH snow this winter that we've reached a record since snowfall has been recorded in our area... 55.6" (141.224 cm) so far this winter of 2009/2010 in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

We had SUN today and everyone is digging out... but patience is wearing thin with the mess left behind by two blizzard category storms that dumped huge amounts of snow on us in less than one week's time.

The good news for me in all this MESS is that the gallery where my photography show is happening was able, in spite of the storm, to meet with me today to organize hanging the show which is now advertised on the gallery web site.

Red berries... sunlit in snow and ice... February 7, 2010

We saw the sun this week... in between what might be the worst February in history for snow storms in our area. This is a very common landscape plant and I can NEVER remember the name of it!

We are currently experiencing our third snowstorm of February and the second to be classified as a blizzard! Snow has been coming down for almost 24 hours now and MAY stop when predicted... in another 3 hours or so. It's been blowing quite hard along with the snowfall so it's very hard to tell how much we've had... best guess is about another 8" on top of the nearly 30 inches from the Feb 5-6 snowstorm.

Two robins in Dogwood tree... Blizzard of Feb 5-6, 2009

As mentioned in an earlier post, the robins came by the hundreds to visit my holly tree for the berries... these two were taking a break in the dogwood next to my holly when I caught them on camera. Their attitude seems to be saying... what's with all this snow anyway?

The forecast for today is for MORE SNOW (our fifth winter storm) and it may drop as much as 10-20 inches overnight into Wednesday. I love snow but even I am tiring of it now... shoveling over 2 feet of snow from the previous storm has about worn me out!

BUMP... the car... the road... the snow? February, 5-6, 2010 BLIZZARD!!!

Something a bit different from my usual posts for you today. Anyone following the weather news (anywhere in the world, according to reports received from various widely scattered friends over the past weekend), knows we've had a major snowstorm in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. I live in the suburb of Bethesda, not far from the DC line and this is what our street looked like on Saturday in the late afternoon. I measured over 2 feet of snow in our yard and am STILL (Monday morning) not shoveled out of our driveway.

Robin in Holly tree... February snow storm!

Our recent storm of Feb 5-6, 2010 dropped over two feet of snow in my yard. (others in the greater DC metropolitan area reported over 2-1/2 feet although the "official" record at the airport (south and west of me) was "only" 17.8 inches) One of the major trunks of my holly (there are three trunks) broke off about 2/3 of the way up and a lower branch broke off from one of the other trunks as well. Since robins are ground feeders and do not eat seeds, any time it snows they head for my holly tree to harvest the berries. I rather like how this came out with a robin in the bokeh behind the front robin in the field of view.

Mama Cardinal in our February blizzard! ENOUGH!!!

It is hard to believe... but after nearly 30 inches of snowfall over the past 36 hours or so, we are supposed to get MORE SNOW on Tuesday. I think I'm about done taking snow photos and then this opportunity arose... so expect more until I bore you to tears with snowy images!

Hudson River Panorama from October, 2009

A bit of a change-up with this post... a panoramic view of the Hudson River Valley with West Point in the distance on the far shore. This was taken from the grounds of the Boscobel Mansion on the eastern shore of the Hudson the first weekend in October. This is another one of the images that will be included in the gallery show of my photography... opening Feb 12, 2010 and running until March 4,, 2010 at a local Bethesda, MD gallery. (The complete set of images that will be included may be viewed as a slide show if you care to have a look.)

How many sparrows can fit on the feeder? January 30, 2010 snowstorm acion...

I've seen more birds on this feeder at one time... but they usually spread themselves out a bit more as there are several perches. It amused me to see so many crowded around in such a small space at the feeder... we've had three snowfalls already this winter giving me ample opportunity for snowy scenes... another storm (a big one) is reportedly on the way!

A very healthy rascally squirrel at my bird feeder... January, 2010

Look how beautifully glossy his black fur is... guess I must be providing the right mix of food for him in my BIRD feeder! This one they can jump on from the fence or from the deck rail (where it hangs)... my others (one squirrel proof that actually works) and a tube feeder (not squirrel proof) that hang nearby are less appealing to the squirrels. BUT, if I don't restock this one, the squirrels will go after the smaller (not squirrel proof) of the feeders hanging nearby. One of these days, I hope to catch them in the act on that one! (they hang upside down, legs wrapped around the feeder and eat from the bottom seed ports)

Tomorrow, I'll post another of my bird feeder in snow scenes but wanted to put up something different today!

Masterful Mister Cardinal... red beauty in the snow... January 30, 2010

One really wonderful thing about the snow we had this past Saturday... great opportunities for 'bird in snow' photos. My deck rail really is that crooked... warped due to the weight of bird feeders pulling it out of alignment. Hope you enjoy this snowy scene... shot through our kitchen window in the midst of the heaviest part of the storm that dropped 8" on us Saturday! (forecast: 1-2"... oh well)