Scribbles and Photos

Old Red Truck In one of my very early posts in this blog ( One Man's Junk ), I wrote about how much I like junk.  I like it when it's just lying around in nature (as in that earlier post) and I like it when people have found it and turned it into beautiful art.  I spend many a weekend afternoon strolling along the Hudson River just so I can stop and study the 69th Street Transfer Bridge which is actually LAND MARKED junk!  How cool is that? Wagon Wheels With that background, it should come as no surprise that I kidnapped the intrepid Nancy B (aka the B and, for the record, it did not require too much convincing) and made a beeline for the  Gold King Mine  after an afternoon whiled away in Jerome, AZ. Italian Riviera Scooter It was late, it was cold, and snow was on the horizon (and the ground) but we had heard tales of this junk yard advertised as a ghost town from fellow travelers who were staying at our B&B home away from home ( the Canyon Villas B&B

Easter Island Sunset I used to think that the ONLY great sunsets came about when one was sitting on a Westward facing ocean beach (or lanai) gazing out over the water as the sun slowly sunk below the horizon.   I still adore ocean sunsets but I have become enamored of desert sunsets as well.  Particularly those that occur when there is a dusting of clouds in the sky to pick up the reflection of the sun that is cast back from the land below. From Airport Mesa in Sedona, the major rock formations are in front of you or to your right and they certainly present a colorful palette on their own -- more about that on another day.  On the particular evening that the intrepid Nancy B (aka the B) and I were there for sunset, the clouds were mainly off to one's left -- looking directly into the sunset but with no particular landmarks to capture.  Made for a dreamy set of photos as the sun slowly sank below the horizon. Sedona Sunset - Before Sun Sinks Below the Horizon Sedon

Ice Breakers It was freezing cold in NYC today.  Although the snow from Storm Nemo ( Home and Away Pairings , NYers Finding Nemo in Central Park ) had mostly faded away.  It certainly did not feel like spring might be around the corner -- at least to me. That is until I saw the buds on the cherry trees just to the West of the Reservoir:     Kwanzan Cherry Tree Buds .......and the magnolia buds near Bethesda Fountain: Magnolia Buds in February ...and the Ginkgo buds on the trees overlooking Cherry Hill Fountain: Gingko in February ....and the snow drops sprouting near Strawberry Fields: Snow Drops There were also daffodils starting to poke their way up into the chilly February air.  Even with all these signs of spring, I have this feeling that we've got a couple of months to go before it's fully sprung.  ....I am sure that it will come none to soon for the ducks who make the lake their home: Cold Duck

New York's Central Park after the snowstorm that was 2013's Nemo paired with the red rocks of Sedona. Hidden Walker Endless Vista Weighty Matters Wolf Shadows Imagine All the People Contemplating the Universe (Photo by Nancy B - aka the B) Grey Skies over Manhattan Sedona Sunset Endless White It's a Plane (no, really, it is) .....and a final random pair -- snow in Sedona and spring in New York....... Blue Sky Snow The Tulips of the Conservatory Garden

New Yorkers of all stripes like snow and we typically take advantage of Central Park -- our shared back yard -- after a storm like 2013's Nemo.  Many of us don't have cars to shovel out nor do we have driveways and sidewalks to deal with.  We could hunker down in our apartments and wait for the snow to melt but what is the fun in that?   So, this morning, like many early risers, I took a stroll in Central Park.  As always on a day in which the snow promises to be fluffy and white, I was armed with my camera. I was early enough to enjoy the way in which the snow transforms Central Park into a quiet white oasis with snow laden trees and bushes.  That's not to say that there weren't folks and creatures frolicking in the soft white snow as these photos demonstrate. Squirrel on the Roof I was wandering around Shakespeare's Garden and the Swedish Cottage when I heard a grunting sound from above.  It was the miniature version of the sound a guy will make wh