Sunday, October 23, 2011

Autumnal Scenes, part 2

I had intended to get these pictures posted early last week.  But it was “one of those weeks”.  Between the foul weather, and a number of other events, like doctor appointments, kid’s concerts, and….awwww who am I kidding.  I was lazy.  Well here they are, better late than never.  The second half of my autumn walk pictures.

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Thanks for visiting.  I hope you enjoyed looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Windstorm

I know that I am suppose to be posting the second half of my Autumnal pictures, but I wanted to share something else first.  Our nice autumn weather was interrupted over the last couple of days by a very strong wind and rain storm.  Steady winds in excess of 40 mph overnight pushed the water of Lake Huron into the Saginaw Bay, and up into the Saginaw River.  During the peak, before sunrise, the waves were much greater than you will see here.  By the time I got out this morning, the winds were started to subside.

Veterans Park boat launch, Bay City:  The debris on the pavement washed up during the night, showing how far over the banks the waves were pushing.

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The boat launch:  The docks are completely submerges, illustrating how high the water level is.

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The lower deck across the river should be about a foot above the water, not a foot below the surface.

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A tree down across a road.  Fortunately, most of the leaves have already fallen, so there were surprisingly few trees down.

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Loose shingles on a roof.

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Luckily, our damage was limited to my plastic patio furniture being blown off my deck.  This may not have been the Storm of the Century, or even the Decade, but it was pretty impressive nonetheless.  Come back soon to see the rest of my shots from our hike the other day.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Autumnal Scenes, part 1

Today my wife Wendy and I took a nice walk through the Bay City State Recreation Area to Tobico Marsh.  We missed the peak fall colors, due mostly to the 3 days of 25 mph + winds, but there were still plenty of reminders that Autumn was upon us.

Milkweed seeds about to take flight.

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A view over part of the marsh.  The sky was blue and the sun was shining.

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Cattails.

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This little guy is trying to warn us about winter.  Lets see….wide brown, harsh winter….no….the other way around……dang.

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Sun shining through a leaf.

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Forest floor in Autumn:  Oak leaves, acorns and wintergreen berries.

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Thanks for visiting.  I have some more nice shots, but I will save those for the next time.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

I’m Baaaaack!!!!

Well after several weeks I finally got my camera back from the service center yesterday.  It is good as new!  Between that and my recent surgery, I have been out of the photo biz for nearly two months.  But today I finally got out on a mini safari.  I am extremely pleased to say that I had no problems with my camera strapped over my shoulder.  That was a big concern of mine.

And so, without any further delay, I present a few shots from around the neighborhood.

My backyard goldfish…

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Here is the front of Tummy Ache, the neighborhood candy store.

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And from another angle…

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The old ice house.  It is now a dairy warehouse.

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Here comes a train!

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Here is a taste of some fall color.

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Thanks for stopping by.  I hope now that I am a bit more mobile I will be able to get pictures up more often.  Check in again soon!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Flowers and Butterflies…

And bees, and rivers….

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My apologies to those of you who may be spooked out by bees (you know who you are), but I just could not resist these little guys.  Thanks for visiting!

Oh, still no word on my camera, other than an email from the repair shop apologizing but telling me there is a delay in the repairs.  I am hoping it will be shipped out by the end of the week.