ABC Wednesday: Y is for Yesterday

For Y week, I took a photograph yesterday and I am using it for this post.

Click for the home of ABC Wednesday and Happy New Year!

The Weekend in Black and White: Santa and his shadow

Is it just me or does it look like Santa's shadow is running away?

Click for the home of the weekend in black and white.

SkyWatch Friday: Blue Sky on Christmas Day

Christmas morning was very cold in central NC where I live but the skies were blue so no white Christmas for me. I think the woodpecker below was grateful for the sun on this cold day.

Click for the home of SkyWatch Friday.

ABC Wednesday: X is for Xtemmas

Xtemmas is an early version of Xmas dating to 1551. Around 1100 the term was written as "Xp̄es mæsse" in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Xmas began to be used in the mid 1700s.  The "-mas" part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass, while the "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός which comes into English as "Christ". I got the information above from this Wikipedia entry.

I hope everyone has a happy Xmas or whatever they celebrate or do over the holidays. Click for the home of ABC Wednesday.

The Weekend in Black and White: Chickadee in the snow on December 26 2010

The last time we had a white Christmas in the triangle area of NC was in 2010. I photographed the carolina chickadee on the day after Christmas, 2010. You can barely see the chickadee but it's on my deck wall eating seed I put out for the birds. I brush the snow off the top of the wall and cover it with seeds and treats during bad weather.

Click for the Weekend in Black and White.

SkyWatch Friday: December zips along

I enjoyed watching the moon rise up out of the trees late one afternoon.

I like the way I can see more of the sky from my bedroom window now that the oak leaves have all fallen.

There's a lacy feel to the branches when the leaves have recently given up the leaves.

I can hardly believe that another year is close to an end.

Click for the home of SkyWatch Friday.

ABC Wednesday: W is for White

We didn't get any of the white winter snow that other parts of the U.S. got last week, so I went back to February of 2012 to a confused camellia that bloomed too early and was dumped on.

Click for the home of ABC Wednesday.

The Weekend in Black and White: Hidden

Click for the home of the Weekend in Black and White.

SkyWatch Friday: First part of December

So far December in my neck of the woods has had a lot of gray days.

We have had a few days with some blue in the sky.

The first shot of the female cardinal and sparrow was taken in my neighborhood.

I took the 2nd through 4rth shots at the NC Museum of Art Park.

I took the last shot at sunrise from my kitchen window.

Click for the home of SkyWatch Friday.

ABC Wednesday: V is for Vast and Vibrant

Click for the home of ABC Wednesday.

Our World Tuesday: NC Museum of Art Park

Friday afternoon was unseasonably warm so I took advantage of the weather for a walk at the NC Museum of Art's Park.

The seating arrangements at an art park can be somewhat unusual.

If you aren't Peter Pan with the ability to fly up to the chairs there are a few on the ground.

I like to photograph the gyre shown below from different perspectives.

I think the Crossroad Trickster I below looks like a huge ear of corn.

The wind machine below is another work I'll show from a different perspective later in this post.

Below the gyre is shown from a different view point.

Next is a work entitled Collapse I.

Below is another view of the same work.

I love the vivid red berries in contrast to the winter tans and browns.

There were a lot of cyclist taking advantage of the warm afternoon.

There were a few geese and ducks on the pond.

It's nice to be able walk outdoors as well as inside of the museum.

Below you can see the environmental plan of the museum and park.

The text from a sign that I photographed explains how water is collected, used, and pollutants removed.

Next is another shot of the gyre from a different part of the walk I took.

Below is another view of the Wind Machine.

Most of the rest of the shots are closer to the museum.

I went inside the museum briefly to use the restroom facilities.

I was surprised to see Janis Joplin's porsche.

I like the way the flower child decorated car is in front of the sculpture I included two shots up.

The new addition to the museum has a lot of mirrors which I like.

There are several sculpture gardens and places to sit outside.

The sculpture below looks wind blown in a way.

It's beginning to look more and more like winter.

I always enjoy photographing the Rodin Sculpture Garden.

I used similar shots I took in the past on older posts but hopefully I'm not being too redundant.

I like the reflective pools that are part of several of the outdoor sculpture gardens.

The native grasses are tan and brown but part of the lawns are still green.

I prefer the native grasses with winter browns and tans and enjoy them as much in the fall and winter as I do in the growing seasons.

Winter has its own stark beauty.

Click for the home of Our World Tuesday.