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October 10, 2020

Fall in Old Town Warrenton

About a week ago, on Day 2 of my weekend-straddling vacation, I did something I haven’t done in what seems like a long time. I strolled around town taking pictures specifically for the purpose of sharing them here.

I miss blogging. Not just the act of blogging, either. I miss the life I had back when I was blogging regularly. The world today is just soooooo weird, in so many ways.

I am not the same person I was back then. I think that’s true for a lot of people. The world is changing faster than ever, and humanity seems to be changing right along with it. For better or worse. Don’t believe me? Have you seen the Netflix movie, The Social Dilemma? That link will take you to the trailer. It’s simultaneously interesting and disturbing on a rather deep level.

Anyway… this post is about Fall. I LOVE Fall. I mean, I love Spring, too, but I think Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. And that day, a week ago, when I was out walking and shooting pics to share with you, the weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. And the sky was SUCH a beautiful, deep blue.

Most of these shots are straight out of the camera. Some were cropped, but I didn’t do any other photo manipulation. It really was a picture-perfect Fall day in the Virginia Piedmont. I hope you enjoy the pics, and the mini tour.

Our neighbor across East Lee Street. He always has lovely seasonal decorations.

Refurbished caboose at the head of the Warrenton Branch Greenway.

Look at that pop of red color. (Culpeper & Washington Streets)

Saint James’ Episcopal Church on Culpeper Street

The next two images are very similar, yet very different. Which one do you like best and why? The difference between the two was achieved simply by taking two steps forward.

The last shot is my favorite.

Next post, I’ll tell you about our longest camping trip yet. It was lovely.

July 18, 2018July 18, 2018

It’s All About Perspective

I’ve always been a glass-half-full type of person. The older I get, the more I appreciate things for what they are, realizing it could always be worse. I’m currently jobless, but hopeful. Hubby and I are the financially responsible types, so we have that in-case-of-emergency cushion, which means I can take my time and look for the right job, not just any one that comes along.

I’ve actually been enjoying the job hunt. I’ve been , reconnecting with former colleagues as well as people I’d never met. I’ve had some really good conversations and have come across a couple of very interesting folks. Plus, having to sell myself again forces me to look closely at how much I have learned and accomplished over the years. And I’ve had time for blogging. 🙂

Life really is all about how you look at things. Something that’s changed for me as the years have passed is the amount of patience I have for people who bitch and complain about stuff, but do little or nothing to improve or at least change the way they look at their situation. I am an empathetic soul by nature. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, ponder how things must look from their perspective, and try not to judge. But some sort of conclusion, positive or negative, is inevitable. One cannot help people who can’t or won’t help themselves.

Anyhoo… I did not intend for this post to become a philosophical discussion about life. I meant for this post to be about ART, specifically a rather cool artwork I stumbled across at Imperial Beach in San Diego.

Understanding and appreciating art, visual and written, really does depend on how one looks at things. Some art can only be appreciated if you look at it from a specific angle. Look at it from the wrong angle and all you see might be a jumbled mess. It may still be pleasing to your eye, but you might not be seeing what the artist intended for you to see. It’s a complex idea, I know, which is why I am not going to try and explain it. Here’s a Wikipedia post that does a pretty good job, if you’re into reading that sort of thing.

One of the things I enjoyed while dog-sitting in SD last year was visiting some of the MANY beaches the county has to offer. I have no idea exactly how many beaches there are in SD–you can read about the top-15 here–but I visited quite a few. It was a very relaxing way to get Jasper (the dog) out of the house. Not all of the beaches are dog-friendly. Of those that are, I liked Imperial Beach (IB) the best.

IB is the southernmost beach in SD. It’s adjacent to a wetland nature space and is just a couple of miles from the US/Mexico border, which means you could literally walk to Mexico if you wanted to.

Like many places in SD, it’s pretty artsy, too. I hadn’t done much research on the place before going, so I was surprised and delighted to see just how artsy.

There were municipal works like the IB sign in the first image and the crushed glass/concrete surfboard as well as other shapes embedded in various spots along the sidewalk. There were also colorful storefronts, murals/street art, interesting houses, funky souvenir shops, you name it. And there was this weird-looking red thing.

I’m pretty sure I said “that’s weird” aloud to Jasper when I saw the tall, red, metal squiggles. He was unphased. The more I looked at it, the more I liked it.

I’m not sure why it repeatedly drew my attention as we strolled along the beach, but it did.

It even created interesting shadows!

Cool, right? It gets better.

It wasn’t until later, after we’d made our first failed attempt to walk to Mexico, that I realized just how cool the thing is.

It looks different, depending on how you look at it. More specifically, WHERE you are standing when you look at it. That point dawned on me when I saw this…

At first, I thought someone was being a smart-ass. Until I stood on that spot and looked up.

How cool is that? It’s probably cooler in person, especially if you don’t know about the piece as I hadn’t.

Look familiar? The artist, John Banks, has installed similar works in other locations.

I’m curious to know if others have stumbled across and been similarly impressed by this sort of art.

June 28, 2018June 28, 2018

Worse Than I Thought

One thing I’ve always enjoyed about having a blog is being able to look back and see what happened, when it happened, etc. But I posted so infrequently over the past year that I can’t even do that! It’s sad, really. Not sad as in “OMG, I’m bawling my eyes out,” more like “damn, now I have to look back through old pics, e-mails, and/or calendar entries…” Gasp!

I am still unemployed. All the “spare time” I thought I might have has been nonexistent. I’ve been “working” full days looking for a job instead. I seriously want to find the perfect job for me, not just accept the first job that comes along out of desperation. I’m a big girl, I learn from past mistakes as well as previous positive experiences.

All “work” and no play makes for an unhappy ToadMama, though, so I’ll have to look for something interesting to post about.

In the meantime, here’s some visual interestingness for you.

Believe it or not, I don’t walk around looking at stuff, thinking, “OMG, I absolutely HAVE to take a picture. I have to share it with my gazillion fans. I must, I MUST! I have to get this online!” Stuff just catches my eye.

What can I say? I’m a visual person.

That’s probably why I so enjoyed my time in San Diego last year. All I had to do was work, take care of one small dog, and take care of myself. I stuck to my Eastern Standard Time schedule, so I had lots of free time most afternoons. The dog got walked a lot and I got to amble around looking at stuff, searching for SD’s best street tacos, sampling a wide variety of local craft beer, enjoying various beaches, etc. It was awesome.

Below are a few images that captured my eye. I have lots more, including a series of shots of the coolest “ART” sculpture(?) ever! That ART thing needs its own post.

Artelexia, a super-cool store in North Park.

San Diego is a really colorful place. I hope I get to explore in a similar fashion again!

I also hope y’all enjoyed that sneak peek.

February 1, 2018

Looking Ahead

I’m not sure what happened to January. I mean, it FLEW past. For me, anyway. But then there’s a lot going on.

The pace at work may be leveling out, which is a very good thing. Maybe I can actually make some progress on the huge job-related to-do list. Having a lot of stuff hanging over your head that you know you really need to get done, stuff that will make your job easier in the long run, is stressful. Add that to the usual stress of the multiple, more-immediate deliverables. And the long hours. It can become a bit of a powder keg. Hopefully I’ll survive, job intact.

K is still hanging in there, and we are still taking that whole situation one day at a time. Trying not to dwell on the sadness of it all so that her final time in her physical body is well-spent.

Now that February is here, it’s time to look ahead, focus on some positive stuff for a change. Looking ahead for me almost always involves travel plans. I went to visit my Dad last week, driving up Thursday night then coming home on Friday. Hubby stayed home with the girls so I didn’t have to worry.

Just a random pic from a previous adventure.

In a few weeks, I’ll be heading to Pennsylvania with a girlfriend or two for our annual getaway. Hopefully, two. Sadly, one of my friends has been dealing with some serious health issues.

In mid-March, we will all be heading to Maryland to help my MIL move into a new apartment. At the end of March, I’ll be meeting up with another girlfriend, somewhere between here and Wilmington, North Carolina.

We were supposed to go to Hawaii in April — our 25th wedding anniversary trip — but that’s been pushed back to September. Maybe we can squeeze in a long moto weekend to celebrate that milestone. Parties aren’t really our thing.

I have no idea what will come up after that. There wasn’t much on my agenda this time last year either, and I ended up getting around quite a bit. Although I did not make it to Mississippi as I’d planned.

I did have fun looking through old pictures this morning. Not “old” per se, just pics captured while on previous adventures.

I foresee many new, fun selfies in my near future.

Or maybe not.

I hope you are all well!

January 31, 2016January 31, 2016

Enjoying the Painted Sky

I’m a visual person. I love color, shapes, patterns, angles, etc. And I really love seeing a pretty sky. And interesting clouds. Heck, I even like a completely empty sky when it’s that amazing, intense blue you usually get after a huge storm has passed. You know, since the storm has almost completely scrubbed the atmosphere of moisture.

Anyway… I captured quite a few sky shots the other day at the Blackwater Refuge. Some are even good enough for me to want to share here.

As I’m looking at these pics, I see my CMOS sensor needs to be cleaned again. Sigh… Maybe no one else notices or even knows what that means? LOL.

That picture doesn’t do the sky justice. The spot of intense color was neat to see. Those instances of color are very fleeting, so I had to work fast, and I didn’t capture it very well.

I had to darken the final image, using PhotoShop, to make the intense color appear in the photo. Now the picture just looks too blue to me. I decided I’d share it anyway.

I love how the short contrail/flat-and-skinny cloud toward the top, center part of the frame is lit up.

I get very excited when I see the sky lit up, and I usually start clicking away at the shutter button, trying hard to capture the color appropriately or at least in a way that’s pleasing to the eye. The problem is, I don’t always remember to make sure the horizon is flat.

Since I’ve mentioned that on here, I figured I’d give you an example.

Way crooked horizon. See how it slopes to the left? Not good.

The second shot is passable, but it’s still not perfect. I can’t remember if I was trying to capture a flat horizon with that shot, or if I just got lucky.

Below is an edited version of the same, passable shot.

IMG_3417 edited — Flatter with more-intense color.

See how much better?

Is it me, or do the clouds look like a goose in flight?

Here’s another look at that same cloud formation.

A pretty end to an interesting, but cold, day.

January 31, 2016

Few White Faces at Blackwater

I went to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge yesterday with hopes of seeing big flocks of Snow Geese. I’ve been thinking about visiting that place since October, when I failed to see Snow Geese during my visit to Chincoteague. It’s a three-hour drive from my house, though. Sometimes it’s hard for me to justify — to myself — investing an entire day just to go see a bunch of birds.

So, when I learned of a dog transport passing through this area, I figured I could multi-task again. I could help transport the dog AND drive to Blackwater.

ellie's map — Ellie’s Transport – Rustburg, VA to Whiting, NJ (not the actual route)

Originally, I was supposed to take Ellie from Warrenton to the other side of DC. But I figured if I carried her to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the folks on the NJ end might appreciate traversing ruralish highways instead of Interstate 95.

I was right. 🙂

Ellie with her foster Dad, Bob Fairbanks

So, after handing Ellie off to her foster parents in Queenstown, MD, I drove about another hour to Blackwater.

It was around 3:00 when I got there, and there wasn’t a whole lot of daylight remaining.

Unfortunately, there were few Snow Geese to be found. I did get lots of other cool pics, though, and quite a few crappy ones.

Before I share my captures, I will say this… I am no bird photographer. I take pictures of birds, but I don’t have the right equipment, i.e., a big-ass, expensive zoom lens and industrial-strength tripod, to capture technically good bird photos. I just take snapshots.

I also have to say that it was very windy and cold there yesterday. Temps hovered around 40 degrees F (about 4.5 C), but the wind made it feel much colder. The wind also wreaked havoc on my focus. Using a zoom lens requires a tripod and/or a very steady hand. Although I had taken the tripod along, I didn’t bother setting it up because of said wind.

The first set of pics was taken with my point-and-shoot camera.

Blackwater — a tidal wetland — is a pretty place.

Cool — and mysterious! — pattern in the ice.

I really like my captures of this pattern in the ice. I’d hoped the folks at the visitors’ center could explain how it was created, but they were equally intrigued.

A bit of grass in the foreground, while blurry, makes this shot, I think.

My point-and-shoot — a Canon G16 — is a higher-end camera, and it has pretty good zoom capabilities, but digital zoom is only good if the light is bright and the camera is very still. Remember, it was windy. And daylight was fading fast during my visit.

The pics shared below were all taken with my DSLR camera, equipped with a zoom lens.

This image of a Great Blue Heron is blurry, but I think that adds to the shot.

I like how you can also see the bird’s feet in the second picture.

I saw quite a few herons yesterday.

I like the blurry marsh grass in the foreground.

This guy (or gal?) was kind enough to land right in front of my car.

I’m a sucker for interesting reflections.

There’s that interesting pattern in the ice again.

I stopped at the visitors’ center for a potty break, to warm up, and to ask about the Snow Geese. I was starting to think they’d all flown north already (Blackwater is one of several over-wintering spots for them on the East Coast).

That’s where I captured this eagle shot, which I posted to FB with the caption, “Got really close to an eagle! That’s a phone pic, no filter.”

Of course, the prankster in me left a few important details out of that caption. It was a real, but dead, stuffed, and mounted, eagle in an exhibit.

The volunteers at the visitors’ center told me the Snow Geese were spending their day in nearby fields, off-refuge, eating. While there was still sufficient light, I set out to see the elusive Snow Geese.

Snow Geese (some were quite far from the road; see the white dots in the background?)

After observing them for a bit, I drove back to the refuge, hoping maybe they’d return before dark.

Note, I did NOT say Canadian Geese. They’re CANADA Geese, people, not Canadian Geese. That’s one of my pet peeves when people talk about birds.

Along Wildlife Drive at the Blackwater Refuge.

If you look at a larger version of this image (just click on the picture) you’ll see that its neck feathers were blowing in the wind.

I captured quite a few nice sunset shots, which I’ll share in a separate post.

The Snow Geese did return to the refuge, but not until after sunset. I DID capture a few shots with the point-and-shoot, but they were blurry.

One blurry, dark photo of Snow Geese in flight.

The pics I captured during my previous visit are better. The first image shown below is a good pic from my visit in 2011, when I still had a separate moto blog.

It’s really pretty amazing to see — and hear! — hundreds of geese in flight. I guess if you like that sorta thing.

If you’re curious, here a link for more info on about Snow Geese. And here are some nice pics captured by someone else — found via Google — that clearly show Canada Geese beside a Snow Goose.

I must say, it was nice being out in the world for a change. I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit. 🙂