A few favorites from the week

These are a little random. 

I'll work on a more cohesive post a little later.
But I thought I'd join Lotus' Weekly Winners meme this week,
because I think I got a few good shots!

Of all the pictures that I took while we were at the museum yesterday,

this is my favorite.

I don't know why, exactly. 

It just is.

The reflection in the window of the train on the way home from DC.

Lamp post at the metro station...
I think people were looking at me weird when I took this.  :)

That telephoto lens that I mentioned yesterday?

One of the reasons that I bought it was to get better shots of the birds in the backyard.

So I sat on my couch, camera and lens in hand, all afternoon and the next morning

waiting for a bird... any bird to show up.

But they didn't!

There's a park nearby with a bunch of bird feeders that are regularly visited by our feathered friends.

 So I went to them.

Caught ya!

He he!!

I think he might hurt me if he knows that I posted this,

but he never reads my blog, so I feel safe.

What a cheese ball!

And I just can't have a weekly winners post without this shot!!!

I'm still thrilled with it!

CRATERS!

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

It was such a beautiful day yesterday (67 and sunny)

that I just couldn't stand to stay inside.

I could have chosen to hang out in my backyard, 

but really that would have been a bit boring 

and I'd probably spend my time stressing about all the yard work that needs to be done.

Better to just ignore that and go someplace where they've already done all the hard work.

Right?

Pretty!

I expect that I'll be heading back there a few more times this summer

to see the new flowers as they pop up.

Since it's Sunday, I'm going to link up with Lotus' Weekly Winners.

Digging out and Defrosting

Every time I think that I have a lot of snow, I find someone else's blog where they talk about the 50 or more inches of snow that they've received.
It's amazing!

 This is the snowbank at the side of my driveway after all the shoveling was done.

(Julia is 4'6")

 Digging out of the 36 inches of snow that we got this past week was quite a chore for both myself and for the Department of Transportation.

I have never seen them pull out the "big guns" like this before.  The kids and I spent some time watching them scoop huge amounts of snow from the corner of the intersection and dump it into my neighbor's yard.   

However, no amount of wishing caused them to come my way and dig out my mailbox.  

Oh, well...

I did finally manage to dig through the snowbank and make a path to my door.  

Now, maybe I'll order a pizza. 

But, more importantly, now there is a way for the mailman to leave packages at my door.

I had put my mail on hold until I was able to dig out the front path as well as the mailbox.

The UPS guy managed to find a place to leave this box 

and, boy, am I glad he did!

Boxes and boxes of my favorite tea to warm up the cold winter mornings.

Oh!  

I forgot to make tea this morning....  hang on...

okay, the kettle is on.

Stash Orange Spice Black tea.

yum...

As much as I've searched, no one in this area seems to carry it.  

I have begged for it on Swap bot and
asked for it at the grocery store.

My sister found some in NY and brought it to me.

Finally, I gave in and bought six boxes through Amazon.  

I'm afraid that might be too much of a good thing.
Is that possible?

Oh, yeah... I have three feet of snow in the front yard that says it is!

 

I don't know if these are my best pictures this week, but I'll add them to weekly winners anyhow, just cuz I want to be part of the "cool" crowd.  :o)

We're having a heat wave!

A tropical heat wave...
Oh, yeah!  I think the temperature reached a whoppin 51 degrees yesterday!

Practically, balmy for this time of year.

Or, well... close enough.

So I took J out for an impromptu nature walk/ photo shoot.

It was nice to get out of the house and not feel like we were fighting against Arctic gales.
And, although today was almost as warm, it was mostly gray and cloudy, so I'm doubly glad that I got myself off my backside and out into the well-lit, warm, world.

I've been meaning to do something creative with this old window since I bought it last summer.

I still plan to clean it up a bit and hang it on a wall, but in the meantime,

here's another creative use for it.

 

I love the vastness of this photo.  It kind of makes up for nearly breaking my ankle trying to walk out there. 

 

 

There wasn't much color to be found at the battlefield.  Just lots of browns and grays.

That is until we found this great "mini" rainbow in the clouds.

I had to boost the colors a bit for it to show up in the picture as well as it did in real life.

 

 

J was my very helpful / assistant, but it wasn't all work and no play.
She found much joy in jumping over puddles and trying to break the ice.
I'm just glad neither of us managed to fall in.
(and believe me... I tried.)
  Note to self... don't wear slip off shoes on slippery mud banks.
Yeah... not a great idea.

I think I'll add these to Lotus' photo meme, Weekly Winners.

I've been following Weekly Winners for a while, but this is my first time participating.

Go check out everyone's favorite shots from the past week here.