Day 31 - The train doesn't stop here anymore...

In our town, we have a railway that used to be part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which ran from Columbia, PA, through several small towns, and then into Frederick, MD. For decades it was a thriving business as dairy farmers sent their products to market and local residents rode the train into Frederick for the day or north to the "big cities."

Following a merge with New York Central in the late 60's, bankruptcy, flood damage, 20 years of disuse, and volunteer reconstruction, it now operates as a small (about 5 miles) weekend excursion railway and museum.

When they were just little guys, our grandsons used to really enjoy riding this vintage train.

Day 30 - Stop here

Sometimes the obvious makes for a semi-interesting shot - don't think I've ever seen anything but a red stop sign.

Day 29 - Rubber stomp

Not what you'd call s**t stomping boots (I've got another pair of those!) ;) but these little red numbers are good when it's cold and wet outside, like it is today.

Day 28 - Red Alert

In support of National Wear Red Day on Friday, Feb. 1, and the fight against heart disease in women, Karin has chosen "Red" as this week's theme. I thought these red hearts made an appropriate photo for the topic.

Day 27 - Mr & Mrs

The cardinals have been coming to nibble on the seed bells we hung and every time I try to get a picture, they fly off. I finally lucked out today when the Mr. & Mrs. opted for some acorns on the deck. Not as focused as I'd like but not too bad considering I took them quick through Lew's office window.)

Day 26 - Fire starter

It's another one of those cold and dreary "not sticking my nose out the door" kind of days for me, but fortunately Lew did, and now we have plenty of kindling and wood for weekend coziness inside.

Day 25 - Gem Drop

My eye was drawn to the bright colors of the stones and bits of glass in this kaleidoscope as the afternoon sunlight filtered into our living room.

Day 24 - Emptiness

I'm not wild about winter anyway, but when there's no sun to counterbalance the cold, everything just seems so... empty. So, when I saw this empty bird nest in its empty tree on the way home from the dentist, it just epitomized the dreary, empty coldness of the day for me. I hope the former residents have flown far, far south for the winter to somewhere nice and warm.

Day 23 - "...that all men are created equal..."

Soldier's National Monument, Gettysburg, PA
(Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address very near this spot)

Gettysburg Address Monument
(unique in that it commemorates the speech, not the man)

The Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln stood at this site and reminded us that the United States was "conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." A century later, Martin Luther King, Jr. standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, reminded us that the job was not finished and told us of his dream that this promise would become reality.

"...I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal...' "

We've come far in the ensuing years, but we still have a long way to go. What better tribute to Mr. King's legacy than for us to continue his efforts and "resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom."

(The logistics of schlepping into DC for a really cool shot from the Lincoln Memorial steps were just too much to deal with and I wimped out. Traffic, parking nightmares, lugging around O², etc., etc., plus it was flippin' cold out there had us opt for Gettysburg instead. Not as much of an impact, but certainly a connection to the MLK theme, and besides... it was closer.) ;)

Day 22 - Night Visions

Built around 1758, Schifferstadt Architectural Museum is one of the oldest and most historic buildings in the City of Frederick, Maryland, and among the best examples of early Colonial German Architecture in the country. More info can be found here. (it takes a bit to load)

Culler Lake, Baker Park
(a thin layer of ice covered the entire lake)

Wanting to try my hand at some night time photos, I'm pretty pleased with the results. The top photo is with my digital P&S camera, the bottom is with the digital SLR camera.

Day 21 - Brrrrrr

"Many rhododendron species protect themselves by turning their leaves downward and rolling them parallel to the midvein when it is extremely cold. This protects them by decreasing the area exposed to the sun, which keeps the leaves from warming up and losing water." (Pamela S. Mercure, Univ. of CT)

Even the front yard rhododendron have hunkered down and snuggled together to stay warm in the bitter cold we're having. Taking a teeny-tiny clue from nature, I didn't even attempt to stick my nose out the door today... wellll, except for sticking it out the window to take the pictures!

Day 20 - On the half shell

In the world of twos, two halves equal one whole, whether it's eggs... or marriages. Happy Anniversary Karin and Mike! :)

Day 19 - Faded glory

What a difference 11 months makes! I took the top photo on 2/24/07 while we were stopped for a traffic light in front of an antique shop in Frederick. I took the bottom photo today.

Exposure to the sun and elements has clearly taken a toll on these traditional bright red oriental lanterns.

A new 365er

You may have noticed, over there on the right sidebar, a new name under "More Project 365 Bloggers"... Lew's Pics. That would be that guy I live with, the one who puts up with my photographic frolics, and takes some pretty awesome photos himself. Give his photo blog a visit when you get a chance - he's not so bad for an old bald guy! ;)

Day 18 - FOO

A nonprofit social and charitable organization, The Fraternal Order Orioles was
founded in 1910 and covers 9 states on the east coast and parts of the mid-west.

This sign has always cracked me up. I dunno, there's just something that doesn't sound quite, uhmmm...professional... about a charitable group named after a bunch of birds, you know? I wonder if they refer to themselves as the FOOs... ;)

Anyway, my offering of twos - two birds, two 2s in the number, two lights - for today.

Day 17 - Snowy colors

The winter we didn't have last week decided to show up today, bringing with it the expected colder temps and a fluffy, softly falling snow to cover the landscape. A dramatic change from two days ago. See another photo here.

Day 16 - Shave and a haircut, two bits

Not sure where that little musical ditty originated, or even if the younger generation still refers to a quarter as two bits,* but the phrase came to mind for this week's theme.

~~~

*Soooo, being the curious type that I am, I Googled "two bits" and came across this interesting tidbit:

Word Origins:
Where did the Term "Two Bits" Come From?

During the colonial days, people used coins from all over the world. The most commonly used coin was the Spanish milled dollar. When our nation adopted an official currency, the Spanish Milled Dollar was chosen, and it later became the model for American silver dollars.
"That will be two bits, sir." The Spanish milled dollars were easily cut apart into equal "bits" of 8 pieces. One "bit" would be equal to 1/8 of a dollar, and 2 bits would equal 2/8 (or 1/4 - a quarter of a dollar). So, it is easy to see why the coins were called "pieces of eight", and "2 bits" was commonly used to refer to 25 cents.

~ ~ ~

Makes perfect sense to me!

Day 15 - Twin Spires

Evangelical Lutheran Church

Frederick, MD is known for the many spires that dot its skyline. These are just two.

Day 14 - Roll the dice

This week's theme is "Two" ...

Two of the many die we have floating 'round the game closet.

Day 13 - Foot warmers

My feet get colder than the proverbial witch's whatsits, so for me, socks + heater = warm feet in winter.

Day 12 - Field Dressing

In the winter, the local farmers spread manure - lots of manure - to prepare the fields for spring planting... charming odor!

Day 11 - Bundle Up

Where we live, winter means having to bundle up when you go outside...
but not this week!

Day 10 - Empty

No little voices fill the air with giggles and laughter on lonely winter days...

Day 9 - Nothing there

Not a flake to be seen anywhere. Since you can't shovel sunshine, it looks like our standard winter snow equipment will stay in the garage for awhile.

Day 8 - Cozy little nest

Winter (when we're not having record-breaking temperatures of 73!) in my neck of the woods means bare-naked trees. After the leaves and acorns drop, the squirrels scurry around gathering their winter stash of nuts, and some of the leaves end up back in the trees in the form of squirrel nests. This one lives up at the tippity-top of our maple tree.

P.S. Lew bought a new camera - a Nikon D40X - with an awesome telephoto lens. 'Course I get to use it too - provided I can hold the stupid thing steady - and with the help of a tripod, I got this waaaaay up there shot. Wheee!

Day 7 - Winter??

Hardly the winter temperature we normally have!! We're experiencing dramatic unseasonably warm temperatures in our area. Tomorrow we're supposed to get more of the same... I may have to pull out the sun block!

(I posted two for today so I can get on track with the weekly theme at the beginning of the week instead of on Tuesday.)

Day 7 - Park Bells

To wrap up this first week's bell theme, we stopped by Baker Park in Frederick to snag some photos of the carillon there. As if on cue, it started ringing while I was taking pictures... way cool!

Okay, I lied...

I can't stay away from my camera and feel kind of like I'm missing out on all the fun that everyone else is having, if that makes any sense. In spite of thinking I sorely needed a break, I've still been taking at least one, often more, photos a day. A year's worth of habit dies hard I guess, and it seems a shame not to continue with the project if I'm still taking pictures. Soooo, exercising my woman's prerogative to change my mind, I'm going to attempt to do Project 365(366 since it's a leap one) again this year. At some point, I may think I was out of said mind to commit to doing this again, but for now, I'm in. Oh, and as you see, I changed the layout of my blog - I really like how the dark background compliments photos.

I'm thinking a weekly theme may keep me motivated on those days when I'm at a total loss of what to photograph so I've joined Karin's Posse and am looking forward to participating. I'm also thinking that for now, I'm going to post randomly or weekly rather than daily - less pressure on meself - but that may change as time goes on. We'll see how it goes.

So, here we go - another Project 365. For this first week, with "bells" as the theme, I used it in the most literal sense, with a bit of humor thrown in:

Day 6: Bird Feeder

Can't forget our feathered friends during the winter months - hopefully they'll enjoy munching from seed bells.

Day 5: One ringy-dingy

You can't see it, but trust me when I tell you, this toy phone contains the most obnoxious bell. Bought some 20 or so years ago for #1 granddaughter (who loved it as much then as she loves her cell phone today!) you wind it up, push one of the buttons, and it rings... and rings... and rings. Amazingly, it's outlasted many pair of tiny little hands - several grands and visiting kiddies later, the damn thing still works! Lucky me! ;)

Day 4: Jingle all the way

Package decoration from a box of Godiva chocolates I got as a gift once - obviously a great subject since I keep photographing it!

Day 3: Ornamental bells

Found these package tie-ons or tree ornaments in the Christmas boxes while putting things away.

Day 2: Bell of Bells

The Liberty Bell - photo of photos (taken in 1976 with an Instamatic camera!) from a scrapbook page.

Day 1: Snacky Bels


Okay, so I can't spell... ;)