1921. beached

 

b

the flood came and went

a white and orange pumpkin

are beached side by side 🦊❤️

Yesterday the back field was totally flooded. When the waters subsided, a white and orange pumpkin succeeded in being stranded side by side. 🦊❤️

1920. thousand piece puzzle

hovering above

was a sky so intricate 

heavenly puzzle 🦊❤️

What a picture puzzle today’s sky would make. 🦊❤️

 

1919. making it clear

 

year’s first snow had come

its whiteness was not long lived

made clear by the rain 🦊❤️

We had our first real snow fall of the year a couple of days ago. I woke this morning to driving rains and heavy winds. All of the snow was gone and the field behind my apartment was totally flooded. In the midst of the flooding I spotted a pumpkin.  I wondered where all of the deer and foxes go when their territory is under water. I was grateful Tommy was not out there in the weather any longer. 🦊❤️

1918. watching the world go by

 

from behind the glass

two empty chairs looking out

lounging time away 🦊❤️

The Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia has many unique little stores. This store window’s minimalist display caused me to stop and take a photo. Those chairs are unique, but don’t look very comfortable to me… 🦊❤️

1917. invisible magic

 

drip by drip by drip

water is frozen in its tracks

the magic of cold 🦊❤️

Everywhere I look, the cold is working its invisible magic. 🦊❤️

1916. a question of balance

 

far as i can see

a column of snow marching

a balancing act 🦊❤️

I was simply amazed by how perfectly at least three inches of snow was balancing atop a chain link fence. It was maintaining its equilibrium despite blustery winds  and branches falling from nearby trees. I was tempted to shake the fence to see if  it could withstand my attempt to throw it off balance. I resisted… 🦊❤️

1915. celebrating the snow

 

under the pink moon

with the night’s stars still twinkling

she greets the first snow ❤️🦊

We had our first substantial snow of the year overnight.  The first thing that Yulan did was to rush out onto the wet and snowy balcony in her bare feet to snap a photo.  She knows how to celebrate!! 🦊❤️

1914. forever waiting

 

way back then… and now

mary and joseph waiting

for the christmas star 🦊❤️

Homes and churches are putting up their Nativity Scenes as Christmas Day nears. From my observations, about 50% of the Nativity Scenes have not yet put the infant Jesus in his bed, choosing to wait for Christmas morning to do so. I remember fondly my Christmas mornings as a child, fighting with my sister to see which of us would place the Star of Christmas in His straw filled bed. 🦊❤️

1913. a leader in disguise

bringing up the rear

paddling to his own drum beat

leading from behind 🦊❤️

As I looked down into the creek from the bridge, I could not help but be intrigued by a solitary goose  swimming far behind the hoard of honkers making their way up stream. It reminded me of the saying “leading from behind.” I also thought of a shepherd and his sheep. Isn't it funny where the mind will drift to? ❤️🦊

1912. making things go faster

 

today i had fun

doing what i do the best

making work faster 🦊❤️

I had a wonderful time today designing and building a fixture that would allow my son Kevin to heat seal his “Moo Moo’s Tea” packets at a much faster and more uniform way. I spent years doing this in my work with folks with disabilities to increase their productivity at work. His inventory of tea has sold out for the second time in two weeks on Etsy. Grateful I can pitch in snd help the cause!! 🦊❤️ 

1911. a time for stillness

 

advent is the time

to be patient - to be still

to slow down life’s pace 🦊❤️

This year I decided to have an advent wreath to help me to contemplate more fully the celebration of Christmas. The one thing that I am becoming keenly aware of by following the day to day texts that accompany the lighting of the candles for Advent’s four weeks is that it is a time to be still, be patient and to slow down in anticipation of Christmas day. Quite refreshing when compared to the typical hustle, bustle and panic that the season has become known for. 🦊❤️

1910. i don’t speak robot

 

i needed some help

but no help was to be found

i don’t speak robot! 🦊❤️

I was at the local big box hardware store to buy some framing materials. I went from aisle to aisle looking for assistance. The only “employee” that I could find was “Tally” the robot who was busy doing inventory in the plumbing aisle. He politely stopped and beeped when I approached him with my question. But I don’t speak “robot”. 🦊❤️

1909. after the parade

 

after the parade

the bands and fire trucks have gone

but not the candy 🦊❤️

Yulan and I took walk through Cape May streets the morning after the big Christmas Parade. All of the crowds, the noise, bands, floats and fire trucks were gone. All that remained were a few stranded pieces of candy not scooped up after the children and of course… silence. 🦊❤️

1908. hazy white sky

 

the haze whitened sky

made the solitary gull

the star of the show 🦊❤️

We sat in our hotel room watching the sea’s horizon disappear as the sky became a white out as haze and fog rolled in. It made sea gull watching all the more interesting and mysterious. 🦊❤️

1907. white sycamore

 

never have i seen

a sycamore so so white

disappears in the snow 🦊❤️

  

As we sauntered around Cape May at dusk, I was struck by the whiteness of a Sycamore tree that stands near “Our Lady of the Sea” Catholic Church.  It is as white as the soul of a newly Baptized baby. 🦊❤️

1906. white unicorn

 

way up a white wall

a window to a white room

and white unicorn 🦊❤️

We are at Cape May for the weekend to see the annual Christmas Parade. There are tons of people here - a real zoo of sorts. We even saw a unicorn at the zoo.  🦊❤️

1905. “baby it’s cold outside”

on this frigid night

warm christmas lights looking out

at their cold cousins 🦊❤️

When the nights are cold, there is no place like a warm home. Gratitude… 🦊❤️

1904. triggering imagination

right there in plain sight

a mysterious portal

to jules verne’s classic 🦊❤️

 I got out of my car and was immediately taken in by a ring of ice that had formed above a depression in the blacktop of a parking lot in need of repair. My mind flashed back to the original “Journey To The Center of the Earth” from the 1950’s. I stood there looking into the “blackness”  at the center of the ice ring and I imagined all of the wonders at the earth’s core as portrayed in the movie.  I even saw Pat Boone… 🦊❤️

1903. what would dick tracy say??

me looking at her

and her looking up at me

in my corner box 🦊❤️

 Every so often it dawns in me how amazing some of our modern day inventions are - real Dick Tracy level stuff. And then every so often I yearn for those old Dick Tracy days when today’s inventions were only comic book fantasies. 🦊❤️

1902. barbershop dog

in between his naps

the barbershop dog takes time

to soak up some d’s 🦊❤️

As I was sitting in the barber chair, I watched the barber’s drowsy old Pit Bull Clansey, move from spot to spot in the shop to nap. He finally got up and walked to the door and soaked in some vitamin D from the bright sun. Then… he went to a new spot and took a another nap. 🦊❤️