What to do at 4 a.m.

I took the original shot, the top one, then applied a couple of PhotoShop filters to it. What a great tool PS is

Early Morning Walk

Original Photo

PhotoShop Treatment

I got up early today, 5 am. The sky was clear as a bell but it was 14 degrees out and very windy. I wanted to go outside since next week at this time I'll be at SK with tubes coming out of everywhere. So I suited up with thermals, ski pants, sweatshirt, jacket, hat and gloves and went to the lake. The sky was amazing. I laid down on the wooden dock and watched the sky, hoping to see some meteors. I didn't see any but there seemed to be many planets out there. The lake was alive too. I could hear the ice expanding and contracting and cracks would start on one end and work their way down to me. Awesome.
I can't wait for things to thaw and me to be able to kayak again. It should be good therapy for me in about a month. On my walk back, I stopped and took a photo of Bocci's, a good Italian place right on the lake.

One Man's Trash, is Another Man's Christmas Present

Martin guitar pick (above)

My eyeball (above)

Dust on an old modem card (above)

Many people are cleaning out their offices at work as of late (that's another post). I found this very cool microscope that someone was throwing out. All it was missing were the drivers for it. a little search on the Internet and presto. Drivers. It's a digital scope that hooks up to the USB port and projects the images on to the computer. You can also take snapshots of what you are viewing. It's so cool, this is bonus gift for me and the boys for Christmas

Random Photos

Here's a bunch of random pictures I felt like posting. The first one is me attempting to play a guitar. It was my brother's first guitar, I didn't really start to play until I was in the 8th grade (around 12-13 years old) The second photo is when I was probably in the 10th grade or so (1973) The next picture is of my bike when I took my first bike trip from northern NJ to Ithaca NY, a distance of about 300 miles. It was 3 days up, a week hanging out in the Finger Lakes region, then 3 days home. I had about 75 pounds of gear, most of it was cassette tapes. The first walkmans had just come out and we had to have music. Screw food, had to have tunes. The next photo is me hanging out with my mountain bike in the county park in NJ. The bike is a Ross mountain bike which I still have and was one of the first production mountain bikes on the market. It cost about $300 at the time (25 years ago?) It's still a great bike. I have another mountain bike, a Univega, that cost twice that but isn't nearly as good of a bike. They've come a long way in bike design but I still like old faithful, the things a tank. I used to bike all of the time. My friend Henry and I would think nothing of riding 80-100 miles in a day for fun. Last but not least is a photo of a snowbow. Yes, it's not a rainbow because it was snowing. It was taken up by New Paltz NY. I've never seen another snowbow since.

The Old Mill

I've always been intrigued by a piece of property in town. There is this very old house that dates back to the early 1900s that sits right outside the center of town. It's not occupied and hasn't been for many years. I've always driven past it but never took the time to stop and explore it. Yesterday I took the time. There used to be a working waterwheel (see photo) that I imagine was the power source of a gristmill or something. The old stone that was used for milling the wheat is sitting outside (see photo). There is also this very cool small suspension bridge on the property along with two other bridges. I had taken a few more photos but they didn't turn out that well.
I tried to find out more about the history of the property but haven't uncovered anything yet. It really is a nice spot. I'm sure though that the property will not be preserved and will be sold to the highest bidder so they can put up McMansions or Condos like they do everywhere else up here

All Gone

Before                             After

Sun DoG(Ga)

Here's another sun dog that I saw the other day. It was a very bright one. This is the time of the year that you can see them a lot, at least in the MidAtlantic states.

Bonus Joke

Sun Dog definition

07.03.05 - The Past Few Days...

This was how I started my Friday,
I took a nice 2 mile kayak ride,
then came home for a good swim.

Then, we took our oldest son to camp,
his first time away at a camp. It looks
like it will be a very good experience for
him. One of his good 'buds' will be going too.














This was taken a few weeks ago.
This is our oldest son at his Karate class.
Look who he is fighting -
Himself!What a metaphor for life....

The Grif

I got a little fancy and did a motion blur effect on this picture of #2 son. It sort of came out like an oil painting.

06.23.05

What a great morning it was today

First, there was the Sunrise

followed by a Full Moon Setting

with a side of Mist

or two.....
A very remarkable morning on Walton Lake. the full moon was setting as teh sun was rising. there was this tremendous mist rising from the lake. The pictures can not capture it. It really gives a feeling of being alive! Then I went home for a swim and there was mist coming off of my pool after I took the cover off. The air temp was mid 50's. A great way to start the day....


Then I saw the strangest sight...

SHARK!

Sunrise on Walton Lake

06.21.05 - Sunrise on Walton Lake
This is how I started my day! There was the coolest mist rising from the lake this morning, the lake was like a sheet of glass. I think I'd totally lose my mind if I didn't have this place to go to every day. I went 81 consecutive days last year.