Sunday, March 31, 2013

Easter Morning Walk

It's Easter, but we still haven't got much of a Spring going here as yet; the trees are still bare, the grass is still brown, and not much is blooming but some brave early blooms of the Narcissus family. Today was sorta chilly, and I came in from my walk when it started up with a cold rain. It's still raining.

Still, I wandered out looking for things that would catch my eye. I went up to Spring Hill Cemetery, then wandered back to King St. and wandered for a bit in the area behind King St. These things caught my eye (and you can view them as a web album or slide show here): some brave Daffodils blooming along W. King St.; two views of South Mountain from the cemetery; the graves of two young sons of the unfortunate Moses and Margaret Cope, one aged 6 years and the other 17; an old wrought iron fence by the library on W. King; an old mill converted to apartments along Branch Creek on W. King; and the window sign on the Longhorn Country Dance Club on N. Fayette St. I hope you find these sights as interesting as I did.








© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Monday, March 25, 2013

Oops, She Did It Again!

Yup, Mama Gaia has done it again! Here we are with more snow after the snow season is supposed to be done with. I went for a walk over to the Dykeman Walking Trail and the Dykeman Springs Wetlands this morning. Fourteen shots passed quality control; obviously I'm not going to post all of them here, so if you want to see the whole bit, click here to visit the web album. Here are a few to whet your appetite.






© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger
Note: Please excuse the word verification on the comments. Unfortunately I've been being overrun by comment spam recently, so I've had to take appropriate action.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Spring - Blooms & Bach

Yesterday (March 20) was the Vernal Equinox. However, there's no real sign of Spring around. It was cold and blustery yesterday, and today was even colder if somewhat less blustery. Remember that photo of the Daffodils springing up in the woods from a couple of weeks ago? Well, they're still the same; they've gotten no nearer to actually blooming in those two weeks. And according to the weather picture, we may not get any real Springlike conditions until April. 

I knew before I headed out yesterday that there wouldn't be much in the way of Spring to capture, so I went looking for good black and white shots that emphasized the lack thereof. The two pictures below are the best of the bunch.

 


The other event occurring this time of year happens today - J.S. Bach's birthday. And as longtime readers of this blog know, I'm a faithful annual celebrator. This year I have two treats for you: the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048, with the Orchestra Mozart conducted by Claudio Abbado; and Leopold Stokowski's brilliant orchestral setting of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 from the Disney movie Fantasia.



Photos © 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sunday Morning Service

On Sunday morning I go to church...


... and sit in a pew...


... to contemplate the sacred.






Photos & text © 2013 and video created 2007 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Saturday, March 09, 2013

Winter's Last Hurrah?

We got a storm this past Wednesday, March 6. I got some photos on the way to work that morning, but this is the first chance I've had to post them; work, tiredness after work, and then illness yesterday got in the way. But now here they are! This weekend we're up in the mid 50s (around 12º to 13º C), and Wednesday's snow is all gone. But I'm wondering how much of a last hurrah it really was; they're getting another blizzard out in Colorado and the Plains states. March is such a tricky month!




© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Saturday, March 02, 2013

It's Still Winter, But...

... there are signs of Spring emerging. I went on a walk through the Dykeman Springs wetlands this morning; the temps aren't getting out of the 30s (-1º - 4º C) today, but still there were signs. Like Daffodils shooting up above ground along the Walking Trail, and Mallards pairing up for the Spring mating. The planet is tilting back again.



© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger