Sunrise Fire in the Sky

Sunrise Reflected in the Car Door

Yesterday morning the fiery sunrise that graced the eastern sky was something to behold.

I walked outside to photograph it and I saw its reflection in the car. It was stunning, ruining in a stripe along the door of the car.

The sunrise was even more spectacular when looking at it through the naked, ready for winter, trees. The day was dawning and with it promise and excitement. Even though it was clear and cold, it was about 18 degrees as I stood outside with no coat and bare feet taking the picture, the artistry in the sky was something to be marveled at and appreciated. 

Sunrise, Saturday November 22, 2014
Danby, NY

I wish I were a painter like Van Gogh, but at least I can take an image to remember the magnificence of the scene.

I saw the fire of the sun as it crept above the horizon, the scene seemed even colder than it was because of the bare trees.

I am glad I imprinted this scene on my mind. But that was yesterday.

I wonder what joys today will bring?

-- Bob Doan, writing from Danby, NY

Travel, sunset, flags and pizza

Looking Up a Valley in Central Pennsylvania

This time if year, it is best to leave for a road trip while there is still plenty of daylight.

The road trip this weekend is to upstate New York near the region where the epic snows have been falling, but not quite there; thankfully!

I enjoyed the drive because I didn't have to drive the first part of the trip and was able to look out the window and absorb the views as the sun began to set. It is that golden time of day when the sun makes even the leafless trees look interesting in the setting light. I especially enjoyed the lengthening shadows cast by the setting sun on the hills.

The colors were so bright yesterday against the crisp (OK, cold) sky.

Flag on the Bridge to Northumberland, PA

Sadly, though, as we were traveling across the bridge into Northumberland, PA, I saw something that needs to be corrected. The bridge has a number of US flags adorning the span, but they are in a sad state of repair and need to be replaced. Many of the flags along the bridge were torn similar to the one I imaged here. Proper care an respect of the flag mandates that these flags need to be replaced. I hope this happens soon.

Dinner at the end of the road

Fortunately there was only a dusting of snow on the ground when we arrived. The heavy snow is more north. The good news was that when we arrived there was a pizza waiting for us and that easily erased the memory of the trip. 

Traffic on Friday afternoon was frustrating even though we left just after noon. It took almost an hour to drive the 30 minutes around the Baltimore beltway. That set up a chain of events that caused us to hit heavy afternoon traffic in two other locations. Ugh! All told, traffic added an hour to our trip. 

But we arrived safely and I enjoyed the views until darkness fell and then, of course, it was my turn to drive.

It is the weekend. I am going to enjoy it and have a great time. I will be back home and at work too soon.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Danby, NY

Keeping My Eyes Open

It was a beautiful November Sunday afternoon headed into a Baltimore Ravens football game on the Sunday before Veterans Day. What should I have expected?

Firstly, I didn't expect to be going to a Ravens game nor did I expect the weather to be idyllic.

Walking along the Ravens walk, however, I discovered two fully restored venerable vehicles from World War II. A half track and a Willys Jeep.

I remember watching television shows and movies with both of these vehicles in them and I never realized how reliable vehicles like these helped to change modern warfare.

They seemed out of place amid the throng of modern day football fans and many of whom barely paused to notice there historic machines. 

By keeping my eyes ope, I discovered something that did not seem to belong.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Dark to Darker

It happened yesterday for the first time this season. It actually is the one thing I don't like about this time of year even more than the cold and snow.

It is going to work and later arriving at home during hours of darkness. 

Sunrise was 6:54AM as I was arriving at work, and sunset was 4:49PM for a grand total of 9 hours 55 minutes of sunlight upon the region. 

The darkness saps my energy. And my memory apparently,  I forgot that the Leonid meteor shower was at its peak on Tuesday night! Ugh! It was too cold to watch them anyway. 

Last evening I had to head over to do what I call, grandpa duty and be at the house when Ethan and Jax arrived home after a hard day of school. That ultimately delated my own arrival at home until well after darkness had fallen upon the land.

Frigid temperatures and increasing darkness. Yup, it is winter time no matter that the calendar tries to tell me winter does not begin for almost another month.

I now understand the concept of keeping the home fires burning.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Reflections of Autumn

Buffalo, NY, November 2014

I noticed yesterday, while driving home from work, that the end has arrived for the autumn leaves. I have to admit, it was a beautiful and long autumn in my area. The colors of the leaves on the trees provided many opportunities to be amazed as their hues pasted against a clear cerulean and cold sky. 

Most of the trees are now bare and ready for the onset of winter. The leaves which once adorned their branches are scattered in piles upon the land and no longer muffle the sounds of traffic on the interstate. 

Snow has even been seen falling recently and more will soon be expected. We have not seen, nor do we expect to see as much snow as some areas of Upstate New York, near Buffalo. I downloaded an image posted by a friend which made me feel better about being in Maryland. That is just too much snow! And, in case you had forgotten, it is only November!

I remember last winter just did not want to let go and allow spring to arrive. It seems that winter has been waiting for the past eight months to get revenge upon us for allowing spring to arrive at all!

Jay on the Beach

After looking at the cold and preparing for my excursion out into the 17 degree morning, according to my home thermometer, I came across an image of a Jay standing on a warm looking probable Florida beach in Facebook. Thanks for rubbing it in Jay. 

It is a really nice image. I like the sun in the background. 

I wish I was on a warm beach somewhere enjoying the afternoon sun with my dive mask and snorkel in hand. 

But I'm not! I'm lamenting the end of autumn and the cruel onset of winter.

I am encouraged that temperatures will rebound in to the 40's and 50's by weeks end. When did I ever think I'd be looking forward to temperatures of 40's and 50's?

Good-bye autumn and hello winter! Spring must not be far off!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Coldest Morning of the Season

It is cold out this morning. It is the coldest morning of the season, thus far. As some would read the thermometer, it is not really that cold. It is not the bone chilling frigid weather being faced by people living in the midwest where Denver saw -1 the other day. Thankfully, it is definitely not that cold.

But still, cold is cold. My local weather station reports the temperature at 23.8 degrees Fahrenheit. That qualifies as cold. A freeze, even. All of the annuals have dies with the recent spate of below freezing temperatures. It was sad to see them go, but freeing because the gardens are beginning the process of readying for revival.

A review of some of my favorite places finds temperatures ranging from 19 degrees in both Ithaca, NY,  and Denver, CO; to 75 degrees in, wait for it, Key West.

I noticed that it is 27 degrees in Charlottesville, so even the Virginia wine country is cold.

I could wish I was further south, but I'm not so I just have to deal with it.

I may even have to wear an overcoat this morning to protect myself from the chill.

As the day prepares for dawn, the temperatures will rise--but it will still be cold. 

Be careful out there!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - November 17, 2014

1. There is just over a week until Thanksgiving and the turkey's are getting fat.

2. Holiday decorations take a long time to put up. 

3. The baseball off-season is heating up. 

4. Is it possible to enjoy the holidays and not gain weight?

5. Do football and turkey have anything on common other than Thanksgiving?

6. What is your traditional Christmas Day meal? Ours is prime beef and presents.

7. I like the Penguins of Madagascar. Smile and wave, boys--smile and wave. I'm looking forward to the upcoming movie.

8.  I enjoy Sunday's when the Raven's have a bye week.

9. Wine for Thanksgiving? I'll give some suggestions this week in my wine blog.

10. My favorite Thanksgiving activity is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Let the floats fly!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Snow Village Arrives for the Holidays

The completed display

After a year hiatus, the annual version of our Snow Village was created yesterday. It was an especially complex assembly because we decided, at the last minute, to add a train to the scene. The train was graciously loaned to us by Patrick and Tina. 

The boxes being staged

The first and most difficult decision surrounding the display was the location. Even though the Snow Village is fairly large, we actually discussed five different locations and the final location--interestingly, was not one of the initial choice. This year, the display is in our dining room.

Initial layout without train

The Snow Village is a whole day project, well almost all day, that requires multiple boxes to be retrieved from the storage area and staged. The multiple buildings and pieces which become the scene must each be checked and placed on  the underlying base which I have made configurable for what ever space we choose. 

The train is Assembled and the city placed

The train caused the base to be changed this year, which delayed assembly, but also provided some exciting creativity moments. The change is evident in the pictures I have added. We used an HO scale train, however, upon reflection, I'm not sure that is the best scale for the Snow Village. But, hey, it works and it is fun, for the first time ever, to have an operating train in the village. 

Seven hours after we began--it was complete. I believe we will continue to incorporate trains into the village and will do a better job planning in the future. It will likely become a train display with a Snow Village rather than a Snow Village with a train. 

Bring on the holidays!

Note: One observant reader asked about the Christmas lights I put on the house on Veterans Day. To clarify, the lights are in place but not illuminated. We do not begin lighting them until the day after Thanksgiving when it truly becomes the Christmas Season.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Big Hero 6 - Review

Lucas in front of Baymax

What are you doing this cold weekend? Getting ready for the holidays or hoping they won't come?

Here's a thought. Go to a movie! Yup. I went to see Big Hero 6 with the grandsons and I confirm--it is worth the time and money. 

The movie is well paced and has a good story with a not so obvious twist. 

The story revolves around a Hiro Hamada, a 14-year old genius whose older brother, Tadashi, motivates to achieve something higher than where he was happy being. Tadashi, who tragically dies, was a genius as well and created a personal health assistant robot, Baymax. Teaming with his older brother's friends, Hiro, accompanied by Baymax, unravel the details around Tadashi's death and begin down the road to becoming super heroes.

The story is fast paced with action to keep the younger crowd engaged, but also has an engaging story for the older audience, like me.

RECOMMENDATION: See this movie, preferably with kids or grandkids. In my case I was lucky--I went with both kids and grandkids. Have fun. Buy some popcorn and escape for a couple hours on a cold weekend's afternoon.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Unnamed Holiday, Holidays

What is in a name?

It seems quite a bit. Montgomery County, Maryland, has decided to omit the religious names of observances from the calendar.

So let me get this straight--if I don't call it Yom Kippur or Easter, but there is still a day off it makes it all better?

CNN reports it this way:

(CNN) -- Starting next year, the names of religious holidays like Christmas and Yom Kippur will no longer appear on the school calendar in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Instead of Christmas break, students will have winter break. And when Yom Kippur rolls around, the calendar will simply state that there will be no school.

I'm caught up in the old idea that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. A holiday, although unnamed, is still an observance!

This sounds really petty--and all because another special interest group wanted to add another holiday to the school calendar.

I sat on the Howard County, Maryland, School Calendar committee planning the 2014 calendar and I have some observations.

First and foremost--Christmas needs to be excluded from the discussion of religious holidays with respect to school calendars. Why? Christmas is a federal holiday unlike all of the rest of the days being considered. So it is truly acceptable to say Merry Christmas and not worry about it being construed as a religious event.

Second--everybody should have seen that this situation was going to be coming soon. There are enough teacher work days built into the schedule to be able to move them around to accommodate the "religious" holidays if the school districts really wanted to account for them. 

Third--at least in Maryland, not all of the federal holidays are observed by the schools. 

Finally, the calendars in the school systems are built around the last day of school. Anything is negotiable as long as the last day of school is not too late during June. With some creative work everyone's wishes could be accommodated.

I think the final paragraph from the CNN article really sums it up:

"They're trying to be politically correct so they don't offend anybody," he said. "But let's be real here; they're going to offend a few people. People always get offended."
It is not that hard. If we, as a society, are going to be inclusive--as we say we want to be, then we need to act that way. Taking the religious names off the calendar doesn't change the fact of the observance, it only obscures it.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD