Snapdragon

This snapdragon appealed to me when I was shooting the log cabin. It is between the road & sidewalk, a volunteer from previous plantings beside the old FCMC parking lot. The color is beautiful, so rich. I ran it through PS Elements, hence the stained glass effect in #2.

Sunset

I sat in the neighboring field watching & capturing the beautiful sunset last evening. Wonderful show, free for the watching. Can't say that about to many things these days!

Log Cabin

This log cabin is located in McConnellsburg, I pass it daily traveling to & from my office. I am scratching my head trying to figure out why the photo opportunity went unnoticed so long! Stopped last evening to shoot & have played around with different "looks" on & off all day. I downloaded Photoshop Elements 30 day trial a couple days ago, what fun! Here are a couple views of the same shot. The first is just as it stands, the second is cropped (darn stop sign), made black & white, & has an infrared filter, the third is also cropped, then covered in plastic wrap.

Flag & Flowers

I took this photo at the county courthouse a few days ago. I really like how it turned out. What do you think?

Trinity & Nolan

I took this shot of Trinity, at sister, Mady's party. Portraits are not my favorite form of photography but I am pleased with how this turned out. The picture of Nolan was more accidental than anything. Just being at the right place at the right time with a camera in hand.

Mady is 2

Madyson celebrated her second birthday this past week. She had a picnic party with her parents, sister, grandparents, & great-grandparents at my house last evening. Baby Pooh was the theme for the cake, which she reported to be her "Pooh pie". Here are a couple shots of the party girl. The first is the tasting of the "Pooh pie". Yummy whipped cream icing! The second shows Mady at the end of the party, & finally, a rare quiet moment before the festivities began.

Flowers & Trees

I observed some different flowers & trees growing in the sandy soil of southeastern NC. Lots of pine trees which of course we have in PA. Loved the palm trees with the trunk decoration, & was facinated by the spanish moss hanging so gracefully.

More of Wilmington NC

After our visit to the Battleship NC my daughter, grandson, & I put our trust in the GPS & ventured into the city. A short ride later we found ourselves on "The Riverwalk" which is exactly what it sounds like - a boardwalk type affair that follows the river. A number of nice shoppes, eating & drinking establishments, line the side opposite the river. There are tourist attractions such as trolly rides & riverboat rides available. One of the buisness's on the water's edge refurbished yaghts. I always wanted to see what was in one of those! It was quite hot & humid that day, so we did not walk far until we were worn out. I did find it interesting that near the river the streets were very narrow & surfaced with brick rather the the materials we see in PA.

The first shot is of the riverboat, the second shows a very warm Levi(he was in a stroller!), & finally a shot of a church steeple taken from the Battleship NC side of the river. This steeple caught my eye both days in this city, so getting a photo was a must.

Wilmington NC

Some really big guns


The really big cable used to tie the ship.

The ships & planes taken out by the Battleship North Carolina

Wilmington is a beautiful city located along a busy river in NC. Just outside, actually, across the river, the Battleship North Carolina in located. This ship is retired, but is open to the public for touring. The first thought I had was WOW, look at the size of this thing! My images are only sections of it. I was pretty impressed by the float plane on the one end. A coworker explained to me how the plane was lifted from the ship, placed in the water for take off, then upon return was lifted back onto the deck. Another area that caught my eye was the flags that show how many ships & planes shot down by the battleship. How sad to be proud of taking human lives, but how necessary to our continued freedom. I actually made 2 trips to this site. The first earlier in the week with my daughter & grandson, then again on the drive home with my husband in the rain. Andy was very impressed with all the firepower contained on board - again so necessary. He explained, I understood some, but some I did not. Anyhow interesting stuff any way you look at it.

More from Ocean Isle Beach

The first photo shows my nephew, Anthony, enjoying a game of hide & seek with his cousins. Who would think to look way up in the balcony! Number 2 is a shot of flowers potted along the river walk in Wilmington, NC. Wilmington is about an hours drive from OIB & proudly houses the Battleship North Carolina, which is open for visitors - that is a story for another post. The last are the houses to our front left side on a moonlit night. We were lucky enough to enjoy a full moon during our stay.

Storm

The second day at Ocean Isle Beach brought about a thunderstorm. I sat on the deck & enjoyed watching the sky change as the storm moved in. The roof had a ledge just big enough to tuck myself & my camera under. My home located in the PA mountains do not allow such distant views.

A month later.................

It's been awhile since I posted & what a busy time! Spent a week at a beautiful beach in southern North Carolina. What a treat! Vacation was with my rather large family - I think I mentioned before there are 10 of us. My brothers were not able to join us because of work obligations, but my sister-in-laws & children were present. Mom went along too. This 80 year old was looking for people to go to the beach at 6 AM on most mornings! I had lots of time for reading & photography since I had no household chores to perform. We rented a rather large beach house & the rest of the family graciously cooked & did dishes. Unfortunately real life returns with it's ratrace of job, bills, & household chores. Please enjoy some photos while I remember.