The boat dock beams lie high and dry on the beach, waiting for the water level to rise at the beginning of the spring run-offs. They are connected with iron rings that can be moved in all directions. I turned one ring toward Mt. Ingersoll and took this landscape photo. Enjoy.
I recently discovered a twig of a chestnut tree that showed the typical signs of budding we usually observe in early spring. For January, however, such an occurrence is highly unusual. I took a lot of pictures looking for clarity and sharpness. When one photo turned out to be to my liking, I noticed that the background was blurry due to the large aperture opening. Also, I wanted a brighter and more cheerful image.
In my archives, I found a winter scene from last year that looked promising as a better background.
Both went into my Affinity Photo editor. I selected and copied the twig with its impressive bud to the clipboard. Then I cropped the picture above to remove all distracting elements from the composition with the twig. Then I pasted the selected twig into the winter landscape, resized, moved it to the left, and even changed the angle. The result is the third picture. Enjoy.
Two weeks ago, I published two photos that added with the help of the rosehips and the pine tree a little bit of colour to the otherwise grey winter landscape. Many people also noticed the oak tree with the orange leaves. Who can solve the puzzle about the leaves still on this tree and also on all the maple trees here in our little community at the end of January? I have never observed this curious phenomenon before. Today’s photo was taken in bright sunshine about a week ago. Enjoy.
Unusually mild weather has been dominating our January weather. I recently spotted some beautiful droplets hanging from a rosehip twig on a hike at the Fauquier boat dock. Upon closer inspection, I discovered in the reflective lens a few fir trees inside the droplet. Enjoy.
The wood bridge is part of the Fauquier Golf Course and allows the players to cross Heart Creek to access one of the more difficult tee-offs. Now the golf course is inviting a few hardy individuals like my wife and me and the occasional gaggle of geese looking for the green stuff under the snow.
Leaves that had fallen off our giant hazelnut tree plugged up our eaves troughs forming in sub-zero temperatures an icy mess. Before more snow is falling, I need to clean the troughs. Climbing up and down the long ladder is not an easy task. Despite the gloves I am wearing my hands quickly become cold and numb. Standing on top of the ladder and shoveling down leaves and ice, my thoughts wander back in time. I see images in a nostalgic dream-like state of mind. Here are three photos. Enjoy.
The Peter and Gertrud Klopp Family 