Charlie's Fake Blog

As I was walking to the mail box this morning I noticed some maple leaves  impressed into the sand at the mouth of my driveway.  I couldn't help thinking  that, given the sorry state of road maintenance in the township where I live,  these leaves have a good chance to be found as fossils a million years from now.

I started seeing stinkbugs (just Google "images, stinkbugs") about three or four years ago.  They fly from somewhere and land on my house starting about the end of September.  It's the middle of October and they're slowing down. They crawl into every nook and cranny they can find.  My wife uses a mild solution of water and dish detergent in a spray bottle to kill them.  Our house is really clean.  Her determination to keep the house free of stinkbugs reminds me of King Aragorn's exhortation to his troops in the movie Return of the King just prior to the battle at the black gate, "Hold your ground! Hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers, I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it i...

Another pair of worn out work boots.  

Today, Linda and I drove to Rockwood PA because I had heard that the bike trail (The Great Allegheny Passage) was more scenic there than it is around Dawson / Connelsville.  Well, we found the trail and walked for a little while toward Maryland.  The scenery is pretty much the same as around here, a gravel footpath / bike trail beside a river (the Casselman River).  We walked for about forty-five minutes and came upon a bench with a view of the river.  We both decided to stop and set for a while and make the bench the turn-around point in our little hike.  As I was getting ready to sit down something small and red caught my eye.  This little guy. Linda set her wedding ring down beside it in order to provide some scale. I took a few more pictures and we turned around and headed back to the car. Seems odd. I went looking for some grand scenery and got a picture of a tiny red toad.

Sometimes I get a picture that is right on the verge.  This is one. The little car could be a little more into the shot and it would be better if the faces were not so blurry, and if the kids were a little more to frame right the shot would be a bit more dynamic.  But these are kids moving and it's pretty good to get them as well as I did while trying to blur the background.

Yesterday Linda and I repeated last year's themed anniversary activity by taking a train ride from Cumberland MD to Frostburg MD aboard a train run by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad .  The excursion starts in Cumberland, goes to Frostburg, turns around and goes back to Cumberland. The conductor looked the part. There were some scenic sights along the way.  You had to keep an eye out for them because railroads are built for utility, not tourism.   Most of the time we were seeing trees, rocky banks where they had excavated for the tracks and the back yards of people's houses. Just about every ridge in the Allegheny's has or will have wind mills.

Today I got a chance to take some closeup pictures of an Osprey. It had landed in my brother-in-law's yard and was just standing under one of the trees. There is obviously something wrong with the poor critter  since I was able to get rather close. The top picture is of Donald, my brother-in-law, who was also rather  amazed that he could get a close look at a bird he had only ever seen from a distance. The spread wings are a threat, so after this shot I backed away. If you look at it's right eye you can see either damage or disease. Either way I suspect it would cause the bird a great deal of trouble seeing as it relies on keen eyesight to get food. The geese are nesting and the gander is keeping an eye on the raptor.

I suppose I could pester him to look at the camera but I don't want to take away from the moment, or get a fake "cheese" smile.

I hate to brag, no, when I get a chance I like to brag.  I can take a few steps from my front door and, on the right day, take a snapshot like this.  Then on another right day, same spot, this.

Snow, frost and ice are always good for  at least one picture worth a second look.

A cloud is simply a few tons of water vapor.  In the right place at the right time, a pretty good picture.