A Maryland Winter Wonderland

I got my butt off the couch and in search of snow and headed to Canada (um, northern Montgomery County) where I struck snow gold and got to visit with a friend who showed me the magical snowy trails with glistening icy trees.  Mission accomplished! 

Fall, Meet Winter

A passing snow storm made for a scenic scene out my window yesterday.  Only got one inch which got washed away in the rain, ah well.  Feeling snow deprived, I will go in search of snow in other parts of the region that got more snow! 

Walking around Town: Fall in the City

Last week, me & my phone took a walk in a beautiful neighborhood.  The streets were lined with stunning trees of all colors complementing the elegant homes.   

Back to the Appalachian Trail!

It's been slightly over a year since I've hiked on the Appalachian Trail and am really glad to be back on it.  This was a section I've done before in Maryland.  Next up - want to get back to section hiking - have about 30 miles in Northern Virginia before I get to Shenandoah National Park.  In the roller coaster section with tough ups and downs and I'm not in shape but I guess that's one way to get into shape.  

Black & White & Shades of Gray: Lotus

I see things (not literally) in black and white, right and wrong, good and evil.  Are there shades of gray? I am doubtful.  It's hard for me to see often.  So here I go, pushing myself into the literal, the pragmatic, wanting to work on my black & white photography plus a photo challenge for gray, and so here goes.   

Lotus Dream

Walking Around Town: Stone Cold Crazy (& Vote!)

On my walk nearly four months ago, I was feeling - as I am today - stone cold crazy.  I can be very literal.   Thus my theme for this walk - stone.  (I also was probably listening to Queen, some of my themes relate to songs/music.)  This election is stressing the heck out of me.  So, am praying that enough sane people obey the message on the stone pups' masks and vote.  

 

A Tale of Two Cemeteries

Last November/December, scouted and then co-led a photo walk through two cemeteries in Georgetown.

From a 2016 NY Times article:  "On one side is Oak Hill, a lush slope of well-tended graves of congressmen, publishers and cabinet members who were, with few exceptions, white. On the other side is the Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society Cemetery. There, broken gravestones lie in large piles and dogs and their owners have taken the place of mourners for the slaves, freedmen and mostly black citizens buried below."  

Our first visit was to the neglected Mount Zion and then onto the beautiful grounds of Oak Hill.  But found beauty in both.

Hard to believe that this was nearly a year ago.  

Overcliff ~ Undercliff

Last month during my stay in NY, my first hike at the Mohonk Preserve.  This was the Overcliff - Undercliff loop.  Nice wide carriage road trails, nice views, boulders, rock climbers.  And the earliest hint of fall even in mid-September. 

 

Summer, meet Fall

 My summer flowers are happy as the trees gaining their autumn red leaves have their back.  

 

Paw Paw Tunnel: Light at the End?

Last September, I hiked through the 3,118 foot Paw Paw Tunnel along the C&O Canal in Allegheny County, MD.  

Not surprisingly, there are rumors the tunnel is haunted!

It definitely was a little creepy and somehow seems fitting as we approach Halloween and the upcoming election.   

 

Perhaps 2020 is just a long creepy tunnel with maybe a little light at the end?

Walking around town: Kind of blue

Walking around town end of May

 

Walking around town: Wet leaves

I'm very drawn to leaves, and in my walks around town with phone in hand, have had a number of days where the theme of wet leaves on the sidewalk calls out to me.  I just love the colors, the textures and the contrast between the leaves and the sidewalks on which they are plastered. This batch includes some from walks in late July and mid-August.