Last Day of the Year Skywatch

I read that we are supposed to have a Blue Moon tonight (this was taken looking away from the sun)

I was able to capture the colors but not the rays of light that were shining down Actually I took these last night. There is an open field with trees at the far end it. The trees block the setting sun but not it's beauty. For the bottom photo I set my camera to blur most of the trees hoping that the other worldly colors of the sky would work well with the muted silhouettes of the trees.

I would now like to thank all of the wonderful friends that have visited my blogs. I've been doing this for less than a year and it's far more rewarding than I ever could have imagined.

Thank's and Happy New Year everyone!

If you would like to participate in Skywatch Friday please click here.

Benches Behind a Church

Most of the old churches near my house have little cemeteries in back. This is a park like setting near the cemetery of a 240 year old church. I've walked around here a few times but I've never seen another person around.

This post was inspired by my blogging friend Malyss. She finds and posts wonderful pictures of benches on a daily basis. Now I find myself really noticing all of the different styles of benches that are all around.

Snowy Lessons

Be Prepared!

Last week's snow storm was a first for us so we weren't prepared. We ended up digging our car out of the snow with an ice scraper and a kitchen broom. While on one of my walks I saw how the locals deal with snow.

Vicki won't let me get snow removal equipment like the ones in the photos above so I'll have to settle for a snow shovel. Now that the snow is gone, let's see if I'm smart enough to buy the shovel before the next snow fall. Stay tuned.

The Last Light of the Day

The lines on the road lead to the setting sun in Newtown.

Christmas Reflections (Weekend Reflections #14)

Reflection of a Christmas tree on the floor of a hotel lobby.



Another Christmas tree and more reflected on a wall on the hotel's 2nd floor.

Merry Christmas! I guess this will be for the die hard Weekend Reflectors and/or the people who received shiny Christmas presents.

Both of these reflections were taken at the hotel where we stayed in Munich.

"Weekend Reflections" rules are simple:

1)Post a *reflection photograph that was taken by you. (*A photo that contains a reflection)

2)After I post my Weekend Reflections photo, add your name, country and link to MckLinky

3)Be sure that your link goes directly to your Weekend Reflections post.

4)Comment on other Weekend Reflections participant’s blogs.

Feel free to be creative. Remember this meme is for any type of reflection.
This meme runs Friday 11 am EST through Sunday, so feel free to link your post anytime within that time frame. Join the fun!

Snowy Coincidence

I love the old white house.

By Sunday afternoon the blizzard had blown away and I put on my space suit (that's what all the winter gear reminds me of) and ventured outside to explore. While I was taking a picture I heard some people talking right behind me. They turned to the left by the time I got my shot. On a whim I took a couple of pictures of the people. This is where the coincidence kicks in. Yesterday I was trying to find out how much snow fell in Newtown and I ended up at Bucks Local News. This article was on the front page. Do the people in the news article look familiar? I must have been practically back to back with the photographer when he took it.

Weekend Blizzard!

Looking to the left from my balcony as the wind howled and the snow flew.
Looking straight ahead

Look at the guy and his dog to the right.

This weekend there was a blizzard in Newtown and many other parts of the east coast.

The snow started falling here early Saturday morning and it continued until Sunday morning.

This was a first for Vicki and me. The snow is really beautiful and we stayed warm and cozy listening to Christmas music and Vicki even baked some cookies. I just wish that we had a fireplace.

I went out for a little while and took some pictures on Sunday afternoon so I'll post some of them next time.

Salzburg Underwater World (Weekend Reflections #13)

This is a reflection of a pegasus statue and some trees in a fountain at the Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg. The coins, leaves and debris in the fountain look like stars to me, also there is a coin or a leaf that looks like a menacing eye on the Pegasus reflection.

It's great to be back and I look forward to seeing lots of great reflections!

"Weekend Reflections" rules are simple:

1)Post a *reflection photograph that was taken by you. (*A photo that contains a reflection)

2)After I post my Weekend Reflections photo, add your name, country and link to MckLinky

3)Be sure that your link goes directly to your Weekend Reflections post.

4)Comment on other Weekend Reflections participant’s blogs.

Feel free to be creative. Remember this meme is for any type of reflection.
This meme runs Friday 11 am EST through Sunday, so feel free to link your post anytime within that time frame. Join the fun!

Salzburg at Night

This picture was taken on a foot and bike bridge on the way back to the hotel from Bärenwirt restaurant. Looking over the Salzach river you can see Old Town with its towering cathedrals. Above it all is the 932-year-old Hohensalzburg Castle, which sits at the top of Festungsberg Hill.

Salzburg is a clean and comfortable city that is divided by a river. It has mountain views and lots of charming narrow side streets to explore. It was raining when we arrived and lightly snowing when we left, but it was clear and cool for the most part.

Salzburg is famous for being the birthplace of Mozart, The Sound of Music and Sacher tortes, which taste pretty good by the way.

Everything of interest was within walking distance from our hotel, which was right next to the Mirabell Gardens: interesting museums, beautiful churches, restaurants, Christmas Markets and lots of wonderful old buildings.

I tried my first schnitzel (it was pork instead of veal) at an old authentic Austrian restaurant called Bärenwirt. Vicki had pork roast with the most incredible cabbage. Then we shared a delicious dessert. What a fantastic meal!

We also discovered a type of muesli that we had never tried before but we really liked it. It was kind of like a a thick muesli smoothie topped with fresh cut fruit and eaten with a spoon. We ate the muesli with croissants and coffee for really good breakfasts.

In case you couldn't tell I love to eat as much as I love to travel.

Home Again

As you can see I was standing in the shade from all of the wonderful old buildings in Prague's Old Town. The famous Tyn Church is in the center and our hotel was about 20 meters to the right of it.



This is where we stayed it was very nice inside and out

This photo was taken in front of the hotel facing the spot where I took the top photo.

I would like to welcome the new followers and thank the participants of Weekend Reflections. It looks like it went well while I was away. I took a few reflection photos in Europe that I look forward to posting.

The trip was wonderful but it's nice to be home. We saw so many interesting things and we ate some really great food. The weather ranged from mild to cold and we got a mix of clear skies, some rain and even a little snow.

We went to Prague first after changing planes in Munich.

After Prague we flew back to Munich and took a train to Salzburg.

After Salzburg we took the train back to Munich where we stayed for the final week of the trip.

Here is a short summary of Prague which will be followed by summaries of Salzburg and Munich.

1)Prague was fun but it was way too crowded and had too many tourist shops (sort of a Disneyland feel to it.) The buildings,bridges and views were really beautiful and our room was comfortable and came with a nice breakfast. The Christmas Market at Old Town square was great, it opened the day after we arrived.

Notable meals were goulash with bread like dumplings and kielbasa with mustard on a roll.

I'll be posting more pictures from this trip on my Something Sighted blog.

Reflective Symbolism (Weekend Reflections # 12)

Look to the far right of this picture about half way up and you will see the baseball cap that I was wearing. It looks like I'm a pig and a scared cat. lol

I think that creepy clown has something to do with the way this turned out. :)

"Weekend Reflections" rules are simple:

1)Post a *reflection photograph that was taken by you. (*A photo that contains a reflection)

2)After I post my Weekend Reflections photo, add your name, country and link to MckLinky

3)Be sure that your link goes directly to your Weekend Reflections post.

4)Comment on other Weekend Reflections participant’s blogs.

I return this weekend but I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to process and jetlag to shake off. So It will take a some days to get back to my routine.

Feel free to be creative. Remember this meme is for any type of reflection.
This meme runs Friday 11ish am EST through Sunday, so feel free to link your post anytime within that time frame. Join the fun!

Simba in the Sink (Weekend Reflections # 11)

He prefers his water straight from the tap.

"Weekend Reflections" rules are simple:

1)Post a *reflection photograph that was taken by you. (*A photo that contains a reflection)

2)After I post my Weekend Reflections photo, add your name, country and link to MckLinky

3)Be sure that your link goes directly to your Weekend Reflections post.

4)Comment on other Weekend Reflections participant’s blogs.

Feel free to be creative. Remember this meme is for any type of reflection.
This meme runs Friday 11 am EST through Sunday, so feel free to link your post anytime within that time frame. Join the fun!

-I'm on Vacation in Europe and I won't be able to comment on your blogs.

The Coming Storm (Weekend Reflections # 10)

The reflection of an approaching storm in an old barn window.

"Weekend Reflections" rules are simple:

1)Post a *reflection photograph that was taken by you. (*A photo that contains a reflection)

2)After I post my Weekend Reflections photo, add your name, country and link to MckLinky

3)Be sure that your link goes directly to your Weekend Reflections post.

4)Comment on other Weekend Reflections participant’s blogs.

Feel free to be creative. Remember this meme is for any type of reflection.
This meme runs Friday 11 am EST through Sunday, so feel free to link your post anytime within that time frame. Join the fun!

-I'm on Vacation in Europe and I won't be able to comment on your blogs.

A Glimpse of the Other Side (Weekend Reflections # 9)

The other side of the street. I will soon be on the other side of the Atlantic. This will be my last post until I return in mid to late December with tons of pictures. I hope you don't forget about my blog.

I have scheduled Weekend Reflections to be up and running each week while I'm gone, so have fun.

"Weekend Reflections" rules are simple:

1)Post a *reflection photograph that was taken by you. (*A photo that contains a reflection)

2)After I post my Weekend Reflections photo, add your name, country and link to MckLinky

3)Be sure that your link goes directly to your Weekend Reflections post.

4)Comment on other Weekend Reflections participant’s blogs.

Feel free to be creative. Remember this meme is for any type of reflection.
This meme runs Friday 11 am EST through Sunday, so feel free to link your post anytime within that time frame. Join the fun!

Walking away from the People Theme for Now

If you're in Philadelphia watch out or you just might get your picture taken.

Just a reminder that Weekend Reflections starts Friday at 11 am est.

Tribal Streets

The people series continues.

I like the way this picture looks in black and white but the young man was such a colorful character I think the color version should be shown too.

Check out the earlobe.

Hard Times

To see other Monochrome Weekly posts please click here.

Happy Birthday Victoria!

Voila, Philadelphia cheesesteak extraordinaire!

This week's theme is people. I used to avoid taking pictures of people but now I like to. It's fun trying to capture them at the right moment.

-To my dear wife Vicki, you are twice as old as you were the first time we celebrated your birthday as a married couple and I love you twice as much. You can have dinner anywhere you want and it doesn't have to be a cheeseteak.

Newtown Barn Reflection (Weekend Reflections #8)

This barn is now being used as a garage.

So far Weekend Reflections has gotten bigger every week. Thank you to everyone who participates!
I think it's great seeing all of the reflections. My goal is to comment on every single Weekend Reflection post by Sunday night. As far as I know that's what I've done so far. I also like the challenge of finding reflections to post.

"Weekend Reflections" rules are simple:

1)Post a *reflection photograph that was taken by you. (*A photo that contains a reflection)

2)After I post my Weekend Reflections photo, add your name, country and link to MckLinky

3)Be sure that your link goes directly to your Weekend Reflections post.

4)Comment on other Weekend Reflections participant’s blogs.

Feel free to be creative. Remember this meme is for any type of reflection.
This meme runs Friday 11 am EST through Sunday, so feel free to link your post anytime within that time frame. Join the fun!

Wrightstown Friends Meeting House, circa 1787

This is one of many old churches in Newtown. This one is a Friends church which I think is another name for a Quaker church. I decided to stop here just as the sun was setting. At a later date I'll post some pictures of the sun setting behind the cemetery.

"Friends began meeting in the home of John Chapman in 1686 and built the first log meetinghouse at this location in 1721. The present building was built in 1787. "

Now I put on my hat and give a salute to the veterans.

Old Horse Stables

This is another building that is no longer being used. I like this stone wall. I wonder if it was built during the revolutionary war. I'm in a barns and stables phase with a nod to Sunny's wonderful Barnyards and Barnacles blog.

The Ravages of Time

I'm sure this old barn has seen better days but I think it's beautiful in this state of disrepair.
I posted a black and white version at my Something Sighted blog.

New Hope on the Water (Weekend Reflections # 7)

I think this building makes a great reflection. It was just starting to rain when I took these pictures.

"Weekend Reflections" rules are simple:

1)Post a *reflection photograph that was taken by you. (*A photo that contains a reflection)

2)After I post my Weekend Reflections photo, add your name, country and link to MckLinky

3)Be sure that your link goes directly to your Weekend Reflections post.

4)Comment on other Weekend Reflections participant’s blogs.

Feel free to be creative. Remember this meme is for any type of reflection.
This meme runs Friday 11ish am EST through Sunday, so feel free to link your post anytime within that time frame. Join the fun!

Abandoned Windows

I found this old abandoned apartment building in Trenton New Jersey. I'll post more pictures of some other time but I just remembered about Maryt's Windows and Doors meme. This thing has plenty of windows some real and some not.

-Sorry for the lack of posts and comments lately

By now most of you know that I have a terrible back problem(a surgery that went wrong and left me with chronic pain) Sometimes It's under control but if I'm not careful It gets pretty bad. During these times sitting at the computer for more than a few minutes is unbearable. I miss posting and seeing your blogs everyday but I'm not able to do that as much as I would like. Normally after some rest things get better so that's what I'm hoping for, especially with this Vacation coming up.

Just a reminder that Weekend Reflections is already scheduled and will start at 11:01 am est Friday.

To see other Window Views and Doors too please click here.

Maxine's

I posted some pictures of a building in Trenton New Jersey on my Something Sighted blog. That got me thinking about Trenton and since it's not too far away I went there today for about an hour and took a few more pictures.

I don't know anything about this building but it seems like it could be a night club.

I can imagine this place 50 years ago filled with well dressed people smoking and drinking while listening to jazz that was smoother than honey and cooler than the ice in their drinks.

That's probably far from the real story but it's fun to imagine.

If you would like to see the other Monochrome Weekly entries please click here.

Mixed Emotions

This is not the same farm couple as the two in the photo below



"You eat the high hay and I'll eat the low hay"......................

Bucks County style BBQ. I felt a little uncomfortable about this scene after meeting my friends in the pictures above

Although I did end up eating pork ribs for dinner that night.