a winter's setting sun

Header Challenge: A Winter's Setting Sun

January 16, 2013

Technically, this is called a competition, but with such a theme as we have now, there can be no losers.  This week's theme was chosen by Imac.  The image in my header was taken from the parking lot behind my church.  Notice the holiday ivy spiraling down the light posts.  I picked it, because of the dark part where I could easily superimpose "Craver-Vii."  Check out my  pals for their interpretations on the theme of winter sunsets: Fishing  Guy, Katney, Imac and Lew.

Across the street from Bolingbrook's Fountaindale Public Library.

Facing Midwest Montessori Christian School

Heavy snow on Lee Street in Downers Grove

Predominately blue sunset at Ty Warner Park

Big trees near Midwest Montessori's playground

Orange sky over snowy fields at Ty Warner Park

let it snow

Header Challenge: Let It Snow!

January 3, 2013

 My wife and I like the snow.  She likes colder weather, period.  I prefer extreme cold over extreme heat, as long as I can dress for it properly.  Keep the shorts and sandals; I'm much more comfortable in a longsleeved flannel shirt or a hoodie.  Well, this winter has been unseasonably warm so far, and we've had negligible accumulation.  I needed to remind myself of where I live, so here are some let it snow pics.  This week's theme was my choice.  Check out my pals for their interpretations on the theme: Fishing Guy, Katney, Imac, Sandy and Lew.

My header is a close-up of a snow bump.  I lit it with a diffused flash.  There is a Christmas tree in the background, and the snowflakes were made by putting a sheet of construction paper with a snowflake cutout in front of the lens.  It's called a bokeh filter  It took some tinkering, but once I figured it out, it was easy.  I added a white vignette because I wanted it to look like we were looking outside a frosted window to a snowman in a blizzard.

This is similar to my header, but I added a faux window frame.

We love snow... lots of it!

...Except when the snow plow breaks my mailbox.

Just a simple snowman last time... but we have creative ideas for the next great snowfall!

Don'tcha love how the snow lays on the the trees in the park?  We have this one framed in my house.

this time last year

I was just thinking about the snow we had this time last year. These pics were taken February 2nd and 3rd (2011) respectively. Some places had higher snow than others. The snow plow mangled my mailbox that day.

snowscape

This is what we're missing, folks! When fresh snow comes, it makes things beautiful. I love to look at large, open areas where there are no footprints. Okay, I'll make an exception for animal tracks... I like seeing those in the snow.

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This is from a few pics that I took during a trip to the library the day after our big snow. Did we forget already? Yes, it snowed so much that commuting was a nightmare. We shoveled our paths, just in time to shovel them again. There were high piles in the parking lots, left by snow plows. And then a warm rain took it all away in one night.

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Next time it snows, I'm going to ask the snow plow drivers to push it all in my driveway, so that I can make up for what we've been missing. Mrs. Craver has some crazy ideas for snowmen that she got from a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon.

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Hey, look... I refreshed the profile pic. That is what I look like these days. I put a new self portrait on Facebook, too.

happy new year

Did I miss it? Yup. Chinese new year was on January 23. Silly me; I was thinking about other things. They call this is the year of the dragon. That sounds like a good excuse to post a dragon pic that I snapped downtown last month at an outdoor Christmas market. I'm wondering... what kind of mind decides that it is appropriate to carve wooden dragons for Christmas? Hmmm...

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Mrs. Craver and I did not take pictures of ourselves on our anniversary date this year, but here is one from our honeymoon in the Poconos. I wish I had the photographer's info. He was a guy wandering around with a camera and taking all kinds of pics. If you liked a print, you could buy it from him. We bought about a dozen of his prints.

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That Pennsylvania mountain snow was glorious! My wife and I love the snow. A good snow outside makes the fireplace warmer, and even ramps up the experience of a good mug of hot cocoa.

we felt robbed

The snow started coming down pretty good Friday afternoon, and it made the evening commute so slow, that it was the top story on the news. My employers graciously let us out early (with pay).

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There was lots of shoveling on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was time to recover, but as I drove around with my wife, I found a few places that I wanted to photograph. I did more than just make mental notes, I talked to Mrs. Craver about it, and got some good confirmation that these sites were worthy of another visit. I had the day off of work on Monday. So the plan was that sometime before lunch on Monday, I would drive back to two or three of these locations with a tripod, and take my sweet time to capture a few snowy landscapes.

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But that night, Jack Frost skipped town and the temps rose and it rained. And rained. And rained. These were the big, fat, heavy raindrops that normally make beautiful music on the rooftops. Not this time. We both lay there with eyes wide open, expressing concern over how much our beautiful snowscapes might change into something that was not quite the winter wonderland that we were hoping for.

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When I looked outside the next morning, I saw that only the heaped snow remained. All of the flat blankets of snow had melted down to the grass. I felt like I had been robbed, my hopes deflated. (sigh) I should have been keeping track of the weather reports.

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But... The sadness lasted all of five minutes, because this was my 24th wedding anniversary. Monday for me, was primarily about enjoying my Mrs. Craver and celebrating our life together. And that aspect of the day could not be taken away from us. :-)

what???

What's this?! Snow?! Barely, but still! No, it can't be. I specifically remember knowing that I was through with the snow for this season. It's time to tune up the lawn mower and sharpen the blades. We had a day that was in the 60's, and everything!

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Perhaps it is manna. Yeah, let's go with that.

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I just had a thought about cold weather... Suppose it was zero degrees today, and they said it was going to be twice as cold tomorrow... what would that temperature be?

this week's thaw

Last week, we endured frigid temps here. The week before that, we had a couple feet of snow in one day. This week, it's all going to melt.

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I keep hearing birds, but can't find them. Nevertheless, I blew off an inch of dust from my camera bag, and reacquainted myself with the Pentax relic. I fixed a broken eye cup and we're ready to go again. Now, if you happen to see one of these birds, would you please point it out to me, because I can't seem to spot even-a-one!!

deep thoughts

This kid is so funny! We're in the car and he says, "Dad, I think I know what I would want them to say for my eulogy." I said, "Really, Son? What's that?" He replied, "knock knock..."

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Here are some pics from the big snow we had last week.

calm before the storm

We watched icicles melt off the bushes on Friday. I was fascinated by their clarity and the trapped air bubbles. The weather was nice enough for routine car maintenance on Saturday, so I checked fluid levels for the cars. We discovered a problem and my car got fixed. (Thanks, Brother Greg!) Good thing, because we have a big snow storm forecasted, and they're talking about record accumulation, high winds, even thunder and lightning.

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As I write this someone said we're in the calm before the storm. Who's calm?! Have you seen how gas prices spiked and how busy things are at the grocery stores right now? On a lighter side, our puppy is tiny, so it will be funny to see how he reacts to huge piles of snow. I expect he will love it. We renamed him "Bear." You can see how small he is compared to my shoe.

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Everyone at the office expects that when the storm hits, we will have to shut down for a day. I have mixed feelings about that. Let's see what happens...

painted sunrise

There is not much going on outside for me these days. I am usually hurrying to get out of the weather, and into someplace warm and dry... especially if I can find hot chocolate and peanut butter cookies!

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I hope it's not too tacky, but I saw a nice sunrise on Sunday and thought I'd fiddle around with it in post editing. I ran it through a program that makes it look painted, but then pulled back a bit from that effect. This one is more intense than the original photo, but less intense than the paint feature wanted to make it.

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The next photo remained natural, but instead of allowing the silhouette, I added flash. That way, we can see the snow on the branches.

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warrior son

S2 looks like he is putting finishing touches on his snowman, but the truth is he only helped with part of it and I caught him in the act of adding a goofy grin to MY snowman.

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That poor snowman would have looked a lot better if we had raked the leaves out of the backyard. Oh well!

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That day, my son spent more time constructing a snow fort. Unfortunately, it got too cold in the subsequent days for a snowball fight. The icy stuff we have now would be lethal.

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He is studying about Constantine in his history class. We have been talking about making shields for the last few weeks anyway, so he and I went to work on a couple of usable, cardboard shields. We are not done yet, but they're coming along nicely.

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The real fun will come later, when we spar with foam swords and these cardboard shields. Mrs. Craver, you may want to move those breakables out of the way.

alan haymaker

Downcast and heavy hearted, I am processing some shocking information.

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I drove to work Monday morning, knowing that the roads were slippery on account of new snow, but I took my time. I arrived to work twenty minutes late, which is very unusual for me, but they allow a "soft start" on days with heavy snow. That means we are allowed to take our time to get in safely, and we can make up the time later.

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The snow was heavy and the streets were slushy, but there was beauty all around. In the evening, I had to pull over a few times to set up a tripod and take pictures.

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Today I learned that yesterday morning's snow took the life of a friend of mine. He was a Chicago Police sergeant, responding to a burglary in the early morning.

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http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/accident-closes-southbound-lanes-of-lake-shore.html

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He was a fellow home schooler... that's how I knew him. He worked hard to keep people safe, and today he is safe in the presence of Christ. Still, I find myself weeping... it was too soon. It hurts to know he's gone. I can't even imagine how his wife and kids feel.

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All of the sudden, I find myself wishing yesterday's snow would just melt. It is not pretty to me any more. Instead, I want rain. Lots of rain to rinse these present landscapes, refresh my heart, and hide the tears. Please... let it rain.

scratch-n-sniff

A lot of cold snow has recently been dumped on portions of this (ahem) warm globe. This little splash of color is especially for those who are in snowladen regions.

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If you are not in an area that is currently snowy, you are welcome to enjoy the view, but you will not have access to today's embedded special feature, which is a potpourri fragrance.

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Now, are you one who has suffered an overload of snow? Simply scratch or rub the image of flowers on your computer monitor to release the smell of these flowers. Be careful not to damage your property there. Can't smell it? Gee, I'm sorry; you seem to be catching a cold.

susie snowflake

Yes!! Brother Greg and I took S1 bowling on Friday night, and then we hung out for a while. Light flurries came down as my son and I returned home. Instead of backing into the driveway, the way I usually do, I drove straight in, aiming the headlights at the Caravan. These flakes were big, and everything was cold enough that the snowflakes wouldn't melt when they hit the car. I went up close for a look, and there it was, my treasure!! There were lots of opportunities to capture a single snowflake!! As it turns out, these would be the best conditions all weekend, so I'm glad I didn't wait until later.

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Granted, this is not National Geographic quality. Nevertheless, I am beside myself, that I could capture such a thing with my old 2.1 megapixel camera.

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The darker pic looks like I caught a flake midair, but it was actually sitting on the minivan's fender. The little white speckles are probably just a mixture of dirt and salt. Notice the shadow to the left of the bigger snowflake?

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The super closeup was taken at the minivan's headlight. I think the beads of condensation were from my breath. Sorry; I tried to turn away, but I was freezing out there.

send more snow

People around here are generally less enthusiastic about the snow now, than say, at Christmas time. Either way, I tried a few weeks ago to get a nice pic while it was snowing, but it was light outside, and the snow did not turn out well in those pics. Since then, I have been waiting for the night time, to use the flash, and make it really stand out.

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(Click any pic to enlarge. This first shot is straight out of the camera (sooc), completely unedited.)

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The first photo looks like more snow than we were really having, because when I got ready to snap the picture, a gust of wind filled the air with lots more snow from my rooftop.

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If you saw the photo of the icy eclipse from last week, the second photo here is the same tree and streetlight. I tried a night setting from the camera's program (twilight plus), and it produced a very reddish hue, so I took a little bit of that color out in post editing. Now, this looks more like what I actually saw that night.

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Have you ever taken pictures of a snow flake? I didn't think of it that night, but right now, that's what I hope to get... a macro shot of a single snowflake.

frosty bud

Frosty bud?

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No thanks; I'm driving. Anyway, who ever said Budweiser can call themselves the king of beers? When it comes to the cheap stuff, I can tolerate Miller Lite, but I'd rather drink gutter sludge than a Bud... frosty or otherwise.

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Some of my friends don't drink at all. While the Bible doesn't actually forbid that we taste the fruit of the vine, it gives plenty of examples of the folly of over-indulging. I enjoy a glass or two, but any more, and I consider that taking unnecessary risks. Besides; I'm often foolish enough without so much as a whiff of the stuff.

f-f-f-freezing temps

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The weather has been exceptionally cold lately. We gotta keep moving, though. Inching along on the treacherous ice, we'll eventually get where we need to be. Some may find this hard to understand, but I actually like living in cold weather. The snow is beautiful and it is exciting to witness the changing of the seasons. Most of the time, if you anticipate the needs of the season, you can keep enjoying the present weather.

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Friends treated us to a special evening last Saturday. We got all dressed up and drove into cold, wet, slushy Chicago to see The Screwtape Letters and have dinner at a restaurant. We met some of their other friends and the whole event was such a pleasurable diversion from our regular routines. I hope you get a chance to read it yourself. It's a funny book from a brilliant English mind.

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Check this one out. The plowed heap of snow is just as high as the car next to it!

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Hey, in a few weeks, we'll be trekking down to Florida to visit family on account of the arrival of our new grandson, Rylan. He's due February 14 and last night, I did a trial-assembly of a crib we plan on bringing for him. That day will probably race up to us quickly, and we have to get ready for the looooong trip. Once we arrive, the weather will be fine I'm sure, but I'm dreading that drive. I'll probably pack a little cooler with Snickers and Red Bull to keep myself alert. Please pray for good driving weather and a safe trip!

monastic holiday

The Craver clan gave me the first season (DVD set) of one of my favorite television shows. I have only seen it a few times, because the TV people didn't arrange their program around my schedule, but I still caught enough to know that I would like it a lot.

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It's the story about a genius detective whose personal issues are so bad that the needs a personal nurse, just to make it through a regular day. His obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is not always a weakness, because it causes him to notice important things that no one else pays attention to.

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I don't have OCD, but I think (at some level) I can understand some of the character's feelings.

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I looked forward to watching a few episodes over the long weekend. Disc one, episode one... I watched most of it, but I had to run an errand. When I came back, they had a whole other episode on the screen. They apparently didn't see the irony in tampering with the sequence in "OCD-world." (Please tell me that makes sense to you.) I got over it. We watched a few episodes together.

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Holidays can be hectic times, but this year, we were virtually cloistered. We didn't travel far or host anyone from far away. Our weather was so bizarre... heavy snow, then sub-zero, then pouring rain, then soupy fog, then solid ice, then thawed... I didn't care to venture outside unless I absolutely had to! Instead of building a snow man I stayed inside, tinkered with the camera, and took pictures of a snow man.

wiweechu

wiweechu... a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

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Ginormous snowflakes are falling right now. I wonder if I can catch a sharper image of one of these huge flakes as they come down. Too late; it stopped already. Maybe next time.

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