FRIGID FLOW

We've had some frigid weather, 

and some ice in the river as a result.

AWESOME!

December sky & Christmas tree

below, the Christmas tree on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre looks like 

it's been celebrating already - a "tipsy tree"

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Winter sunset

We only got light snow in the #Wilkes-Barre, PA area Wyoming Valley#nepa this  afternoon (predicted 1-3"). Now it's breezy and the temps are dropping to the teens tonight, and a predicted high of only 26 (yikes!) tomorrow. But what a beautiful #sunset outside just a few minutes ago! 

Look how far over the sunset moved to the left!

During the Summer, the sun used to set all the way over in that dip in the mountains to the far right. That's where rte 309, the Cross Valley Expressway, cuts North towards Dallas, PA after it crossed the Susquehanna river. You can't tell here, but the altitude is much higher there - quite a climb up and through the mountains.

Winter in NEPA

Late November is when we started to get seasonal snow. Here are a few shots, all 3 a little North of the My Mountain location in Wilkes-Barre area.

First, here's a view I shared in an earlier post. Same viewpoint, different time of year.

Still beautiful. Here, its quiet calm serene, with a light snow, late November.

 Energetic cheery red berries - kind of an abstract of color.

This is a tree that my father planted many many years ago.

We call it "The Dedo Tree"

(Dedo is 1 way of saying grandfather in Croatian.)

The cool visual cacophony of this composition would have been his style :o) 

Fall bounty - chestnuts

Some Autumn bounty from our area.

A colorful rustic birdhouse with an apple and a pear, from 2 trees nearby.

A version of this photo is available at:

http://christina-verdgeline.artistwebsites.com/art/all/natural+with+man-made/all

This is what CHESTNUTS look like, freshly picked after they fell to the ground in their protective cupule.

Beware! 

Those outer burrs are so spiney & prickly.

interesting note: Chestnuts are a typical delight in Croatia, where they are sold , roasted, by street vendors. There's also a delicious whipped-cream dessert I wish was available here in the States.

(Yes, there is a pear hiding in this basket.)

Orange sunset

Here's a recent very colorful sunset. Deep orange and some purplish hues in the clouds.

BEAUTIFUL!! DRAMATIC!! SPECTACULAR!!

... (you get the idea) 

I wish photographs could capture the atmosphere better sometimes. This one comes close.)

And when I walked closer, standing under the trees I saw this beautiful sky:

This time of year, the sun sets further South along the mountain ridges, 

off to the left of the original sunsets I posted. 

These 2 photos were taken from a different vantage point, in Wilkes-Barre, not all the way down in the Wyoming Valley near the Susquehanna river as usual, but from a little higher altitude.

Autumn mountain view

Here's a more recent view of the mountain range(see the last post in Lackawanna County, PA, that had purple flowers in the foreground.)

BEAUTIFUL Autumn colors!

This is taken on Sept 29, 2013.  It's a little higher altitude than my mountains in the Valley.

 Another bunch of color just off the highway.

You can see the colors are not so far advanced, or dramatic yet, in the valley area

as they are higher in the mountains, just North of the Wyoming Valley, PA.

Here's my mountain: