RECENT MAGICAL sunset

A RECENT SUNSET.

MAGICAL.

MOUNTAIN LOOKS NICE HERE, BUT IT'S GETTING VERY POPULATED.
I'LL HAVE TO SHOW YOU A
BEFORE (WHEN I STARTED)  vs
THE SCULPTED MOUNTAIN FORESTS of TODAY.

friday the 13th full moon

My 1st post after a long pause is of a moon I saw early this morning. 

       FULL MOON 

(I believe specifically it's the day after, but what a beauty!)

and it's on FRIDAY THE 13TH!

Wilkes-Barre area looking west toward the Back Mountain, NEPA, where the local highway cuts through the mountains.

MY mountain ;-)

There's also a female cardinal photo pecking at seeds after a recent snowfall below. 

RAINBOWS!

A few days ago we had warmer than normal temps, with rain.

just before a cold front moved in.

I saw TWO BEAUTIFUL RAINBOWS, one late morning:

 Then we got back on the road. Dramatic clearing clouds in the sky while passing Wilkes-Barre.

 Early afternoon, here's ANOTHER rainbow!

Views from our backyard. 

The entire arch touches down in front of the mountains on the west side of the Susquehanna River.

VENUS and MOON

LAST NIGHT WE COULD SEE VENUS!

venus and the crescent moon low in the sky

closer view - interesting venus

A friend posted a link about the planet, Venus, in the night sky, 

last evening, June 19, 2015,

So after reading this link:

venus planet info 

I went to my window looking west. 

(the same window from which I take many of my MOUNTAIN photos.)

The crescent moon was low, just above the mountain ridge, 

and the bright orb above it - eureka!!

VENUS!  

:-)

I'm in Plains, PA, next to Wilkes-Barre, looking west across the Susquehanna river, 

towards Dallas Twp, "the Back Mountain"... and all points West.

Eagles & hawks in the sky, OH MY!

A few days ago, while we were crossing the Susquehanna River on the CrossValley (Rt 309) , 
I saw a large hawk of some sort flying alongside, but down near the water. As I scrambled to get my camera out, it, rose... flew beside us, then rose up over the car. I remember how we used to watch hawks soaring in the sky as kids with Dad. This is the only shot I got - still a YAY day! :-) 

The next day I saw an eagle in the same area. It was flying high enough to clear the cars, 
but had to climb up quickly, about 4 more feet, to soar over a truck.

Inspirational Autumn 11-11-2014

Autumn in NE PA is spectacular.

This view is of the Susquehanna River, looking Pittston towards Exeter and West Pittston. 

Have a great 11-11 day!

There's more info and a photo with the quote at this link 

(one of my online portfolios)

Autumn scene and Medjugorje quote

I haven't been on here recently, being busy with too many other things, 

but a good thing is participating in  Art on Main gallery in Pittston, PA,

exhibiting work in other regional art shows...

Here are a couple more photos of our local color.

                                      

 I love the patterns and textures together!!

early autumn canopy

amazing - the enjoyment from standing under a tree along the street - 

experiencing the early Autumn colors on a crisp morning...
then getting out ofthe way of a passing car.

and love the smell of the leaves 

as the morning dew 

is evaporating in the sunshine.

This is how much the leaves have changed down in "The Valley", along the river.

mountain and sky

BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS

in my backyard

On the Wilkes-Barre area side of the Susquehanna River looking west to the mountain range beyond the river and Kingston/Forty Fort, towards the back mountain (Dallas, Shavertown, Trucksville). The deep dip in the mountain range is where the CrossValley (Rt 309) cuts up and through on its way "North".
map of the area

a few days ago

and a few days before that

a beautiful after-storm sky 

and the day before that...

LOVELY!!! Have a great day! TGIF!!

robin nest & Spring colors & sun

a few weeks ago I saw a robin in the nest. They're back!

(now the babys have hatched and the parents are busy flying back & forth feeding them.)

Back when I first saw the robin,

 there was a mockingbird.

Bad bird!

He was in a recent previous post.

He and I played "tag" as I was trying to shoo him away.

He kept hopping just one more branch away from me as we kept going around... I was circling this japanese maple tree in the yard. He was NOT happy with me... but eventually left. Does not bother the robins anymore. hah!

Some lovely early Spring color. 

and finally warm sunshine.

                       

NEW gallery opening at Pittston PA 2nd Friday ArtWalk

TOTALLY ARTRAGEOUS

will be open Friday May 9th, 2014   5pm-9pm

*** GRAND OPENING ***

I am one of the participating artists.

(event link at end of this blog entry)

Here's a photograph of the nearby Susquehanna River I took,

 "Susquehanna Gold" or "River Gold",

matted and framed, which will be in the gallery.

-- with smaller prints/cards coming soon.

One of my paintings, "Cranes in Croatia"

(award-winner) :-)

Here's a link where I share part of the inspiration and process that went into it.

Cranes-in-Croatia, the process 

Totally Artrageous gallery grand-opening EVENT

Sunset location & "warm" day

frigid #weather this #winter!
3-1-2014 was a "warm-up" (high temp low 30'sdF)

(also below at the end: link to live webcam of a bald eagle nest,

not local, but in Pennsylvania. They just got snow, too.)

The sunset's on it's way back towards the right, nestling in the dip in the mountain range during the Summer, where our  local main road, the CrossValley Expressway cuts through, going North.

These sunset photos were taken from approx 5:44pm to 5:55pm.

 I love the color palette here. Interesting clouds, too!

There's a plane!!!

 Good night!

I've been watching this nest off and on the last few days. 

Once I saw the "changing of the guard! When the parents switched places.

COOL!

Here's the link, so you can see it, too:

live webcam, bald eagle nest, Pittsburgh PA

winter snow

 ** Beautiful snow (even if we've had TOO MUCH of it this year) **

3rd photo below is the mountain range view,

but from the other end of town, at a higher elevation.

Here's the mountain range. 

The arrow below, indicates that dip in the range we've seen often in my mountain photos. It's where the Cross Valley Expressway (Rte 309) cuts through, connecting the "Back Mountain" (Dallas, Trucksville, etc.) with Kingston (parts seen below) on the far side of the Susquehanna River. Can't see the river here.

You  see  a bit of the corner of the city of Wilkes-Barre, close to us.

(((I posted a map in an earlier post)))

A couple of winter snow shots.

PRETTY nice if I say so myself.

This is on the turnpike. I-476 

A typical scene, where the highways (and many other roads) cut through the rocky mountains,

creating interesting patterns, and lovely contrast when there's snow.

I'm putting together a portfolio project of fog lifting one cold day in January 2014.

There's one view at Market St. Bridge looking  towards Wilkes-Barre that I'm not settled on yet.

WHICH DO YOU LIKE BETTER?

here's the link:

Choose which photo is better.   

Here's part of another photo that may be in that photo-documentary of that surprisingly beautiful day.

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!