Winterfest Photofest

Today’s photographs all speak to the blanketing beauty of fresh snow.

First, we have a tranquil snow scene sent in by Kelvin L. Woelk.

©Kelvin L. Woelk, all rights reserved

 

Next, some a few shots of this year’s first snowfall from our very own Charly.

©Charly, all rights reserved

©Charly, all rights reserved

 

Finally, some quiet landscape shots full of pattern, taken in central or west-central Minnesota by Mark Hesse.

“The one titled Hoarfrost was taken in Morris, MN, home of FTB’s own PZ Myers.”

Ice Houses ©Mark Hesse, all rights reserved

Hoarfrost,©Mark Hesse, all rights reserved

Ornaments,©Mark Hesse, all rights reserved

Big Stone,©Mark Hesse, all rights reserved

Thanks for taking the time to send in your photos.

 

 

Winterfest Photofest

We’ve been getting lots of submissions, so I have a few photos to share with you today.

First, two fascinating photos sent in by Sheila Crosby who tell us,

Just to be a bit different.
INTSnow is the Isaac Newton Telescope  To the best of my knowledge it’s the biggest telescope that’s ever been moved. It opened on the south coast of England in 1968, then they shut it down in 1979 and moved it to La Palma in the Canary Islands where it reopened in 1983. It’s my favourite telescope because I met my husband in the control room there.
WHTsnow is the William Herschel telescope. When I worked there it was the biggest in Europe, with a main mirror 13ft in diameter. Now it’s dwarfed by S¡Gran Telescopio Canarias, but I don’t think I have a snowy photo of that. one.
The observatory is only 28 º north of the equator, and the Canary Islands are a winter sun destination for much of Europe, but the observatory is at almost 8,000ft, so snow is fairly common in winter – less than it was 30 years ago though.
Sheila also has an interesting website, La Palma Island, that’s full of information about astronomy and the island itself. If you have a chance I encourage you to check it out.

INTSnow, ©Sheila Crosby, all rights reserved.

WHTSnow, ©Sheila Crosby, all rights reserved.

*****

Next, a beautiful home with a long driveway that speaks to the demands of winter from Suzanne Willis.

©Suzanne Willis, all rights reserved.

*****

Finally, we have a beautiful and engaging photo from Todd R. I love the look of wonder on the dog’s face.

Corgi in the Snow,©Todd R.

Thanks to everyone who has sent in photos. We’ll be seeing them all over the next few days, and there is still time to send us your submission to affinitysubmissions@gmail.com. The address is always on the left sidebar underneath the colourful, percolating head.

 

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

I’ve been struggling to write this post for 2 weeks, but I can’t keep putting it off, so here goes.

Jack and I haven’t had many adventures over the past month because Jack’s gone lame. The problem is mostly with his front end somewhere, but we can’t quite pin down the problem, and his walking is continuing to deteriorate. It may be due in part to the return of Larry the Lump (warning – the bottom photo is gory), who has taken up residence in Jack’s Rt. elbow, but his left shoulder is also inflamed. We see the Dr. again tomorrow, and hopefully, an x-ray will give the vet a better idea of cause, effect and treatment options. He has been started on pain pills, and they allow him to rest comfortably at home, but he isn’t himself.

There is some small good news, however. We have successfully weaned Jack off of his steroidal allergy tablets and onto a plain cetirizine (Reactine) tablet, which means he’ll soon be able to take an anti-inflammatory to help with his arthritic hips and knees. Right now, it’s one day at a time, and I’m letting Jack decide how much he wants to do. On a good day, he goes to the end of the street and back, but on a rainy day like today, Jack only wants to go out to the yard.

About a month ago, when things were better, I took Jack to the wee woods for a walk and did some videotaping while we were there. I’ve put together a small youtube movie of our walk, and I’ll be releasing it on Saturday, Dec. 5th, as part of our Winterfest celebration. It’s my first attempt at videography, and there was a pretty steep learning curve, but I’ve managed to put together about a 5-minute clip that I’ll be releasing on Sat. Dec. 5th as part of our Winterfest celebrations. It’s nothing special, but I’m damned proud of myself for learning a new skill, and some of you might even enjoy it. I had hoped to add singing to the end of the clip, but Jack isn’t in the mood to sing right now, so that will have to wait for our next video. In the meantime, I’m hovering over Jack and waiting on him hand and foot. I’m also struggling with the existential crisis of figuring out what happens to Jack’s Walk if Jack can’t walk.