Mason Neck State Park, VA

So the other day I went to Mason Neck State Park and the National Wildlife Refuge.  The Osprey were nesting and these beautiful blue birds were twittering around.  The pond was filled with all sizes cute box turtles.  And in the river was a person, showing me the next thing I want to try to do.  :-)

Here's hoping you are enjoying your Spring!

Meterie St. Patrick's Day Parade

I thought I had already shared this with you, so here goes a little late.  The Sunday before St. Patrick's Day I went to one of the three area parades in New Orleans.  This one  actually in Metairie, LA.  Not far from the Cemeteries stop on the trolly from New Orleans it was scheduled to start at noon.  The truth of it was it got to where I was a little after 3P.  I found out several things during my wait, other than not to be early next time.  That the parade is an almost whole community event, people brought tents, grills, and lots of beer.  Very few marching bands, each float represents a different organization, and unlike Midwest parades where they throw out handfuls of candy, for St. Patrick's Day  these floats throw out beads, cabbages, carrots, potatoes, ramen noodles, flowers, even cloves of garlic, and other small trinkets.  People do not sit on the sides and cheer, they stand within inches of the passing floats and grab for the goodies.   It was a unique experience and if you were planning on making corn beef and cabbage you could get most of your meal at the parade.

beads and flowers were not the only thing the gentlemen were giving out.

get a flower give a kiss...some people were more into this than others

and here comes another veggie wagon...but if you don't catch the carrots they will hurt

 Moonlight Thearte in Abingdon, VA.  I saw it from the highway and just had to take a closer look.  A drive in.  If only it was still in operational shape.  Unfortunately no.  I had brief hopes from the sign that although the screen was still there it had been repurposed, but that too did not seem to be the case.  I haven't had a chance to do any research into its status, but thought some of you might like at least a glimpse of nostalgia.  And if anyone want to buy a drive in-here it is  :-)

As some of you already know I had an up and down day.  But instead of thinking about the down part here is some up...
I think I want to do a book  "Don't look Up"  About all the things people miss by not looking up.

I am currently in New Orleans, for the SPE conference.  It is a chance to connect with other artists and recharge my creative drive.  This year I am working on a project for MediaNOLA so I am not able to post everything I shoot.  Some will be restricted for a while.  But, I have also been shooting the things that I find exciting about this city, and so with Cathy Sipe in mind here is a collection of stained glass.

These windows are in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis in Jackson Square

So it has been some time since I have posted, and this time I am actually not posting new work.  I was working on an application that called for me to submit images that I did not have handy.  So...as I went through disks of images looking for the right one I found several that I wanted to share.
First we had mine and my cousin's favorite breakfast...Strawberry shortcake.

Then we have a collaged photo I started years ago an never really finished, but I like all the images that make it up.

Here we have a picture of my Mom and Dad when they were dating.

And lastly a picture of me with Aunt Jeannie.  Some wonderful memories there.

I have just returned to Leesburg, from the SPE conference in Baltimore.  I had a very motivational time and am looking forward to starting on some of the projects that I have been inspired to try.  My trip however, brought up a lot of questions.  I gave up my room at the Hilton, and stayed at the youth hostel, about 15 blocks from the conference. It gave me a chance to save money, meet other people who were attending the conference and to see some of the city on my walks.

As I walked through the city in the mornings I realized that no one really looks up.  In city of amazingly diverse architecture much of it seems forgotten.  

I started across the street at the Basilica of Baltimore and made my way down to the convention.
Next stop is the original Enoch Pratt library.  A small row house looking building behind the current library.  Up towards the peak is this medallion that looks rather like an old fashioned fire truck.

I  like the Hutzler Brothers building.  Having no idea what they were in their previous life now the boarded up windows reflect nothing of the personalities that put the faces on all of the dentals

Lastly Maryland Bank, also no longer a bank, The architectural detail was all that was left of the bank.