Ice-Storm Day + Two

Photos celebrating the beauty of nature in my yard--enrobed in ice. Song Sparrow nest in the flowering plum in my front yard. It has been fun to watch the sparrows return to this nest the last two years. I also have a couple bird houses in this same area of my yard that get used annually.Ice-covered Holly.
White pine in ice.

NC

Ice-Storm Day Part II

After scraping the ice and slush off the drive, sidewalk, and front approach, I treated the girls to BG's best hamburg at Corner Grill; then we were off to the Wood County Historical Center and Museum for some icy photos.

In reviewing the photos I took last Friday, I noticed something Abbey-esque. In the same way that the reader of Edward Abbey's homage to nature and seasonal park rangering, Desert Solitaire, would not be apprised to the historical reality that he was not alone, from the following photos, it would appear that I was alone. In this same way, I have obscured the historical fact that Jessica and Emily were with me all the while. The following photos were shot "on the fly" (using in-camera tricks) and have not been manipulated with any photo editing software.

I hope you enjoy your vitual holiday tour of grounds of the Wood County Historical Center and Museum:Front entrance. The stone arches and walls gracing the complex were completed using resident labor during the 1920s East entrance, looking toward the Portage River.The Pest House. Nest door to the former Lunatic Asylum. Those with communicable diseases would stay here.

Evergreen in icicle.

Mini light encased in an icy sheath.

A calm place to think icy thoughts. Ben: an homage to the Museum's farming tradition.
Front entry of the former county home. This area was mainly used by staff and guests, not residents, or patients, or both. The Wood County Poor Farm was in operation as a poor farm from 1869 to the 1950s. From the 50s on, it's main use was a nursing home for the elderly. It was closed and slated for demolition in 1971, when a group of concerned citizens proposed a new use. After extensive renovation and preservation, the county home reopened as the Wood County Historical Center and Museum in 1975.
The Staff Dining Room, decorated for the holidays.

Wall sconces in the main entrance. Notice the delicate shadows made by the intricate cuts in the crystal.

NC

Ice-Storm Day

Here's another photo to add to the Empty Nest Series; I shot it this morning off my front porch.Overnight, a massive weather system made it's way across the Midwest dumping eight or so inches of snow across Southern Michigan and a narrow band of ice from Nebraska, all the way across Southern Iowa, Central Illinois, Northern Indiana, Northern Ohio, and to Philadelphia, PA.

Today was supposed to be the last day of classes for Bowling Green Schools before the long holiday break; however, due to weather conditions, school was cancelled before 5:30 AM. It's slick-slidin' out there, and ever-determined Michelle went to do her daily swim at the BGSU rec center this morning at six, and then to Ben's Table a local restaurant for breakfast with the swim team. Some things are natural, others are just crazy. I think I'm going to take Jessica and Emily to Corner Grill for breakfast and then to the Wood County Museum; crazy?

NC

Fall Semester 2008 has expired

Wow! Look at that...did you see it? Time just flew by. And now? Fall semester 2008 is over--It's been a challenging semester with an overabundance of ambivalent students, liberally peppered with with freshly-cracked whine--my glass runneth over. I'm tired. I'm fed up, I probably should not be posting these thoughts on my 'family-friendly' blog, but to quote the masters of rhyme and lyrics, Nada Surf, "Oh fuck it, I'm going to have a party," and no students are invited.

I'm really looking forward to the winter break to catch up on all the things I have neglected this past semester, like breathing, and writing about the nasty-ass, dead albatross hanging around my worthless albatross-killing neck--no offence to Sam Coleridge, but his beautiful piece of prose has become a cliche used by folks who have never read "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"--the dread dissertation. I have to wrap it up or I'll be the one getting wrapped (or tagged and bagged for you crime drama folks).

NC

Winter: Part I of ?

It's bitter cold in Northwest Ohio, but at least we have inexpensive gas again:

Winter blew into BG yesterday, and left a short-lived dusting of snow across town, but we were not here to feel it. Michelle competed in her first swim meet since 1991, which took us to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio--more on this later. I have a backlog of day trips to post here (one to Frankenmouth, MI, our second trip to Holmes County, Ohio, and yesterday's trip to Oxford in SW Ohio) and hope to find a few minutes this next week to do it.

Empty Nest Series

Instead of working on my dissertation, I took this series of three photos of an empty song sparrow nest in my front yard this morning. For each, I changed the setting for the color accent feature in my camera.

The first is auto color, the second is a custom red isolating the remaining leaves on the non-fruit baring ornamental plum, the third isolates the brightest color of the grass/ straw of the nest and also picks up accents in the tree bark and background. I think the third is my personal favorite. Enjoy the leaf peeping:NC

Price for 87 octane today in BG

Saturday, as we were leaving for Holmes County to buy Amish cheese and baked goods, the price for 87 octane dipped to $1.91, but today the price is four cents higher per gallon. It seems that gas prices may have bottomed out here in NW Ohio; suffice it to say, I'd be pleased to see prices remain in this range for a while.

Fresh from casting my ballot for change in the gymnasium of Bowling Green High School, I took this picture at 10:15 this morning at the Circle K on Wooster. Michelle went to vote at 6:30 AM and stood in line for fifty-five minutes. I, on the other hand, arrived at the high school at 10:00 AM, was able to get right in and vote to make America a better place in under ten minutes.
NC

The calendar is back

I don't expect you to remember something I mentioned in passing back in August, but last spring, I was asked--along with three professional photographers--to contribute images to the Bowling Green 2009 Calendar.

Well, the calendar is back from the printer and features full-color, glossy images of architectual points of interest, often overlooked on Main Street BG. For those of you who are looking for a unique holiday gift, it is available for $15.00 at the CVB, Main Street BG, Calico, Sage and Thyme, For Keeps, Grounds for Thought, and the Wood County Historical Center and Museum. I'm sure you'll want to know my photography is featured six out of the twelve months and also on the cover. I'm pretty darned proud of it and am excited to share it with you:

NC

Tasty treats in Albuquerque

On my first night in Albuquerque (Thursday) I had the most tasty Chicken Green Chile burrito from a street cart vendor. I don't know why, but push-cart food gets a bad rap--I guess I must have good luck or poor taste--but I seem to find some of the best food from the small, local vendors. Here you can see my traveling companion, MWS (Stiffler), purchasing his dinner from the same cart:

Day Two (Friday). With the strong recommendations of fellow listers on the ASFS (Association for the Study of Food and Society) listserv, Stiffler and I went to Frontier Restaurant for fresh flour tortilla, baked in-house, which were absolutely wonderful...soft...pillowy...warm...delicious:The tortilla were the perfect vehicle to deliver the flavors of the Southwest. Here is my combo plate with beans, rice, shredded beef taco, chicken enchilada, and tamale smothered with Green chile stew (Stiffler commented the food was so good he did not want to eat it, because then it would be gone): Day Three (Saturday): Started off with a solo trip to the downtown farmers market for breakfast. The first course was a breakfast burrito with green chile--which was delicious--and I'm not a big fan of breakfast burritos. I ordered one with egg, jack cheese, hash browns, and fire-roasted green chile. From there, I progressed to an beef and potato empanada, samples of sweet potato pie (I bought one for later), BBQ sauce, and some of the best organic raspberry jam I have ever tasted from Heidi's Raspberry Farm.

I bought a jar of the Red Chile Raspberry and a jar of the Red Chile Ginger Raspberry jams. Like I said, it is some of the best I have ever tasted. The raspberry flavor is bright and vibrant, it is not muddled with too much sweetness, then there is the heat lingering in the background, with a subtle hint ginger. These are ADULT jams if there is such a thing.

Red chile is also available. Here is a dried red chile ristra for sale by the same vendor who is roasting the fresh Hatch Green Chile: Which brings me up to the sweet scent of green chile being roasted at the market. The Hatch Green Chile are still in season and available at the market: The Chile are loaded into the roaster, a propane flame is ignited toward the rear of the roaster, and the operator carefully turns the roaster for five-to-seven minutes until the chile blister: The Chile are then loaded into plastic bags to sweat, which makes for easier removal of the skins:Also available at the Albuquerque farmers market, prickly pears, which taste a lot better than their texture would suggest:I picked up a bag of new crop pintos:

Stiffler rejoined me around 11:00AM and we ventured off to Old Town Albuquerque, where we enjoyed the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of this 300 year old village: He bought a turquoise ring set in silver for J. Notice Stiffler in blue shirt toward the center of the frame:

I purchased a pendant and chain with matching earrings of turquoise set in intricate silver scroll work made by Loyce Arnell and her daughter. Here, Loyce is holding the set I chose for Michelle:We ate lunch in old town and were both underwhelmed, so no pictures are going to be posted here, but the sopapillia were fresh, hot, and delicious with honey:I also bought some Chocolate Red Chile Fudge, White Chocolate Red Chile Fudge, Piñon Toffee, and a Piñon Nut Roll from the Candy Lady: The trip was more of a straight-line wind than a relaxing retreat in the Southwest, but when one is conferencing, that is what is expected. Day four started early, much earlier than I would have liked, but I did get to capture an image that many undergraduates, and probably many of their professors, rarely see, the sunRISE: