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Please allow me to introduce myself….
My name is Debbie and I am a chicken little when it comes to critters and creatures. Many of you who have been visiting for awhile know I love to photograph sunsets….sunrises too but I don’t get the opportunity to shoot those that often, so I mostly have sunsets. One of my favorite locations for sunsets is the boat docks close to my mother’s house. Actually, a few small piers and the ability to put a boat in the water….but it is called the boat docks. You remember my post earlier about spring gnats…..and my extreme dislike for them. Well, my earlier encounter with them was nothing compared to Thursday night. They swarmed over me as…
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Outside My Window ~ 5.2.10
Outside My Window…is a very warm morning. Already the temps are at 78º with partly cloudy skies…actually more sun than clouds right now. Combine the humidity it feels like 81º outside at 9:25 am. Our forecast high for today is 94º with winds 15 to 25mph. This sounds like a forecast for a summer day, not early May when our average temperature is 70º. The beaches are definitely welcoming visitors this weekend but with the winds, you will feel like you are being sandblasted. To get some relief, you may venture into the water….except while the air temperature is very hot, the water temperature is still spring temperatures…that means you will be wading…
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I Do Not Like Spring Gnats!
I love these longer days……more daylight which equals the opportunity to take more sunset photos for me. I apparently can’t get enough. 🙂 But I have to tell you, on this day, it was rough. I was so excited when I pulled into the lot and jumped out of the car, camera in hand and ready to snap away. The sky was beginning to turn these amazing colors…..the water was like glass. I rushed down one of the piers, picked my spot and began to snap away. I went to reposition myself, lowered the camera and OH.MY.GOD! I can not even begin to explain the number of gnats that swarmed over me. …
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It’s That Time Again
If you have been visiting here for a while, you may remember I participated in The Great Sunflower Project last year. In case you haven’t, the idea behind this project is by San Francisco State University is to gather data on urban, rural and suburban bee populations. To participate, plant a certain type of sunflower plant and count the bees that visit during a specific amount of time. I know…..yawn ~ how exciting. But actually, it isn’t so bad. Take a cold beverage and sit outside while you view and count ~ I can think of worse way to spend a day. 🙂 Because of increased participation, they have asked that you purchase your seeds…
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Outside My Window ~ 4.11.10
Outside My Window…is the end of a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Mid 70’s…..sunshine…..blue skies….just a slight breeze ~ simply beautiful. I spent the better part of today working outside, weeding and trimming. Combined with the hauling and work I did today with the mad house cleaning from yesterday, I probably won’t be able to move tomorrow. 🙂 I am thinking…I’m going to share with you the greatest and most economical weed block I have ever used. Last year in Mother Earth News someone wrote about using newspaper as weed block. The method is to lay down newspaper in the area you want to block weeds and wet it thoroughly. Cover the wet…
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Outside My Window ~ 3.7.10
Outside My Window…is a wonderful 59ºF with sunshine and blue skies at 2:30 p.m.. A little later post today….I woke up and dove right in to spring cleaning. I took a break to eat some lunch and thought it would be a good time to finish this post. We are at our forecast high for the day but the temperature tomorrow will be in the mid 60’s with lots of sunshine. I have noticed more and more robin redbreasts around the yard…..a sure sign spring is not too far off. I am thinking…I’m not so fond of the raccoon that has been coming into the backyard to snack on the sunflower…
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Lake Maury and The Lion’s Bridge
Last night, I was organizing some files on my computer when I ran across the folder of photos I had taken one afternoon at Lion’s Bridge. I had posted the above image and mentioned that I would write more about him ~ and then I promptly forgot. I need to work on that! 🙂 Lion’s Bridge is actually a dam. Information regarding Lion’s Bridge as taken from the Mariner Museum web site: Known as the Lion’s Bridge, the dam forming the lake provides a breathtaking view of the James River, as well as a family gathering place to enjoy the Museum Park. The beauty of the dam is enhanced by…
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Outside My Window ~ 12.20.09
Outside My Window…is snow! We got our first snow of the season last night. I would say we got about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in my neighborhood. It started snowing about the time we went to the mall to pick Alanna up from work. By the time we got to our house, it was coming down at a pretty good rate. Right now at 11:30 am, we are at our high temperature of 37F with a 28F wind chill. The snow has melted for the most part on the roadways and is starting to melt in the grassy areas of full sun. I took a few photos last night and this morning ~ I know,…
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Outside My Window ~ 12.06.09
Outside My Window…the sun is coming up to a clear sky and temps at 35F ~ wind chill is 28F. The lack of clouds and rain has made me smile this morning. Yesterday was miserable and wet…..todays forecast is 45F with sunshine and blue skies. These sunshine days are welcome…..we really could do without the rain for a few days. I believe we already have over an inch of rain for the month of December……add that to the nearly 12 we received in November, well let’s just say the ground feels like a very soggy sponge. There were some very large puddles on roadways yesterday….there is no where for this…
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Final Update
The nor’Easter that has been named Nor’Ida is slowly moving away from the North Carolina coast. The rain and winds have diminished quite a bit and are still impacting the Northeast but we are calm for the most part. No howling winds, no torrential rains….it is quiet now but we are definitely wetter than we were three days ago. I have discovered the unconfirmed rainfall total I posted yesterday was not the grand total….the final tally for Newport News was 10.01 inches of rain. Only Virginia Beach received more rain at 10.25 inches. Here are a few photos our local paper, The Daily Press, had online…… This photo was taken in Poquoson before the…