Spring in Western PA 2012

Spring came a little early this year.  Almost 2 months early!  We have been blessed with several weeks of 60-80 degree days and cool nights, perfect for Mother Nature to spread her wings.

The Weeping Cherry is in full bloom, as is the White Star Magnolia.

Here comes the Hydrangea

and the Clematis

Looks like it is going to be a great Spring!!!

Autumn leaves

Not sure if there are any less leaves this year even after taking down a major Maple tree.  Emily, Eric, John and I spent several hours trying to get most of them, at least, in one spot.

Emily

All of a sudden Emily has been here for 8 years!!!  She had a great party at Nannie and Pa's.

Look, Aunt Sue, I got my ears pierced!

Forgot the candles, but Pa came through!  Daddy made the cake for his princess!

We love our girl and couldn't be more happy with her.  And she is really a girly girl!!

Actions

Being relatively new to photo editing, I have stumbled on Actions.  I think they will be fun to play with.  Here is my first one.  This was a totally throw away picture, but I played with the No 2 Pencil action.  Interesting effect.

Silly Girl

Yucca

Normally I am not at all fond of Yucca.  Having said that, I rather like this photo.  John did good!

A few of my flowers

My new favorite flower is the Asiatic Lily.  They are so dramatic.

Mill Creek Park

J and I had a lovely short trip to Mill Creek Park near Youngstown, Ohio.  It was slightly overcast, but the temperature was perfect.  MCP is a very long but narrow park.  Lots to see and do.  J wanted to see a particular bridge, so we found a biker and he knew the exact bridge we were talking about.  We stopped to check out some Canadian geese on the way.

 It seems they love the blossoms on the Tulip tree and we had fun feeding them.

He looks so stoic!






On to the bridge.

It isn't a big bridge, but so pretty.

J was a happy camper!

New, to us, restaurant!

We spent last weekend with old friends from high school.  We all are in our 60s so you know how long we have been friends.  They took us to a little out of the way Italian restaurant that turned out to be a real gem.  There even was live entertainment.  Jack was his name.  He is 94 and plays 4 gigs a month.  He sang and played the piano.  The songs ranged from  WWI through the 60s.  He wasn't into rap and hip hop.  Did I mention that he also played the trumpet?

You can see by the decor that this place is also very eclectic, to say the least.

 By the way, the restaurant is Marcchitelli's in Saltsburg, PA, near Greensburg.

 

This and That

The weather has not been cooperating with the need to get the grass mowed.  We did try and most is done, however there are clumps of mowed wet grass all over the yard.  It will need mowed again as soon as there is a little dryness.
On another note, Emily had her 1st grade choral concert last night and the kids did a really nice job.  Look out Glee, here they come.  It was an all patriotic evening with the kids opening with the National Anthem.  I was impressed.

 

 It is a little hard to get good picts in an auditorium setting with a point and shoot.

Weekend

Last weekend was a beautiful one.  The weather was just perfect, no rain.  My sister and her husband and one of their sons were in.  The guys and my son-in-law went fishing in Volant.  They had a very good day and didn't really want to quit. (This is not anyone we know.  Our guys were way too far down stream!)

J took advantage of the day and went for a photography run.  New Wilmington was calling him.

Maybe, if we are very good, we will soon have more sunny days to go out and about!!!!!

PP Decayed

An old farm rake, left to rust and decay. However, it makes a lovely yard decoration.

PP Black and or White

How about Black and White? Mine would be titled, Shadows on the Snow

Emily's Butterflies

Emily had a butterfly habitat and today was their release day. 

We had 9 to set free today.

First one out!

They tickle my hand.

Emily's Photos

Emily has become quite a good photographer.  We did a 'pink' photo shoot tonight.  Here are some of her efforts.  She did all the set-ups by herself.

As you can see, she loves her sun glasses!

Color Print of the Year

John won Color Print of the Year for 2011 at the New Castle Camera Club Banquet.  This picture was taken in June of 2010 at our pond.

Em came to go shopping today. She is growing up and I don't like it!!!!! What a sense of style.

Beautiful Day in PA

It is an absolutely beautiful day in PA.  The Koi are starting to swim a little more and look huge to me.  The water is still a little cloudy, but you can still see them.

 

Saw some vultures.  Something must have died in the lower field.

PP Decayed and Neglected

This is an old machine shed on a farm that is no longer actively farmed.  One can only imagine all the work that was done in this building.

Visiting Em

Went to visit A and E yesterday.  A babysits for two darling little boys, but only had one when we were there.  C is thirteen months old and a typical boy.  All over the place and no cares in the world.

This little guy is not shy and loves people.  We rarely see him, he didn't care and went right to John.

I just love this little guy's expressions, especially this one.

Em is so good with him and they play a lot.

Best buds.

One of my favorites:

Enough for now.  Enjoy your day.