What a Way to End the Day!

Sunday, January 15th – A heavy blanket of gray clouds covered the western Arizona sky all day long. As I was returning to the campground the sun appeared beneath the layer of clouds and quickly dropped behind the mountain range. While driving, I was watching the sky change dramatically - all of a sudden it was as if the sky was on fire! There was no safe place to pull off the road but luckily there was a “scenic view” area a short distance away. I was afraid I would miss the photo op but Mother Nature was good to me, this time!



The “normal” view of the camera just wasn't giving me what I wanted. I was able to get off one panoramic shot before the scene changed completely. This photo has been cropped to about half of that panoramic image, and you just “have” to double-click on it to view the bigger picture! Really.

Wordless Wednesday - A Hoosier Farm

Washington Township, Noble County, Indiana. August 1983. Digitized ...
Sepia Toned Infrared Photograph.
Copyright © 1983/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

What’s inside Zeus mini supermart?

Last August Dutchman and I went to Zakynthos Island in Greece for a week and a half. It’s our yearly summer beach holiday so basically this is a relaxing we-will-not-be-doing-a-lot holiday.

Our accommodations were all-inclusive which I think we would not do again in the near future. Hotel food is not as enjoyable as dining outside, as well as this type of accommodation does not really help the locals.

Anyway, let’s check what’s inside Zeus mini supermarket in Laganas. We went to these little Greek stores regularly to buy water, chips and other nibbles. They are basically mini hypermarts that serves the tourists on holiday. Locals do not buy here.

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of gods and men.

Mythos lager beer.

Lays, Greek style, in olive oil naturally.

The incumbent president of the Philippines is called NoyNoy (his nickname).

Greek sweet delicacies: Baklava and Kantaifi.

Ouzo flavoured loukoumi with the famous secluded beach spot of Zakynthos on the foto, Navagio and the Caretta-Caretta endangered sea turtle.

The Greeks and the Turks, who are neighbours and who also have a tumultuous relationship with each other historically, share the same food, as well as delicacies.

Rock Edge

This rocky ledge was along the edge of the trail. I think it is mostly limestone. The rock seems to be fairly soft and full of lines, and holes. The holes sometimes hold water that birds and small wildlife drink. Lost hikers and travelers have looked for holes in rocks where water can collect in any outdoor setting. There are also lots of fossils in the rocks that confirm the fact that the Sandia's were under water, either an ocean or sea many, many, many years before man.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Fisher and Davis

On September 11, .. I visited the public library in Lawrence, Kansas. Though I was unable to find an obituary for Samuel Fisher – the brother of my 2nd great grandmother, Louisa (Fisher) Phend (they were children of Michael and Christenia Fisher) or for Samuel's wife Lucretia (Davis) Fisher I did locate obituaries for several of their children, which will be the subject of future posts. I also obtained directions to Colyer Cemetery where Samuel and Lucretia are buried. During a visit to the health department to get their death certificates I found out that the records are not available at the local level, they have to be obtained from the State of Kansas.

I had to backtrack south and west of Lawrence for a short distance to get to Colyer Cemetery. It is in a rather remote area which involved traveling a bit on gravel roads and by the time I got to the cemetery, the rear of the van and my bicycle (hanging off the back end of the van) were caked with dust. From the top of the hill where the cemetery sits, you can see for quite a distance. There was a farm to the northwest and another to the northeast but nothing could be seen to the south. Remote, indeed. Very pretty. And very quiet.

The road to Colyer Cemetery, Marion Township, Douglas County, Kansas. Looking to the north.

The Fisher plot, looking to the northwest. The two barrell-shaped stones are for Lucretia and Samuel.

LUCRETIA A. FISHER / BORN AUG. 23, 1845 / DIED OCT. 31, 1909

SAMUEL FISHER / 1840 – 1913 / CO. A. 9 KAS. VOL. CAV.

FOOTSTONE.
SAMUEL FISHER / CO A / 9 KANS. CAV.

A Tale of Two Pensioners chronicles the mix-up of the pension records for this Samuel Fisher and another man of the same name.

In the second photo above, there is a marker to the south of Lucretia, which I am guessing is her mother. According to her marriage record (Douglas County Marriage Book 2 Page 33 Located at the County Clerks Office in Lawrence, Kansas), Lucretia's maiden name was Davis.

See detail below.

OUR MOTHER
GLORIANNE M. / CASWELL / WIFE OF / IRVIN DAVIS
BORN JUNE 10, 1821 / AT WATERTOWN N. Y.
DIED JAN. 30, 1882 / AT LAWRENCE KAN.
ALL'S WELL

Sea World Orlando

Today we had a great day at Seaworld with Diana, Lauren, Josh and Zoe.

Ice Arch Sunrise

This winter has been quite productive when it comes to having interesting ice formations to photograph, much more so than last winter. December and January had plenty of very cold days which meant that there was quite a bit of ice both along the shore and floating around in various places on Lake Superior. Near the end of January we had a wind storm that came up and blew a lot of this ice onto the Minnesota shoreline of the lake. Just north of Grand Marais was one area in particular where the ice had been jammed into many fascinating forms along the beaches. The wave action not only resulted in the packing of the ice along the shoreline, but also contributed to the hollowing out of the ice from underneath in several places. Several ice arches were formed as the waves continued to work at the ice from below.
The arch shown in this image was the most photogenic arch that I found. On the morning I made this image I was photographing the shoreline with my friend Paul. It was a very calm morning which was a stark contrast to the previous days which had made all these ice formations possible. Paul and I set up our tripods and started making images of the arch. We had only taken about 5 or 6 images each when we heard a cracking sound. Both of us were in the process of moving our tripods to set up a different shot when we heard the cracking. We both looked up just as the arch collapsed into the water. Needless to say, this scene was a lot less interesting to photograph after the arch fell. Thankfully we each got a few images before it was gone! This image was made at 8:03 AM using my Canon EF 17-40mm lens. Shutter speed was 1/15, aperture f16, ISO 100.