Shadow Shot Sunday - Spring sun

It is a glorious Spring day in the Ansonia Uplands, if quite chilly (54°F / 13°C) for 23 May, with lots of sun. 

As we are awaiting for someone to haul away our old queen size bed (mattress, headboard, etc.), I found mundane subjects for Shadow Shot Sunday 2 as I wheeled around the driveway. 

Using my old cheap Droid phone camera, the driveway contained bold shadows of the Grand Caravan (and myself in my 'directors chair), and the old Malibu quite nicely - these pixelated views are a mere 30 minutes old. 

It will be sunny and 75°F tomorrow...a better representation of the season!

Ruby Tuesday Too - Roses are red...

For this week's version of Ruby Tuesday Too, I am traveling back in time to 1991 when our daughter Allegra was a mere two-years old. She is peering at the photographer while being nicely framed by the ruby red roses in bloom. She is much bigger now, the fence and rose bushes gone. But the memories remain!

SOOC - Winter sky on fire

Happily it is the first day of Spring (and it is snowing again!), but we welcome the end of the preceding Winter 2014/2015. But not to say winter is without its charms - despite the cold, there is beauty to enjoy. So for Straight Out of the Camera (SOOC), the always lovely Patti captured a fiery sunset from our Ansonia home that looked warm at least. Only 2-4 in (5-10 cm) of snow today - a quick melt is hoped for...

Shadow Shot Sunday - Snowy sunset and shadow

I was returning home yesterday afternoon and upon pulling into my parking place in the driveway and saw a near sunset view and having only my cheap droid phone (check the odd curvature of the house), snapped this from the driver's seat. The glow of the sky allows for a post for Shadow Shot Sunday 2. A soft pastel glow illumines the cascading ice and creates a soft shadow Cold but quite attractive...

SOOC - Snowy Seasonal Sunrise

Snow this week as well as predicted snow for Monday means that we are in the throes of Winter, unable to escape the cold season of a four-season climate. Yet for SOOC - Straight Out of the Camera, we look for the artistry for the warmth of our souls at least. As we see in this lovely early morning sunrise captured by the always lovely Patti - on the day after the snowstorm from the front door. The pale yellow and blue streaks a hint of artistry as the day begins...

Shadow Shot Sunday - Soft Snowy Shadows

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 this week occurs after a snowstorm on Tuesday of 13 in / 33 cm of the fluffy cold precip falling upon our abode in the Ansonia Uplands. I am not a fan of the cold nor of winter except for the fresh snow adding a nice canvas for sun and shadow.

Given that it is unusually cold for southern Connecticut, about 17°F (-8°C) with a stout chilly wind falling upon us. At least there is sun over the front (L) and back (R) yards. Another 10 in / 25 cm for Monday. I can wait...

Wordless Wednesday - All I want for Christmas...

Would a smallish Maine Coon do? Our late feline Sir Humphrey of Upland was indeed a gift from heaven! See WW and WW

Ruby Tuesday Too - Weedy autumnal foliage

Red is one of the predominately Fall colors that indicate that colder days are soon to be upon us with leafless trees to look upon. So for Ruby Tuesday Too, we look at our side yard and see fiery red leaves - not on a grand maple or oak tree, but some weedy tree providing seriously ruby red leaves. Generally, I would like these weeds cleared out, but will be happy to wait until Spring...

Shadow Shot Sunday - No Business Like Gnome Business

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 takes me...to the front yard. And some of the diminutive residents who reside therein (and not the squirrels, mice and voles :) Patti's many gnomes pose within the shade. Small in stature yet mighty in cute, they are winsome in their shadowy spirit...

Shadow Shot Sunday - Snowy season shadows

Obviously, we are full of snow this winter season - nothing huge at one time, but an endless (or it feels like that :) series of 6-9 inch (15-22 cm) snowfalls since December. With a hint of freezing rain to add an icy crust that inhibits melting...

Yet, for Shadow Shot Sunday 2, I revert to snowy scenes from 9-10 February 2013 and that 40in/ 102cm snowfall, a record in our small city of Ansonia. With that much depth, and with the snowy canvas of snow, shadows fall nicely upon the land. And thus make for a fun post. With the hope that melting and warmth arrive concurrently and Spring begins!

Shadow Shot Sunday - More of the same

Friday morning...

Pretty (if invonvenient)

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 is back after yet another snowfall in southern Connecticut. Not so much in depth, the Thursday snow was at 7 in / 18 cm, but with a hint of sleet that froze on top to make a crunchy top that really taxed our small electric Toro snowthrower. Happily the kid from across the street plowed the icy snow pile by the street to make the work of our designated snow clearer (Allegra) a bit easier...

Yet, sun, snow and shadows do offer an artistic impression for SSS2, as this has been an oft posted theme for (see below). Snow in any amount can be an inconvenience - but with a bit of style...

1963 (here)

1978 (here)

Shadow Shot Sunday - Monochrome Winter

Out the front door on the Ansonia Uplands.

From the bedroom of our son now residing in Brooklyn, NYC...

Shadow Shot Sunday occurs after our latest snowfall, and with the sunshine we can see shadowy art forming before our eyes. So with cheap droid phone in hand, the snowy canvas was observed and captured for SSS2. To compensate for the quality, a B&W edit corrects some flaws while allowing the shadows to stand out a bit more. In the bottom one, the screen in the window even adds a kind of texture to the scene. Yes, it is much colder than normal around here today...merely a small price to pay for well-defined shadows!

Shadow Shot Sunday - New used car

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 arrives in a week where the family has a new addition...not what you might think though.It is really Allegra's new used car, a '99 Chevrolet Malibu sitting in the long autumnal shadows falling upon the Ansonia Uplands.



This shadowy beige conveyance replaces her 1996 Plymouth Neon that graced SSS2 and other posts. The absolutely nicest first generation Neon anywhere, it was totaled by an errant driver's left turn. Happily nobody was hurt and the other driver was at fault. The only casualty, alas, the shiny ruby Neon...

Nevertheless, the Malibu leaves excellent shadows under the more southerly sun. Owned and carefully driven by an older gentleman, it has only 74.000 miles (119,000 km) so it has a long and shadowy life - we hope without other drivers' faulty left turns...

Shadow Shot Sunday - Sumer ebbs in the Uplands...

Allegra and I leave long-ish shadows on the front yard...

Always love the oval shapes and shadows of the Neon...

Looking to the south from the north - seasonal shadows

I guess that it's no accident that the shadow hunter shows up in the sheetmetal :)

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 returns and since autumn is nigh since the unofficial end of Summer is Labor /Labour Day (actually it is 22 September), it seems as the sun has actually began its move to its rightful position to the South. So, the shadows now more pronounced from South-to-North in the front yard are where I looked for shadowy subjects. Including those that include daughter the shadowy Mulberry tree and Allegra's cherry red 1996 Plymouth Neon. I am noticing the sun making its long angular turn - a sign of the season and longer shadows as the sun retreats. It is still warm now...but for how long??

Shadow Shot Sunday - Driveway meandering

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 is back this week - and simple summer shadows were jumping at me with camera in hand...who can resist? The weather has been strange up here with lots of humidity and lots of rain with bold sunny hints on occasion - such as on Thursday where the electrical contractor attaching the wiring on a new utility pole in our yard - and the electricity was wisely shut off. With no lights or computer inside, like kids our playground was moved outside. The flowers, mulberry tree and ramp had shadows both amorphous and well defined which adds another dimension to the usual and ordinary...see more of the shadowy world at SSS2

Tina's Pic Story - April flowers

Actually, these flowers were photographed last May...but still work for this week's subject on Tina's Pic Story which is April Flowers. I like azaleas as these are on the north shady side of our home and the flowers grow without any fertilizer work. Well, they do have to be pruned occasionally, but that's not so much work as perhaps done with love. Happy Spring!

Tina's Pic Story - Sun

A burst of sun settles over the Uplands of Ansonia Connecticut 

Tina's Pic Story is the fun weekly meme hosted by her - we post the pics to match the theme she provides, which this week is the sonne/sun. This is the sun rising over the neighborhood after an icy night before. The solar heat is melting the ice from the leafless shrubs and trees...promising a nice winter day. Ice may be a nuisance, but it can look really nice...

Ruby Tuesday - Slight reds in a sea of green

Ruby Tuesday 2 returns for the week as I return back to last summer in the warm Ansonia Uplands. The floral growth leaves is with leaves of green. However, a little red shows up in the Stop sign, the house next door and if we stretch the definition of ruby slightly, the pink flowers. Little ruby, warm memories...

Tina's Pic Story - Light

Tina's fun meme Pic Story is back with the simple theme, we post to the weekly theme she kindly provides. This week the theme is light...I like the idea of many lights at night being on. During a previous snow storm, a picture taken by a point-and-shoot with the flash on, it was a snowy and windy night. However, not just the street light is illuminated, but many individual flakes were illuminated almost as orbs floating in the air. Lots of lights in the air - I hope the theme has been met with this story!