ohio

All posts tagged ohio

Snow and ice in ever-growing heaps

Posted by Photonstopper on February 17, 2010
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Columnar Icicle
Columnar Icicle

Our house seems to grow a decent crop of icicles just about every winter. This season, however, seems to be an extraordinarily good one for the propagation of giant icy spears. We've seen one, at a neighboring house, that reached from the second floor roofline to the ground. At our own place an icicle has formed a complete column between the icebound eves trough and the garage roof below; at least it is now self-supporting and hopefully placing no more strain on the gutter system! We've been lucky in that large, potentially deadly ice hasn't formed above our entryway as it did at a neighbor's; they actually had a crew come in and knock down the dangerous stalactites! Snow? I guess we've been fairly lucky there, too. While it has snowed just about every day for ever so long, it seems to drop only a few inches of fluff daily. We are able to keep our walk clear with a snow plow-shaped shovel using it to push the snow away instead of having to lift and pile it in ever-growing heaps.

Snowy Sidewalk
Snowy Sidewalk

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Calm before

Posted by Photonstopper on February 9, 2010
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Snowdrift - Office
Snowdrift – Office

Leaving work today I glanced out the window and spied a beautifully-sculpted snowdrift glowing in the early evening sun. It's only a foot or two tall but could be any size, even the stature of a mountain, and be no more beautiful. As I approached the parking lot I glanced through a line of trees directly towards the sun. Long shadows on the snow and a spark of brilliance made me stop and haul out the camera once more. There's a major winter storm due 24 hours from now and this is the beautiful calm before.

Snow-Sun-Trees
Snow-Sun-Trees

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The last of my morning’s pictures

Posted by Photonstopper on February 8, 2010
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Frosty Sunrise
Frosty Sunrise

Driving to work this morning was both a pain and a pleasure. It was very cold this morning; en route my car's thermometer hit a low of 4 degrees (F) on the east side of Strongsville. At home and in many areas along my route, hoar frost had coated very twig producing an amazing landscape at every turn. It was a beautiful trip but painful to resist the urge to play hooky, wade through the snow, and take photographs everywhere I went. Helping little, I told myself to simply enjoy the passing view and not worry about photographing. Still, I did succumb and pulled into a conveniently located Metroparks parking lot immediately adjacent to an open field lined with flocked trees. The sun was just beginning to illuminate the treeline when I shot the last of my morning's pictures.

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Snowbird

Posted by Photonstopper on January 13, 2010
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Snowbird
Snowbird

Glancing out of an office window, I did a double-take: a lump of snow in an old robin's nest had taken on the appearance of an icy bird in the light of late-day. Feathers hanging off the right-hand rim of the nest aid the visual trick. I shot the picture through the glass to preserve the angle of view necessary for the illusion. I expect "Frosty the Snowbird" to disappear entirely sometime tomorrow — we expect above-freezing temperatures.

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It has its high points

Posted by Photonstopper on January 10, 2010
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Saturday was spent in travels both on errands and for the enjoyment of being out of doors on a fine winter's day. It really didn't start out quite so fine –it was gray and snowy– but as the day progressed, things changed. The clouds grew thinner and gave way to peeks of blue and by the end of the day, the sky was cloud free with the sun illuminating nature's recently-decorated landscapes.

Frosted Hilltops
Frosted Hilltops

We did discover, however, just how unique our position was: from the road and slightly lower elevations we got a look at hilltops similar to ours. Off in the distance, across a valley, we spied what, at first, seemed to  be snow-capped mountains. No, not mountains at all but the very hills we live in — the tops only just high enough to catch freezing fog on their trees. Anything below the critical elevation was typicaly winter-bare. A remarkable sight.

Frozen Fog
Frozen Fog


I took another winter photo-walk in our neighborhood, again with the new lens and the old Canon Digital Rebel, re-photographing some of Friday's discoveries; this time with clear blue sky and bright late-day sunlight to enhance the view. Clearly visible were the plate-shaped ice deposits on trees and shrubs. The frosting was beautiful by itself but gave added hold to the light, dry snow that fell and resulted in several days of amazing winter scenes.

Frosted Tree
Frosted Tree


Though it was very cold here last night (10F degrees) winds have kicked up and the snow coats have begun to fall from our trees.  We did have splendid sights here, thanks to our unique position. While we often wish we lived someplace else, where we are occasionally has its high points.

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Welcome to Northeastern Ohio

Posted by Photonstopper on January 7, 2010
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THE NATL WEATHER SVC IN CLEVELAND HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WARNING FOR SNOW WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EST
SATURDAY. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. THE
LAKE EFFECT SNOW WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

WIDESPREAD SNOW SPREADING ACROSS THE AREA WILL CONTINUE INTO
FRIDAY WHILE TRANSITIONING TO LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS WHICH WILL
THEN CONTINUE INTO SAT BEFORE TAPERING TO LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS
AND FLURRIES. MOST LOCATIONS SHOULD SEE 3 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW BY
FRIDAY MORNING & ANOTHER 4 TO 6 INCHES BY SAT MORNING. BOTH
THE PRIMARY & SECONDARY SNOWBELT WILL BE AFFECTED. THIS MEANS
THE HEAVIER SNOWFALL WILL ALSO AFFECT ALL THE SUBURBS OF THE
CLEVELAND METRO AREA.INCLUDING MEDINA.SUMMIT & PORTAGE
COUNTIES AS WELL AS LAKE & GEAUGA COUNTIES.

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Beautiful day not entirely wasted

Posted by Photonstopper on October 21, 2009
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Rocky River Afternoon
Rocky River Afternoon

It's a shame when you're not feeling well and the day is absolutely beautiful; such days are often wasted on the sufferer. A head cold tightened its grip on me last night robbing me of long, quality rest and making the workday difficult to endure. The day wasn't a total waste, however. For several weeks I've been watching the light and the leaf colors changing along a stretch of the West Branch of the Rocky River I cross on my daily commute. Daily the view has become increasingly beautiful both by morning and evening light. Tonight was my first real opportunity to stop and shoot a few photos. I got several good ones but, if the weather holds, the views should only improve. I hope to stop a few more times before winter stomps its heavy foot down and the trees drop the last of their leaves. Above: The broad, shallow Rocky River flows along its shale banks and cliffs as it winds its way towards Lake Erie. The late day October sun falls upon the treetops while the waters lie in shade.

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My 2010 calendar

Posted by Photonstopper on October 8, 2009
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I've never self-published a photo calendar before so this first effort is kind of exciting. I chose Lulu.com which does printing on demand… I didn't have to contract to print a bunch of stock that won't sell. On the other hand, quality of reproduction is a little uneven with two images that had subtle tones looking a little off-hue, even unsharp. So I'm not wildly enthusiastic. Most other images look fine to very good — especially the sunflower and the dragonfly. The process allowed me to add special events or "holidays," so I researched and added a bunch of astronomical occasions but nothing too geeky. I suppose as self-promotion this isn't the kindest review but I want it to be honest. Click here and enjoy the preview! {This is a re-post without a somewhat clumsy embedded object.}

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Gambling on the future

Posted by Photonstopper on September 21, 2009
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It looks like the budget of the state of Ohio is about to be thrown back into turmoil. The governor and state legislature built the budget for the next two years upon a plan that has gambling revenues as a $900 million+ cornerstone. Trouble is, except for the lottery and horse race tracks, gambling is illegal in Ohio. A court challenge to the politicians' move has led to the Supreme Court of Ohio agreeing with gambling opponents: the issue of video slot machine installations at race tracks belongs before the voters; that would push back the new funding to more than a year from now. I guess that's what happens when you bet government operations on a toss of the dice!

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