Self-Portraits in conjunction with The 52Frames 2015 Project

Here are some of my self-portraits from the first part of the year while working on the 52 Frames Photo Project.  The themes are listed under the photograph.

#52Frames

"Silhouette"

"Greetings from…"

"Reflection"

"Single Light Source"

"Dress-Up as Microwaving Housewife"

 Last night I dreamt that I missed the deadline for a Challenge.  Luckily it was a dream-I've been working on this project without missing a week since January of 2014.

"Coordinating Colors-Fashion"

2013 Potomac Watershed Cleanup, Alice Ferguson

One day each year my family and I walk across the street to a National Park and help pick up trash.  We've been doing it since our sons were toddlers.  It's become a tradition everyone in the household looks forward to.  We are lucky enough to live near the C&O Canal and the Potomac River and as we pick up trash we are teaching our sons about stewardship and an appreciation for nature.

This year we got to know the river very well as I lost my phone during the cleanup.  I spent most of the day retracing my steps until the third (or was it fourth time) I fished it out of leaf covered water by the shore.  I thought that at least finding it in the water would save me from needing to buy a replacement case for the new phone I would be buying later that night until I realized that the phone had turned on.  It had been lost for six hours and was submerged in about a two feet of still water and debris on the side of the shore.  I don't know how I was so lucky to not only find it, but to also find that it still worked, make phone calls and even connect to the Internet.  I was afraid I wouldn't find it until next year's clean-sweep!

Here are some of my photos from the 2013 Alice Ferguson Potomac River Watershed Cleanup.

Point of Rocks Group

Fueling Up

Empty bags at the start.  I think some of the bags were even leftovers from past years.
Talk about conservation.

Fishing….for a CD.
  Wonder if it still plays and if the library in which it was borrowed from will waive the late fee.

We found a lot of golf balls.

One of the most unusual items was a ski that I found.

Send the kid into the chained off area for some trash.

My son (in red) is taking lots of grief from the hooligan in the jean jacket.
He wants my son's golf balls and won't just sit back and enjoy the found rubber duckie.

Start 'em young!

Cleanup Crew

My husband with a "Relax" Beer huggie that he found.

The Running of the Trains, Frederick Maryland Photographer

We are fortunate to have a friend and neighbor down the road who opens his yard to us to enjoy his model train tracks.  We meet him several years ago when I was the Chair of the Garden Club in Point of Rocks. Pat hosts open house days in which his train enthusiast friends come to ride trains on the track and the rest of us take in the show.  Last week as we were passing by his house, Liam asked when we could visit him.  Luckily he had an open house planned for today.  Pat has built and designed a lot of the structures and has large boxes to protect and cover them during bad weather.  In winter the cars and figures are taken inside.  Here are some photos from it.  

The bottom picture shows where I want to go on vacation (in the little cottages with a red Beetle in front) with the waterfall and water wheel roaring behind.

Above right: Logging  
Above Left: Church
Bottom: I took this photo for my friend Donna as this reminds me of the gas station her grandfather owned in Florida.

Bottom photo was my favorite of the day.  Entrance over a wooden bridge to my favorite little cottages. 

Liam and Luke give you a little bit of perspective in the size of the train and the track.  In fact it's much bigger than the photos show.  They ran around waiting for the trains to round the turns, enter and exit the tunnels and study the town.  

If you are interested in Trains check out my blog post from when we spent the weekend in a Caboose in Natural Bridge, Virginia.

A First Time Visit to Ellicott City, Frederick Maryland Photographer

My husband and I had a rare Saturday without the kids so we decided to explore Ellicott City for the first time ever.  Considering I grew up in Maryland I am not sure what took me so long to discover this place.  It has lots of little shops, one really neat furniture store, historic buildings and a great main street (The National Highway created by Thomas Jefferson) to stroll down.   We will be taking the kids back to see the Log Cabin and the Firehouse both of which we visited as well as the Colored School which has had a great restoration completed and the Railroad Museum.  Considering we live in our own railroad town of Point of Rocks, I think this will be a good addition to their knowledge of the local rail line. We had lunch at Tersiguel's French Country Restaurant which we were recommended and we agree, that it was excellent.  Great bread and the omelet and crepes we ordered had so many flavors and I loved the Frisee Salade. 

Here is my pictorial take on the little city. 

Train track over Ellicott City, Maryland

Oldest Standing Railroad Station in America

Ryan by a caboose in Ellicott City.  Last year we stayed in a caboose with the kids near Natural Bridge, VA.  This one looks a lot like it.

I want my husband and all his male friends to open a Mantiques Shop when they retire.

Look what I found in the creek that flows through the town.

We got to see inside the Firehouse Museum.  

Maryland, My Maryland