Clown Snowman

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This is the 3rd snowman I've made in as many days.  I supplied the picture, and Google supplied the snow:-)  I just thought it was cute.  I used a bucket that gave the 'balls' a marshmallow shape.  Yesterday the snow was melting and packing better, and each of those balls was about 80lbs.  I had to enlist Donnie's help to get the head on!  This one is by the driveway.  I hope the UPS and USPS drivers got a chuckle yesterday as well as the neighbors.  Although we used some clown gear to decorate this one, Johnny said he reminded him of summer.  Wishful thinking?

Here is the first one I did.

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And here's the second one.

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Yesterday I focused more on video than pictures.  Johnny and I must have gone down the hill in our front yard 25 times each.  I used my iPhone to get some Go Pro type video.

Video

Video

Video
Our temps are really on the rise, so the snow is quickly leaving now:-(  It was nice while it lasted!

Yates Mill in the Snow

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I had to run an errand yesterday, and the roads were fine to be out on while slushy in the late afternoon sun. Luckily, my errand took me past Yates Mill, and the park was open, so Johnny and I parked and walked over to the mill.  The icicles on the water wheel are impressive!  Unfortunately, we got water in our boots earlier int he day and didn't have on proper snow shoes, so our feet got cold quick, and we headed back to the car after a few shots without walking the millpond loop trail.

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This is how my boots got wet:-)  I taught Johnny to hold the phone landscape next time.  That's Joey in front and on top of me!

Video

Johnny and I had a short walk back to the large icy area in our creek, and boy did he have a good time playing with the ice  Before you say it, please know that I had a long talk with him about walking on ice and how dangerous that can be, but this spot was only inches deep, and I was prepared to haul him out if need be.   Google took my cute pics of him and made them 'move'.  I am enjoying Google's Awesome Photos!

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 The boys are out of school for the 4th day straight.  At this point, Wake County may have to cancel the make-up day already scheduled for year round kids tomorrow.  Actually, we are expecting quite the warm up over the next few days, so hopefully the roads will be deemed safe soon.  Event though I'm pretty sore from acting like a 10 year old in the snow the last few days, I hope to get up out again today to enjoy it while we can.  Johnny is already requesting a trip to the ice:-)

Snow!

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Raleigh finally got some real winter weather yesterday.  I guesstimate we had 5" of snow.  It was certainly enough to completely cover the ground.  Schools are closed here for a 3rd straight day.  Not so great for the year round schedule which has the kids making the days up on Saturdays starting with this Saturday.  We beat the record low temp last night at our house with a temp of 3.  Brrr...  Thankfully while we were outside yesterday for 6 hours enjoying the snow it was in the 20s and not windy.  Donnie and I got the 400' driveway shoveled and it dried so we can get out if needed.  The kids packed the snow on the front yard hill and enjoyed 'sledding'.  Johnny and I hiked about 2.5 miles to and from the neighboring Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Park.  It was a very scenic walk through the woods and along a stream.  I happily snapped as many pics as I could of everything from snow angels to a late day snowman that I made after the kids were in bed.  It was one of those days where it was great to be exhausted from so much fun.

My daily is a robin eating berries in the park.  I know I promised you  snow picture today.  Technically, it was taken in the snow, but I guess you don't really see any snow in the shot.  Below is a collage of some of my favorite pictures from the day.

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And here's our snowman.  I had to use a large tub to pack the 'balls'.  This snow would not stick!  The kids were pleased when they came out and saw him this morning:-)

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I won't get to sit much longer. The kids are itching to go back out again!

Thirsty Horse

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Taken in Cary yesterday on Kildaire Farm Road.  I enjoy looking at the horses in this field each time I pass by, and yesterday I decided to stop and take pictures of them in their blankets.  It was 31 and very windy with snow on the way  Besides pics of the horses, I also got pics of Redhead ducks and a Hooded Merganser.

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We had about 5 inches of snow overnight.  I've been out in it all morning.  What fun! n Obviously tomorrow will be some sort of snow pictures!

Sunset

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As seen on the way home from picking the kids up from school yesterday. It's the prettiest I've seen the sky in a while. I decided to drive toward the west and look for other good spots to take pics of it. I figured it would get prettier as the sun continued to set. However, the clouds parted and the bold sun came out and actually it lost it's grandeur. Oh well. Sometimes the first shot is the best!

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Let There Be Light!

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Leave it to me to go to the North Carolina Museum of Art and get fixated on the light fixtures in the cafe.

Here's the original.  I used Nix Color Efex Pro and PSE to post process it.  I much prefer the crisper blue and white tones and the blurred out background.  I also pulled  'ball' out of another shot to give the upper right corner some more interest.  There was a 3rd ball there, but it was spaced to far away to get it where I wanted it in the shot.

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Donnie and I were there to see the Porsche by Design exhibit.  We found the exhibit including 20 Porsche cars to be interesting and informative.  This is my favorite car shot although not my favorite car from the show.

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B Clown Glasses

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It's Sunday and time for my weekly alphabet challenge entry.  Hopefully when you see these glasses vertical you see a B.  These glasses are nearly a foot long...BIG.  I hunted in the attic and found the clown hair to spice up the shot.  It's not easy to shoot glasses so they look like a B!

I'm processing each shot as a B&W too.

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I really want to be able to create words out of these letter shots after I have the entire alphabet, but in  looking at my first two shots, a sidewalk crack and these glasses, I really wonder if the themes of the individual shots will make for interestingly coordinated words or not.  Guess time and experimentation will tell.