FEBRUARY SNOW – WEREN’T YOU OUT IN IT THIS MORNING?

Not heavy, maybe three to five inches, enough to be beautiful and calling to me.  I first noticed it when I saw that my little red house was covered with snow as was its backyard.

My next view was of my new bird feeder.  Signs of some early morning customers other than the tin cardinal.

I had been thinking about the snowfall during the wakeup process, realizing that I’d have to get out there and see what the world looked like with soft, white, rounded corners.  Bundled and hooded against the wind chill I headed out onto the campus.

This way to more snow.

—————————————————————————————–

Scenes along the way were beautiful, calling to be captured.

——————————————————————————————————–

The courtyards here are attractive to begin with.  I knew the snow would add another dimension to them.  Here’s an example:

——————————————————————————————————

Also on my must-list this morning was the nearby iconic Kirby’s Mill on the southwest branch of Rancocas Creek.  The first structure here dates from 1778 and there have been additions over the years.  Its location on the creek with the nearby spillway, its architectural character, and its barn-red paint bring photographers like moths to a flame.  The snow just had to enhance it.  Here’s the postcard shot.

And across the road:

No cutting today.

————————————————————————————————–

Back home, enjoying the views from the garden room and a second cup of coffee I was reminded how wonderful my flowering houseplants are, particularly on a day like today:

——————————————————————————————-

A gallery of more images from this morning’s snowwalk can be seen by clicking here.

——————————————————————————————————–

THIS ‘N THAT – STAINED GLASS, COLOR, NEIGHBORS, A FAMILY HEADSTONE

In describing my move a year ago I mentioned that I had dragged along my stained glass workbench and my inventory of glass and related supplies.  In December I added a page to this journal (see tab at top) talking about some of my work over the years.  Well, the well has been dry for a long time with life getting in the way but I finally cranked out a new piece:

The bevels have been on the bench for several years but it was now time.   The finished panel measures 13″ by 24″.  This may be my last bevel piece as they are more difficult than they look.  The difficulty lies in (1) getting the bevelled pieces to fit together in the lead came channels that provide rigidity, and (2) cutting the four curves in each of the four corner pieces and fitting them to the bevel came so that there are no light leaks.  Bad stuff happens and I had to recut one corner piece.

I’m glad I did the piece as the bevels gather the sunlight beautifully.

—————————————————————————————————–

MISCELLANEOUS COLOR

Barbara and I recently took a drive up to the shops of Peddler’s Village in Bucks County.  One of them specializes in unique crafts pieces which they import from all over the world.  A set of lamp shades and lamp globes caught my eye, each made of tiny pieces of glass handlaid into a matrix material.  Couldn’t walk past it.  Another candidate for my placemat series.

————————————————————

NEIGHBORS

One of the things I enjoy here at the Old Folks Farm is the occasional appearance of deer.  Since my townhouse is up against some woods and a trail they seem to be comfortable passing by.  I’m sure there are gardeners here who are unhappy about the damage to shrubs and trees, and I would be too.  But it’s OK with me if they just pass by.—————————–—-

———————————————————————————————-

A FAMILY HEADSTONE

A Sunday afternoon with no commitments brings me to the back roads of Salem and Cumberland counties.  It was beautiful to be out in the country, passing farm fields lightly dusted with snow under a stunning blue sky and not a McDonald’s in sight.  At one point I found myself driving into Alloway, still a country village, one where my maternal grandfather, William Rudolph was born.  I set out to revisit the family plot which I had discovered a few years ago.  Nevertheless, I still wondered through the wrong (Methodist) cemetery, gave up and headed to the Baptist Cemetery where I found it. 

——————————————————————————————–

The monument is for my great grandfather, Adam S. Rudolph, a civil war veteran, born in the early years of the 19th century while Andrew Jackson was president.  He and his wife, Rebecca McPherson, brought my grandfather, William, into this world in 1875.  This was a “How about that?” for me as I now understood where my mother’s name, Rebecca McPherson Rudolph came from.  It is even more interesting to me in that my late wife and I named one of our daughters Sigrid Rebecca, and she, in turn, has a daughter Madeline Rebecca, and my late brother’s son, Chris, has a daughter named Rebecca as well.  Nice.