St Sepulchre's Cemetery

So in the process of reading up about Wolvercote Cemetery, I also saw mention of, and started reading about St Sepulchre's Cemetery. It is conveniently along the way of my typical walk to town via the Oxford Canal path. I ended up spending some time there this morning. I was the only one around. It also prompted me to see a little bit different part of town (the Jericho section).

John Day - St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford

Angel - St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford

Cross - St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford

Cross with Ivy - St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford

John & Sarah Bridgewater - St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford

Wolvercote Cemetery

Took a walk a bit up the road to Wolvercote Cemetery this morning. I'd driven past once or twice but my curiosity was peaked a few weeks back during one of my many walks into central Oxford. On the way back from town, a young lad (as they are called here???) asked me how far it was to the cemetery and when the next bus would be coming by going that way. I didn't know the answers to his questions but it made me think: "What is it about that cemetery that a young person, obviously not from around here, would be so interested in?" You have to scroll to the last picture (or search the internet) to find out what it might have been.

While I was there this morning, I met a man that visits his wife's grave every day for 5 hrs or so and has done so for almost 5 years. We had a lengthy chat about almost everything. We covered subjects starting from the way things have changed over the past number of years to how hard it is to find decent cheese in the U.S.A. and a decent tomato in the U.K. I suspect I will chat with him again the next time I go by for some photos.

Bench - Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford

Angel - Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford

Percival Edward Hedges - Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford

A Safety Concern - Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford

Michal Matczak - Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford

Angel - Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford

Bench - Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford

J.R.R. Tolkien - Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford

Along The Oxford Canal, Part 1

Finally back to my real computer, but it is taking me while to get things set up and to move all the new stuff from my laptop over to the desktop. Installing Lightroom, getting the catalogs all working etc. It may be a while. In the meantime here is a photo to show I care :) I'll have a lot more from my walks along the canal as I get more settled in.

Bridge 194, Somerton Deep Lock

Footpath

You can get almost anywhere here via a footpath, and although it hasn't been very warm, it is plenty green.

Footpath

Bench

Rorschach Test

Lilies of the Garden

Now the Lilies are in bloom...the front yard is looking pretty good.

Lilies of the Garden #1

Lilies of the Garden #2

Lilies of the Garden #3

Lilies of the Garden #4

Lilies of the Garden #5

Sanity Sun At Patuxent Research Refugee

Today was a beautiful day with clear blue skies, not too hot, not too humid etc. To make things even better, it ended up being a target rich environment photographically...and worse yet, in one case I can't decide which photo I like best.

Eastern Bluebird

Insects On Thistle

5-lined Skink Sunning Itself

Broad-headed Skink Sunning Itself

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Thistle

Ai Weiwei in the Wild

So a while back, I went to the Hirshhorn Museum and saw the Ai Weiwei "According to What" exhibit. I've since noticed some evidence of his art escaping into the wild.....I now present to you "Weiwei in the Wild" :)

Ai Weiwei's Log

Nature's Log

Weiwei's Rebar

Boston's Rebar Notice the classic green

For those interested, the "According to What" exhibit has moved on and is now at the Indianapolis Museum of Art through 23 July 2013. I actually enjoyed the exhibit very much. You can read a bit more about Ai Weiwei on wikipedia HERE.

The Osprey Returns

Took my sanity sun again today at Patuxent Research Refuge to check on the Ospreys' which I figured had a nest in the area. It seems I am correct. There was an Osprey tending a nest on one of the platforms out over the lake. I saw another Osprey in the distant trees that I'm assuming was the male, and I did snap a not so great picture of him. When I first arrived, the Osprey on the nest ran a short recon flight, probably to check me out. I desperately tried to follow her in flight and focus as I shot. Between the focusing and the panning, I was unimpressed with the results. Learning from that, and my previous experience during The Battle of Cash Lake, the second time the Osprey went out on a recon flight, I pre-focused on the nest and awaited her return. I grabbed these shots as she landed.

Osprey Approaches Nest

Touch Down

Settling In

And The Winner is....

The National Arboretum, which wins the prize as the subject of my 500th post to this blog. The thought that it was probably my last chance this year to catch the dogwoods in bloom led the Arboretum to edge out the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge, so my sanity sun today included some time at the National Arboretum where I made my way over to the dogwoods. Only a few trees were in full bloom, most were well past peak bloom, and many were entirely stripped of flowers after yesterday's hard storms. The neighboring Asian Collections werw looking really nice too (and a fair number of people seemed to agree), so a wandered through them a bit. Here are some of the photos.

Dogwood in Bloom

Japanese Maple - Asian Collection

Interesting Bark - Asian Collection

Fallen Flower - Asian Collection

Peonies - Asian Collection

Visiting the National Cathedral

We had a nice private tour of the Washington National Cathedral yesterday. Both Elesa and I were quite impressed. I took a lot of pictures, and could have taken a whole lot more. The details of the cathedral are incredible, and having someone point out even more details and explain them ...all lead me to think I need to go back and spend more time there :) Below are a few of my photos, a full slideshow (21 photos) can be seen HERE.

Columns and Stained Glass

Good Shepherd Chapel

One of the Newest Additions - Mother Theresa

Battle of Cash Lake

I was back at Patuxent Research Refuge today for a little walk with my camera getting my "sanity sun". I was set up with a 70-200 2.8L on a 2x extender, with a polarizing filter and the ISO set at 800 when the "Battle of Cash Lake" broke out right in front of me. Apparently a Great Blue Heron had crossed into an Osprey's airspace and all hell broke loose. According to the time stamps on my photos, the entire battle lasted about 60 seconds. Not being the best war photographer, I didn't get the world's best shots. Between the panning and focusing, they could certainly be a bit sharper...but the photos are interesting to me.

Osprey Approaches Great Heron From Top Right

Osprey Overshoots as Heron Dodges and Weaves

Osprey Turns to Return to Perch

Osprey Landing

Osprey Back on Watch

Today's Theme is Red

I took a fair number of photos today, including a few of a red-bellied woodpecker I've seen hanging around our feeder the past few days. He's eluded me until today. The tulips popped up today too.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Male)

Tulips

Birds of Spring

There seem to be a lot of birds around this spring, and a large variety at that. I'm not a serious birder, and certainly not a very good bird photographer, but none the less, I've taken the opportunity to "shoot some birds" over the past few days. More than once I've ended up spending an inordinate amount of time on the Internet trying to figure out just what it was that I shot. Here are a pair I shot today

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (Male)

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (Female)