Tracks Back on Wax

I took this photo in the Barnes and Noble bookstore at the Neshaminy Mall in April.  Although that display held the only vinly records I saw there, it was enough to show that vinyl is back, at least to me.  Sitting among the classic records from the 60s,70s and 80s was Adele’s record, seen in the bottom left.  Adele was born in 1988, so if she ever saw a vinyl record, it was probably in her parent’s collection, likely sitting in a closet attracting dust.  Also note that Dr. Dre’s The Chronic sits in that display bin as well.  That album dropped in 1993, several years after the last vinyl record was purchased at a mainstream record store.

This wasn’t entirely new to me, as I had been hearing about this revival for a while.  Vinyl had been creeping back onto radio, and in some cases never entirely went away.  But now there seem to be more and more segments devoted to vinly, as well as articles about increasing interest and sales wherever vinyl records could be found.  When I walked into the Barnes and Noble back in April, what I saw in this display bin confirmed what I was hearing and I made sure to snap this picture as photographic proof.

I don’t know if this will mean anything in the long run.  I don’t think that vinyl will replace the more technically advanced forms of recording that have long since taken over and made the vinyl record obsolete (with the exception of party djs and collectors).  But it has now found a niche, if not a permanent place.  Or at least that is what it seems like, unless this all turns out to be a fad.

Winter on Lake Caroline

About three and a half years ago I published a few photos I took at Lake Caroline in Fairless Hills, PA. Today I returned to that site, on a sunny and very cold Saturday morning.  The weather has been brutally cold lately, but it looks like we had just enough sun and warmth to keep some of the lake from freezing, and to leave most of the ice thin.  The snow on the ground is what remains from the winter storm last Monday night, which was originally forecast to accumulate 12-18 inches.  It turned out to be much less, and I was at work on Tuesday morning, although the office opened late.

I am not very familiar with the habits of seagulls, so I found their activity here a bit interesting.  They walked along the frozen surface of the lake for a while, then walked over on to the snowy ground and perched in their spots as captured in the picture here.  Maybe they were warming the ground to bring up some of the earth worms.  From what I have observed previously, their diet seems to consist of fish whatever discarded food scraps they could find.  It is common to see them flocking around shopping center parking lots. Here, they could probably find fish, but I think the lake is only stocked during certain times of the year.  And if this was fishing season, I think there would be people fishing all around the lake, no matter what the weather. 

My plan wasn’t to stay around long, however, and it was too cold anyway.  At least, I didn’t come dressed to spend a lot of time in arctic weather.  But whenever I can, I’ll keep sneaking in these photos

The Unfrozen Lake

Today I set out to get some winter photos, figuring most of the lakes and small creeks in the area would be frozen.  But that wasn’t what I found.  Either the current cold streak wasn’t long enough to solidify the larger bodies of water in the area, or the thawing yesterday was just enough to melt it.  

This photo shows what I saw when I got to Lake Luxemburg near my home.  The water around the edges was covered with a thin sheet of ice, and the rest remained unfrozen.  It was too cold and windy for me to stay around long, so I just got this one picture with my phone. After that, I hurried back to the warmth of my car, which had not been parked long.

Maybe I’ll get another chance soon.  It’s still early January, and there are still about two months to go to get through the bane of winter.  Like all seasons, winter has its own beauty, and I’ll try to get out as much as I can to capture some of it.

The Colors of Nature

Back in October, I went out into Central Bucks with my Samsung Galaxy and my Canon Power Shot to capture some of the fall foliage.  I found a spot I liked behind Buckingham Elementary School.  There wasn’t a whole lot of open field back there, but all the fall colors were there, although yellow was lacking a little.  And there was also some green left.

The above picture was taken with the Galaxy.  I still have the pictures on the camera, but haven’t uploaded or edited them yet.  It seems too easy to do everything with one hand held device, but I still want to work with a machine that was engineered specifically to take pictures.  And I hope to be taking and publishing more of them soon.

One More Round

I’m anticipating the next winter storm, which will literally be any minute now as I write these words around 10:45 PM.  In the meantime, here are some pictures from last week’s storm.  Most of the precipitation has been snowfall this season, but last week it came in the form of ice. Since early December, we have been averaging about one winter storm a week.   Although there have been more winter storms this year than the last several years combined, the cycle should end soon, as we are now in February.  The Phillies are reporting to spring training in Florida, and in two weeks will be playing their first exhibition game.  With the beginning of the baseball pre-season, spring can’t be far off.  The fact that baseball is being played somewhere has no effect on the weather, of course, but it does give hope.

In the meantime, these pictures tell the story, and it is about to be repeated.  I took them from our front porch, with lots of snow and on the ground and hanging from the trees.  All this looks pretty, but just makes getting around difficult and often hazardous.  And within an hour I will be dealing with more.  At least all the kids will love it, but even they may be getting tired of it, especially since they will now be going to school until the end of June.

The First Storm of the New Year

Since we were hit with another snowstorm last night, and the roads were still covered when I started my car this morning, I figured it was best to wait a while to head out.  When I was advised later that the roads were still bad for sedans like mine, I decided to stay in.  As of right now, we are still sitting in what looks like about six inches of snow, and although the roads are now somewhat clearer, we are still in a spell of arctic cold.  Every winter we get a few cold snaps that give me an idea of what it’s like living in Minnesota or Wisconsin, only there it is perpetual throughout the winter.  Back here, most of that snow should stay until Sunday, when we will have a brief warming period and some rain.  After that, it’s back to the single digits and teens.

I will probably be taking the car out soon to do some shopping, although I don’t intend to be out long.  The good thing is that now I am looking at a clear blue sky, rather than the all-day cloud cover yesterday, which was followed by the blizzard last night.  It does look like the conditions are now better.

I did want to get one picture of the snow today, and because of the conditions I didn’t want to go far. So I got this quick picture of the backyard.  I only got as close as the middle of the driveway, since my car is as far as I went to dig out of the snow.  From there, I took this picture.  I don’t like driving in snow, and I don’t like having to trudge through it, but I do like the way snow can make everything look nice.  And I’m glad I got this picture to capture the beauty of the snow after this latest storm.  The Weather Channel may be trying to establish a trend of naming every storm that comes through, but to me this is just the first snowstorm of 2014.

Fort Washington State Park on a Perfect Autumn Day

Last Sunday, I took advantage of a perfect autumn day and made my way to Fort Washington State Park, which is just outside Philadelphia.  After passing by the park for a long time, I figured it was time to venture in and explore with my camera, and the weather last Sunday provided me that opportunity.  Since I had a few extra hours that day, I made my way in.

I parked near the bird watching platform and picked up one of the pocket sized park maps that are always provided at state parks.  The first thing I looked for was a trail along the Wissahickon Creek, which turned out to be easy to find by just following the map and find the creek.  I also liked the fact that it was macadam trail, which made it easier on my beat up sneakers.  While walking along, I got a few pictures of the wooded area surrounding the creek, two of which I posted here.  The other I took near the bird watching platform. 

I still need to explore more of the park, and get more shots, so I plan on heading back soon.  But for right now, I’ll just share what I was able to capture last Sunday.