10 POINT BUCK

while gf was at pilates working off the turkey, hubs was snapping away at a 10 point white-tailed buck in our garden...posing by the swing set...
and cavorting in the neighbor's yard...  see what i'm up against!?! and i know they are thinking about making bambis! 

NEW YORK CITY PRE-HOLIDAY

last weekend my brother-in-law visited and we drove into the city for a quick tour. rather than photograph times square and other well-known spots, i tried to capture a few perhaps less well known sites. here is a pretty building in soho. my favorite spot for a cup of hot chocolate on a chilly day in soho is marie bell.the brooklyn bridge, heading into manhattan from brooklyn...
we went to battery park at the southern tip of manhattan; i don't remember ever being there before. you can see the statue of liberty in the distance.
i was impressed by the landscaping in battery park. i found it a perfect, modern frame for the city views...  looking north...a view of ellis island, which is just north of the statue of liberty...and more of the garden at the waterfront... i'll have to come back in spring and see what's blooming!we then drove north on the west side highway and passed the new iac hq, the first building in nyc designed by frank gehry.  this is not the best view of it, but it is spectacular from any side. at night, the building glows were the windows are not sprayed white.crossing town towards rockefeller center, we passed the nbc store with its lighted globe...rockefeller center was at its worst, with prometheus hiding underneath scaffolding while the christmas tree is being decorated above him.for you "gossip girl" fans (and i know you are out there) here is the entrance to the plaza hotel looking inviting. i've lunched there, but never spent the night.
nearby is 9 w 57th street, a beautiful building with sloping windows reflecting the facades across the street. out front is picasso's mythical bull statue, contrasting the tacky candy cane decoration. also pictured is an unknown tourist, who must really love him some picasso. well, he gives you an idea of the scale of the sculpture.
it was getting darker and colder by then, but before we retreated to the warm car i couldn't resist shooting these colorful marushka dolls at a street vendor's stall...

WINTER BIRDS RETURN

my little friends are back to enjoy the bird seed i put out every morning. the female cardinal is much braver this year, or perhaps it is a different individual...

a junko...

one of the jays, whom i liken to clowns. welcome back, my friends!

GLOWING IN THE GLOAM

this afternoon was cold and dark as dusk, only glowing leaves lit the way...

dwarf japanese maple...

sweet autumn clematis seed heads...

oak leaves

scarlet japanese maple...

THE BIG FALL POST

today i shot a bit of my garden, and mom visited with vasco, so i took pictures in the woods. though we are "past peak" here, the colors were astounding:

this maple leaf is for all my canadian friends and relatives...

sugar pond, where the dogs like to swim...

my mothers pwd, vasco, looking majestic

and fetching...

luna and vasco, ears a flying!

joe joe and vasco playing under a flaming maple...

home again, at gf's garden, joe joe settles down in the crepe myrtle leaves...

witch hazel 'diane' puts on a show, and will bloom in february.

close-up of a witch hazel leaf...

the bald cypress is warming up in color, it will lose it's leaves when it gets really cold.

finally, the view from our second floor across the hudson to the new jersey palisades. the big bare tree is a tulip tree, of which there are many.

ELECTION DAY 2008

these little sparrows are trying to tell me something - what could it be?

FALL COLORS

this view from dobbs ferry is more spectacular than my photo, with the hills across the hudson glowing with color. i really wish they would bury those phone lines!