Last night my wife and I were out walking around in our town admiring the aftermath of the blizzard - and it put snow in places where there weren't places. Wow! A snow emergency was declared which meant that residents could not park on the snow emergency routes. Everyone spent parts of the day digging out, as shown in the next photo.

The snow mound between the sidewalk and the street is between 3 and 4' tall. We have run out of places to put snow in the city. So the city got out their magic snow blower to clear the snow emergency streets curb to curb. They blow the snow into large construction dump trucks and haul it off to a dirt parking lot near the Conestoga River to let it melt with the changing of the seasons. This happened during the winter of 93/94 when we were on a similar storm track.

During the 93/94 winter, which started in earnest on January 4th with 4" of ice pellets, we got some frozen precipitation every week for a period of time. The dog and I enjoyed running in it. By the end of the year we had 75" of snow - about twice what we normally get.

This year we got snow on February 5th and 6th. That shut the DC area down and effectively closed us down too. That was last Friday and Saturday. That must not have been sufficient snow; so, the following Tuesday (February 9th) we got the blizzard.

Here are some cars blown under the snow while their owners are at work in the prison (the big stone structure in the background). The loose snow on the street is between 8 and 12" deep. There were snowmobiles running loose on the streets (legal in snow emergencies). Unfortunately, there was an accident nearby with a snowmobile striking a turning car and both riders on the snowmobile being killed. Very sad.

The image above is what we woke up to on February 6th - 20" of landscape changing white stuff.

Above is what the back alley looked like that morning. This was all before the blizzard on February 9th and 10th. That event just added to the excitement.

I have been using a Wovel to remove snow. I recommend it. I have no financial interest in telling you about this great tool - it incorporates a large wheel with a snow shovel to give you a mechanical advantage. That means no sore back. However, your arms and shoulders will tell you they have not had any exercise if that is the case. Go Google "wovel" and take a look at the video. If you are in the Middle Atlantic area you might as well just get one. You can thank me after the next few snow storms.

Photos that start in the woods and end up in the city

This top photo is one which has been modified with filters so it looks softer. What I really learned from this is that my cell phone camera can capture some really nice pictures. I'll show you some in this post.

The photo to the left is from my regular digital camera. I was driving across Indiana on business in August and saw this beautiful field of soybeans with a silo. I just had to stop and take a picture.

This photo (above) is from my camera phone as I was sitting in Philly. I was at the restaurant El Vez, named after a Mexican Elvis impersonator. The light was just beautiful. You always have your phone with you, right? Don't let the images escape unrecorded.


This photo (below) is also from Philly. This is a day later on Samson Street at Finn McCools - no extra charge for the plug, guys. More beautiful light down an urban landscape. This is also from my camera phone.

When the weather is warm like that evening it is lovely to stroll around a city and see how buildings of varying architectural styles have been placed by each other over the years. The gray of concrete next to the warm cinnamon of brick.




This last photo is also from Philly - it was a three day conference and rich with images. This was taken with my digital non-cell phone camera from my hotel room in the morning.

2009 Drawings

In January I was driving home from Punxsutawney, PA (remember the movie "Groundhog Day"?) and we got out just as the snow was coming in. On the way I thought it appropriate to commemorate the occasion with a drawing - why not?

It is great fun to draw in a small enclosed space like a car. The perspective changes.






So, in March I was visiting my sister. While we were watching a movie I pulled out my drawing pad and drew what was there. It was a great evening - conversation around the movie (I'd already seen it, but the comments are different every time) and drawing. All of this and dessert! What's not to like?









My wife loves to garden. We live in a row house that is 108 years old. I am extremely reluctant to trim the maple trees in the back yard because they shade the back of the house from the summer sun. So our garden in the back yard doesn't get the sun it wants. My wife put some 5 gallon plastic buckets on the roof with soil in them and started a very nice garden there. This is a drawing of her rooftop garden.










I made several trips to Laredo TX this year. Laredo is right on the Mexican border. It gets a tad warm in the summer. The flight between Laredo and DFW is about an hour or so - it is a small plane as you can see.

Things to do with a 3X5 card

How do you carry a drawing pad around with you during the day?

I have been using several different sizes of drawing paper - generally spiral backed - and my favorite size is roughly 10X12. Sometimes that is not practical. Over the years I have used 3X5 cards to carry lists of things to do, or I carry a few 3X5 cards in my pocket to jot down notes as thoughts strike me at the odd moment. It became apparent that I could use that good 110 pound card stock to draw on and it was just the right size to always have "drawing paper" with me.

So, here are some examples of what you can do with a 3X5 card and my favorite pen, the Pilot P-500 in black.

This one is from a visit to Red Lobster. Red Lobster organizes the customer experience so you have to stand around a while drooling on the carpet before they feed you. I took advantage of the wait to draw one of the condemned.













Kurt Vonnegut was a counter-culture writer who connected with many people. For years I had a news clipping about a visit he made to Lancaster PA with the quote on the card.




















This is one my most recent 3X5 adventures. If you like to have stories read to you there is a wonderful writer who reads the most riveting story to you from a video. He was promoting his new book (The Graveyard Book) on a 9 day book trip in early October 2008. At each stop he read one chapter from the book for the crowd, had it all taped and put it on his web site (www.mousecircus.com). This is a great book - bound to be a classic. Neil Gaiman has a British accent and excruciatingly correct diction. It is a pleasure to listen to him read but what do you do while he is reading an hour long chapter? Well, since it presented in a video format you draw a picture of Neil reading.















The drawing below is another chapter of the book. So why do they look like two different persons? Because when you're hot, you're hot, and when you're not you keep drawing anyway.















In one of my future posts I'll put together a posting of houses I've drawn pictures of over the years.

A new start - see things through my eyes

I have been traveling during September and during my travels I draw. I draw other times too but I have a series of drawings from airports I would like to share with you.



One of my flights was through Philadelphia, as seen on the left.







Since I traveled through Charlotte NC I have a few drawings from that airport. Bill Whitaker, see www (dot) williamwhitaker (dot) com, said that all we are doing is recording the effects of light on the surface of objects. The light on airplane hulls does beautiful things.





So, to all my scouts and friends who have encouraged me, I hope you will enjoy my drawings as much as I have enjoyed creating them. If you really want to have a great adventure read Danny Gregory's "A Creative License". Danny teaches you how to draw and then gently leads you along as you do your first drawings. You will learn how to make an illustrated journal and in the process you will change the way you look at everything around you.

The drawing to the right was some very tasty spumoni ice cream at the Napolli II restaurant in the Shakespeare section of the Montgomery area. Sometimes the lines do not connect up the way they should. Oh well. I enjoyed the spumoni anyway.













The last week of August I was in Chicago IL. This is a drawing of the Downtown Marriott's lobby. It is a very open and airy expanse. I sat in the restaurant on the 2nd floor and drew while I had dinner. This was the evening Bill Clinton addressed the Democrats' convention.

I had to draw this twice. The first time was less successful. Such is drawing - not every drawing is suitable for presentation. The drawings that are less than successful are the ones that teach you. With each successive drawing you become more familiar with your subject and you see more details and little things you missed in the previous drawings. I draw to see clearly.