Skywatch Friday

I spend my days on the 24th floor of a
Manhattan office tower, poring over words
on a page (or a computer screen).  It's all good,
but I am grateful for the view over Midtown,
a small patch of the East River near the 
U.N., and the occasional spectacular sky.

[To see more Skywatch pics, go here.
And on the 1st of the month, I also 
post to my Paris blog.]
  

Thursday Challenge—"water"

My daughter Lila took this shot as the good ship Fram
crossed the Drake Passage, between the very bottom of
South America and the tippy-top of Antarctica.  Its width
 (500 miles/800 kilometers) allows for the flow of
the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.  Storms here can be
a little hairy, but the one my girls experienced 
was not quite as bad as some, I believe. 

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.] 

ABC Wednesday—C is for "cabbage"

You can't tell here, but this cabbage
was enormous. It was growing in the
beautiful (and abundant) kitchen gardens 
of the Hacienda Cusin, my new favorite hotel
 in the world, in San Pablo del Lago, Ecuador.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Bahia Esperanza

This tiny church (picture by my daughter Lila)
serves about 55 people who live at this 
Argentine Antarctic station.  The first person 
born in Antarctica was born here in 1978.

[To see more Ruby Tuesday posts, go here.]

The place was named Hope Bay for the
three Argentine sailors who were
shipwrecked here in 1902 and survived
the winter in this snug DIY dwelling.

Won't be too long . . .

In the middle of this cold snap we've been 
having (wind chills below 0°F last week),
it's good to know we have this to look
forward to in just two or three months.

[To see more January flowers, visit Tina's Picstory.
To see more Mandarin Orange posts, visit Lorik's meme.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

While I was down in Virginia lately, I went with my 
friends on a sunny Sunday to a service at their 
beautiful old church (almost 200 years), near
Charlottesville.  Later, while they grabbed a
coffee and socialized, I headed with my trusty
 camera to the church's peaceful graveyard.

[To see more Sunday shadows, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

This is Stubby—part Manx (and part Tasmanian
devil), I believe—who left us last year.  He had
a tough life until we rescued him and he never
 let anyone forget it.  It took him a very long time to 
accept any kind of affection, but ultimately we came to
an "understanding"—strictly on his terms, of course.

To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

A Sea of Ice

My daughter Lila captured this one
of the sky and these towering
icebergs reflected in the glassy waters 
of Antarctica's Southern Ocean.

[To see more Skywatch shots, go here. To see
more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"shiny"

I think this chandelier is gorgeous
—though it would not suit my humble
home.   Just as well, perhaps, since I
would never have the discipline (or
sense of balance!) needed to keep it
looking this clean and shiny.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—B is for "blue-footed boobie"

Been saving this one since I got back from
the Galapagos (we were up to the letter M then).
The males attract females by doing a courtship
dance with their big blue feet—if the female
is impressed, then she joins in.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Southern light

This one is compliments of my daughters, Lila and Kate
(because I'm not sure which one of them had this camera
just then)—it's the setting (but just barely) sun lighting up a 
mountaintop in Antarctica.  I wondered how many people actually 
get to enjoy this sight and it turns out to be quite a few, 
considering:  More than 37,000 people now travel to 
Antarctica every year (up from about 12,000 per year in 2001).

[To see more light, visit Tina's Picstory.
You'll see some more "worldly" posts at
Our World Tuesday and Traveling Tuesday.]

Pure Blue

My daughter Kate, who took this picture
in Antarctica recently, explained to me that
the reason glaciers are partly blue is because the ice
absorbs all colors except blue—which it reflects.

Here's what it looks like from farther away.

[To see more macros, visit Lisa's Chaos. To see
more Blue Monday shots, see Smiling Sally's meme].

Que en paz descanse

I may have to give you a break from my
photos and let you enjoy a few of the
hundreds that have been parked on my
computer by my peripatetic daughters,
who have recently returned from a fabulous
trip to Antarctica by way of Buenos Aires.
These excellent shadows were shot by
Lila in BA's Recoleta Cemetery.

[It's Shadow Shot Sunday. To see more, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

No, it hasn't been quite this cold around
here lately—and I'm beginning to
wonder if it ever will be again.

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Driving at Dusk

This shot was a total experiment—taken at twilight
from a car going about 65 mph (no, I wasn't driving).
Didn't have high expectations, but I kind of like it!

[Today is Skywatch Friday. To see more, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"games"

I love Coney Island in winter—but I
didn't get to spend my dime on this game,
which was locked up tight for the season.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—A is for "astonishing"

It's not very often (if ever) that you have a pair
of penguins waddling around your office—but
that's exactly what happened yesterday when
Pete and Penny came to visit from Sea World.
Seriously—made my day!

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Fragrant and festive

Do you have a favorite holiday-season
flower? I have to go with paperwhites.
These were on display in a very large
space (i.e. definitely not mine),
so the fragrance wouldn't overwhelm.

[To see more posts with a 'white' theme, visit Tina's Picstory.]

Buddha's Hand

In case you're not familiar with this funky
fruit, it's a kind of citron—very useful to have on
hand (so to speak) when you need a ton of zest.

[To see more Mellow Yellows, go to Gemma's meme.
To see more macros, visit Lisa's Chaos.]

Anyone home?

Not yet.  Last Sunday, I showed you the
guest house on my friends' new property
in Virginia hunt country.  In case you need
accommodations for your horses too (and
you just might in this neighborhood), the
stables are conveniently located nearby.

[It's Shadow Shot Sunday. To see more, go here.]

Flying High

This is a frigatebird. They are great
hunters, but are not above snatching the catch
away from other seabirds. This one was flying
above the boat I was on in the Galapagos.

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's
meme, The Weekend in Black and White.]

country sunrise

Another gorgeous morning in Virginia.
The show didn't last long—I had to run out in my
jammies to get this shot.  Fortunately, the nearest
neighbors are some very nonjudgmental horses.

[To see more Skywatch Friday pics, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"fruit"

This is what fruit is supposed to be:
colorful!  It's not a new photo; these were
 for sale at the Rialto Market, in Venice—
my fave place to buy (or shoot) food.

[To see more of the Thursday
Photo Challenge, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—Z is for "ziplining"

I've been saving this picture since October
when my daughter Katie (that's her, about to
fly over a long, deep ravine) and I went
ziplining in the Ecuadorian cloud forest—
one of the most fun things I've ever done!

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Ruby Tuesday

Can't tell you any more about this than
that it was in a small window of a nondescript
building on the Upper East Side. I was hurrying
to an appointment, but had to stop and snap a shot.

[To see more Ruby Tuesday, go here.]

Popping Corn

You can buy this at the Park Slope Food Coop,
here in Brooklyn (but only if you're a member).
Apparently this is what unpopped popcorn looked
like before Orville and Paul and Jiffy packaged it up.

[To see more Mellow Yellow, go here.
To see more macros, visit Lisa's Chaos.

Keep Out

My friends' guest house is awaiting
renovation—and you can't be too careful.
Hope they'll soon be able to take down the sign,
but then I guess the vines will have to go too.

[To see more Sunday shadows, go here.] 

The Weekend in Black and White

Knock, knock! Or I should say
"Bussi, bussi!" since this beautiful
old wooden door is in Rome.

[To see more monochromes, go here.]

Skyline Sunset

Yesterday a sunrise, today a sunset—
I'm back in Manhattan, where I can
enjoy this fabulous sight (if I go to
visit my friends who live on the 32nd
floor and have 360° views of the city).

[It's Skywatch Friday. To see more, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"aircraft"

This photo represents one of my favorite things
(captured about a week ago):  being in a plane at
sunrise and watching the sun come up
over the wing at 38,000 feet.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—Y is for "Yankee Stadium"

I spent a fair amount of time here back in the '60s,
when my dad worked with the team.  But that was the
old stadium, of course—this one was just completed
in 2009 (and this is the closest I've been to it!).

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing everyone the "berry" best in 2013!

[To see more Ruby Tuesday posts, go here.
And if you'd like a glimpse of Paris in
winter, I posted to my other blog today ]