Country road

This is where I was last Easter, in the peaceful
Virginia countryside.  Didn't make it down there
this time, but I did manage to get out of
the city.  How did you spend the weekend?

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

The Weekend in Black and White

You'll have to imagine the colors of my
Easter eggs.  For all of you who are
celebrating tomorrow, I hope you have
sunshine and all the chocolate
bunnies and jelly beans you want.

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

Pacific Sunset

When I was in the Galapagos, every night
we were treated to a gasp-worthy sunset.
Each one different and each one glorious.

[To see more Skywatch pics, go here.
And Orange You Glad It's Friday is here.] 

Theme Thursday—complex

There's nothing simple about this large quartz crystal,
just one item in the American Museum of Natural History's
vast collection of gems (3,700 and almost all on display)
and minerals (90,000 and there's no way
they can show you all of those—but what's out there
is pretty amazing, as you can see).

[To see more that's complex, visit Mrsupole's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—K is for "kitchen"

My kids and I recently went to this restaurant,
one of many that are popping up in my neighborhood.
This place is very popular and deservedly so; they
don't take reservations, so we got there early—and
still had to wait an hour. But we had a good
time at the kitchen "bar"—sipping wine,
watching the chefs juggle multiple orders at once,
and sending pics to Instagram.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Tina's picstory—March flowers

It's almost Easter.  Have you colored some
eggs?  Stocked up on chocolate bunnies?
Bought flowers?  To me, this is the
quintessential Easter flower.

[To see more March flowers,
visit Tina's Picstory.]
  

Buon Compleanno, Venezia!

Today is the 1, 592nd anniversary of one of my
absolute favorite places—Happy Birthday, Venice!
If you're wondering what those two guys are
pointing their cameras at, it's this:

The church of Santa Maria Assunta,
aka the Gesuiti (and I borrowed this
shot from the Internet; apparently
I didn't want to join in the photo op).

[To see more Mandarin Orange photos, visit lorik's meme.
And to see more Mellow Yellows, go here.]

Proof

. . . of the recent vernal equinox: I was
able to stand an egg on end—something I
do every year on the first day of spring.
(I also tried it while standing on the 
equator last year; there, it works anytime.)

[It's Shadow Shot Sunday. To see more shadows, 
go here.  And go here for Prêt-à-Vivre.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Can't tell you what this plant is, but
I just love the way the leaves
almost look like they've been engraved
with that clearly delineated design.

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

Orange You Glad It's Friday?

This colorfully stuccoed building in Rome
flies the flags of Italy and the EU, but I believe it
 belongs to the Catholic church. It's right in the 
heart of the centro storico, next to the church of 
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva and directly behind the 
Pantheon.  In other words, prime real estate. 

[To see more things that are orange, visit Maria's meme.] 

Thursday Challenge—"green"

We're still in Ecuador. These green terraced
fields were shot by my daughter Katie when she
and I were high up in the Andes last October.

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

ABC Wednesday—J is for "juice"

Breakfast in Ecuador = a feast of textures, flavors,
and colors—and always fresh-squeezed juice.  Yum!
(We had mango juice with this delicious, nutritious
meal at the Dragonfly Inn, in Mindo.)

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Ruby Tuesday

Not exactly what you'd expect to
find on the relatively staid Upper
East Side of Manhattan.  Whoever owns
this building dared to be different,
and I like it!  How about you?

[To see more Ruby Tuesday, go here.]

Monday Mellow Yellows

One week ago was the 2nd anniversary of
the Fukushima disaster, and I found a small group
of protesters across the street from the U.N.
I guess this yellow is not all that mellow, is it?

[To see more yellow, visit Gemma's meme.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

I borrowed this one from my daughter
Lila, who shot these bold shadows in
bright, bright sun in Machu Picchu.

[To see more Sunday shadows, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Last week we had what I hope
was the last snow of the season.
As you can clearly see, it wasn't enough to
stop anyone from heading off to work.

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

Skywatch Friday

This Skywatch shot is brought to
you thanks to the switch over to
 Daylight Saving Time.  Yay!

[To see more Skywatch pics, go here.]

It's a jungle in here

What do you do when you move into a new office
and find you have to look at other people's
junk piled up on the other side of your cubicle?
You build yourself a wall o' greenery!  These
prolific plants have pretty much taken
 over my workspace—and I love them for it!

[Today is Theme Thursday, and the theme is "greenery."
To see more, visit Mrsupole's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—I is for "iguana"

This is a marine iguana (photo by my daughter Katie),
which can be found nowhere on earth but in the Galapagos.
Darwin thought they were disgusting and clumsy
and referred to them as "imps of darkness."
But, Charles, how could you resist that silly smile?

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Tina's Picstory—"pointed"

New York City's quintessential pointed thing:
The Empire State Building (taken at dusk
with a very loooong lens).

[To see more pointy, spiky things, visit Tina's Picstory.]

beautiful blood oranges

Went to my food coop recently.  Everything looked
so good, I whipped out my iPhone and spent
as much time shooting as I did shopping!

[To see more macros, visit Lisa's Chaos.
To see more orange, see Mandarin Orange Monday.]

Back on the Bridge

We had a few just-nice-enough mornings
and the bridge beckoned with blue skies
and long shadows—then it snowed again. But
soon enough I'll be able to do this every day.

[To see more Sunday shadows, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Not all the housing on the Upper East Side is luxury
housing.  (Actually, it's become one of the more
affordable neighborhoods in the city.)  This building
just a block or two from (decidedly not so affordable)
Sutton Place is definitely showing its age.

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

Weekend Reflections

This majestic reflection is compliments
of my daughter Kate—from her
recent journey to Antarctica.

[To see more reflections, visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"signs"

I took a picture of this sign in its original location
back in October or November 2001 and used it in the
second post of this blog, in 2008.  Shortly after I took that
picture, I happened to be on the promenade as city
workers were replacing the original wooden signs with
plastic ones.  I talked (flirted, cajoled) one of them into giving me 
that very sign and it's been hanging in my house ever since.

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

ABC Wednesday—H is for "heron"

This great bearded heron looks a bit like a
grumpy old man in a gray overcoat, doesn't it?
The only one of its kind that we saw in the Galapagos,
this bird was strolling along a lava field on Isla 
Santiago (and like all the creatures we encountered, 
on land or in the sea, not the least bit bothered by us).

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Tina's Picstory—"M"

In this case, M is for "mural" (and also maybe "movement").

The first mural to occupy this space at the corner of
Houston and Bowery was a 2008 recreation of Keith Haring's
famous 1982 Bowery mural. Since then, 
several artists' works have graced this wall.
The latest (since July 2012) is this one by Lady Aiko.

[To see more posts that feature the letter M, visit Tina's Picstory.]

A burst of orange . . .

. . . like this is just what I need to get me
energized to face the workweek (since I gave 
up caffeine, I need all the help I can get).
So what starts your engine?

[To see more Mandarin Orange, visit lorik's meme.
 To see more macros, visit Lisa's Chaos.]

Light and Shadow

I like this shot because the buildings are in shadow
while the 59th Street bridge is bathed in brilliant light,
and it all stands out against the backdrop of
those blue-black storm clouds threatening Queens.

[It's Shadow Shot Sunday. To see more shadows, go here.
To see more Sunday bridges, visit Louis la Vache.]

The Weekend in Black and White

On Thursday, I showed you the colorful side
of the Rialto Fish Market. And here's some of
what can be found there. One of the perks of
renting an apartment in Venice is being able to
come to this market and actually buy something. Don't
remember for sure, but I believe they're fresh anchovies.
I do know that these little fishes were most delicious!

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