freezing river

freezing river, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

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Ice on the river reflects the autumn colors remaining.

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just before sunrise, new year, 2008

before sunrise, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

January 1, 2008, just before sunrise...

A new year, 2008

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I watched the sun come up at the beginning of a new year. 

It was windy and cold but held the promise of good things to come.

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a Christmas video

the lonely tree

the lonely tree, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

Sullivan House on the lake

Sullivan House on the lake, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

The holidays wouldn't be complete without a visit to the in-laws.

My in-laws live in the retirement community of Hershey's Mill, Pennsylvania. 

The Sullivan House, above, is the historic building of the original estate, now used for catered parties. Hershey's Mill is many acres of condos and single family units that are part of the retirement community.

My in-laws love it there. There is the community center with a golf course, restaurants, pool and so much more. The most important feature is a society of people near their age for socializing.

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Merry Christmas!

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Merry, Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

May you enjoy the holiday in good health, 

surrounded by the ones you love!

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Greetings

Greetings, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

Winter on Long Island

A little island near my home, looks very different to me this time of year.

Usually, the plant growth is so thick, I cannot even see the ground. 

With snow, I realize it has a small hill, soil that was the remains of dredging years ago.

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Each season on Long Island brings a new and interesting environment...new things to explore.

Right now in my life, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

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The baby arrives!

A new baby in the family, just 1/2 hour old in this photo...drops in the eyes and all bundled up, the grandparents get to hold him....Oliver Scott, 7 lbs. 4 oz., and 21" tall.

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Winter on the North Fork

A wonderful ride out east, on a sunny day, showed us the winter beauty of the North Fork.

The grapes are gone, but the winery has many winter chores to do in preparation of the season's harvest.

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christmas cactus

christmas cactus, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

It is beginning to bloom......
Almost ready for the holiday....

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History

History, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

christmas barn

christmas barn, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

ebenezer scrooge

ebenezer scrooge, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

Swallow-tailed Chick

swallow-tail chick crop, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

Blogger is doing it again. Changing things.

I noticed that photos no longer just open larger as they have been doing since the start of this blog. They now immediately download...not something I really want to happen automatically.

So I posted this from Flickr...but then had to widen the web page. It's still not perfect. I see little rounded corners where they shouldn't be, but my html knowledge is limited so I'll have to keep it for now!

Hope this minor change didn't cause any problems for you. Let me know if it did, please.

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This photo is of a baby Swallow-tailed chick who was chasing his mother...asking for food.

Galapagos Islands. You can get this close!

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Earlier sunsets, colder nights

What do you do when winter approaches?

...when the sun sets earlier and the evenings are sooo long?

Do you spend more time on the computer? On the phone? Watching TV?

Well, I do more of all those things but I do try to get out as much as possible.

There are so many groups and clubs and activities on Long Island.

There is no excuse to become a couch potato!

Look in the paper, check the internet and find some interesting activities.

You will meet more people and have more fun.

Check out LongIsland.com for a list of things to do!

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Art Show, Photography

What are your plans for Sunday?

Well, if you are free and would like something new to do, or if you just enjoy photography, go to Huntington to see the NWPLI art show.

NWPLI: Nature and Wildlife Photographers of Long Island

The show will be at the Footprint Gallery, December 2nd, from 1 - 5pm.

The gallery is open each weekday from 11 am to 5 pm except for the special times listed above in the photo.

See the postcard above for more details.

I hope you can make it. I'll be there with other NWPLI members!

Huntington is a great town for just walking around and seeing the sights of Long Island.

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Last November

It was a warm, beautiful day yesterday. They keep saying, (that's 'they', the weather reports), that it was one of the warmest Thanksgivings ever.

Well, I took this photo last November. It wasn't Thanksgiving Day, but just a week before.

We were on the beach, enjoying the sunshine, although autumn-cold weather.

It's all relative, of course!

Long Island is like that. Surrounded by water, with currents and less drastic changes in water temperature, we often get pleasant warm days in fall and winter.

There is always someone walking on the beach, even on the coldest days.

I like that...another reason to love Long Island!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

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