White gloves by candlelight 

Bumper to Bumper Traffic 

Wooly Sheep 

Got Carrots? 

Dusk 

Town Clock, Hudson, Ohio

Hickory Dickory Dock!

Today we went for lunch and a bit of last-minute Christmas shopping in Hudson, Ohio, in the heart of the Western Reserve. I bet you didn't know that this town is where "the mouse who ran up the clock" lives.

Sorry I haven't posted many photos this December -- getting sick right before Christmas is NOT a good idea! Some people have asked if I will be continuing my photoblog next year, and the answer is yes. What I plan to do is revisit some of the places I photographed this past year, and re-shoot some of the same subjects, trying to discover a new way of "seeing" them. Or in some cases, trying to improve on the composition, e.g., getting a better angle on the mouse, in this photo.

Part of the unforeseen joys of photoblogging has been discovering the quiet beauty of Ohio. But the greatest part of the joy has been in getting to know the people who visit my site, both through the comments you leave and the postings on your own blogs. Thanks for a wonderful year of sharing your lives, your talents, and your thoughts! Merry Christmas to you all, and best wishes for a happy and beautiful New Year!

Chapel in Hudson, Ohio. Hudson lies in what is known as the Western Reserve. There is a marked New England feel to this band of land in northeastern Ohio, which used to belong to Connecticut. After the Revolutionary War, many people whose homes had been destroyed by fire, relocated to the Western Reserve. You know you are in the Western Reserve, when you start seeing town squares, town clocks, white churches with tall steeples, and covered bridges. Even the weather contributes to the New England feel, as this area also lies in the Snow Belt. It's not unusual to get 12" of snow during a winter storm.

December Night 

Hazelnut catkins 

Snowflakes 

The Sundial's Promise 

Gazebo in Winter, Summer, and Autumn. 

Dundee Falls. The footing was too precarious to move in for a better shot, but just wanted to show you the falls! 

An icy hike near Dundee Falls, Beach City Wildlife Area. 

The reason for the dearth of photos lately. Every Christmas I dust my harp off and play. 

View from Helen's apartment, Mt. Washington, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

The Clock on the Corner, Berea, Ohio 

End of Day. Feeling homesick for Pennsylvania and its mountains. I can almost imagine that cloud bank in the distance to be the Blue Ridge. 

Late in the afternoon. Experimenting with Aperture Priority and like it. Need to fiddle with exposure. What do you use for light metering: evaluative, center-weighted, or spot? 

Brandywine Falls from yesterday's hike. Looking cold again at 30 degrees F. 

The Ledges. Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 

Acorn Hats

Still blooming. Nicotiana in November! Alice's photos of a Perfurmed Morning inspired me to go out one night at midnight and enjoy the scent of our last bloom in the garden.

Pie Pumpkin, Tomato, Osage Orange. The osage orange isn't edible, but it does smell like an orange, and people put them in their basements because the odor repels spiders.

Brain, on Organic Chemistry 315?

Farm. I spent the day in and around Holmes County, Ohio, a large Amish settlement.

Bales and Shalks

Amish School in Holmes County, Ohio. Note the outhouse, the water pump, and the cow grazing in the schoolyard. The teacher inside was nervously peering out the window at our car stopped on the road, so we took a quick photo and moved on, hopefully without distracting the students inside.

From the kitchen table