Croton Gorge Park

Croton Dam
Originally uploaded by roflute
Just a short drive north of New York City is this beautiful waterfall and dam. It is called Croton Dam and it was supposed to enhance NYC's water supply. It's a beautiful stone structure with striking views of the Hudson from the top of the dam.  There are quite a few walking trails in this park along with picnic tables to enjoy a nice lunch with a fantastic view.

Super Moon

Super Moon
Originally uploaded by roflute
This past Saturday I was treated to a beautiful full moon. It is called a perigee moon and seemed 14% larger than a normal full moon. That's because the moon was at it's closest point in its orbit around the earth. I was trying to figure out a good place to get a shot of this event and decided on the south shore since the moon would be rising in the east. I ended up at Captree Boat Basin with a few of the Fire Island Lighthouse. There were quite a few other people there with their cameras, families and loved ones. We were all waiting with anticipation.  Pretty soon there was a bit of bright orange on the horizon.  Here comes the moon.  What a big, beautiful orange ball in the sky.  Like the sun but....not.  A couple hours later, I got another pic of the moon a little higher in the sky over my house.  So beautiful. 

Mouille Point Lighthouse

Mouille Point Lighthouse
Originally uploaded by roflute

Here is my latest drawing for the Virtual Paintout blog where we are exploring Cape Town, South Africa for the month of March via Google Streetview.  There are alot of fancy houses along with mountains, seascapes and poverty stricken areas too.  This lighthouse caught my eye.  It is the Mouille Point lighthouse.  You can find out more here.  If you want to see the google streetview you can do so here.

Goose Necklace

Goose Necklace
Originally uploaded by roflute
I went to one of my favorite places for nature photography recently now that most of the snow is all melted. Last Friday was a beautiful day and warmer than it's been in quite some time. Sunken Meadow State Park is a beach on Long Island Sound.  There are plenty of paths to walk and a variety of wildlife. I like to go there after work with my camera to see what kind of birds I find to take pictures of. This day I didn't find many birds; perhaps it is too early yet but there were a pair of mergansers, some red-wing blackbirds and of course, gulls, grackles and canada geese. I noticed some geese in the flock had orange bands on their necks. They don't look very comfortable but the geese didn't seem to be bothered by them. A friend on flickr posted a website where people can post where they've seen the birds with these kind of bands. So, in the interest of science, I posted my observation. I also saw a muskrat and was able to capture some nice cloud pictures. All in all a very good day!

Virtual Travel to Sighisoara, Romania

Romania2
Originally uploaded by roflute

I didn't get to finish this drawing in time to post to the Virtual Paintout blog but I really enjoyed this picture.  It is a tiny town in Romania called Sighisoara.  If you want to see the Google Streetview, you can find it here.
This is supposedly where Count Dracula was born. 

March Forth!..... or is it Fourth?

I've been going through some photos and found this one taken last month of one of the feeder squirrels.  I wonder what it's story is.  He/she showed up at the feeder with just a bloody stump of tail.  I feel bad for it and hope that the tail grows back.  A squirrel's tail is so expressive and bushy.  So sorry, poor squirrel.