Brittle trees; at least it looks like it.

Local road - Hebron, Illinois

I might actually take new pictures once it warms up. It's been an overall mild winter but waiting a couple more weeks will make it so much better. Plus, the snow is mostly melted. Nothing looks good right now.

Just got a Sony DSC S85 but I haven't had a chance to use it yet. It should be more like the manual Minolta SRT 202 I used years ago. It allows shutter or aperature priority so I should play with stop action with faster moving (Cubbie) shots or the DOF with static shots (garden).

cOld glory.

COld glory.
Originally uploaded by busterp.

Might as well be patriotic - the Olympics are running now.

• Just yesterday Lindsey Jacobellis hot-dogged way out of a certain gold medal in snowboarding. She still got second and will be better known for that than if she finished first. Half the fun of watching the sport is the showboating. It's still just a sport.

The flag is flying proudly in my neighbor's yard, having survived the terrible hoarfrost of January 22. (I'm milking this storm until it gets warm enough to take new pictures.)

Today the temperature is hovering around zero. That's much too cold for the 18th of February.

Good news:

Daytona (Nascar) starts up it's season tomorrow. The opposite of football, Nascar starts the season with it's Superbowl (biggest race).

It's turning into a perfect weekend - too cold to do anything and racing is starting up.

Vrroommm....

Winter scene with cloud rays.

January 22, 2006. Hebron - McHenry County, Illinois.

Beautiful hoarfrost day. I took almost 100 digital pictures. Love new technology - no film. Of course in 5 years my computer will crash and I'll be out all the unprinted digital copies I've saved.

I still have a film camera. It took years of family pictures. A Minolta SRT 202. Still works but just recently Minolta quit the camera business. You can't win either way.

How many more weeks of winter?

Backyard horseshoe watching - beer drinking bench.

February 2 is the halfway mark of winter. And Groundhog Day, popularized by the movie, which was filmed in nearby Woodstock Illinois.

Copied from the Northwest Herald:

• Events on 2-2-2006:
  

  WOODSTOCK – McHenry County, the groundhog hath spoken.
  Woodstock Willie, the
  county's official Groundhog Day marmot, groggily emerged from his stump shortly
  after 7 a.m. Thursday and delivered his prognostication. Traditionally if the
  groundhog sees a shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter, and if he does
  not, spring is soon to arrive.
  Mayor Brian Sager made the announcement that
  spring is just around the corner.
  "Ladies and gentlemen, this Feb. 2 at 7:17
  a.m., Woodstock Willie, the seer of seers, prognosticator of prognosticators
  emerged reluctantly but alertly in Woodstock, Ill., and stated in groundhog-ese,
  'I definitely do not see a shadow,' " Sager said to a roar of approval from the
  chilly crowd.

I guess that's good news. I don't think anyone ever keeps track of the accuracy.

In fact, the competing groundhog in Punxsutawney, PA., Phil, came up with the opposite choice. They have it covered one way or the other.