Emperor Goose on an Autumn Pond

This was taken earlier in November before the snow arrived.
Please visit Freda at Tuesday Takes for more photos. I am trying not to be too wordy as this is also for Wordless Wednesday. I will stop using words now.........

The Tree's Secret

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart.
~Charles G. Stater

Visit Freda's Voice for more Saturday quotes.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! If your area looks like ours drive safely.

Visit Freda for ThisWay Thursday.

I'm not sure if we are doing Thursday Two-Questions this week but I will ask anyhow.

Are you (or did you) traveling for the holiday?
What are you thankful for?

Snow on the Roof

Bird houses in my neighbor's yard as seen yesterday.

Although I am running late (as usual) this post is for Freda's Tuesday Takes. Also please visit Wordless Wednesday (I know, it's not totally wordless but I just can't help myself).

You Think Your Winter is Cold and Dark?

Photo courtesy of The University of Alaska Fairbanks, Barrow Sea Ice Web cam. You can click on the link or on the photo to visit the web cam.

Today the sun will rise in Barrow, Alaska and then set. That will be the last sunrise of the year for this far north village. The residents of Barrow will not see the sun again until January 24, 2011. On that day sunrise will be at 1:04pm and the sun will set at 2:13pm.

If you look over on my sidebar you will see the current weather for Barrow. Right now their temperatures are not that much different than what we are expecting for this weekend. They do have a lot more snow. Watch my sidebar in the weeks to come and notice the temps.

In past posts I have told you about the time I spent working at Camp Ukpiksuu (pictured above, my photo) on the Arctic Slope twenty miles south of Barrow, Alaska. The camp was set up for local children to give them a taste of life on the tundra as well as a regular summer camp experience. I was hired to teach nature and arts & crafts. After camp I had the opportunity to spend a day and night in Barrow before flying back to Anchorage. I met a lot of wonderful people and came away with really great memories of the experience.

Be sure to visit the Barrow Sea Ice web cam, the site has more information and links that you might find interesting.

Gold on Blue

Just over a week ago there were still a few leaves clinging to the branches. The wind and rain has taken most of them away (well, it didn't take them very far as I have been raking leaves for the past two weeks).

Visit SkyWatch Friday for more photos.

CSN Store Gift Certificate Winner!

Before I announce the winner I would like to thank the folks at the CSN Stores for making this possible. If you haven't visited the CSN Stores click on the logo above and see all the wonderful products they have to offer.

I would also like to thank everyone who entered the contest. You are the greatest! If you didn't win this time please try again, I will be having more giveaways soon.

There were 439 comments!

And the winner of the $75 CSN Store Gift Certificate is:

#282
Amanda said...

I tweeted

http://twitter.com/bowl4soup/status/3308599505846273


Congratulations Amanda Be sure to check out her blog, Mommy of Two Little Monkeys

I have emailed the winner to confirm their email address, they will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Thank you to everyone who entered. I have more great giveaways coming so stay tuned.

Capturing Sunbeams

I've been practicing catching sunbeams, do you see them? Click on the photo to enlarge.

Want to see more photos, visit Freda's Tuesday Takes.
For more watery, outdoor photos visit Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday.

The Last Taste of Summer

It was just a few weeks ago that the Cosmos were in full bloom and the little bees were gathering the last of the pollen. View the world up close, visit Macro Monday for more photos.

Reflecting Nature

Several folks have asked about my header photo and inquired as to how I did it. It was really very simple and I have to give most of the credit to Mother Nature.


This is the original photo. I knew it was going to become a header as soon as I saw it through the viewfinder.

I cropped it and flipped it. That's all I did, no computer tricks or changes. The photo is nothing more than a reflection on a small pond. Click on any photo to enlarge.


Nature's beauty and light provide some of the most amazing scenes. With a little patience and editing with our eyes while taking a photo we can capture that beauty.

Be sure to visit SkyWatch Friday for more gorgeous skies from around the world. If reflections are you thing stop by and see James at Weekend Reflections.

It's all Ducky!

Male Wood Duck (aka Carolina Duck)

It's time for Thursday Two Questions!

My questions for you today:

1) Do you enjoy taking photos? Why?
2) Other than family/friends what are your favorite things to photograph?

A Walk in the Park

Do you see him? No, it's not a squirrel.

How about now? No! Let's get closer.

Be sure to visit Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday for more photos.

Fall

Ever thought about why we refer to Autumn as fall? How many thousands of leaves have you raked so far? The top photo is my rake in between sessions.

Please visit Macro Monday to visit the other participants.

Caution! Nature at Work

Autumn is filled with beautiful colors to dazzle our eyes, we can't help but take photos of nature's artistic wonders. We sometimes get so caught up in the view through our lens that we lose track of what is happening around us.

So I want to take this opportunity to remind my photographer friends ..........

......... SAFETY FIRST! Take the photo first then check for traffic and cross the street! Resist the overwhelming urge to take a photo in the middle of that crosswalk. You can do this!

I wasn't in the middle, just the first lane. Really! And there weren't any cars. Unless you count the two that were stopped waiting for me to get this photo. I only heard one of them honk his horn.

Be sure to visit Freda for ThisWay/ThursWay and check out more photos.

Thursday also means it's time for Thursday Two Questions.

1) I received two new books this week that I will be reviewing soon on my blog. My question is what type of books do you like to read?

2) Do you own an electronic reader like the Kindle or Nook? Or do you prefer paper?

GIVEAWAY! Win a $75 CSN Store Gift Certificate

Do you know about the CSN Stores? Are you looking for a new dining room table ? Make CSN Stores your first stop. There is a large assortment of styles to suit every taste.



From cookware and bedding to furniture, CSN Stores has all that and more. With over 200 stores there is something for everyone.


CSN Stores has offered to give one of my readers an $75 gift certificate which can be used in any of their stores.


Please read carefully. Leave one comment below for each entry. All spam or non related entries will be removed immediately.

If your email address is not on your blog profile please leave it in your comments. You can't win if I can't contact you.

MANDATORY FIRST TWO ENTRIES

1. Go to the CSN Stores and tell me one item you might get if you win the gift certificate.
(1 entry, leave one comment)

2. Be a follower of The Road to Here on Google Friend Connect. You must follow publicly for it to count. (1 entry, leave one comment)

No other entries will count unless you do these two first.


BONUS ENTRIES
Leave a separate comment below for each bonus entry.

* Follow CSN Stores on Facebook! (1 entry) I will check.

* Follow SquirrelQueen on Facebook Leave your FB name in your comment here (1 entry)
If you want me to Like/Follow you back on FB be sure to leave a link to your Facebook page.

* Follow CSN Stores on Twitter. (1 entry) I will check.

* Follow SquirrelQueen on Twitter. (1 entry)
Leave your Twitter name in your comment. I will follow you back.

* Tweet about this giveaway. Leave the link to your tweet in your comment.
(1 entry per day)
"I'm entered to win a CSN Stores $75 Gift Certificate at The Road to Here. Have you entered yet? http://tinyurl.com/2e44b9p"


* Blog about this giveaway (on your main blog, not a separate page). Leave a link to your post in the comments. (3 entries)


This giveaway will end on November 17th at midnight PT. This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada only. The winner will be chosen using Random.org

GOOD LUCK!

A Roadside View