Finally. Here are some photos from the NYC trip. Over the years I have found that I take fewer and fewer pictures while I am in the city. But below, you will find some city, some beach, Scott, The Man and some Folsom East.

Dr. Phibes on the street …

At Jacob Riis Park …

Seagull!

Beach Feet.

Beach Candy!

At Sidewalk with Scott and Grindr.

Blue Moon (which is apparently all the rage now).

The Man in the sun at Sidewalk.

This is me slightly drunk at Nowhere (you can’t see Sleepy Will).

At Folsom East …

More of the crowd at Folsom East.

So, what would be a winter hike in the mountains be without being nearly crushed to death by a big chunk of ice?

Winter is a great time to see lots of cascading walls of ice at the higher elevations (along the Parkway and such). And with all the snow we have been getting there was lots and lots of cascading ice on the Sunday hike I took with PT.

This is a small sampling.

All I wanted to do was get some close up pictures of the ice that was frozen to the rock cliff along side the Parkway. But thanks to the helping hands of my hiking partner, this nice chunk of ice landed on me and pinned my left leg. After a little digging (’cause it was way, way too heavy to lift), we were able to get my leg out. Nothing broken. Nothing bruised.

The hole underneath the ice is where my leg ended up.

And here’s a close up!

I lucked out somehow … either it was where I was standing or how the ice fell. Either way, I wasn’t crushed or seriously broken.

Here are the happy hikers before ice walls started tumbling down …

… and the snowy road back to the car.

I love snow!

As of this morning is cold and sleeting. The forecast is calling for sleet turning to snow lasting through the evening hours. Looks like it’s gonna be a lazy day on the sofa under a blanket!

Here’s the back deck first thing this morning.

Here’s an obligatory Snow Self-Portrait from yesterday afternoon.

Even after some *warmer* temps and a sunny day all day there is still a hell of a lot of snow out there. Kudos go out to my neighbor for Bobcat-ing my driveway yesterday.

As of 2:00 p.m … lots of snow!

The trip to the wilds of north Florida to visit Dr. Phibes and Co. for the annual MonsterFest was fan-freakin’-tastic. We ate lots (including bison!), drank lots, went bowling, went to the zoo, and watched 14 horror movies over the four days.

Movies we watched:
“Sleepaway Camp”
“The Howling”
“Tarantula”
“Drag Me to Hell”
“Candyman”
“Hell of the Living Dead”
“The Haunting” (1963)
“The Abominable Dr. Phibes”
“Martyrs”
“Inside”
“Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb”
“The House That Dripped Blood”
“Trick ‘r Treat”
“The Legend of Hell House”

Step inside to see some photos … Continue reading “MonsterFest ’09” →

Franke and I took in the last home bout of the Blue Ridge Rollergirls. It was my first roller derby and it was totally fun!

The BRRG rocked the rink and won the match …

Asheville has some folks with weird hair and clothes …
though I seriously want that jacket.

And it also has some seriously hot guys too.

And now for the gratuitous self-portrait to prove we were there.

Finally … at the beginning of March … we get some descent snow fall here in the mountains. Well, descent for the way things have been going over the past ten years. It started about 11:00 this morning and has been pretty steady all day. It makes me think what it would have been like to live here in the winter back in pioneer days. It’s so quiet outside now. I love it!