Bear Rocks at Dolly Sods in West Virginia, the day after an ice storm. We were the only ones at Dolly Sods on that very windy and cold day, which wasn't all that surprising. It was one of the more rewarding hikes that I've done, and certainly one of the more strenuous. Taken on January 23, 2010.

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at a cost over 20 million dollars, which will be covered by insurance.[6][7]...[/i]

 

 

Wish my insurance would kick in like that.  I'm sure they'd only cover the cost of 120km/h glass that needed to be replaced and for me to pick up the rest.

Jersey Shore

Fist pump!

^Nice.

 

A nice shot of construction (tower and riverfront development) from UncleRando in the Banks thread:

Some neat shots. Cory, where is the dam? That viewpoint makes me want to hang onto something so as not to fall in.

 

Andy, Jersey Shore looks amazingly dense with such tenuous mainland connections. That must be an evacuation nightmare in event of a hurricane warning.

It is at Chagrin Falls.

Oh. OK, I've been there, but it's been a few years. It's a neat place, especially in summer.

Nice shot, Calvin.

 

I need to get downtown and get some photos at the headwaters of the Maumee. It's not much of a river here, compared with Toledo.

I feel very cold looking at that picture.

Our rivers here aren't wide enough to create those incredible ice noises, but I hear a lot of grinding and crunching when the ice starts to break up and move. I remember one year when the city thought they were going to have to dynamite the ice dams that formed against the bridges, to protect the bridges from being destroyed by the pressure of the backed-up water.

Watch the birdie, 'cause the birdie's watchin' you!

 

Man does that bird freak me out.  Great photo!!

I took these shots of the Cincinnati subway tunnel from a helicopter...they are currently doing some routine maintenance and took the roof off in two spots about a week ago:

 

 

 

 

^ Does Cincinnati have a subway?

 

It was only about 8 degrees outside. It was around -10 the night before when I was driving to work at 4:30am. My car could barely function. Extreme cold is the only time you see blue skies during the winter in Toledo. Usually it's overcast 24/7. As the locals say, "four months without the sun." There is something very weird about seeing a bright sunny day like this in January. It's almost creepy since it's so rare. And the noise the river makes when it's frozen is terrifying. You hear lots of howling, whining, and cracking. It sounds like someone or something is trapped under there.

 

I know what you mean...I was at Crane creek once and hear ice rack on lake Erie and it scared the living hell out of me! This was before I know what it was.

I took these shots of the Cincinnati subway tunnel from a helicopter...they are currently doing some routine maintenance and took the roof off in two spots about a week ago:

 

 

 

 

COOL

Man does that bird freak me out. Great photo!!

 

It's a young Cooper's Hawk, about 1/2 to 2/3 grown. Note the lovely talons; how would you like to be a small mammal in its sight?

 

It hangs around my patio, perching on the fence and waiting for unwary smaller birds to come to my feeders. So far, the hawk and the squirrels ignore each other, because the hawk isn't yet big enough to take a full-grown squirrel. As it reaches full growth, I doubt it will hang around there because the space will be too confining for its three-foot wingspan.

 

I had been finding smatterings of turtledove feathers, and thought the neighbor's cat was to blame. Now I know differently.

Norfolk Western Cincinnati Division (today's Norfolk Southern Portsmouth Branch) Scioto River Bridge, constructed in 1913 by the American Bridge Company. The line is currently railbanked. Will be doing a full blog post on this soon.

Flipping you more birds:

 

The first is outside my home office -- a Cooper's hawk on the back fence a couple years ago.

 

This is outside my office in LeVeque Tower in Columbus. Cooper's hawk? Or one of the falcons from Rhodes Tower across the way?

 

It perched on the window ledge, looking in at the elevator lobby for almost half an hour. I felt like I was in a zoo and he was a visitor bemused by me.

^ Does Cincinnati have a subway?

No, but they have a tunnel for one.

I'm not an ornithologist, or even a hard-core birdwatcher, but I'd guess your widowsill observer is more likely a Peregrine Falcon.

 

The barring on the breast of a Cooper's Hawk is more orange. The dark barring on that bird looks a lot like pictures I've seen of Peregrine Falcons.

 

The hawk who visits my patio pretty clearly is a juvenile. I've read that it's legal to take hawks to train for falconry if they're fully fledged but not yet of breeding age. I wonder of one could be trained to attack people that the owner tags with a laser pointer.

The Jersey Shore pic is a nice shot, but its a shame these landforms across the U.S. are being developed this way. Totally not what nature intended. And when the day comes when a natural disaster wipes this out, the rest of us will be footing the bill - just my opinion.

^ I figured it was a Peregrine Falcon from the nest atop the state office tower a block away.

^^ So true...from the air it is so obvious. One big tsunamior rouge-like wave and all that is history.

Pittsburgh in early fall

 

You know, we cancel or delay for Virus Days and days with less snow. But nothing for days like this? 6 inches on the ground, another 2 from last night, and 3 projected into today.

And thank you Xavier for canceling 10 minutes after I get into work (9:30 AM). You mean, the giant blue blobs of snow on the radar maps, the Winter Storm Warnings and the snow/ice covered roads were not enough? You didn't even bother to clear sidewalks or roadways on campus.

 

Many miles from the nearest residence, we plowed through two feet of snow and ice at Dolly Sods along the Red Creek valley. That was a warm weekend -- 32F and windy. Right now, they are battling five-foot drifts at the top and sub-zero temperatures...

I took a ton of pics of the crazy snow we had in DC this past week.  Im trying to do a thread, but here are a few in the meantime in my neighborhood. 

 

 

 

Beautiful pics! The snow is so lovely to look at, when it's not me trying to get around in it. I love the scene when the snow clings to the trees.

 

North Fork Mountain, West Virginia. And me pissing in my pants because I dread heights:

 

Are you crazy!?

 

You'll never see me stand on that thing.

^Wow that's sweet.  I'd probably be ably to go on that ledge for only ten seconds.  Then I'd be running back, far away from it haha.

Took this picture in my front yard last night

 

Sherman, better you than me! One look at that thing, and I'd have had to go back to camp for fresh underwear! People who've never been to West Virginia have no idea what spectacular scenery exists east of the Mississippi.

 

Sweet photo, Cory. There are neat visuals where most people would never think to look for them.

 

Edit: Looking again at that photo of the climbing vines in snow under the streetlights, I just realized that there's something about it that makes me smile every time.

Clean snow!

I took a ton of pics of the crazy snow we had in DC this past week.  Im trying to do a thread, but here are a few in the meantime in my neighborhood.  

 

 

 

 

Beautiful!

Thanks for the feedback Rob, I liked how my front year had a perfect sheet of snow and how this post and the vines just rose up out of it.  Here is another I took the same night.

 

^ I love the angle on this one, plus the b&w is a nice touch.  Great photo!

Outside my window last night

^There was an apartment I almost rented that I think is next door to that. I had no idea you lived down there until last night.

All these snowy shots are great! Here's a dry cold from the other day: Cape Neddick Light, Maine.

 

 

After a laborious hike to the top of North Fork Mountain, Pete Jenior and myself were greeted to gusty winds, pelting ice and rain and breathtaking views of Chimney Rock and the mountain range in this remote part of West Virginia. North Fork Mountain is one of the driest mountain ranges in the eastern United States, situated east of the Allegheny Front, which soaks up most of the remaining moisture and leaves the ranges to the east parched.

 

There is nothing better than being outside in the cold weather and being the only hiker out there!

Montoursville, Pennsylvania.

The home of the Warriors, and yours truly:

The Masonic building looks like it's had a major makeover. I don't particularly care for the replacement windows, but at least it's being maintained well and is occupied. Nice, tidiy main street.

Yeah it has. The inside is so ugly now too. But I do love Broad Street. I'm really starting to like Montoursville. It's a very pleasant town and the main business district is very vibrant.  Everything is occupied - no vacancies - and all of the buildings are well-maintained.

Deep underneath Cincinnati's streets are mazes of tunnels and halls used for the transport and storage of beer.

Awesome shot, Sherman. Was that on the tour?

 

I wish Cincy would get back its reputation as a brewer's hub. AFAIK Christian Moerlein is the only decent sized brewer in the city. Damn prohibition!