Winter Sunset

Special Note: Hello, and thanks for stopping by. This day's posting represents my 9th anniversary on Blip, with photos for each day taken on that day, and not a single day missed! So glad to see you here. Please enjoy this posting, and if you like, take a little stroll back through my recent photos. . . .

It was one of the last of my "Freedom Fridays," as I've called them. A few years ago, I reduced my work time to an 80% appointment, and it was one of the best things I ever did. Suddenly, I had every Friday off! As I count down the days to retirement, I know that soon EVERY day will be a Freedom Day, not just the Fridays. How good can things get?

We decided to go to Jim's for a takeout chef salad, but when we got to Bellefonte, there was a house on fire, and fire trucks everywhere. A whole bunch of roads were closed, with everyone driving around all confused about how to get where they wanted, and the air was full of smoke. We managed to get to Jim's by going up by the courthouse and down the hill. In just a few minutes, the chef salad was in my hands. Target secured!

And then we drove to the woods above Black Moshannon where we set out our chairs and a small table my husband had brought, and we had a little picnic. He had brought along a "tablecloth" of sorts and extra parmesan cheese and olives and forks. It was pretty spiffy outdoor dining, and I felt like I was living in the movie Out of Africa. You may see a photo in the extras of our lovely and oh so civilized winter picnic.

It is still hunting season here, so we wore our blaze orange (even T. Tiger!) and we spent the afternoon by the edge of the woods, not venturing far in. The weather was mild and partly sunny. We never saw any hunters until one finally pulled his truck into a parking lot not far from ours, just as we were getting ready to leave for home. A case of good timing!

We had packed our stuff back in the car, and I was admiring the bit of snow on the far hill, when I noticed how low the sun had gotten. For these are the days of the LONG shadows and the short, short days as we approach the winter solstice. And I snapped a few photos at around 3:45 pm, one of which is above. Full sunset occurred about one hour later; yes, this is the earliest sunset of the entire year.

And a few hours after I got home, I learned some very cool news. The photo of the golden poplar court that I submitted to the Arboretum's autumn photo contest in November took second prize! Isn't that happy news indeed!?

So here was my week: Thursday, a retirement party where nice things were said about me; Friday, a photo contest win; and finally, this day's posting is my 9th anniversary on Blip! (Blipfoto: saving my life, one day at a time!) I'm not sure I can top this; these must be the very best of times!

The soundtrack song is this one: Styx, with The Best of Times.