Monday, January 30, 2012

A Visit with my History Professor from Years Gone By

This past Saturday I and a few of my college classmates from The King's College (formerly of Briarcliff Manor, New York) visited  one of our former history professors, Dr. Howard Vos in Philadelphia, PA. It was a partly sunny day and I took the train in for the visit. Below are some of the pictures from the trip.

I began my train trip at the Lansdale, PA, train station pictured above.

A similar train to the one I rode at 30th Street Station in Philadephia

A view from the Sesquehanna River on my walk from
30th Street Station to Dr. Howard Vos' residence

The apartment complex where he lives

Dr. Howard Vos in the center with some of my college friends

Dr. Howard Vos and more of my college friends - all history majors

Some nearby street art

More of the street art

A bit of nature in Center City, Philadelphia

Beautiful red berries on a tree

And if you are interested in seeing some of The King's College Briarcliff campus
and have six minutes to watch it, here's a YouTube video I discovered. It's
not the highest quality; but the views of the buildings brought back many memories.




Sunday, January 22, 2012

Remembering Uncle George

Yesterday, my wife and I attended the funeral service and reception in remembrance of my wife's Uncle George. He was an avid flower gardener and bird watcher. The pictures below reflect a bit of his life and family.

Uncle George and his flowers at the Lutheran Home

Uncle George's family in 1941
Uncle George is in the back row all the way to the left next to his mother

Uncle George and his wife Ruth in 1966

Uncle George in 1982

Uncle George and Aunt Ruth at the Lutheran Home in the early 1990s
Aunt Ruth passed away in 1996 before I knew the family

Uncle George and his flower garden at the Lutheran Home

In loving memory of Uncle George

The reception in memory of Uncle George

Monday, January 16, 2012

A Cold Weather Hike at Green Lane Reservoir

My wife and I went for a short hike late in the morning on January 14 at Green Lane Reservoir in Montgomery County, PA just off of Knight Road. It was another cold morning in which one needed to bundle up in several layers of clothing. Nevertheless it was a beautiful hike as demonstrated by the pictures below:

 Beautiful red berries

 The Woods

 Blue berries on an evergreen

 Moss

 Ice formations ground level along the path

 Lichen and moss on a tree trunk

 Lichen growing on a stone

 More moss on the ground

 Moss?

 In memory of ???

 Pattern on ice

 Moss on a fallen trunk

Yours truly

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Cold Weather Hike at Nockamixon State Park

This past Wednesday the fourth I went on a cold weather hike at Nockamixon State Park on the Quakertown, Bucks County, PA side. The temperatures that morning had hit a low of at least 9 degrees Fahrenheit and never went above freezing that day. But there was beauty to be seen and I was feeling blessed by nature that morning. Below are some scenes from my experience that day.

Fungi fascinates me and in winter time even more so.

Large birds flying in the distance

Conifers

Ice on a portion of Lake Nockamixon

A water puddle frozen - beautiful patterns

Cones and needles on the forest floor

Moss - one of the rare greens of winter

Blackened berries - they used to be red

Part of the lake shore line

Icicles hanging from a fallen tree

Cardinals in the thickets

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Rice Family Christmas

Monday a week ago, the Rice family got together for Christmas. It was a wonderful time of family, food, and remembering Christ's birth. The pictures below will share a glimpse of that experience.

Mom and all her children

Mom and all her grandchildren

The Christmas dinner table is set with an abundance of food

Singing our Christmas prayer

A story of The Three Trees

Gift time

Conversation time

Playing and enjoying Christmas music

Singing Christmas carols

Playing table games

Socializing

Playing Rummikub

Supper time with delicious apple dumplings on the left,
fruit salad, and many kinds of snacks