Barred Owls are Back!

 

This May and June, as during the past three or four years, Barred Owls have been making daytime appearances in the trees in my front and back yards.

Last June I videotaped a Barred owl enjoying one of our bird baths. Check out the post and video! 

For photographs like this one, I experimented with the “art bold” setting on my Canon PowerShot SX70 HS camera. This effect, according to the owner’s manual, “makes subjects look more substantial like subjects in oil paintings.” 

Here is another “art bold” example. I do like how it makes the Owl and it’s surroundings pop and more vibrant. 

Beaufort’s St. Helena’s Parish Church- One of America’s Oldest

 

There are street names such as King and Church that seem very “Charleston” to those of us who live in the Holy City area.

Tour guides steer horse-drawn carriages full of tourists- a common site in Charleston’s Historic District. 

The churchyard is filled with Barnwells, Elliotts, Heywards, Rhetts, Gibbes, and other surnames common in Charleston’s old burial grounds. 

This rare marker type is made of zinc. Continue reading for more details about this style and the New England company that manufactured them. 

But this is not Charleston. It is its neighbor 70 miles to the south, Beaufort.

Charles Town was founded by the British in 1670. The British came to Beaufort 41 years later in 1711. St. Helena Parish Church was formed the very next year in 1712. Back then the Anglican Church was a (strong) arm of the government. Separation of church and state would come many years later after the hard-fought Revolutionary War. 

Signs and plaques touch on St. Helena's long and rich history. 

New York’s Finest- My Photographs Anyway!

Alesia and I had a fun and busy Memorial Day weekend in New York City joining our son Joseph for his birthday. We spent most of our time in Manhattan where he lives. Here are my favorite photographs captured during our sightseeing adventures. 

Freedom Tower- We walked by this beautiful skyscraper a few times while walking from our hotel to Joseph’s apartment. This site of course is where the World Trade Center’s twin towers stood until the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001. The building is officially called One World Trade Center. 

I took this picture of the Statue of Liberty after an errant train stop coming back to our hotel. I’m glad for the miscue because it is always a treat to see this iconic American symbol of freedom and liberty. 

When our kids were much younger on a New Year’s NYC visit we took the ferry and got to see Lady Liberty up close and personal. In 2019, our last visit here before this trip, we took Joseph on a fun boat tour in the waters around this area.