Day 52 - Office Hours

The weather was so gorgeous today and I had tons of papers to grade. So I set up my office in the back yard to get some work done. Here I am keeping office hours.

Day 44 - Easy snow, Easy Go

We awoke this morning to a winter wonderland. It was typical NC snow, very fluffy and powdery due to lots of warm air still around. The first pic was taken about 10am. The next pic was taken at 5pm. That too is typical of NC. Easy come, easy go.

Day 40 - The Old Bridge

Bridge support
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

Today in one of my workshop sessions, we were given a tour of Smithfield, NC by Wingate Lassiter of the Johnston County Heritage Center. We learned quite a lot about the history of the town in a very short amount of time. This is one of only 2 remaining supports for the old bridge that was torn down in the '20's , replaced by a steel bridge that could handle two way traffic of automobiles.

Day 33 - bird at feeder

bird at feeder - cropped
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

I don't know how they know when we fill the feeder, but within minutes, they come. This is one our frequent visitors, the male partner of a tufted titmouse pair that live somewhere near by. Someday I'm gonna get a closeup of his head and show you how he reminds me of a blue marlin.

Day 32 - bees on snow

bees on snow
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

Yesterday I cleaned away the snow blocking the entrance to the bee hive. Today while I was up on the hill I could tell they had come out. The janitor bees had deposited the latest pile of deceased bees on the snow. This happens everyday, but something about seeing them gathered on the snow made it more dramatic.

P.S. Now that we are into February, it's going to be harder to keep track of the day number!

Day 31 - Rosebud

Today Tammy and I got out in the snow with the boys. What I anticipated to be a 15 minute "do my duty as a father" kind of thing turned into two and a half hours of fun with the neighbors. Besides getting pulled around by their four wheeler, they also let me try out their Radio Flyer. Let's just say they don't call it "Flyer" for nothing. There has been talk of an after dark event as well.

P.S. Click here for those of you who don't get the rosebud reference

Day 30 - Snow Dudes with their Quiver

Snow Dudes with their Quiver
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

Here are my two snow dudes, reluctantly coming in after an hour and half of sledding out on the street in front of the house. Every good snow dude needs more than one option depending on the conditions. This was their second trip out of the day. The best part - they spent the last twenty, thirty minutes working together.

Day 29 - Ghost Tree

Ghost Tree
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

Yesterday morning as I was heading out the neighborhood, this tree jumped out and caught my attention. All the hardwoods are bare, then suddenly this ghostly white tree stands alone. It's hard to tell if it's an ancient guardian, forest nymph, or something more ominous and evil.

Day 28 - Full Moon before Snow

Full Moon before Snow
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

Tonight's sky was beautiful. Clouds are rolling in, preparing for tomorrow's winter storm. Right now they are evenly spaced rows of cotton. The sky itself looked like a blanket of snow. I tried to capture it with the camera on my phone and got this result. It looks more like something the Hubble Telescope would take, which is kind of a cool effect. Sometimes not having the best equipment gives nice results too.

Day 27 - Sunset Commute

Sunset Commute
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

On my drive home everyday, I literally head off into the sunset. It can be a fairly treacherous drive, depending on the height of the sun. Despite the "danger", it's always a beautiful drive. I love the color of the sky - the blue was heightened in it's last few minutes before transforming into orange and red.

Day 21 - Robins in a Tree

robins in tree
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

When I pulled into the parking lot this morning, robins were converging on this tree. The temperature was dropping and they were hunkering down to get warm. Apparently they didn't like getting their pictures taken because when I came out later in the morning they had made quite a mess all over my car. Glad it rained!

Day 17 - Sights of Home

Sights of Home
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

While spending a few days at my mom's, I decided to drive down to where I grew up - Harkers Island, NC. I took some pics of the sights and places that mean home to me, including the no-longer-owned-by-my-mom-house-I-grew-up-in. Locals will immediately recognize the bridge that took me home everyday and the daily cruising destination of Shell Point. Our old elementary school still looks the same. My siblings will recognize the volunteer fire department where my dad served as chief for many, many years.

Close friends will note the two things that are glaringly absent. The Cape Lookout lighthouse - there was just too much mist on the sound today, plus my phone would not have been able to capture it - and the Free Grace Wesleyan Church where I grew up. The buidling was destroyed in a fire two years ago after it was struck by lightning.

Day 15 - Beyond the Fence

fence 2
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

This morning I left for a four day weekend at my mom's. The purpose - spend some concentrated time getting my "aspiring writing" groove on. On my way out of town, I stopped to take a picture of this fence. This fence, near the back entrance to our neighborhood, inspired the story I'll be working on all weekend.

Unfortunately, three years after seeing this fence for the first time, I'm really only halfway through the story. But I've never stop imagining what lies Beyond the Fence. This weekend I'll discover more about the land and people who live there. It's an adventure I can't wait to take. . . and share.

Day 8 - Burgers

Burgers
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

Despite the sub-freezing temps, I braved the cold to grill three fabulous 100% ground beef burgers. It was a trifecta of all-American good taste.

Day 7 - Moon in the Morning

Moon in the Morning
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

Here's a view of the moon as I left for school this morning. I wish i could've gotten a closer shot of the moon itself, but this was the best I could do with my phone.

Day 6 - Brrrrrr!

morning temps
Originally uploaded by mattguthrie

Curse you Canadian air. Return to the frozen hell whence you came! We people of NC are a warm loving folk.

This is actually warm compared to the first half of the week. The official temp at the airport was 19, slightly chillier than at the house. The good news is that it will be even colder this weekend :-)