Category Archives: Places

Places

A mockingbird calls for mates

During the summer of 2008, we had a fairly constant companion in a small tree right outside our building. It was a male mockingbird, who spent most of the month of June calling out for mates. He was loud, insistent, and didn’t scare easily. He sat in that tree day in, day out, exposing himself to danger from passing hawks and other predatory birds, braving all of that in order to propagate his genes.

I recorded his calls one sweltering afternoon, and only now got around to editing the video, 2½ years later.

Enjoy!

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Places

Leaves in the wind

Is there something more representative of autumn than fallen leaves, being blown about by bracing, sprightly breezes? How about branches under the sway of powerful winds, beckoning chilly autumn rainstorms? I captured these scenes on video in the autumn of 2007, in Grosvenor Park, MD, but only now got around to editing and publishing it.

I’m only sorry that I didn’t have a better video camera at the time, but such is life sometimes. Now I do, and next autumn, I’ll be ready.

You might have noticed some wonderfully dramatic storm clouds in the video. Here are a few photos I took around the same time, with a couple taken that same evening, showing those same clouds.

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Places

On the road in Moldova

We traveled to the province of Moldova recently (not the Republic of Moldova, the province of Moldova, which is part of Romania, as was the Republic of Moldova at one time), and while on the road, I recorded these videos.

The first is of the sunrise somewhere between Iasi and Piatra Neamt. I processed this to give it an old-time feel, with film grain, scratches and an appropriate soundtrack.

The second, filmed a little later that same morning, is of an historic piazza in Piatra Neamt.

The third, filmed that same day, is of a mountain brook in Cheile Bicazului, as we crossed the Carpathian Mountains from Moldova into Transilvania.

I hope you enjoy them! (They’re all in HD, so if you can’t see them at full res on my site, click through to YouTube and make sure to select 720p.)

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Events, Places

First snowfall of 2010 in Medias

We woke up this morning with a puffy white blanket of snow covering the town. It was the first snowfall of the 2010-11 winter, and while it didn’t cover the ground, it did manage to stay on trees and rooftops, providing a welcome change in the scenery. (It’s been ugly weather most of this week, with cold, rainy days and mud everywhere.)

Continue reading →

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Places

Inside the fortifications of St. Margaret’s Church in Medias

Built in 1488, St. Margaret’s Church in Medias, Romania, is the town’s most recognizable landmark, thanks to its leaning clock tower, which can be seen from miles away. Its tower dates from 1460, and left its originally vertical position due to some soil shifting. The photos shown below are from the church’s interior courtyard, inside its fortified walls.

A primary school is housed in its courtyard. I attended that school as a child, and have fond memories of playing in the courtyard, underneath a chestnut tree which is still there today.

Three other landmarks are inside the courtyard:

  • The birthplace of S. L. Roth, one of the town’s most famous citizens
  • Turnul Funarilor (the Rope-Makers’ Tower)
  • A chapel with beautiful frescoes (located outside the church, inside one of the defense towers) — I plan to photograph it in the future, but you can see it from the outside in one of the photos below.

This is the main passageway that leads into the interior courtyard.

This is Turnul Funarilor (Rope-Makers’ Tower) and S. L. Roth’s place of birth (next to the tower).  Continue reading →

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