One, only one

...one look, that is!

It apparently wasn't enough for me to change the look of my photo galleries. My computer was calling to me, pulling me in to make one more change.

I was using one of the standard templates for my blog, I'm still using the same overall template (for the body and sidebar of my blog), but I've changed the look and feel of the header to match that on denisegoldberg.com. Now the navbar entries on both sites match (and are active), so if you're reading my blog you can use any of the links at the top of the page to jump to a spot within my photo galleries.

Are there more changes coming? There are no more structural or visual changes floating around my brain right now, but of course I'll continue adding more content - words and photos.

Please keep visiting! And enjoy...

Once every four years

Hey - doesn't it seem like this once every four years extra day should be a holiday? February 29th, leap day in a leap year...

To leap is to spring through the air, to jump, to - well, you get the point, don't you? An extra day, according to time and date.com, leap day is needed to "keep our calendar in alignment with the earth's revolutions around the sun." Ah, the sun and the earth...

I suppose if I want this extra day to be a holiday I'll need to create my own. Maybe in four years...

Crystalline shapes

...snow flakes!

As I was driving to work, light snow was falling. That gave me something to ponder as I was stopped at a (long cycle) traffic light, snowflakes landing on the cold outside surface of my car.

Snowflakes in amazing shapes, visible even with un-aided eyes. Simple beauty, complex shapes, crystals, tendrils reaching outwards. Amazing...

Snow decorations

Gecko-inspired

Intensifying snow convinced me to head home a little earlier than normal today. My car radio is always tuned to NPR, and this afternoon's treat was a listen to Science Friday. The topic? The sticky feet of geckos!

Have you ever wondered how these little lizards can scurry up walls and across ceilings without falling? Apparently the pads on their toes are "built" to stick, and medical researchers have used the gecko's pads as an inspiration to create a biodegradable surgical adhesive bandage.

The creatures of the world are truly amazing, aren't they? (And yes, I do mean both creatures like the gecko and my fellow humans who have the ability to use puzzles like this to create new things.)

Curious? There are some jumping-off-point links in this summary of today's program Gecko-Inspired Bandages for Medical Use.

Moonlight

Moonlight, magic...

The sky was painted with clouds late in the afternoon, clouds hovering as the night of a full lunar eclipse approached. By some stroke of luck, the sky was totally clear by the time the sun fell below the horizon.

It was a cold night, cold, and wonderfully clear.

The eclipse started, and darkness crept across the full moon. Over an hour into the eclipse, the moon was covered but still visible. The color? It was a striking shade of orange, with bright white still showing on the right edge. The color was amazing and surprising. Orange... As the light started creeping across the moon once again, the orange faded, the bright sliver of white slowly growing larger, taking over the circle of the moon once again.

Curious about the eclipse? Here's a link to a NASA page about the total lunar eclipse of February 20, 2008.

A new look

Yes, I walked twice today, but most of the day I was glued to my computer. It was a holiday, and I wasn't doing my "work" work. I was working on my own puzzle, making changes to the look of my photo galleries. The changes were things I'd been thinking about for a while. The banner on my site was centered, which made sense when all of the photo galleries were limited in width. But a change to SmugMug (where my galleries are hosted) that was released at the end of November makes use of the full width of the browser window. Somehow a centered banner and navbar looked a bit off to me with the wider smugmug-style galleries.

I've been thinking, changing the design in my head, and thinking some more. A rainy day off gave me the perfect time to experiment, to finalize my change both in my head and in reality. I split the banner and navigation into two pieces, one that pins itself to the left side of the screen, and one that moves with the right side of the browser window. I changed the "Gallery" window too. The site looks more balanced to me now, cleaner and as you resize the browser window, things very nicely move to adapt to the changed window size.

I'm happy!

Curious? Take a look at the updated denisegoldberg.com.

Mist rising

Warmth on a February day... wonderful warmth! Today was a work holiday, a gift, a 3-day weekend. While I would have been happier with a dry day, there was beauty to be found today. It's still winter here, but the temperatures were in the high 50s all day. I woke to the sound of steady rain.

By the middle of the morning, the sky stopped weeping. It looked like it could start again at any moment, so when I headed out walking I dressed for that possibility. My attire for the morning was light-weight tights and a sleeveless shirt, topped with a rainjacket and a hat, just in case.

There was beauty in gray. Piles of snow still remain, and the mist was rising, hovering, wafting off of the snow. Walking, warmth...

Home again. I was in the house about 10 minutes when I heard the rain. It was pouring again! It must have been the rainjacket wrapped around my waist that allowed me to have a dry walk.

Late in the afternoon... the sky was getting lighter, and flirting patches of blue sky drew me to walk once again. Gray clouds moved rapidly across the sky, bright backlit clouds peeking out. Beautiful.

A bridge, a fort, birds!

It was a gray day, but dry. My camera insisted on a trip to the coast, and I decided to obey that request. Is that any surprise?

From the very green bolts on a footbridge to the very old buildings of Fort McClary, to the dancing prancing sea gulls and the dogs at play, it was a good day to wander...

Favorite photos?

For anyone who is wandering through my photo galleries, I've turned on the ability for you to tell me that you like a photo. As you hover over a photo, you will see a thumbs up symbol. Click on the green "thumbs up" if you see something that strikes your fancy.

I'll be watching...