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The Last Snow storm was about a Month a go.

Thats when its best to stay in doors

I found my lost  Camera these were a couple of the  photos I took. Found my camera just in time for the spring weather.

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Paparazzi on the Pond…
A Butterfly  Launches in Flight at theis Pond in Lebanon County. Pa.

Can You See  find it in this Picture?
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I am still without a Camera right now,
So I thought I post some of my stock photos of and around Lancaster…
This Photo above and below was taken while trespassing on the Boy Scout Camp near the Lebanon / Lancaster County Border.

Amateur Photography is such dangerous work you know

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(Left)
Chief Sitting Bull

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(Right)
A Church
near Down Town
Lancaster

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(Below) Is “Rockford Plantation”… This was the home of Edward Hand who was a General of the American Revolution. today it is surrounded by the Lancaster county Park.

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out of frame is the nearby apple trees,
where deer gather to snack on the apples that fall after random rainstorms knock them of the trees.

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(Below Center:) A group of Geese  take a stroll near a Pond in
Northern Lancaster County.

My Last  “Spring Cleaning photos are located here.

Today is a good day to look for a new camera!

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I was disappointed  to hear that a local privately own business was shutting down, soon. the gas station and mini market I frequent on my way to work… another casualty of the economy.

I decided to  stop in at Long’s Park, this frozen Saturday. Longs park is not really suited for hiking,  and it was Freezing anyway, So I just snapped a few pictures.
( Above) is the Frozen reservoir at Longs Park.
(Below) a Gray squirrel poses on a Fence
(right) more Long park wild life that saturday morning.

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The Eastern Gray Squirrels are everywhere in Lancaster. and pretty much everywhere in the North East U.S.  the are about a foot long, extremely clever. They can break into any well defended bird feeder.
They often very tame around people, putting on dances to try to win food from us.
They can also be very nasty, I have seen them  chase away alley cats . I have even seen one fight off the attack of a red Tail hawk.

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The great thing about amateur  photography is that it is a relatively cheap hobby. So are outdoor hobbies such as walking in the park.
We may need to enjoy are cheap hobbies to escape the present economy. AS for me, well I spent an hour or two with the squirrels in the park!

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I never have been very good with Arts and Crafts, but I’m always willing to try something new for fun. Last week I went into Downtown Lancaster to “Building Character” on a Saturday Afternoon.

“Building Character” is a salvage, crafts, and homemade jewelery shop… located near Queen street. They recently just expanded.

Its of many stores in the area that either have an arts and crafts, fashion or bohemian theme on Queen st., Lancaster.
“Building Character”  and thee other shops fit nicely into Lancasters Art hub Atmosphere.

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The day I was there  the folks who run the shop had a free tutorial: making homemade wrapping paper. The creative wrapping paper above is not my work. It was cleverly made with inks, tongue and grove boards salvaged from chairs, keys, buttons and an assortment of inks and paints.

My wrapping paper is the First picture with the smiley face. Mt teachers and fellow pupils kindly did not mock my lack of artistic ability. it was alot of fun, the free pizza was cool, and I got ink all over my hands.

Building Character has hosted many free events and even concerts.
for info and art and salvage purchases  their Web site: www.buildingcharacter..biz
I’m going to go wash my hands now.

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Art has had a influence on my hometown of Lancaster, Pa for a long time. One can see it the affect of the “artist” in the cities Architecture and downtown bohemian shops. Today Lancaster is home to the Pennsylvania School of Art. down town Lancaster is dotted with small galleries.

Lancaster  has been the home of many Artists, The most famous in the world of Art was  percisionist and American Cubist, Charles Demuth. (His most Famous work: I saw the number five in gold.)

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Today, once a month, Lancaster holds a community event dubbed “First Fridays“. Every First Friday of the month  the many small galleries open their  doors and  wave admission prices. The event is held in the evening and many of the coffee house cafe’s stay open late in Downtown Lancaster.

A “first Friday” Art event is held in many cities today, however here in Lancaster its become a huge community outing. It draws thousands of people  Downtown once a month.

This First Friday I chose to spend most of my time at the
Red Raven

A Blues trio dubbed  “the Willie Marble Experience” was Rocking the small Art gallery. I can say its the first time I  enjoying Watercolor painting, post modernist Sculpture and A raunchy delta Blues cover of “Mustang Sally” all at the same time.

.The Willie Marble Xperience is touring to raise grant money for “Music for Everyone“  They are definitely worth checking out for Blues Fan in Central Pennsylvania. No admission was asked for my Blues and Art hang out, However I did by a couple CDs…. So i  also did some Xmas Shopping as well on Friday nite…of course there was plenty of art to by.

It seems the arts will continue to have along history with the Community of Lancaster.

The art pictured in this post is available for purchase at the Red Raven Art Company:
*www.redravenartcompany.com*
A full list and map of the Lancaster galleries is at   *www.lancasterarts.com* .

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This Weekend saw the The tree lighting ceremony in Downtown Lancaster…
A nice way to kick off the Holiday season.

(unfortunately I still have difficulty with night photos… The Christmas tree at Penn Square looks alot nicer than my photo to the Left)
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For the past thirty years, the celebration has included Tuba Christmas… A gathering of more than thirty Tuba and Sousaphone players…

Playing Christmas Carols.

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I love the crowds and the Buzz during this time of year, everyone seems so Lively. I don’t like to post photographs of people on this site without permission, However several thousand people of all types were scattered downtown.. you’ll just have to take my word on it.
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We seem to light up everything this time of year with a prism of effects.

Perhaps all the lights are as much to escape the darkness the North Easts Winter….
as it is to remain festive…
In any case this is my favorite time of the year here.

Lancaster County is predominately Protestant Christian with many denomination close to one and other. This is an important religious holiday for many. Although I do not follow organized religion, I’ve never felt excluded here.

Its a great time to get lost in the lights, crowd and seasonal atmosphere…
with a camera of course

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