Life of a Small Town Photographer: Bummer. It's Still Winter.

With the warm temperatures and melting snow cover the Chest Creek runs several feet above normal as it passes through Patton on it's way to the ocean. At this time of the year you can canoe from here to the Alantic on one creek, on two branches of the same river and a bay.

Officers James McGough and Allie of the Cambria Township PD.

Office security Cambria Township Office.

I did this wallpaper as a "Thank You" for a friend of mine.

Old shed along the road between Loretto and Chest Springs.

Nuthatch

Over the weekend I moved the suet feeder to the right hand side of the feeder frame. Before the move most of my light was coming from the left side or back as the sun moved east to west. Now that the light is coming just from the east, along with the new space around the feeder and a different background, I have a better shot at the birds as they go to land on the feeder.

Titmouse in Motion.

Saint Francis University's Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity held the third annual Polar Bear Swim on Thursday, 19 February 2009. The first year this event raised $500, last year they raised $3,100. The funds are raised for the Nancy Reagan Alzheimer's Foundation. At the time of the event, over $4,000 had been raised. This year, several faculty members volunteered to have their names be eligible to win the "honor" of jumping in the lake. The faculty member who raised the most funds won the honor -- Dr. Richard Bargdill. The weather did not cooperate this year. The temperature and wind chill provided the experience of being in -1 degree F.

Students, faculty and staff and members of the local fire department showed their support.

To prepare themselves, some member of the fraternity wore their shorts and t-shirts all day long.

Getting the fire started to warm up the swimmers after they took the plunge.

I'm almost sure that the shirt is not as warm as the hat.

The faces of determination.

Jason Burkett of Mineral Point, PA gives a last minute pep talk.

Dr. Kay Malek provides a degree of sanity. Dr. Malek, Interim Chair of the Physical Therapy Department at Saint Francis University provided some background information on Alzheimers to the crowd while the fraternity members got themselves psyched up.

This photograph was taken thru the flames of the fire. The heat reflection makes Dr. Malek and some of the fraternity members look like they are reflected in water.

Dr.Richard Bargdill (Associate Professor of Behavior Sciences) third from left, Dr. Pat Fitzgerald (Dean School of Health Sciences) in red hat and Dr. Frank Montecalvo (VP for Student Development) were some of the faculty members showing their support.

The Loretto Volunteer Fire Department members were on hand to assure the safety of the swimmers. I think that the fire department is somewhat unique in that it is staffed by towns people as well as faculty, staff and students of St Francis.

The Moment of Truth.

About to step over the abyss.

I guess if you are gonna do this, you might as well do it with a flare.

The muddy bottom near the shore is good and stirred up now as Ray George of Cassandra and Steve Curl from Mechanisburg try for a speedy exit from the icy water of Lake St Francis .......Oh Yummy...Cold and Muddy.

Curling up into a cannonball isn't going to keep this guy any warmer once he hits the H2O.

Beak to beak, two male woodpeckers fight for the feeder. To get one frame like this is why I spend a lot of time shooting the birds. It might take hours, but in the end it's worth it. Besides getting a shot I like it also works as mental exercise. It keeps my mind alive and active, concentration and timing is everything and on a sunny winter day you can really get into feeling at ease with what you want to do with the rest your life. Most of the pictures are shot at 1/1600 of a second or faster. A bird can be gone in 1/1600 of a second. I've missed shots because I blinked my eyes.