The rain fell non-stop on Friday.  It was cold and dreary, but a trip to the local apple orchard still provided an abundance of the last colors of autumn. There were many delicious varieties of juicy green and red apples and a bin of baby gourds.  The last remaining  pumpkins were picked over and a bit dirty. 

Here in Canton, Ohio, we are about three inches away from the heaviest February snowfall on record.  21.5 inches of the white stuff has dumped on us since the first of the month, and it looks like we will top the record with another 6-9 inches predicted overnight.  On a sunny, blue sky day after one of our recent storms, I captured these snow-covered evergreen boughs in my backyard.  Many were  dripping with ice, and then the wind began to blow!   I took a late afternoon drive through our city park system and encountered a quiet, serene winter setting in Stadium  Park.

(Any tips on camera settings for photographing snow landscapes would be greatly appreciated!  My snow scenes are coming out very blue, even after adjusting my exposure to -1.0.  I corrected the white balance in post-processing for the two landscapes posted here; however, I am still not satisfied.  I have a Nikon D70s and these were shot with a Tamron 17-50mm lens.  Thanks!)

Captured this interesting tree from the balcony of my hotel in Sorrento Sorrento, Italy

I missed the deadline for the last challenge, but thought I'd go ahead and post these: 

Texture and detail:  A wall in Siena, Italy

Pattern:  Sun chairs in Campomarino, Italy

and some Pattern from my husband's village in Italy:  Rooftops in Bonefro

(It's been forever since I've posted to this site, but have been lurking and enjoying everyone's great photography and tips.  Please critique and thanks for looking!)  

This is the part of my job as the school's bookkeeper that I really love -- I am the official "unofficial" photographer of events such as this that happen in the classroom.  

And more of Montreal:  A building in downtown and a windmill on Lac St. Louie in the village of Pointe Claire.

Here is another view of the skyline that has been heavily Photoshopped -- just playing around, trying my hand at different effects.  Not sure what I was trying to achieve here.

These photos are from St. Thomas.   It is gorgeous there!  The water is such a vivid blue.  I think I would like to live here surrounded by ocean with these in my front yard.  I would live among the interesting creatures and walk along a craggy coastline.  And at the end of the day, I would enjoy the setting sun.  

(Photo credit for the lizard goes to my son, who also shares my love for photography.)