President Barack Obama Visits Mentor Ohio (Photos & Video)

My husband and I attended the grassroots rally for President Barack Obama that was held today in our home town of Mentor, Ohio. We stood in line in the cold rain (sometimes sleet) for 2 hours and when we got in the main building, they literally shut off the entrance to the Mentor High School gym/auditorium where the rally was being held. We were directed to the overflow room, with about 300 others, and we were told we would get a special guest. We were disappointed, but later we were very excited when we found that the special guest was the President himself, who arrived and first entered the overflow room, gave a brief speech, and shook many hands before exiting to the auditorium where the massive crowd waited. It was very exciting to see him in person - literally up close and personal – far better than it would have been had we been in the gym. Here are a few photos I took plus videos. Sorry for the short wobble in the videos; it was very crowded in there and my husband and I got jostled once or twice.

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Squire’s Castle in Black & White

Squire’s Castle is a great place to visit in the fall. The colorful fall foliage perfectly frames the small castle-like structure which sits atop a gently sloping hill. I decided that this year, rather than post the usual castle pictures with fall colors, that I’d go with black and white. As Squire’s Castle is reportedly haunted, I think the black and white photos give off a more ghostly effect.  (Click on any image to open the photo gallery viewer.)

Squire’s Castle is in the Cleveland Metroparks - North Chagrin Reservation in Willoughby Hills, Ohio.

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An American Goldfinch Poses

The weather was gorgeous yesterday, but the birds seemed to know that the weather was going to turn bad. The yard was filled with various birds frantically eating anything they could get their beaks on. Most of the birds were moving too fast for my camera, but one American Goldfinch landed long enough for me to snap a few photos.

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A Morning Double Rainbow – An Unusual Sight

Rainbows appearing later in the day are far more common than rainbows appearing in the morning. Imagine my surprise when I looked out one of my west facing windows early this morning and saw not only glowing orange clouds, but also a stunning double rainbow in the western sky. I ran outside to get a few photos, and felt only a light mist of rain. Coupled with the rising sun still low in the sky, it was enough to produce this interesting image.  The rainbow faded within a few minutes.  (Click on the image for a larger view.)

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Jupiter Shines Bright As Dawn Approaches

Jupiter was very bright in the eastern sky this morning;  so bright that it, and one of its moons, were clearly visible as dawn approached.    Here’s a look!

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Thunderhead Rising

Thunderstorms moved in to Lake County Ohio this afternoon. I found myself momentarily between storm cells which allowed me to grab this photo of a thunderhead forming to the northwest, likely right off the lake shore. (Click on the photo for the full size.) 

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Lake Erie Bluffs – Lake Metroparks

Located in the eastern end of Lake County in Perry Township Ohio is the new Lake Erie Bluffs park, another fine park in the Lake Metroparks system. It is almost 140 acres in total, roughly 20 acres  located right on the lakefront with a pristine, undisturbed beach. This will be a great area for bird watching during migrations. Here are a few photos I took while visiting there this past Saturday.(Click on any image to open larger size in photo viewer.)

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Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Black)

While out and about yesterday, I took this photo of what I believe is a female black Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly that was enjoying a nearby butterfly bush.

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Mentor Headlands Beach & State Park

Living so close to Mentor Headlands Beach and State Park, I visit there several times a year. The dunes area is famous for its bird watching and the Fairport Harbor West breakwater lighthouse is an interesting subject for photographs.  Yesterday, the sky took the center stage, with some amazing cirrus clouds against a backdrop of a crisp blue sky which made for some great photos. Enjoy!

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Finally – Rain! - And Interesting Clouds

It’s been very dry here in northeast Ohio and it seems like weeks since we had any significant rain.  Finally a cool front moved in this morning and with it brought a heavy rain, along with an interesting cloud formation as the storm approached. Here’s a photo.  (Click on the image for a larger view.)

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A Storm Front Moves In

Here is a photo of an approaching line of thunderstorms that dropped some much needed rain over northeast Ohio. This photo was taken in Northfield, Ohio, looking northwest.  (Click on image for a larger view.)

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Rippling Altocumulus Undulatus Clouds

I’m a big sky and cloud watcher and am always on the lookout for interesting cloud formations. Here is a photo of some clouds that I spotted yesterday that appears to be altocumulus undulatus. The ripples and waves in the clouds occurred at two levels of altitude moving in opposite direction. The higher cloud level moved east to west, and the lower level moved north to south.  (Click on the image for a larger view.)  

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Storm Clouds Brew Over Virginia

While recently traveling in Virginia, we experienced some turbulent weather. Being a big weather watcher, I enjoyed some of the interesting cloud formations as storms brewed in the distance before moving in and dropping some rain. Here are some cloud photos that I took of two separate storms.

Storm #1

Storm #2

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Fly Fishing in Virginia

My husband recently had the opportunity to do some fly fishing in Virginia with guide Brian Trow of Mossy Creek Fly Fishing. He learned quite a lot from Brian and the trip was very enjoyable. Here are some short video clips from the trip. SPOILER: The big one gets away at the end.




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Colorful Shale and Rocks

While at Helen Hazen Wyman Park in the Lake Metroparks this past weekend, I decided to turn the camera downward to photograph some of the shale and rocks. While it was mostly a mix of brown/red and blue/gray, the patterns in the rocks brought the colors to life. Here are a few photos.

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A Male Downy Woodpecker Poses For The Camera

Over the last week, a very industrious male downy woodpecker has been hanging around our bird feeder and a lower branch of one of our oak trees. He was kind enough to pose for a few photos, and here they are!

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