ring in the new

Moments before midnight, family gathered in western Maryland climbed steps to the abandoned church's bell and rang it fourteen times.  Flashlights required.  Around me are nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews and family by marriage waiting their turn to pull the rope.

New Year's Eve

Enjoyed spending New Year's Eve in Grantsville, Maryland, with family.  In the final hours of 2013 we gathered in the Casselman dining room.  One family of four children makes music as a string quartet.  I stopped in the center of town to look at this antique store in blue lights.

2009 comes in cold

As the calendar changed year, Dorcas and I retreated to Grantsville. Here's 2009 blasting its way into view. Grey and wind on January 1. Drifts over the little Casselman brook. The Maryland state flag tugging the pole over the ambulance station.