My Favorite Photo - January 2023

January was perhaps the month that I have taken the fewest photos on my camera in decades. Most of the photos I took were on my iPhone. As I look back on the month, the photos I took were basically documenting what had happened. None of the photos - with the exception of perhaps the sunset and highly-textured snow - stand out as particularly good photos. However, they all are meaningful to me. 

Olivia, Paige, and I went out on January 1st at the local Chinese restaurant to have our annual Chinese meal to start off the new year. Paige and I have been doing this since we lived in San Francisco back in 1991-1993.

The snow early in the month was overwhelming. We were getting snowstorm after snowstorm. It was piled up higher than it has ever been by the back of the house.

We had to hire a guy who could snowplow our driveway. The snowbanks were as high as the fence.

The snow on the west side of the driveway was so high, making getting to the other side of the garage and the birdfeeder behind the garage impossible to get to safely.

What I liked about the snow in January was its texture.

This is one of my favorite pictures from January - with the textured snow and the sun setting one evening.

As the sun was setting, it was perfectly lined up between the branches of this tree.

A couple days after Chinese New Year, when Sophia and Olivia both had time off of classes and work, we went to a new Chinese restaurant close to their college. It was an excellent meal.

We also went out to eat at a new restaurant to celebrate Olivia's 20th birthday. It is hard to believe she's already 20 years old...no longer a teen.

Sophia ordered a build-your-own pizza. There was plenty left over to bring back to college for meals.

Paige, Olivia, and Sophia are at the restaurant after Olivia's birthday meal.

We had a pheasant family hanging around our home during January. These birds are in the backyard. 

I worked a lot during the month at my second job. I'm doing consultancy work in marketing and public relations. This is the new logo for the museum that I worked with a designer to create. 

The pheasants were back...this time they brought more of their friends to join in the birdseed feast. 

The snow was so high that Cooper (far right in the picture) was level with the middle of the door. 

Toward the end of the month, I went to Stillwater and looked at the snow sculptures there. People from all over the world come to compete in the contest.

 

This is another snow sculpture. It is of Axolotl - the God of Fire. 

This is a lumberjack holding the world on his shoulders with the flags from all the snow sculpture teams. 

I was playing around with editing on Picasa for this photo of the bridge in Stillwater. One of my favorite colors is purple.