lagomorph

A tiny stone bunny weathers the cold on our doorstep.

scarred

A tree at Roosevelt Island, whose bark is covered higher than anyone can reach, with the initials of old sweethearts who passed by through the years.

deer ribcage

My father has a new hobby--hunting--so we get fresh venison every so often.  But we also have to endure the slightly gruesome butchering process that happens in the pool room.

the day after

The day after Christmas always feels lazy and vaguely flat, but at least all the decorations are still up.

Merry Christmas!

Using lenses out of focus for Christmas lights.  The middle two "snowflake" photos were taken with a pair of kids' plastic refracting glasses.

scenes of winter

Maple twigs and dying chrysanthemums, their fall color surviving through the snow.

med ed building

The medical school building, in all its new, glassy glory.

trickle

Dripped and frozen after the snow we just had.

ornamental

Beautiful ornamental berry bushes that I see every day on my way to class.  The top photo was taken yesterday, and the bottom two today after a light dusting of snow.

which came first

My roommate lined up our two cartons of eggs in the door egg-holders, and when I opened the refrigerator it was just a photograph waiting to happen.  Something about the creamy whiteness in rows, seen through the soft light of a portrait lens.

dendrobium

A dendrobium-phalaenopsis hybrid, actually (my mom is an orchid nerd).

sunrise

My old lifestyle meant that I rarely rose before the sun had been up for at least three hours, but what with med classes starting at 8 am and the start of Daylight Savings time, I get to see two golden hours a day.  Here, the sunrise on Kerchof Hall outside my kitchen window.  This one was particularly beautiful due to the dark low-hanging clouds setting off the brilliant dawn.

gingerbread house

Christmas in the air!  Made some sugary homes with my friends last weekend.  Mine turned out flat and deconstructed--I guess I'll stick to doctoring as a career path.

lace

Got some new lace curtains in an attempt to pretty up my pre-war, largely-undecorated apartment.

twinkle

Getting into the Christmas spirit.

silk flower

high heels

I'm getting old...my poorly designed feet, bunions and all, can't handle high heels for long periods of time anymore.  And at my impressive 4'11", heels can be a boon (but it's worth being a little shorter to be able to walk).

portrait lens

Some pictures taken over break--experimenting with my portrait lens.

portraits

My mom and my friend Jake, taken this past week during break.

harpy eagle claw

An old one, at the Smithsonian's Division of Birds from two summers ago.

thanksgiving dry run

This past weekend I had a Thanksgiving-themed potluck for the first-year med class, for which my classmate Leland prepared an 18-pound turkey for six hours in my kitchen.  Rather than do anything useful (trusting me with food prep is a risky move at best) I followed him around and documented the process.

Old bread ends from Take-It-Away, torn into chunks, for stuffing (add tarragon, scallions, celery, parsley, salt and pepper, and liberal amounts of butter).

Turkey heart (Leland was just as mesmerized as I was by the tiny but humanlike four-chambered heart).

Turkey gizzard set aside to flavor the gravy.  The gizzard is amazingly muscular and tough, used to grind up hard bits in the bird's diet.

The stuffing, pre-addition of the bread.  Dreamy amounts of butter.

The 2.5 pound log of butter purchased for the occasion.

Trussed with its own skin and ready for the oven.  I didn't manage to get any photos of the finished bird, but rest assured it was delicious--moist and flavorful.

breath sounds

A photo from a shoot I did for the Nursing School to get some promotional pictures they could use.  Here's a student practicing a chest exam on a simulation mannequin (these mannequins are unbelievably expensive and can teach anything from delivering babies to various weird trauma surgeries).

blue crabs

sepals

Witch hazel blossoms after the petals dropped, leaving the four-point sepals behind.

pride rock

Caught the golden hour with some friends today at Humpback Rock, a nearby hike on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  

dusky salamander

Always touch a salamander with wet hands...dry fingers can tear their skin.  Click to enlarge to see its tiny toes!