We’re in the throes of winter now and I figure I should just post some pictures since I haven’t posted anything in a while using the Photography tag.


photo by: moderatelivingblog.wordpress.com

I took this photo of the new wall calendar in the early morning of New Year’s Day. I found it poignant that the first rays of the first 2025 sunrise hit where it did.


photo by: moderatelivingblog.wordpress.com

photo by: moderatelivingblog.wordpress.com

photo by: moderatelivingblog.wordpress.com

photo by: moderatelivingblog.wordpress.com

photo by: moderatelivingblog.wordpress.com

photo by: moderatelivingblog.wordpress.com


Tuesday, I was doing some tree pruning and tested out a used bluetooth speaker I bought for really cheap on eBay. That’s my phone right next to it to give you a sense of the size of the speaker and just how much snow we had gotten.

photo by: moderatelivingblog.wordpress.com

Finally, tonight my Ohio State Buckeyes will be playing against the Texas Longhorns for the College Football Playoff Semi-final. As much as I hated to see them lose to our arch-rival in November, I’m hoping we can capture this year’s national championship against Notre Dame. But first we have to beat Texas.

If they can play the way they played against Oregon, I’ll be hopeful. I was very pleased with how the team performed in the Rose Bowl. The Ducks had 34 points put on them before they could even get their footing in the game but by then the damage had been done.

It’s always nice to get a win in beautiful Pasadena, California. Especially for such a prestigious invite-only event.

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45 responses to “Winter Updates”

  1. CJ Antichow Avatar
    CJ Antichow

    Beautiful photos Mike!

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      Thanks CJ! hope work is going well today!

      1. CJ Antichow Avatar
        CJ Antichow

        Well itโ€™s Friday so yep itโ€™s good lol

        1. Michael Williams Avatar

          yes! exactly! lol

  2. Sara Allwright Avatar

    Lovely photos, Mike! All that snow! โ„๏ธโ„๏ธ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thanks Sara! always a pleasure to share life on the other side of the pond!

      1. Sara Allwright Avatar

        ๐Ÿ˜Š๐ŸŒปโ„๏ธ

  3. camilla wells paynter Avatar

    That fluorescent speaker is a good choice for the snow! No chance of losing it till spring, LOL!

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      right?? hehe:) that’s also the reason i bought that bright green case for the phone – although, i admit, i’m ALWAYS losing track of that thing lol

  4. curating happy Avatar

    I love your photos, you have a great eye!

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thank you! it’s a pleasure to share daily life here in the US with everyone.

  5. Nancy Homlitas Avatar

    Part of me is rooting for Ohio state, and another part of me is rooting for Notre Dame. I can’t lose-I like both teams. My favorite image is the snow-covered tree branch with blue sky peeking through in the background. ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Michael Williams Avatar

    I know what you mean Nancy! Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame’s head coach, was the outside linebacker back when Jim Tressel was still the coach. He is such a class act.

    glad you enjoyed the photos! i hope you guys didn’t get hit too hard with snow.

  7. The Creative Chic Avatar

    Oh my gosh, Michael…. those snow pictures are so beautiful ๐Ÿ˜ wow. I hope your team wins tonight! Enjoy your weekend, I hope it’s a good one for you!

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thank you Jennifer! glad you enjoyed the photos. i can breathe a little easier going into the weekend now lol. enjoy your weekend!

  8. thingsihavethoughtof Avatar

    Love the photo’s, every one is beautiful in it’s own way:-)

    I think I can call myself a Buckeye since I lived in Cleveland for awhile. I’ll have to watch!

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thank you! again, it’s a pleasure to share what life is like here in my little neck of the woods.

      Cleveland, huh? wow! you’ll have to tell us about that experience!

      1. thingsihavethoughtof Avatar

        My work sent me for a year way back in 1996, it was a great experience and a lot of fun. People joked about Cleveland but it was new world for me and the people were just really nice. Will always love Cleveland!

        1. Michael Williams Avatar

          that’s so cool! i bet Cleveland would love to have you back as a visitor. it’s so easy to poke fun of it but it’s a city that tries and perseveres. lot of character in that!

  9. Inside Autistic Minds Avatar

    Beautiful cooling photos as I sit under my air conditioner avoiding the summer heat. Whilst I am glad it doesnโ€™t snow here, Iโ€™m already counting down days until summer ends.

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thank you! yes, i know the feeling of counting down the summer – we go through that stage where we just want things to progress into the cooler months.

  10. Hazel Avatar

    Oh my, I love the winter photos. They’re gorgeous. Enjoy the coldness there, Mike. Thanks for sharing. Happy weekend!

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      glad you enjoyed it Hazel! have a great weekend too!

      1. Hazel Avatar

        Thank you so much, Mike

  11. ibarynt Avatar

    Those pictures are gorgeous Mike. I can feel the serenity. And oh that snow!

    I hope you didn’t have to shovel too much โ˜บ๏ธ

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thank you Iba! luckily, there wasn’t a lot of snow, i just had to put salt on the ground as a preventative against ice ๐Ÿ™‚

      1. ibarynt Avatar

        Oh that’s a good hack. I’ve seen some videos about that.

  12. Ann Coleman Avatar

    All that snow looks familiar! I see the same thing (but not nearly as pretty as in your pics) when I look out my window!

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thank you Ann! i forget where you are but if you did get snow, i hope it looked nice but not too deep to become a problem!

      1. Ann Coleman Avatar

        I live in St. Louis…haven’t gotten mail in a week, but otherwise, we’re fine!

  13. thesimlux Avatar

    Keep warm and drive safe! ๐Ÿ˜Š

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thank you! you too!

  14. Moongirl Avatar

    Your photographs are beautiful! That’s a lot of snow! My ex was obsessed with Notre Dame. Watched every one of their games. We went to Indiana to see them play once in the middle of winter. I froze to death!

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thanks MJ! i’m glad you liked the pictures!

      omg, i hope the game experience was nice at least! south bend can get crazy cold even in late october.

      yeah, that whole midwest football scene is weird because everyone has at some point either coached in capacity for the teams or played in one of the schools. the current head coach for notre dame was ohio state’s linebacker so i’m not overly loud with the cheering. it’s like a family affair of sorts but Ohio State still needs to win lol

  15. Moongirl Avatar

    I’m not a huge football fan but the spirit of football is fun ๐Ÿ™‚

  16. misifusa Avatar

    Great photos Mike! DId you go to Ohio State? Hope your team wins!

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thank you! no, i could not afford Ohio State ๐Ÿ˜ญ but my family roots are there.

      hope you are having a very good 2025 so far!

      1. misifusa Avatar

        I love family roots…they’re what hold us together in the end…yes, 2025 is good for me! And you?

        1. Michael Williams Avatar

          going pretty good so far! just did some extra insulating as we’ve got a cold front coming into the NY/NJ area gradually creeping in!l

  17. coolpeppermint Avatar

    lovely pictures michael, favorite is the light rays hitting the calendar

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thanks Lu – literally the first pic of 2025 i took!

  18. Laura Avatar

    These photos are absolutely wonderful โœจ really beautiful with special kind of magic, thanks for sharing them, Mike! ๐Ÿ˜Š

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      thank you Laura! i’m glad you enjoyed them and i say this alot but it’s my pleasure to add value to everyone’s blog experience here whether by writing or by what i photograph!

  19. Lori Pohlman Avatar

    Your photos are truly beautiful, Michael. I love winter scenes, and these bring me right into them, as if I’m entering a quiet world alone.

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      Thank you Lori! I know you are just going to love the UP when next winter makes its way up there.

      i think if you really want that feeling of a quiet world alone – that is definitely a place to go to. I don’t know if you saw my last post before the current one. But in it, I was talking about being in the midst of putting numbers together to finance an off grid battery home power system (there is also a video of the one I was looking at). i figure the combination of something along those lines and a wood burning stove would make for an amazing winter experience!

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