Photograph info: This photograph was taken at dawn after our first snowfall two weekends ago. M & M Farm is run by my friends and neighbors, the Marschewski family, who raise steer and do a beautiful job of caring for part of Durham Township's precious open space.

The 'humongo' version is full of detail. If you want an even larger version as a screensaver, leave a comment with your screen resolution (and email address) and I'll send it to you as a Christmas present. :)

Camera settings and post-processing: Shot with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens at 150mm, ISO 200, f/8, shutter 1/200s. Basic curves adjustment for contrast.

For those celebrating, I wish you a very happy and peaceful Christmas!

Thank you for visiting Durham Township!

--Kathleen

.....and the next gift, (Thank you, Kathleen!) I love the atmospheric effect that results from having so much light bouncing off so much snow e.g. the softened shadows on buildings and hills alike. Nice powdery grays on the hills too, with the parade of power poles coming through that frosty blue cut. And yes, I'd like a 1680x1050 to go, medium-rare jpg, no onions, easy on the pixels. Can I get a snow cone too? Maple syrup of course! (Like I would not be THAT surprised if a maple syrup snow cone magically showed up with the free image, although considering how well runneth-over my cup is by now, even a snow cone would critically stress the karmic balance, so send the image only, to be safe.)

Nice winter scene.
Happy X-mas to you.

Still looking at your shots :-)

This is wonderful! I've enjoyed your blog for several years now. Keep up the good work, and may the new year be your best yet!

Peaceful winter scene. Have a wonderful Christmas.

This is what gives Durham Township much of its charm
Peaceful vistas of places like M & M Farm.
Stonework on house and barn match as well
If only those walls could talk, what a story they would tell.
To all that drive by so they don't miss the view nice
They have put up two signs so you have to stop twice.

Merry Noel!

I love this image!
Time stands still. . .

I would love to have a screen saver version for my IMAC 24.
The screen resolution is 1920x1200. 32 bit color.

Regards,
Tim.

Simply loving the peaceful scenes you have here to show is... thankful for having such beauty at my fingertips... hoping that peace and joy are with you too on this lovely day.

Merry Christmas.

David and Tim: Thank you! Check your email for the screensaver files. Snowcones to arrive under separate cover.

Fotobram and John: Thank you for all the return visits!

JPH: That poem absolutely killed me (in a Holden Caulfield kind of way). You're so observant! Happy Christmas to all the wonderful H's!

Technobabe and Robin: Happy Christmas to you both. It's great having you around. Thank you for your comments - I really appreciate them!

What a beautiful image...really striking. I would love the screensaver gift for my PC resolution of 1920 x 1080. Thanks Kathleen for sharing your view our our space....

OMG, Just wait till my kids find out I have my own personal internet M&M farm! I assume the round building with the (adorable) pointy top is where I store them prior to packaging for internet sales. I'll be filthy rich in no time, soon as the first harvest and an online marketing blitz; Hey world, just click once for "peanut or plain," then gi'me that cc # and check yer download folder! (No sticky mess, melts in your mouth, not in your hard drive.)

We could even set up multilevel internet M&M marketing. You send them the farm and I'll sell them the internet marketing package. OK, Kathleen? .......Ms C?.....hello?........Lucy? .....Jon?.........Victoria?......ground floor opportunity here....Jakey?..... Amber?....Jenn?.....anybody.....come on people, where else can you get a free farm plus a mega-tastic, can't-loose, bullet-proof biz-op? ...time to wake up and smell the M&Ms here......

I'm from mountainous and forested Hopewell, NJ, but I go to college in flat, urban Illinois. I love my school (Go U Northwestern!), but it's always one of the joys of my day to open Google Reader and see that a new photo has come in.

And, actually, it's one of the joys of my roommate's day, too: he knows that "a photo's gone up from that photographer you like" whenever I spontaneously turn around from my computer and start telling him about how pretty it is in New Jersey and Pennsylvania right now, or whenever I stare at my computer for two or three minutes and just sigh.

Merry Christmas, Kathleen! And thank you so much for capturing the beauty of this place.

Kierie: Thank you and check your email!

David: What would Michael Pollan say about your idea?

Robinson: Wow, thank you. Glad to know you're enjoying the photos so much. Hopewell is in a really beautiful area, not far from the Delaware Water Gap National Park. It's no wonder you miss it!

Hey David! Sounds like a good idea but can you wait a few weeks? After Kathleen's fantastic Christmas feast and holiday celebrating all of us here are lying back stuffed to the gills with crosses in our eyes. (It takes awhile to recover when she throws a party.)

I'm not quite ready to cash in my IRA yet
For David's notion of fortune he hopes to beget.
He really should read your photo info with more care.
Manfred and Friede only work for peanuts, not candy, so there.
So David's poor kids will realize Dad's just having another delusion
Wanting others to be part of his internet inclusion.

So Jon, what are you saying, you in or what?

Kathleen, Michael Pollan? I'm not sure, but I suspect Michael Palin would approve.

Victoria, thanks for the visual! I hope we both recover--you from the feast and me from the envy of having missed it. (We must look like a couple of green M&Ms--available online soon! :)

I love this shot. It is so peaceful; serene, ahh! I would love to see your peaceful shot and my fav shots without "man's industrial touch" added into the mix. Power poles, lines, and towers. There is hardly a place to shoot a clean sunrise anymore, here in Florida, except over the ocean. Thanks for sharing you photo, just beautiful.

JPH, Inspired by your recent financial critique, I've been doing some real research...mainly evolving the 5 lb box on the coffee table by the "tree." Low and behold, I discovered that peanuts ARE candy. Armed with this parcel of knowledge, I pushed ahead to do further research and re-read the poetically specified photo info, only to discover that real M&M farming involves not peanuts, but steer...so we could change the product selection options from "plain or PEAnuts" to "plain or..." ...maybe we should stick with the peanuts. Michael Palin might not agree, but at least one ex-President would approve:)

What a great image. Very peaceful and calming. Thanks for posting such a wonderful photo.

I used to live in Upper Bucks County and even after 20 years I still miss it. Your photos bring me closer to it. Thank you!

Merry Christmas to you Kathleen!

Lovely photo - it really makes me want to retire to Durhan Township. As I Live in the NY metro area, it would certainly be a big change!

PS: At your advise, I just bought the Canon T1i EOS Rebel. I think it will take some learning.

Best regards,
Brian

just a quick note...here's wishing you a grand start to the new year, nothing but the best to you, Kathleen!

Thank you for your generosity offering this wonderful image as a screensaver.
Monitor is 1920 x 1080

Thank you & God Bless you & your family!

1280x800...... Thank you! I like ur pictures, especially those reminding me life's simple

I was looking for my Christmas present ;-)
Did I miss out?
Or maybe you are away?
1920 x 1080

Zykor and Jan: Happy New Year! Check your email. :)

This is such a peaceful and beautiful scene. And open space is so precious nowadays - I get nervous now when I see open fields - wondering which field will be next to go. Wonderful to hear that your friends are good stewards. The comments are great - you even have poems left in your comments -how neat is that?

Liz

1920 x 1080 is my screen resolution.

All I have to share is a story of sorts - which you could share with your Daughter or your Mom.

Do you know what a Honeymoon Salad is?

Lettuce alone.

My first full time job was with Prudentail Insurance in Newark NJ in 1972 and back then Pru had a free lunch! But they were very thrifty so almost every day they offered Honeymoon Salad. Since I met my wife there and we have been married for 32 years - for me it was just that... God Bless and thank you...

Paul

Exquisite, soooo lovely. Thank you.

Kathleen, I suffer from the same Disappearing Field Syndrome as Liz. I can't drive the outskirts of town without sensing the impending development of every cornfield and pumpkin patch. Perhaps some other Webster can refer us all to an Incantation Specialist for a Field Preservation Chant. (The only Crop Circles I fear are the ones that are found at the end of newly formed Culs-de-sac.)

If any new developments pop up near you, you shoot'em, OK? :)