Early Spring

Get outside and enjoy these spring days! And if you can't get outside, sit near a window and enjoy the sun !!!

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Spring is Here!

 Take a look around you. Look for nature arriving in the form of green grass, flowers, tree buds! It's everywhere. Just look up, sit on a chair, a bench, a fire escape and take in the sunshine !!

I love daylillies natural and tweaked a bit in post processing.

A bee came while I was playing with the Nikon.  Then a second bee arrived and well.. .. after a quick photo, I gave them their privacy!!

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~~thanks for stopping by.
    Sophia

https://www.facebook.com/SophiazeePhotography

Photographs, Cards and Mugs for Sale!

If you or somebody you know, would like to order greeting cards, coffee mugs, t-shirts or wall prints, check out here. I am just starting my own store ! Stuff I added today, will show up tomorrow. There are all sorts of items I offer on Zazzle!

Please  purchase from  local artists.

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Check the side bar for a Fine Art America Link! -->

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Gertrude and Heathcliff and Friends

 Above the dam is icy snow, below clear waters.

 Dedicated jogger along the very snowy bike path in Hamilton.

 Seagulls lined up along the top of the dam above the boil.

Gertrude and Heathcliff, two seagulls...look it up if you don't know what that means.  Stay warm. Thanks for stopping by! *waves* ~~Sophia

When Bitter Cold strikes, Take Dam Pictures!

 Side of the dam on B Street, looking east. Hamilton, Ohio

 Birds were hanging out above this area, this one turned around after this shot.

 Water plant on Third Street.

 Beyond low level dam near Miami University Hamilton

 Low level dam...snow and ice above it, blue water underneath

Skyline of Hamilton mid day, while waiting at traffic light Columbia Bridge

Old Amtrak Station and other buildings

Growing up in late 50s, 60s and 70s, Hamilton, Ohio was a wonderful ,vibrant community and had a busy downtown.  A bus service that ran down our street in the suburb,  that took you most anywhere you wanted to go, or you could walk.

At one time, Hamilton had an Amtrak station, serving the Cardinal route,   from 1982 until 2005 but it was unmanned, with no restrooms, in a horrible part of town and only stopped a few days a week at 2:00 AM or 4:00 AM!  It was scary, isolated and across the street from the notorious Grand Hotel, which had not seen "grand" days in decades. It had been the scene of bootleggers and thuggery --even back when Hamilton got it's nickname "Little Chicago"  and had been a problem child ever since.   It was finally leveled in 2005.

Though long boarded up, you can still see where the train building had a certain charm about it.   I took these photos on a gloomy day, February 1st, 2015 and it started to rain as I drove around for photos in some of the other grittier neighborhoods. Shame this train station. will never see business again.

From Wikipedia

"In Hamilton is a former railroad station on Amtrak's Cardinal route between Chicago and New York City. The station in Hamilton, Ohio, was served by the Cardinal from 1982 until 2005, when it was discontinued as a stop.[1] Constructed by the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad railroad, the building is still used by CSX. It was never a heavily patronized stop, and only had a waiting room; ticketing and baggage service were not available at this location. The Cardinal originally stopped at Hamilton regularly, but poor station conditions, low ridership, and inconvenient arrival/departure times caused Amtrak to convert it into a flag stop in November 2004 and discontinue the stop altogether a year later. "


This information was found online, in a search, as I wondered about this beautiful old building on S. 3rd Street with the name Trebel in stone.

Found a  post and a response:

"Trebel Building, Hamilton, Ohio. Not sure of the story behind this building, but I love the limestone facade. A web search indicates there was a Gottfried Trebel in Hamilton, who was preacher at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hamilton from 1873 to 1904. But was he any relationship to this Trebel? I don't know..."

richard trebel responded 5yrs ago

"He (Gottfried) was the father of George Trebel MD. (My grandfather) who practiced medicine in this building. He died in 1900 years before Gottfried. I was born in Hamilton in 1930 and remember the building very well as a youngster. I am told that it has been torn down and the lot used for a parking facility. If I may provide further info pls let me know.
Richard George Trebe" (EDIT: Not true, still there!)

http://lanepl.org/OHI/BUT075509.pdf

 Butler County Courthouse from Second Street entrance. Front steps being redone.

 215 S. Second Street

In the old Journal Newspaper building...when the local paper was really local and about 513 and not sold to Dayton Cox Company and about the 937.

 The old Roosevelt Jr High School building on S 12 Street now use as ission work by Grace Chapel. HUGE building...wonder what part is used inside. Beautiful old design.

Even on a rainy day you could see the pretty stone work used to build it.

http://lanepl.org/OHI/BUT092709.pdf

Mural on High Street trying to promote new life into the city.  Wish them luck.