A clear, starry winter night in the mountains. Actually, a clear, starry winter night as seen from our front porch just before daybreak. I love watching night turn into morning. It’s the calmest time of the day, a quiet moment for reflection and thought. Our own tranquility base.

The way cellphone cameras are advancing, it is only a matter of time before photojournalists start using cameras in their wireless phones to record events.

My latest toy is a Treo 700W Smartphone from Verizon, a Palm Treo running Windows Mobile version 5 with a 1.3 megapixel camera as part of the package. Besides being a phone, portable email device and PDA, the Treo can capture decent photos for web use or publication, like the one above featuring David St. Lawrence showing off photos of his and Gretchen’s cats to Amy when we met them for lunch Wednesday at Cafe del Sol.

The Treo also captures video, which is something I will experiment with later.

Yes, that was the sun up in the sky today as warmer weather descended back upon the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

New Year’s Eve at Oddfellas Cantina in Floyd was a relaxed, pleasant evening with friends. We ate well (and to excess), dining on leg of lamb, New York strip steak and chili chicken and topping it all with sinful desserts while listening to the music of Billy Miller, Chris Luster, John Winnike and others (below). The packed house sent 2005 packing on a good note. Oddfellas owner Rob Neukirch (right), served as both host and waitperson, moving from table to table. We dined with David and Gretchen St. Lawrence and saw many old and new friends, including some I had not seen since high school 40-some years earlier. Rob closed the doors long before midnight and many revelers went on to Woodbury Inn near the Blue Ridge Parkway to cheer in 2006. We returned home and the St. Lawrences retired before the magic hour. I fell asleep on the couch but Amy woke me up just before midnight to watch the ball drop in Times Square. A new year is upon us. Let the good times begin.