New England Blogs

Friday, November 30, 2012

Great Blue Heron

Helloooooooo!!!!!! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It seems like it's been a while since I have posted anything on the blog. Today I will share with you two Great Blue Heron pictures which I took in Vermont. These were taken in my friend's mother-in-law's backyard. (Kind of a mouthful.....like my friends sister's cousin's nephew's best friend kind of thing but not as complicated) Anyways......here are the pictures of this beauty!



Have a great day! I am heading out for a SSS day (which is the secret sister society).......a day where I go out with my sisters but it's a secret *wink*. Yes.....we are strange. :-0)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving


I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and I hope your bounty is full......I hope you are surrounded by your family and loved ones.......and I hope you take this time to reflect and appreciate all that you have to be thankful for in your lives.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Early evening in Vermont

Okay. We're back to the Fall images in Vermont tonight. I hope you're not sick of them because there's plenty more from where these came from. It's crazy how many blog worthy images I got in VT this Fall. Crazy in a good way that is. A very good way.
Do you remember a few weeks ago I blogged about the day Mr S and I went to Killington and met up with some friends? It was a good 2 and a half hour drive from our home in Barton down to Killington.........and the weather was not great during most of that day. In fact, we drove home for 2 and a half hours in off and on downpours and low clouds and fog. We arrived back up to Barton about an hour before sunset. The weather in Barton was dramatically better than the weather we had throughout the entire day. I looked at Mr S and said "Sorry, but I've got to go out and take advantage of the weather." Mr S just shook his head and gave me the "you are one crazy girl look" that he gives me......and off I went to catch the last hour of daylight of the day. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do................
I headed up the road to photograph this farm in Glover:

See? Not bad, huh? The low clouds lifted enough to see the distant hillsides. I shot this one from high up on a hill shooting down on the scene. Before I went up the hill, I was shooting the scene from the road, when this couple strolled by me on their evening walk. I waited for them to get a good distance down the road from me, turned my tripod, and got this shot, which I love........


I then quickly drove down to Lake Parker and got a few shots off during the final minutes of daylight.


Caught a little window light across the lake in this final image......


So, I ended up getting some images that I am happy with during this hour. I have said it here before on the blog and I will say it again. If you are serious about your photography, then you've got to get the getting while the getting's good. I was tired. It had been a very long day. But I went out during that final hour of the day to take advantage of the weather conditions. The weather this Fall was pretty dismal, but I still was able to come away with many images that are keepers due to persistence.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Whiffle Tree Candle Co.

I love home-spun, simplistic, comfortable home decor with a touch of a primitive feel. I also love to burn scented candles in my house. My sister Nancy is the same way. When she discovered that the Whiffle Tree Candle Company has a store in Billerica MA, we planned a day to visit this shop. We went a few weeks ago on a beautiful blue sky Fall day. It was one of those days where the trees were either peaking and some were just past peak.....and leaves were falling and dancing along the road. We took backroads the whole way there. What would have been an hours drive via the highway was a two and a half hour drive taking backroads. We enjoyed every minute of it and had a great day!

How adorable this place looked when we drove up. It is surrounded by trees, with a little waterfall flowing past the shop and a pond on the other side.



There's also an adorable covered bridge on the property.


I bought two of the large jar candles. One of them is called "Grandmas Kitchen" and I have it burning and it smells just like you walked into a country store in my house. Love it!!!!!
Here's a link to the shop if interested:

Friday, November 9, 2012

Scituate Lighthouse

Diane and I met our camera club buddy, Al, at the Scituate Lighthouse earlier this evening. The sun sets so early now.......we got there at 4:20, about 20 minutes before sunset. The sky was cloudless, so there were no dramatic skies to photograph as the sun set.

I made some long exposures over on the other ocean side of the lighthouse, where the waves were crashing on the shore.




Another long exposure (30 seconds) during the Blue Hour.





Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Matt and Stephanie

You may remember my buddy Matt who has made a few appearances here on the blog in the past, Matt recently got engaged to his soul mate Stephanie. These two are made for each other. You know how there are those certain couples that you just know are perfect together? Well, that is the case with Matt and Steph, and I was thrilled to spend some time with them at Brewster Gardens in Plymouth MA.........the place where Matt proposed a few weeks ago.
How beautiful is Stephanie?????

They are perfect together in every way.




Yowswers........


They were so much fun....


Probably my favorite....




This is the exact spot where Matt popped the question, and they did a reenactment for me....




They make me smile....










I love you guys and wish you a lifetime of love and happiness. You have so many happy days ahead of you and I'm thrilled for you both. xxxoo

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Lake Groton aka Groton Pond

Lake Groton, otherwise known as Groton Pond, is another place we stopped to photograph while visiting Groton State Forest in Groton VT last month. Lake Groton is long and narrow in shape and lies in a North-South direction. In this next image, you will notice Owl's Head Mountain beyond the lake, which I blogged about a few weeks ago.

There are many homes (mostly summer homes and camps but some year-round homes) located along the shore of this lake, that are surrounded by state land.



Just a little bit of an artistic look at the reflections taken along the shoreline where there were quite a few birch trees.



Thursday, November 1, 2012

Osmore Pond Groton State Forest

It seems like forever ago that I posted a blog about Groton State Forest, which I stated that the next few blogs would be about different places within GSF. Well, other things happened and before I knew it, I was blogging about those other things. Now I'm back on track and would like to continue to tell you and show you some more of the beautiful places in GSF, located in Groton VT.
This was my first trip into Osmore Pond. There was a gate located at the entrance to the road with a Forest Ranger stationed there who was collecting the three dollar per person entrance fee. We then drove the long narrow dirt road through the forest to get to Osmore Pond. It was a beautiful drive to the pond. When we arrived, I was happy to see a very nice open air covered picnic area with many picinic tables and a beautiful stone fireplace at one end. This is where Mr S and I ate our lunch that day. There were also well maintained rest rooms here.........always an added bonus. :-0) But, the main attaction was the pond. It was peak and it was beautiful! Again, the skies were cloudy but there was virtually no wind which made for some beautiful reflections.





It was so peaceful. Mr. S and I were the only two people there the entire time.
 Sigh.
 I cherish these memories!
More from our day at Groton Stae Forest coming soon!!