Carol's View Of New England

A gray day

2012-02-24T18:09:00.000-05:00

Hi........The weekend is here. This felt like such a short week to me, probably because of the Monday Holiday. This will be a working weekend for me.
So, today was a very dreary damp drizzly day here in SE MA. We got some fat wet snowflakes for a short time this morning, but they didn't stick to anything. I took the folks out today. We drove down to the beach in Weymouth, and out to Webb Park. I know I've done a good amount of grumbling about the weather lately. However, today's weather was lousy in a good way. The fog and drizzle helped to make some moody images.

Have a good weekend everyone!!!

The journey

2012-02-23T17:16:00.000-05:00

The "finding your inner spirit program" presented by my friend Greg Lessard, http://greglessardphotography.com/-/greglessardphotography/ which I attended last night couldn't have come at a better time for me. It was just what I needed at this point of my photographic journey. Yes, I look at my photography as a journey. I have had many highs and a few lows as I have taken this journey, and I have learned so much..... not only about photography, but about myself. Where will this journey take me???? I have no idea. But right now, at this moment in time, I feel a new spark which I haven't felt for a while. I'm all set with this winter....the winter that wasn't.......and I am now getting myself into a Spring mode. I even went out shopping today with my good friend Nancy I.......and I bought myself a few subjects to photograph........I am envisioning some still lifes.....and I am looking forward to photographing these subjects, or "props" or whatever you want to call them. I'll be shooting these "Spring things" over the next few weeks and will share them here with you on the blog. Last night's program has also inspired me with ideas for what direction I want this blog to go in after day 365/year 2. When you think of it........that's 730 straight days of posting pictures here. Wow. As day 365 approaches, I will share with you my visions for the future of the blog.
But today is all about the journey. Soooooooooo, I thought the next 2 images would be perfect to go along with this topic. These were taken this past weekend as we were driving through Franconia Notch in NH.
Here's the first image:

“The seeker embarks on a journey to find what he wants, and discovers along the way, what he needs.” ― Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed

"Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb."
- Sir Winston Churchill

Brownington Congregational Church

2012-02-22T16:39:00.001-05:00

Day 336/Year 2

Today is Ash Wednesday. This is the first year in a very long time that I haven't gotten my ashes. Now I feel guilty. I typically feel guilty for things though......it's from my Catholic upbringing......I call it the Catholic guilt. If you were raised in a strict Catholic household, and especially if you attended Catholic school, then you know exactly where I am coming from. Now, don't get me wrong.......I am not knocking my religion.......just stating the facts about the whole Catholic guilt thing. :-) At least I'm abstaining from eating meat and from eating between meals today. That's got to count for something, right???? :-)

Well, tonight I am going to "find my inner spirit" at the Plymouth Public Library. (I wonder if my inner spirit suffers from the Catholic guilt.........it just may!!!!) :-)

The program I will be attending is given by my photography friend Greg Lessard.......it is about finding your inner spirit and how to allow your inner spirit to come out in your photography. In part two of the program, Greg will be showing a slideshow of images he took out West last year, and he will be playing the Native American Flute during the slideshow.

Todays images were taken on Sunday morning in Vermont. This is the Brownington Congregational Church that you are seeing.

Sooooooooo..........I'm looking forward to tonight's program. I think I already have a pretty good handle on my inner spirit, and I think I use my inner spirit already in my photography.........meaning I feel like I photograph what I am drawn to and what makes me happy (perhaps I was a farmer in a former life?????) But seriously, I am drawn to photograph certain subjects, and I believe if you like your subject, then it will show in your photographs. It will be interesting to see what Greg has to say tonight, and I'm hoping to learn a little bit about myself and my photography.

More with Josie

2012-02-21T18:06:00.002-05:00

Just a few more images taken on Sunday morning while out shooting with Josie. This is an old abandoned barn in Barton, with the Jay Peak range off in the distance. We first took a few shots from street level, then I took Josie up on the hill at the golf club across the street to show her how different the perspective can be from a higher spot.

We both liked the way the sun was lighting up some of the mountain tops.

Josie wanted to take me to a lookout tower in Brownington, so that was our next stop. As we were hiking up the hill to the tower, Josie stopped to take a picture of a lone tree at the crest of the hill. I was VERY IMPRESSED with her "eye" for this composition........and when I asked to see the image that she took on her LCD screen, I was expecting that I would be teaching her to not center or "bullseye" the subject (the tree), but instead place the tree over in the left third of the frame. Guess what?????? Yup.......Josie had already composed her image that way. Not only that, but she said "Did you see the bird in the tree??? Isn't that great that a bird was there"??

Yes......this kid is on her way to being a great photographer. Her'e my lone tree image:

And finally, here's the view from the top of the lookout tower:

Fun time!!!! :-)

Morning with Josie

2012-02-20T18:38:00.000-05:00

Guess what? I found some snow up in New Hampshire and Vermont this weekend. It's wasn't pretty white fluffy new snow, and it wasn't on the trees. It was more or less crunchy dirty icy stuff under your feet. But still.....it was snow......and after the snowless winter we are having, it was a welcomed sight.

I took a new friend out on a photography outing with me yesterday morning. Her name is Josie and she is 15 years old. I met Josie through her parents, who we actually met at the breakfast restaurant down in the village (yes......very small town life) Josie had a small point and shoot camera when I met her last summer, and she showed me some of the images she had taken.

Wow.

This girl has an eye.

Josie recently upgraded to a bridge camera, which she loves. Her and I headed out together at 6:30 yesterday morning for a photo shoot/lesson. Josie has no formal training, and she is still at the point of keeping her camera on P mode. BUT.......she has the eye and was born to be a photographer. She mentioned to me that she has a 1 hour ride on the shcool bus each morning, and she just stares out the window and is in awe of the beauty of the sunrises she sees.

Yup......she's got the photography bug! :-)

Unfortunatley, the clouds won over and we didn't have one of those gorgeous sunrises to photograph. We did find a little bit of color in the sky and stopped to take some shots. I taught her about the rule of thirds, and I also taught her when shooting a landscape, it is more pleasing to the eye to have 2/3 land and 1/3 sky, or visa versa (1/3 land and 2/3 sky).......try not to have the horizon line split the image in half. I also taught her that it's important to have a forefront interest in a landscape, and we also touched on the importance of leading lines. Here is one of the images I took, and I'm sure Josie has one similar to mine (who knows.....hers may be better than mine!)

Day 334/365

This was taken on Duck Pond Rd in Barton VT. I asked Josie what else she was interested in shooting, and she really wants to take some nice wildlife pictures.

Well, the wildlife Gods were with me once again, and no sooner did we come across a herd of deer grazing in a field on the side of the road. They were on the passenger side of my car, so I shut the engine off, Josie put the window down and we used the car as a blind, and she got a FANTASTIC shot of a deer looking straight into the lens of her camera!!!!! I was sooooo happy for her. My camera was in the backseat at the time, but I was happier just to watch her shoot away. It was wonderful!!! :-) The deer scattered off into the woods, but one of them ran the opposite direction of the others and crossed the street. I was then able to go to the back of my vehicle and grab my camera. Josie and I waited for that deer to cross back, and sure enough, she did.

It was an awesome morning, and I look forward to taking Josie out shooting again one of these days. I have more images to share from our outing on tomorrow's blog.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend too!!

The end :-)

2012-02-18T11:33:00.001-05:00

Hi, things have been kind of "deep" around here on the blog the past few days. Soul searching is a good thing I suppose. Speaking of "deep", I was ankle deep in some cow sh*t earlier this morning down at Lolans Farm in Middleboro. My forever friend Nancy Carey wanted a farm shot for a project she is working on, so I hooked her up with my farm friend Sue. I've said it before......I have met the nicest people through my photography, and Sue and her husband Sam are two wonderful people that I have met.
I am leaving right now to go to Vermont for the weekend. I'll be back Sunday with some Vermont images to share. Have a wonderful weekend!!!!!

Feeling very unsettled

2012-02-17T18:36:00.001-05:00

Mr. S and I were heading out this afternoon, and we heard many sirenes in the area. We then saw a fire truck from a different town on the road, and we knew something big must have happened. This is what we came upon.

An SUV heading south had gone over the yellow line for some apparent reason, and hit an oil truck. It appears the SUV started to go underneath the rear end of the oil truck, and it actually ripped the rear axel right off the truck. The truck hit a pole and came to a rest along the side of the road.

There were 2 children in the SUV who were transported before we got there. However, the jaws of life were needed to remove the driver from the SUV and she was still trapped in the vehicle when we arrived.

As you know, I have been doing some deep thinking re my photography lately, and trying to decide in which direction I want to take this blog, and which direction I want to focus my photography on.

Taking these images today was very uncomfortable for me. This is someones life..........this was as serious as it gets.......and here I was with a big old Nikon strapped around my neck, shooting pictures of somebody's pain. I did not like the feeling one single bit. It felt wrong. Why then did I take these images????? Honestly??? Because I needed a photo of the day for my blog.

Pretty bad, right?

Photography is a wonderful hobby which has brought me more joy than I can express. It's not something which should cause me to feel this way. It's not "me" to feed off of someone else's pain or to benefit from someone else's misfortune. I could have sent these images in to the local newspaper......I know they would have at least put them up on their website. But I won't be sending them. The only reason I am showing them on this blog post is because it's cathartic for me to work through these feelings. Also, perhaps by sharing my feelings on this type of "photojounalism", I could possibly help someone else who may be struggling with something similar.

I guess you could say this blog post was about soul searching.

Please say a prayer for the family in the suv, as well as the driver of the oil truck. May God protect them and help them to heal and recover.

Thank you.

Frustration

2012-02-16T19:45:00.000-05:00

As of last evening, there was a possibility of us getting a snowstorm this weekend, here in Southern New England. Sigh......tonight's report is the storm is going to go out to sea south of us. No snow. Again.

Sooooooo, I went through my files from the very little snow we have gotten this winter, and processed this shot for today's photo of the day. This was taken at Wollaston Beach in Quincy MA in the early morning. That's the Boston skyline in the background (for those of you not from this area.)

This weather is sucking the life out of my photographic vision. I just don't have it in me to get out and take pictures when the world out there is blah, grey, and lifeless.

I am planning on attending a program next week about how to find your inner spirit and bring it out in your photography. I always thought I knew what my inner spirit was, and I thought I was bringing it out in my photos, but I'm hoping there's more of an inner spirit that I haven't found yet.......and if so.........I can't wait to find it! Either that, for the love of God.........can we pleeeease get some snow around here?????? :-)

34 days 'till Spring.......yes, I'm still counting. :-)

Looking back and reflecting on the past

2012-02-15T20:03:00.000-05:00

Day 330/Year 2

In 35 days it will be the first day of Spring. In 35 days it will also be the end of year 2 for this blog. Year one was fun and challenging. Year 2 has been even more challenging, but it has also been more of a burden. I'm not complaining per se, but just saying it like it is. It's a huge undertaking, and I'm ready to move onto something new when these next 35 days are over. I'll still be posting on this blog, but I'm not quite sure how I am going to be changing things up, and in what direction I want to take the blog. I have a few ideas, and come Spring, we will see where this blog is headed.

In the meantime, thank you all once again for taking this photographic journey with me!!

XXOO

2012-02-14T17:58:00.000-05:00

"We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence and its only end."

----------Benjamin Disraeli

Love is in the air

2012-02-13T19:32:00.000-05:00

Day 328/Year 2

I found this potato in the bag when I was preparing dinner this evening. I thought it would make a sMASHING Valentine's Eve photo of the day!!

This was backlit using the flashlight from yesterday's image.....then I gave it a pink hue to make it a pretty in pink potato picture.

Now that's what I call cooking with LOVE!!!!! :-)

Code Brown

2012-02-12T18:13:00.000-05:00

Day 327/Year 2

We had a planned utility interruption at work today. The electrical power was shut down from 8am to 4pm to allow the electric service to be updated. So, we ran on emergency generator power for the day. Everything went smoothly, with just a few minor glitches.........but I did my work in my office via very little emergency overhead light and flashlight.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend. Today was bitter cold....especially in the wind. Brrrrr!!!!

What a wimp!!!

2012-02-11T19:32:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!! I hope you are enjoying your weekend. How about the snowstorm we got here in SE MA today???? NOT!!!!!! The forecasters finally got us excited with the prospect of snow, and then the storm wimped out on us. As I looked out the window at work today, it was snowing.......but it wasn't sticking to anything. I say if it's gonna snow......then at least it should make everything all pretty and white, right? None of this wet snow flurry business that doesn't even stick to the limbs of the trees.
It's just wrong!.........
Okay, now that I am off my no snow rant, I will share with you a snowy image.......taken back in the days when it really did snow in the wintertime in New England.

Those were the days..........

The big yawn

2012-02-10T19:55:00.000-05:00

It all starts with the big stretch..........

Followed by the tongue curl....

Now squint those eyes and open wide....

There you go....

Now, that was just what I needed....

Goosed

2012-02-09T18:31:00.001-05:00

Day 324/Year 2

Geese are common subjects to photograph. Go and visit any local pond, and you are almost guaranteed to find some geese. I decided to give this Canada Goose image an artistic look. I didn't want it to look like every other Tom, Dick, and Harry goose image. :-)

I hope you like it!!!

Just relax

2012-02-08T18:44:00.000-05:00

Day 323/Year 2

We all need a moment of calmness in our lives. Sometimes all of the hustle and bustle of daily living can make us so stressed out that we take the stress for granted and forget what it's like to just relax. I hope you can find some relaxing moments in your daily lives....it's important!

Nailing the shot

2012-02-07T18:44:00.000-05:00

Day 322/Year 2

Today was a pretty good day. How was your day? I hope you had a good one. I was out with the folks for a while. On the way home, I took a drive through the cemetery. My wildlife friends were not around so I went looking for them down at the pond. BINGO! There were lots of mallard ducks and Canada Geese, and the swans were close to shore.......love when they are close to shore. I spent a little while photographing them, waiting for something to happen..........the geese were diving for food, the gulls were taking flight........and I got many shots of these activities........but nothing was exciting me......until this swan stood up and stretched his wings, practically filling the frame of my camera.....and he was positioned perfectly in the frame.......allowing enough " room" in the frame in the direction of where he was looking.

It's a great feeling, that as soon as you press the shutter, and you just know you nailed the shot.......always puts a smile on my face and gives my heart an extra beat! Fun stuff!!!

Antique Police Call Box

2012-02-06T18:51:00.002-05:00

Okay.....so the game last night didn't end the way we hoped, huh????
Lets' move on to happier things, shall we? :-) Like, this antique Police Call Box that N purchased on EBay. It arrived via UPS this afternoon and I think it's pretty darn cool!
This circa 1940's callbox was used in Marblehead MA............Humphrey Street at Atlantic Ave.
Pretty cool, huh?
The police on foot patrols would use these boxes to contact the Police Station. They would have to call usually every half hour to see if there were any calls pending. This of course, was before radios were used.

This is what the interior looks like:

This callbox is a nice addition to the antique police memorobilia that N is collecting. When he buys his own house, he hopes to have a nice room to display his collection.

------------------------------------------------------

Now onto the buffalo chicken wonton recipe as promised yesterday:

Buffalo Chicken wontons:

1pkg wonton

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast

Franks red hot sauce

5 green onions chopped

1/2 block regular cream cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

garlic powder

salt

pepper

olive oil

veg. oil

blue cheese dressing-for serving

1. cube chicken (season salt, pepper, garlic powder) and cook in olive oil in large skillet

2. Once fully cooked, add 1/4 cup hot sauce and cook 1-2 minutes

3. Remove from pan and mince in food processor. Remove back to pan.

4. Add green onions to food processor and mince. Put back into pan w/ chicken

5. cook chicken, green onions, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and hot sauce to taste. Cook till melted and heated through.

6. Put about 1/2-1 tsp. of chicken mixture into the middle of the wonton. Fold over into a triangle. Using your fingers, press along the edge with a little bit of water.

7. Fry in veg. oil approx 1 minute.

8. serve w/ blue cheese

****These are mild........add more hot sauce to taste if you like it hotter****

Super Bowl

2012-02-05T18:48:00.001-05:00

I'm not one of "those girls" who only watch football on Super Bowl Sunday and the only reason why they watch is for the commercials. Hell no!!!! I'm a true Patriots fan through and through. I can tell you that a turnover is NOT a fruit filled baked pastry. A touchback is NOT something your husband does to you in the middle of the night........encroachment is NOT an apartment for roaches..........a kickoff is not what you do to take your shoes off at the end of the day..........a man in motion is NOT a single guy in a bar (well, maybe it's that too) :-).............getting picked off is NOT what you do to the lint on your clothes..........a snap is NOT what you do with your fingers to get someones attention........a spiral is NOT a ham..........

I could go on and on but I think you know where I'm coming from.

I must say though, besides the excitement of the big game, the other really good thing about SuperBowl Sunday is the SuperBowl food.

These buffalo chicken wontons are delicious. I will give you the recipe tomorrow.

Okay......so the Pats first possession ending as a safety is not how I envisioned this game to start.

I've gotta go get a cannoli.......

In it to win it!!!!!!

2012-02-04T16:55:00.000-05:00

Day 319/Year 2

I honked.

sunrise clouds

2012-02-03T19:54:00.000-05:00

Day 318/Year 2

"I've looked at clouds from both sides now

From up and down, and still somehow

It's clouds illusions I recall

I really don't know clouds at all."

Subungal Hematoma

2012-02-02T18:24:00.001-05:00

Day 317/Year 2

It amazes me.....no matter what the inury, this kid can still text like there's nothing wrong!

This minor injury is the result of getting his thumb caught in the door of Mr. S's pickup truck last night. After a night of no sleep due to the throbbing pain, and the purple swollen appearance of his thumb this afternoon, Jay decided he should go to the ER this afternoon to get it checked.

No fracture thank goodness, but he had a large pool of blood under his nail which needed to be drained.

Yuck.

Doc says to expect the nail to fall off within the next week or two..........I promise........when that happens, it will NOT be a photo of the day. :-)

What a difference a year makes

2012-02-01T20:21:00.000-05:00

Today is February 1st, 2012. The temperature was 60 degrees today. I was outside without wearing a jacket, and was very comfortable.
These were taken one year ago today on February 1st, 2011:

Look at how the snowbank is over Mr. S's head. Pulling out of the driveway was nearly impossible.....it was more or less inch your way out and say a prayer that nobody was coming.

This was the photo featured on my blog post a year ago today.

Crazy, huh?

Blacks Creek

2012-01-31T19:18:00.000-05:00

Day 315/Year 2

Here's another image recently taken at Blacks Creek in Quincy MA. I liked the look of this image in black and white.

Sigh......no more snow is forecasted here in the next week. In fact, tomorrow is going to be in the mid to upper 50's again. Although I'd like to see some more snow, I certainly will welcome tomorrows temps and won't complain, that's for sure!

Playing in the snow :-)

2012-01-30T19:02:00.000-05:00

Day 314/Year 2

Well, not so much playing in the snow, but rather playing with a snowy image. This image was taken 10 days ago back when winter made a very short visit to us here in Southeast MA. I don't even remember how I did this, and I honestly don't even know if I like this all that much......but I think it is kinda cool so figured it could be shown as todays photo of the day.

Here's the original for comparison:

Just playing around. If you didn't like the version I posted first, at least I hope it gave you something to think about. Perhaps you liked it as is, or perhaps you can think of ways it could be better, or perhaps you think it should just go in the trashbin. :-) Either way, it is "art" and art is always subjective.

This was taken at Blacks Creek in Quincy MA.

Empty slips

2012-01-29T18:56:00.000-05:00

Day 313/Year 2

These empty slips at Hewitts Cove Marina at the Hingham Shipyard are just waiting for Summer.

GurnetLighthouse

2012-01-28T20:28:00.001-05:00

Day 312/365

I went back to Duxbury Beach this afternoon in search of the Snowy Owls. Ths time I went legally, with my cousin Maureen and her husband Dave in a vehicle with an over the sand pass. Diane accompanied us on this outing as well.

However, the owls did not accompany us this time. We couldn't find any. We did find a few familiar faces out there though........we ran into a few members of my camera club. :-) We exchanged cell phone numbers with them......we'd call each other if one of us spotted an owl.

We never got a call from them.

We did however stop at Gurnet Light. I have never been here before, and it was great to finally get out there. It's beautiful!!!! The lighthouse sits high on a hill. It was verrry windy and rather chilly up there, but honestly, it felt invigorating.

And one ocean shot taken from high up on the bluff

It was a beautiful afternoon and we had a great time....despite the fact that we couldn't find any owls this trip.

Thanks Maureen and Dave for the ride! We had a ball!!!

A gull of a day!

2012-01-27T19:12:00.000-05:00

What a foggy soggy day we had here in SE MA. I should have gone out picture taking early this morning because it was nice and foggy. But, I just couldn't get myself in gear. I went out late morning to deliver a box of popsicles to poor Miss J who was home sick with the stomach bug. :-( No matter how old our kids are, our Mommy instincts kick into high gear and we do whatever we can for our kids. right? Right!
On the way home from Miss J's house, I stopped off at Whitmans Pond in Weymouth and took some gull images. It was drizzly when I got there, but afer a short time, the rain became steadier and heavier. This gull didn't seem too happy with the rain. He looks quite PO'd, doesn't he???

Perhaps it was a female gull and she wasn't too happy with her appearance in the mirror.....

We all know that rainy days make bad hair days.........

P.S. Hope you feel better Miss J xxoo

Wahlburgers

2012-01-26T19:10:00.000-05:00

Hello everybody. Were you one of the unlucky ones to receive spam email from me at 2:00 this morning??? If so.......I'm very sorry!!! What a way to start my day! As soon as I got up I was informed that my email account was compromised and that everyone in my mailbox got spam from my account. UGH!!! I have changed my password, run a virus scan on my computer, and I am good to go now, thank goodness!
So, after a not so nice morning, I ended up having a very nice afternoon. I took the folks out to lunch (meaning I drove but my Dad paid :-) ) We went to Wahlburgers at the Hingham Shipyard. For those of you not familiar with Wahlburgers, it's a burger joint owned by the Wahlburg Family ( Mark Wahlburg from the movies, and Donny Wahlburg from the hit sensation The New Kids On The Block) :-)........their brother Paul is a renowned Chef and they opened the restaurant Wahlburgers this past year.
My impression: The burgers are very good. The folks LOVED their burgers and they ate every last bite.
The decor: Very cool! Wahlburg movie and television memorobilia.
The cons: It's LOUD in there.......meaning they play loud music. Fine for me but not so good for 89 year old people who both wear hearing aids. :-)
It's more of a place for a younger crowd, but my hip and happening folks both enjoyed themselves, are glad we went, and would like to go back sometime! :-)

After lunch, we went over to the waterfront and I took some shots. They have done a beautiful job working on this area, and it looks great.

Beach grass

2012-01-25T20:39:00.000-05:00

Day 309/Year 2

We're back to the other morning at Wollaston Beach in Quincy MA. It's great to be out shooting at sunrise......not only for the sunrise itself, but also to look around and see how the low angle warm light hits more intimate areas around you.........such as this beach grass. And as the minutes go by, the light keeps changing.........

Wooly Coats

2012-01-24T18:47:00.000-05:00

Day 308/Year 2

Welcome Spring! Who would have thought when I was out shooting these sheep on Sunday morning, that 2 days later the temps would be up near 60 degrees, and the snow would all be melted away? What a winter.

Look at the snow and ice stuck on their wooly coats. I bet they were very hot today, compared to being very comfortable on Sunday.

Isn't the little one precious???? Especially with the snow covered nose. Too cute!

High Key barn

2012-01-23T18:28:00.000-05:00

Day 307/Year 2

High key photography seeks to eliminate harsh shadows and create a bright environment.
I have never shot a high key image, although I do like the look of some high key shots I have seen. I have done some research on making high key images, and this is what I found out:
If you want to shoot high key indoors, it’s best to have some studio lighting available, preferably 3-4 flashes: two on your subject, two on the backdrop. Also, make sure your camera’s settings are optimized to let in lots of light. Make sure there’s enough to brighten the scene considerably without blowing out the subject.
The other method to make a high key image is to do it in Photoshop. There are many steps involved in doing this, so I will refer you to the following link with a tutorial if interested:
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/black---white-high-key-effects-in-photoshop-4903

How did I make this high key image????? I used the high key filter from Nik's ColorEfex Pro. I then converted the image to black and white and then gave it a very subtle vignette. I hope you like it!

We're going to the Super Bowl!!!!!!

2012-01-22T18:50:00.003-05:00

O>M>G!!!!!! Did you survive that football game???? Talk about anxiety!!! What a game, huh???? The title of this blog may be misleading. We aren't "physically" going to the SuperBowl........like, we aren't going to Indy, we will be watching from home. :-) BUT, The PATRIOTS are going to the SuperBowl. Again. As my Dad would say, when the Pats go to the playoffs and make it to the SuperBowl, it helps the winter to pass by and not seem so long. I agee!
So, this morning Mr. S and I went out to capture some snow scenes. We headed Southwest and ended up in Halifax and Middleboro. A few of the images were converted to black and white (I'm really having fun with this) If the Pats lost the game, I was going to only post the black and white image because I would have been in a dark mood for sure. BUT, seeing as though they won, I will post both the color and the black and white for a victory celebration. :-)

I chose a slightly different composition for the black and white image:

Day 306/Year 2

I'm really liking the contrast and sharpness I am getting with the new 17-55 mm lens. Oh, by the way, this image was taken on Thompson St. in Middleboro MA. I have driven by this barn dozens of times, but the light and conditions weren't right.......but this morning the light was just right and the snow was added an extra bonus.

A lazy day

2012-01-21T16:41:00.000-05:00

Happy snowy Saturday everyone! It's been snowing all day here and I've spent a good amount of time today working on my computer. I finally cleaned out my mailbox......(yes Diane it's finally done!) I had over 1400 emails in my inbox. I also have been playing around with one of my Christmas gifts that I got from Mr S........which is a bundled pack of Nik Software for processing my images. I've been having a great time playing around with it. The most productive thing I have done besides sitting on my butt with my laptop was making a delicious banana bread. Snowstorms=baking or cooking, right??
So, I think I'll show you an image that I worked on today. This image was taken yesterday morning at Black's Creek in Quincy. There are 3 different versions that I made from this image, using Nik's ColorEfexPro.
Version 1 is the color version:

Version 2 was processed with the Old Paper filter:

Version 3 is a black and white. I am really pleased with the tones I was able to get with the black and white.

Do you have a favorite? I can't decide.

I'm looking forward to heading out into the winter wonderland with my camera tomorrow morning, followed by watching the Pats game at 3:00. I hope you all are enjoying your weekend.

Oh what a beautiful morning

2012-01-20T16:35:00.000-05:00

Mother nature has finally decided that it really is winter here in Southern New England. She gave us another little dose of snow overnight. The timing was perfect. It snowed while we were sleeping and it was out of here in time to give us a beautiful sunrise. I met up with my cousin BettyAnn at Wollaston Beach in Quincy MA at 6:45 this morning...........hoping to get a nice pre-dawn sky.......and Mother Nature didn't disappoint!

That's the Squantum Yacht Club you're looking at, with a low cloud bank on the horizon.

Wasn't sure how the actual sunrise would turn out, but Mother Nature did her thing again and this is what we saw:

And this:

More snow coming tomorrow........what a way to make a girl happy! Thanks Mother Nature!

Hanging around the water cooler

2012-01-19T19:01:00.001-05:00

Day 303/Year 2

Well, it wasn't a water cooler......but it was a rhododendron bush where I caught these 2 as I wandered around down the cemetery the other day.

It's never too late to learn!

2012-01-18T19:41:00.001-05:00

Day 302/Year 2

My mother, at the age of 89, decided she needed a computer, and needed to learn how to use it. Seriously. She felt as though she was missing out on my blog, and she wanted to be able to check it out everyday. Sooooooo, we got her a laptop for Christmas.

We've been giving her some simple Computer 101 lessons......and she's catching on!!! How cool is that??? You go Mom!!!!!!!!

By the way........I love you Mom!!! :-) Tell Dad I said hi! **smile** :-)

Reflection Connection

2012-01-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

Day 301/Year 2

It's like life.......it goes full circle........

Let Freedom Ring

2012-01-16T19:22:00.000-05:00

Day 300/Year 2

"And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
                Free at last! Free at last!
                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
                                                 ------Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Going out on a limb

2012-01-15T19:13:00.000-05:00

Day 299/Year 2

So, how tired are you today? Oh, you're probably not too tired because it's Sunday and you got to sleep in this morning after the Patriot's game last night. Not me. No sir-ree. Up and out by 5:15 this morning.......in the 12 degree what felt like 80 below zero windchill. Now THAT will wake you up after a late night of watching football. (Okay so 80 below is a big stretch but still..........it was coooold!)

You're probably wondering how much longer you are going to be seeing pictures taken from last Tuesdy's minor snow event, aren't you? Well, my favorite thing about this partiular image is that little drop of snow that I caught dripping off the very bottom branch.

It's the little things in life that make us happy, huh????

GO PATS!!!!!!!!!!! Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!

A Slice of Light

2012-01-14T18:25:00.000-05:00

Day 298/Year 2

The little bit of snow we got on Tuesday has provided me with some much needed photos to post this week. It's a good thing I went out when I did that morning, because the snow was gone after a few hours. It sure has been a strange winter this year........

The Bridge Club

2012-01-13T19:53:00.001-05:00

Day 297/Year 2

Peaceful Meadows

2012-01-12T15:41:00.001-05:00

Day 296/Year 2

Today's post shows another image taken the other morning after the snowfall we received. After I left Island Grove in Abington, I headed down Rte 18 to Whitman. I have had this image in the back of my mind for quite a while. I was waiting for the right conditions to make this image, and everything came together for me this particular morning.

Winter's Woodland

2012-01-11T18:20:00.000-05:00

Day 295/Year 2

A few more from yesterday's snowfall.

A welcomed dusting!!!

2012-01-10T17:47:00.001-05:00

Wasn't it a wonderful surprise this morning to wake up to some SNOW??? It was totally unexpected, but it sure was pretty. I almost missed it......slept in and didn't get up until 8am. My first thought was......why didn't anyone wake me up to tell me there was snow out there????? :-) I threw on my dirty jeans and sweatshirt from yesterday and off I went with my camera gear.

I headed down to my usual stomping grounds.......Island Grove in Abington.

The light was amazing. There was a fog and the sun was trying to break through. Just beautiful!

Day 294/Year 2

More to come tomorrow......

Powder Point Bridge

2012-01-09T20:50:00.001-05:00

This post is going to be a good example of how lighting can change the look of an image. These were shot on Saturday morning at Duxbury Beach. This first shot was taken just after we took the sunrise shots that I previously posted. I cropped it into a panoramic.

Pretty light, huh???

This next shot was taken maybe 20-30 minutes after the first shot. I was standing by the end of the bridge. Notice how the light is still warm, but not as warm and colorful as the first image:

This last shot was taken about 3 and a half hours after the second shot. Notice how cool the light is......there are no longer any warm tones:

THAT'S what is meant by "it's all about the light".

Snowy Owl Continued

2012-01-08T17:30:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the abrupt ending of my last post. I got hit really hard with this virus. Has anyone seen the Mac Truck that has run over me????? :-) I got up at 2:30 this afternoon. Not how I was planning on spending my weekend, but thank goodness I'm feeling better now.
So, let's go back to yesterday morning, shall we? Diane, our friend Leah, and my cousin Betty went to Duxbury early in the am. Our quest: find a snowy owl!!! Snowy owls live in the arctic circle, and in the winter, sometimes migrate down to Eastern US. Owls like airports, because the wide open space at the airports reminds them of the arctic tundra. This poses a threat to both the owls and the aircraft. Norman Smith, director of the Mass Audobon's Blue Hills Trailside Museum, has the snowy owl prject going. See here: http://www.massaudubon.org/Birds_and_Birding/snowyowl/index.php?gclid=CL_doPyuwa0CFcfe4AodqiWoAw So, as you see, he moves the owls to Duxbury Beach where it is safer.
So, we arrived at Duxbury Beach just in time for sunrise. It was a beautiful sunrise!!!

I was thrilled to get such a beautiful sunrise. I had promised you some good pictures this weekend, so at least I knew I had a decent sunrise to share. For one thing, I wasn't sure if we would even find an owl, and for another thing, I wasn't experienced with the lens that I had rented. There is a learning curve. Diane and I spoke about the learning curve with this lens on the drive. Shooting with such a long lens requires practice, and any error is magnified. Any camera shake or movement will effect the image quality.

The weather: The weather was INSANE. I mean insane in a good way. This was January 7th?????? Temps were in the 50's, there was NO WIND. No wind at the beach in January???? Come on......insane!!!! It was a perfect day in every way. We were blessed, and we knew it. What an amazing morning we had.

So, after we shot the sunrise, we got back in my vehicle, and started the drive out along the peninsula in search of the snowy owls. An over the sand permit is required to drive out there, but we were misinformed, and were told that "they don't patrol that area in the winter, so you can just drive out there." So, we were about a mile or two in, when we were approached by the HarborMaster in his 4 wheel drive pick up truck who informed us we needed to turn around. Turn around? Are you kidding me?

So, back we went to the parking area where I shamelessly was trying to get us a drive back in. Our Harbormaster "friend" came along......I offered him 20 bucks for a ride out there in the back of his pickup, and he refused my offer.........even after I told him I was the mother of a Police Officer!!!! :-)

OMG....the laughs we had. I also solicited myself to a boy in a pick up truck who couldn't have been more than 16 yrs old. I think I frightened him.........

So, off we went using our legs, lugging our gear.......until we came across a vehicle along the road where we met our saviors!!!! I stopped their vehicle and asked if they had seen any photographers gathered or any owls out there. They said yes!!! I asked how far......he said a few more miles back........I offered him 20 dollars if they would turn around and drive us in.......he said get in the car, but I won't take your money. :-)I was just afraid by the time we got there if we walked that the owl would be gone. Who knew if we would ever see one! Our saviors!!!!! LOL........His name was Ed and we forget her name, but they were soooooo kind. They drove us in and dropped us off at the spot where the owl was sitting perched on the post. A Peregrine Falcon was there as well, but as soon as we got out of the vehicle, the Falcon took off, and we never saw it again.

The owl was at least 500 feet or more away from us. There was no way we were going to get any decent shots with the equipment we had. The 300 mm lens I rented was not going to give us enough reach. We would have needed at least a 500 mm lens with a teleconverter. We were informed by a young boy and his Dad who were photographing as well that this was probably a female owl because of the markings. Her back was towards us the whole time, but occasionally she would turn her head towards us.....especially if she heard any noise such as any approaching wildlife. Her head could rotate 360 degrees, so in my shots when you see her face, you are actually looking at her from behind, but her head is rotated all the way to her back. Pretty cool!!!!!

We spent a long time out there with her. She never once got off her perch. We had a long walk back to the car, but it was a pleasure. As I stated, the weather couldn't have been any better!!!

What a morning!!!! What an awesome adventure!!!! What a lot of laughs we had along the way!!!! I have had a few photography "goals". My first goal was to photograph a Bald Eagle.

Check.

Got a Bald Eagle in Bar Harbor 2 years ago.

My next goal was to photograph or at least "see" an owl in the wild.

Check.

Got the owl yesterday.

What will my third wildlife photography goal be? Beside the elusive bull moose in a picturesque pond lifting his head out of the water, with pond grass hanging off his antlers, water dripping off his beard, as he's looking straight into the lens of my camera...........I would have to say my goal would be to invest in the gear that I would need to accomplish these goals in a better way. It will take a lot of saving so it won't be coming anytime soon, but it is a goal that some day I hope to reach. In the meantime, I am happy with the memories and the thrill of just seeing such beautiful creatures. I feel blessed for sure!

PS....a special thank you to Ed and his wife for so generously giving us a ride. :-)

Snowy Owl!!!

2012-01-07T18:59:00.000-05:00

Had one of the nicest mornings today. Not so good rest of the day. Sick with stomach bug.

Thanks Jay.......

More tomorrow.........

Thank you!!!!

2012-01-06T18:22:00.000-05:00

I'd like to thank all of you very much for voting for Kaitlyn and Joe in the cutest couple contest. We gave it our best shot, but another couple pulled through at the end with more votes. Kaitlyn and Joe ae very grateful for all of the votes they received!!!!
Sooooooo............I never break a promise........and I DID promise you that I was going to post some amazing pictures this weekend as a way to thank you all....(OMG the pressure is on me now....yikes!!!!!!) I will post an image tonight of what is hopefully going to help me in my endeavor to get some awesome pictures. Here it is. It's big. It's large. It's heavy. It's rented. I don't own this thing but I rented it for the weekend. Here it is:

I've never shot with such a big lens before....so this ought to be interesting.

It's a Nikon 300 mm F4 lens. I wanted to rent something bigger and better.....but price prohibited me from doing so..........so the 300 mm lens it is!!!! It was affordable to rent, and it gives me more reach than I now have.

So.......off I go tomorrow morning, with the big lens in tow.......stay tuned........

LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!!!

2012-01-05T17:06:00.000-05:00

Day 289/Year 2

Hi everyone! How are all of you blog readers doing????? I have to ask for a favor one more time.

Do you remember last month I posted a link to vote for Kaitlyn and Joe in the cutest couple contest???? Well, I know some of you did vote, and for that I am very thankful.....so thank you!!!!!!! Kaitlyn and Joe will win a FREE wedding cake for their upcoming wedding this year if they win this thing. Cool, huh???

Here's the deal: Voting ends TOMORROW, (Friday). The way it stands, Kaitlyn and Joe have been running neck and neck with another couple in the number of votes. As of yesterday, Katilyn and Joe were in the lead. BUT....................they still need your votes. Rumor has it that the "other couple" are going for a big "push" tomorrow and plan on sliding in lots of votes to take the lead.

We can't let that happen!!! I've known these kids since they were in first grade, and now I am kind of obsessed with this contest, and I REALLY REALLY want these kids to win this thing. Can you help me out?????

All you have to do is follow this link......you need to "like" the Casual Gourmet, and then cast your vote for Kaitlyn and Joe in the cutest couple contest.

http://www.facebook.com/thecasualgourmet?sk=app_190322544333196

You have to have a Facebook account in order to vote.

Remember, voting ends tomorrow, Friday January 6th!!!!!!!

If you could pass this along to your friends on Facebook and ask them to vote, I would be forever grateful.

As a thank you to all of you for helping me out with this, I PROMISE you I will post some awesome photos this weekend here on the blog. I have some plans to go out shooting this weekend, and I PROMISE I'll post some great shots to thank you.

Thank you thank you thank you. You are the best!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Carol

Bottoms Up!

2012-01-04T15:49:00.000-05:00

Day 288/Year 2

"Behold the duck.
It does not cluck.
A cluck it lacks.
It quacks.
It is specially fond
Of a puddle or pond.
When it dines or sups,
It bottoms ups."

-------Ogden Nash

Be like a duck

2012-01-03T18:43:00.000-05:00

Day 287/Year 2

I had a great day today down at the pond. It was cold out, but it felt so good to be out there pressing the shutter of my camera.

"Be like a duck. Calm on the surface but always paddling like the dickens underneath".

----Michael Caine

Beach Rose hips

2012-01-02T19:13:00.000-05:00

Day 286/Year 2

The fruit of the rose plant........

"Rose hips are used for herbal tea, jam, jelly, syrup, soup, beverages, pies, bread, wine, and marmalade. They can also be eaten raw, like a berry, if care is used to avoid the hairs inside the fruit."

I NEVER knew this about rose hips. Learn something new everyday I guess.

A Year in Review Part 2

2012-01-01T16:07:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!!! I hope you enjoyed your New Year's Eve festivities last night. What a year this has been!!!! This year was the year of "the wedding". No.......not Prince William and Kate.........the "other" big wedding.... Miss J and Steve of course! :-) It was a fast year.....I can't believe it's over. Where does the time go? I will never know. I haven't been out with my camera much lately and I so wish I could have been out this morning. I was at work and up on the floors as the sun rose and the sky was so beautiful. I thought to myself "Now THIS would be a great way to start the New Year........getting a New Year's morning sunrise shot. Oh well. It wasn't meant to be.
I'd like to continue my year in review today. These images may not all be my 'technically best' shots, but they also are shots that just have special meaning to me. I hope you are enjoying seeing them again. Here we go........

I'm surprised at myself that I haven't picked many bird shots as being my favorites from this past year. Anyways, this Snowy Egret shot is one of my favorites. I wish I had longer reach than the 200 mm I have with my longest lens, but I made the best with what I have. I like the reflection in the water on this shot, which I think adds interest.

Every mother wants to see their daughter look this happy. I love this image I took of Miss J before we left the house on her wedding day.

Daddy's little girl. Sigh. I just love this picture.

Although I swore I was not going to be the mother of the bride taking pictures, I just couldn't help myself. And I'm glad I did take a few pictures. Like this one.

Sigh again!

My favorites would not be complete without at least one or two foliage images. Fall is New England.......it doesn't get any better anywhere in the world as far as I'm concerned. This image was taken at Indian Head in New Hampshire.

"Turn the car around"!!!! That's what I requested of Mr. S after we passed this scene in Ashby MA. I knew I had to go back and take some shots of this barn with the horses and chickens!

Through the tunnels in Sheffield VT. Rt 91 North and Sothbound run above these two tunnels. I like the composition of this shot with the bright orange tree visible through the second tunnel.

I like antiquity and I just like this shot that I took at Hartwell Tavern in Minuteman National Park in Lexington MA.

My final image. This was taken at Luddams Ford Park in Hanover MA. I like this image because I was able to capture what I envisioned before I went there to shoot. I was hoping to get a nice sunset sky and was hoping to be able to get a good exposure using a slow shutter speed to blur the water. It all came together for me and that's always a very good feeling!

Thanks for allowing me to indulge. I needed this exercise to remind myself why I do what I do.........that all my pictures may not be perfection, but in the midst of them, there are a few that have a special meaning to me. I wish you all a very happy new year, filled with good health, love, laughter, and good photographic opportunities. And.......if you don't have the photographic opportunities, I hope you can think outside of the box and make the opportunities happen for you. (This is a reminder for myself as well!)

2011 Carol's View Of New Englnd.......a year in review

2011-12-31T21:29:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share with you some of my favorite blog images from 2011. I will give the reason why each image is a favorite of mine as well.
Here they are, in no particular order:

This image was taken in March of 2011 in Hull MA. I like the New England look to this scene....the white steepled church (I am a sucker for thequintessential NE church scenes) and I like the old architecture and clock on the red building. The American flag blowing in the breeze adds to the Americana feel which I like very much.

This image was taken in February 2011.....when my Dad was in the hospital. This image has a special meaning to me, as I feel it invokes an emotional response to the viewer.

This image just makes me laugh!!!! This was taken in January 2011 in the hospital parking lot. Those are Diane's bare feet hanging out the window of her car. I got the idea to make a "spoof" image in reference to Rex Ryan (the coach of the NY Jets) after his foot fettish scandal, and the video that was released where he was acting as a stranger to his wife discussing her beautiful feet as she hung them out the car window. :-)

April of 2011 brought this "Lydia" image. I just really like this shot. The promise of Spring symbolized by the Robin contrasting with the reality of death represented by the grave stones is just a really cool juxtaposition in my opinion. I also like the tones as well as the depth of field of this shot.

I have many shots of gulls in flight, but this one is special to me. I just really like how the gull seems to be sheltered by the wings. It's not your typical bird in flight shot, so I like it for it's uniqueness.

The day I took this was an awesome morning for photography. Diane and I met our friend Greg Lessard in Middleboro at something like 5:30 am. The fog was like pea soup, and we made the best of it and got some wonderful foggy images. After the fog cleard, it turned into a brilliant morning, and I just love the composition with the fenceline in this shot that I took. I also love the reflection of the fence in the puddle.

My Great niece Rowan looking face to face with Rudy. The expression on her face is priceless and I was so happy to capture it with my camera!!

This is my Great Nephew Ashton. I love everything about this image. I was visiting them and had my camera. I took many pictures of his face etc that day, but this image taken from behind was my absolute favorite!

This very well could possibly be my very favorite of the year. This was taken on Mothers Day and this is my Mom with her Great Grandaughter Rowan. I don't think any words are needed to tell you why I love this image so much.

As you know, I am drawn to farm scenes, and I just really like this one taken on a very rainy afternoon in Vermont as the farmer was walking the cows back home to the barn.

Tenderness and innocence are what I see when I look at this image taken at a family funeral outside of the church. This is Mr S's cousins son, Alex.

It's all about the light.....and I just love the light I was able to capture in this image taken at the Orleans County Fair in Barton VT.

My three reasons to live with each of their significant others. I just love the happy looks on their faces. We had such a fun weekend that weekend!

I love this guy!! I printed this one for a Christmas order and it looks even better in print. Just love his pose and the colors!!!!

I love reflections and think this one is just plain cool! This was another wonderful photography outing. I was with Diane out shooting down at Nantasket Beach in Hull MA before sunset.

I'm really glad I decided to post my favorites. I've been in a major photography slump lately (Can you tell??? LOL) Of course you can!!!! But.....this has been a very good exercise for me going back over my past images. I didn't realize there were so many that I liked. I'm not finished with the year yet.......so I will finish posting my favorites tomorrow in part two. Stay tuned!

I'm off to bed.....it's 9:30 pm on New Years Eve. I will be getting up at 4:45 am for work so no ringing in the new year at midnight for me. Hope you all are having a fun and safe evening!!!!

A top 2011 news story

2011-12-30T19:29:00.000-05:00

With the year 2011 coming to an end, there has been lots of talk about the "big news stories of the year". There have been so many big stories that have effected so many lives. One of the biggest news stories here in New England was the horrific flooding from Hurricane Irene. Although Irene was dowgraded to a Tropical Storm by the time it hit New England, it still brought a fierce blow to parts of New England......especially Western Massachusetts and Southwest and Central Vermont.
Mr. S and I visited some of the hardest hit areas of VT when we traveled up there in October, the week after Miss J's wedding. The flooding occurred on August 28th, and we visited the area on October 12th. Clean up was well underway by that time, but the effects of the flooding were still evident, a few months after the storm passed. Many roads and bridges were still closed.........but incredibly a large number of roads were reopened due to the heroic efforts by the road crews.
There were so many horrific scenes that we witnessed.......2 months after the cleanup began. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to photograph a lot of the damage. It was upsetting for me to see, and I just didn't feel "right" photographing other people's pain and sorrow. I don't know why I felt that way, but all I can say is that I did feel that way at that moment in time. It was strange for me, because I would normally be "all about" capturing scenes like those. But on that particular day, it just didn't feel right to me.
I have never shared these images here on the blog, so I feel it is fitting for me to share them here today. These are just a tiny sample of what we saw.........I'm glad I didn't photograph the worst of the damage that we saw. Those images will remain in my memory.

Party Animal!!!!!!!

2011-12-29T19:02:00.000-05:00

Rudy is daydreaming about his New Year's Eve party this weekend..........

Pause

2011-12-28T19:56:00.000-05:00

Day 281/Year 2

Just going to "paws" for a few moments..........

Look who I found today!

2011-12-27T17:06:00.000-05:00

Day 280/365

I must begin by telling you that I am feeling better today. The sugar detox is going well.....and I even had enough energy to go down to the pond today with my camera. (Yesterday's pond image was taken last week....sshhhhh don't tell!)

I was so surprised when I stumbled across the Great Blue Heron this time of year! He was just standing in the shallow water chilling out.....I'm sure he was looking for some lunch. I've never seen him around in the winter. These birds are very shy and skiddish and will take off in an instant if they sense your presence. Hence, my shot from today is of his backside as he took off as soon as I approached. I was using the method I was taught by my good friend and excellent bird photographer Greg Lessard. I was using the crouch down low and taking just a few baby steps at a time approach, but this heron wasn't buying it one bit.

I decided to investigate the subject of Great Blue Herons in the winter in New England and here's what I found:

"Many Great Blue Herons migrate south for the winter, but in New England, some stay around if there is open water, and many others head east and over winter along the coast instead. Because these herons stay so close through the winter, they are among the first birds to return in the spring."

It makes me wonder if this guy is staying around because the temperatures have been so unseasonably warm this year.

The Day After

2011-12-26T21:06:00.000-05:00

Day 270/Year2

How ya doin??? Do you have the post Christmas exhaustion like I do? I don't know what it is, but I am totally exhausted today. Do you think it could be from all of the junk food I have consumed over the past week?? I think my body is going through some sort of sugar withdrawals. My pancreas must be swollen from all of the insulin I have forced it to pump out the past few days. :-) Do you really think a pancreas could swell? I don't think so.......but I bet all of the insulin my pancreas has been producing has produced an abundance of trypotophan which has produced an overabundance of serotonin in my brain. So, not only is my pancreas swollen, but my brain is proabably getting ready to explode. All of that seretonin has made me mighty sleepy.

I think I better start my New Years diet a few days early..............

Yawn............

My Christmas wish for you

2011-12-25T19:21:00.000-05:00

Day 269/Year 2

I didn't take one picture today. I'm ok with that, and I hope you are too. I picked this older image to post for today, which I took back in December of 2008 at the Rockland Duck Pond. The snow was falling, and there wasn't a breeze.....the air was still and it was a beautiful peaceful sight. Remember in the past I have written that my images take me right back to the place and time they were taken? This one takes me back to that peaceful moment......I stopped in my tracks and just took in the peaceful sight.

That's my wish for you. To have peace in your lives. There are far too many people suffering in this world, and my wish is for everyone to find peace and happiness.

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas Day today. My day began by leaving the house at 5:15 am to go to work. Driving to work at that hour, I only passed two other cars on the road the entire drive to work. I kept thinking about how everyone was tucked in tight in their homes with their loved ones. I was wishing I was still tucked in tight with my loved ones too........but my day had begun in a different way, and I was needed elsewhere. Work was great......the patient count was very low so we weren't the least bit busy. I left work at 1:00.....an hour early........and we headed to Miss J and Steves house for a wonderful Christmas dinner. It's 7 pm on Christmas night, and we just opened our presents here in my house. It was a long day, but a wonderful day. I really hope your day was good as well.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:49:00.000-05:00

Day 268/Year 2

I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!! I hope it is filled with lots of love and happiness! As much as I love to decorate for the holidays, the manger and figurines are my favorite of all, as they are a reminder of the true meaning of the season.

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Delicious!!!

2011-12-23T19:14:00.001-05:00

Do you like those Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies? Well, if so, I have a secret recipe for you.........these "cookies" taste just like the Thin Mints and they are sooooo easy to make.
Here's what you need to make them:
Two bags of these Andes Baking Chips

A box of Ritz Crackers

A few candy canes....I used the mini ones but you can use the bigger ones if you'd like

Melt the Andes pieces in a double boiler. (I don't have a double boiler so I just put one pot inside of another pot to melt them) Dip the Riz crackers in the melted chocolate.....coating both sides......and remove with tongs. Place them on parchment paper (I used tin foil and it worked ok) and sprinkle a little bit of crushed candy cane on each one before they melt.

Here's the result:

I may have been a little too heavy handed with the candy cane sprinkles. You could do without them if you want and use red and green sprinkles or you could even leave them plain.

Honestly......they are delicious and taste just like Thin Mints. Enjoy!!!!!

Welcome Winter?????

2011-12-22T19:26:00.001-05:00

Day 266/Year 2

Today is the official first day of winter.........but it sure doesn't feel like it here in Southeast MA. This skating rink in Pembroke would typically be frozen by now, but it's nothing but a giant puddle. As much as I would like to see some snow, it sure is nice to have the temps in the 50's to save on home heating oil. That's a Christmas gift in itself!

Glory

2011-12-22T05:32:00.000-05:00

Silent Night, Holy Night, All is calm, All is bright..........

Santa's Workshop

2011-12-20T16:53:00.000-05:00

Things seem to be going along really well at the workshop. Santa and the elves are taking care of all of the last minute stuff. Hope your workshop is going as well!

O Christmas Tree!

2011-12-19T18:51:00.001-05:00

When I was a little girl, one of my most favorite things to do at Christmas time was to lay under the Christmas tree and look up at all of the sparkling lights!

I hope you find peace and joy this Christmas!!

"O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
How often has the Christmas tree
Afforded me the greatest glee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me."

An adorable family!!!!!!!

2011-12-18T19:02:00.000-05:00

Miss J had wanted me to come over to their house and take some pictures for their first Christmas being married.....she was hoping to make up some Christmas cards. Well.......time got away from both of us and we never found the time for the photo session.

I was playing around today..........so, like, this probably isn't what she had in mind or anything........and I really hope she's a good sport about this, because I find it adorable.......but this is something I came up with for her.......

Ready???????................Here it is............................

In the spirit of fun and Christmas......I hope she will forgive me!!!! :-)

Diane's birthday

2011-12-17T18:22:00.000-05:00

You all must remember Diane..........my good friend and photography buddy........aka Diana, aka Cinderella, aka the one who hunts and gathers..............

We had a party at work today to not only celebrate the big day, but it also turned into a Christmas party. A nice Saturday at work!

Happy "28th" birthday Diane. :-)

Snowmen gather here

2011-12-16T20:14:00.000-05:00

This image was taken last week at my friend Joan's house. This is where all of the snowmen in the world reside. Right here. In Joan's house. It's like a snowman convention. Seriously. This image shows about 1/4 of the snowmen in Joan's collection.

They really are adorable, huh?

December Day

2011-12-15T17:49:00.000-05:00

As a landscape photographer, I find it difficult to find a scene which interests me enough to want to photograph this time of year. Wish we could get a nice few inches of snow. Not asking for too much.....just enough to pretty things up. Although, I do like the muted tones on this image, and the cloudy sky adds a wintry feel to this.........makes me feel there's a chill in the air even though there's no snow on the ground.......I think the bare tress and the grey sky convey to the viewer the feeling I was going after with this shot. Hope it works for you!

I'm in print!

2011-12-14T19:26:00.000-05:00

Here is the original:

I had to lighten and brighten the original for print. The original original (you know....the first copy I made.....) printed too dark on the test print so I resubmitted this lighter and more saturated version. It came out great in print and I am excited!!

Twinkle

2011-12-14T05:11:00.001-05:00

Day 257/Year 2

Exit 1

2011-12-12T20:50:00.000-05:00

Taken while traveling along Rte 93 in Vermont a few weeks ago.

Sunny Sunday

2011-12-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

Relaxing in the sunspot on a Sunday afternoon. Life is good........

First Christmas

2011-12-10T21:36:00.000-05:00

We went to Miss J and Steve's house tonight. The place looks amazing. I am so proud of them. This is an especially exciting Christmas for them........their first Christmas to be married......and their first Christmas in their own house.
Here's their mantle:

I love Stanley's stocking. :-)

Here's their first Christmas Tree:

This whole year will be filled with "firsts" for them. How exciting!!!!

The Sisterhood of the traveling camera

2011-12-09T19:47:00.000-05:00

Day 253/365

Spent a wonderful afternoon in Plymouth with my sister Nancy.

Sister-time is always fun time.....especially when eating fried scallops fresh off the boat for lunch! Nancy.......she had lobster salad. Yum!!

What a big nose you have!!!!! :-)

2011-12-08T22:26:00.000-05:00

Tonight was our annual Girl's Christmas party at my friend Joan's house. As always, we had a great time.......lots of laughs and lots of fun with my girlfriends. Each December, Joan has us over for dinner, and then she gives us a giant bag filled with Christmas items that she makes for us throughout the year.
Look up the word crafty in the dictionary, and you will find Joan's photo. :-) She is amazing.
We all chipped in to buy Joan a gift for hosting each year. Here is her wrapped gift.........I mean really.........how hysterical is this snowman ornament on the package????????

:-)

Pub Food

2011-12-07T19:16:00.000-05:00

Day 251/Year 2

Last night was beef stew...........tonight no cooking for me! :-)

Beef Stew

2011-12-06T18:43:00.000-05:00

Day 250/365

It's what's for dinner........

Diet Office Reflection

2011-12-05T18:20:00.000-05:00

I have a thing for reflections, and am always looking for photo ops in my surroundings. We each have our own ornament hanging at work, on the shelf above our work space. Before I went home this afternoon, I took a few shots of the reflection in my ornament. See me in there??????? :-)

Here comes Abby

2011-12-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

Day 248/365

My little girl coming to join me in the kitchen. She's so tiny, huh?

Tis The Season

2011-12-03T17:52:00.002-05:00

We're heading out to our first Christmas party of the season in a few minutes. Should be fun!

In the spirit of Christmas and giving etc........I am going to ask all of you to please do me a favor. If you are on Facebook (who isn't these days besides me......) could you please Go to The Casual Gourmet, and "like" them, then go to the cutest couple contest (Remember, you need to like them first) and please vote for Kaitlyn and Joe. http://www.thecasualgourmet.com/

Kaitlyn is the daighter of my very good friend and faithful blogging commenter Nancy I, and Joe is one of my son N's best friend. In fact, N is a groomsman in their wedding! I have known Kaitlyn and Joe since they both were in the first grade. They were selected to be part of the Casual Gourmet cutest couple contest and will get a free wedding cake if they win. How cool is that? Besides, I already know they are the cutest couple anyways, and I haven't even seen the other contestants. :-)

Here's the direct link from Kaitlyn:

http://www.facebook.com/thecasualgourmet?sk=app_190322544333196

Thanks a bunch!!!!!!

A Phobic's Drive In The City

2011-12-02T17:55:00.002-05:00

Where are we going you may ask? Let's go through the Tip O'Neill Tunnel in Boston, okay?

We must first reduce our speed.

Here we go...................

I find it really creepy and scary that we are going to have all of those buildings and things on top of us. How does the tunnel support all of that weight???? I never will know. Let's try not to think about it.......

Looks like we must reduce our speed again. This tunnel sure has a lot of curves. First the road curves to the right.

Now here we go curving to the left........

There are a few exits we can take if we choose......but lets keep going straight......

Looks like we can pick up a little more speed again in this section........

Finally......we're near the end and we survived the drive through the tunnel without it collapsing on us....

UH-OH........We're on the Zakim Bridge?????? But, I'm afraid of bridges.

For the life of me I'll never understand how these bridges support all of this weight.........

White Frosting

2011-12-01T21:26:00.000-05:00

Welcome Winter! Today is the first day of Metorological Winter.

This is the roof of our barn in Vermont, taken last weekend. Winter always comes a little bit early up there.....

Whistlin' Dixie In A Nor'Easter

2011-11-30T19:12:00.000-05:00

I started reading a really good book this weekend while in Vermont titled Whistlin'Dixie In A Nor'Easter. It's about a Southern belle who leaves her beloved home of Memphis TN to follow her husband's dream of owning and managing a quaint Vermont Inn.
So, here is an image of where I sat as I read this funny and heartwarming book.......a book that takes place in Vermont........as I sat in my comfy rocking chair beside my warm wood stove in my Vermont kitchen.......with an inch or two of snow on the ground outside.

How relaxing!! Wish I were there right now sitting by the fire.

By the way, the book is authored by Lisa Pattton if interested. I recommend it!!

The Little School House

2011-11-29T20:44:00.000-05:00

I've thought about photographing this little old school house for quite a while....... but there is an obtrusive satellite dish on one corner of the roof, and there are usually cars parked out front.......none of which go along with the look I am after. This weekend I decided to approach my shots from down the road. This allowed me to avoid the satellite dish, and I also was able to avoid the two cars which are parked out front. You can't see them because of the slight pitch in the road.

This is located on Baird Road....not sure if it is in Brownington or Barton. Isn't it adorable? I wish I could photograph this from a better angle. I go by here regularly, so perhaps another time I will find a better composition. This is a good example of the types of things you will find just by driving along a dirt road in Vermont. It's like a step back in time. See why I love it so much? :-)

I found my way

2011-11-28T18:54:00.001-05:00

Day 242/Year 2

I finally figured out where I was when I got to the next intersection. (This is part two from the blog I just wrote by the way) I finally knew where I was. I decided to make a stop here to photograph these horses, because I liked the smoke coming out of the chimney in the house behind them. The smoke added to the story of 2 horses grazing on a cold winter's day.

Jimapco: Don't leave home without it

2011-11-28T18:46:00.000-05:00

Day 241/365

I got lost! The first time ever. I have a VERY good sense of direction by the way.

Mr. S was working on the furnace Saturday afternoon. It was soooooo cold inside the house when we arrived. We started a fire in the wood stove, and I decided to take a drive and look for some photo ops. It was a grey day. The sky was grey......the trees were grey......the light was flat. I took a dirt road that I have never traveled on before, thinking I would know where it would come out. I drove, and drove, and drove. I was just waiting to come to an intersection, but it wasn't happening. Finally, I hit a STOP sign and decided to take a left which would put me towards the direction from where I came. I found some wonderful long views that I have filed away in my brain for some future Fall images. There's lots of promise in a few places I drove past. I decided to stop to shoot this barn......I liked the look of the barn, and I liked the mountains in the distance.

Normally I would have a Jimapco map book with me, but we weren't in my car. We took the weenie wagon this trip. The weenie wagon doesn't have a VT Jimapco. Note to self: Don't travel on any Vt dirt roads without the Jimapco. :-)

Rowan Turns One

2011-11-27T21:04:00.000-05:00

We attended my great niece Rowan's birthday party this afternoon. She is such a cutie pie. Here she is sharing her spaghetti with her daddy. Just precious!

Here's my great nephew Ashton, being busy as always!

Happy Birthday Rowan!!!! xxoo

I was away in VT this weekend. Will catch up on the blog I missed while I was away tomorrow night.

Happy Birthday to me!

2011-11-25T20:36:00.000-05:00

Day 239/Year 2

One more trip around the sun..............

Thanksgiving dinner table

2011-11-24T18:24:00.000-05:00

A day of Thanksgiving for all creatures.......great and small.

This was taken today through the window at my sister Kathleen's house in Hanover MA.

I hope your day was just as magical!

Pilgrims

2011-11-23T20:29:00.000-05:00

Day 237/Year 2

I hope you and your families have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day tomorrow.

Autumnal still life

2011-11-22T16:19:00.000-05:00

Day 236/Year 2

We're two days away from Thanksgiving. Can you believe it? It doesn't seem possible to me. Thanksgiving brings the end of the Fall decor. This weekend and next week, the Christmas decor will be brought out and put up in my house. I took a few Fall still life's today while I had the chance. Sigh.......I love the Fall and everything that goes along with it. Good news is.....I also love Christmas!

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 17-55 mm lens, ISO 200, 0.6 seconds, f16

Vignette added in post to add depth to the scene

The incredible edible

2011-11-21T17:57:00.000-05:00

Eggs-actly!!!!!!!!!!!

Puppy dog eyes

2011-11-20T19:15:00.000-05:00

Day 234/365

What. A. Face.

My favorite from the Maine trip

2011-11-19T19:46:00.000-05:00

I am always amazed at seeing a sunrise. There's something magical about that time of day. It's a humbling experience, and if you've never experienced being out there to see the sun rise, or if you haven't done it for years, I hope you can find the time to do it. You won't regret it. Promise.

Rhyme time

2011-11-18T19:30:00.001-05:00

"On the Rocks"

"On The Docks"

"On The Gawks" :-)

Special thanks to Jessica from camera club for allowing me to photograph her reflective sunglasses.......and "hi" to Dave in the reflection. :-)

Spring Point Ledge Light

2011-11-17T18:49:00.001-05:00

This lesser known lighthouse located in South Portland Harbor Maine was a fun place to visit. It would have been better if the skies cooperated......but there's nothing we can do about the weather but just take what you get and make the best of it. The clouds won out this time.

Spring Point Ledge Light is located along the Seacoast at Fort Prebble Maine.

"Fort Preble was known as Fort Hancock during the Revolutionary War, and was a temporary fort. In 1808, under the supervision of US President Thomas Jefferson, the construction of Fort Preble began. In contrast to other forts, this fort took a very short time to build; the fort was completed before the War of 1812. Fort Preble was named after Commodore Edward Preble, a heroic man born in Falmouth, Maine, which is today known as Portland. The fort was later enlarged and renovated to fit the needs of the sailors training there. Since then, Fort Preble has been periodically modernized. In 1863, Fort Preble served another purpose other than a sailor training base; it was used as a prison for Confederate sailors after an unsuccessful raid into the Portland Harbor. Fort Preble was manned until 1950. In 1952, the State of Maine gained control of Fort Preble, and turned the place into a Historic Landmark and built the Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) near it. Fort Preble overlooks the Portland Harbor and has a great view of Fort Gorges."

Taken from Maine.Gov website

Here's Kevin, one of the members of my camera club photographing from the top of one of the forts:

A view of the lighthouse from one of the fort windows:

Day 231/Year 2

Portland Head Light

2011-11-16T20:38:00.000-05:00

Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth Maine is a beautiful lighthouse, with many different photographic opportunities. When we first arrived here, the sun was shining and there were a few pretty clouds dotting the sky. It was mid day, not the best time for landscape photography, but we made the best of it.

We were there for quite a while, and the clouds were rapidly rolling in.

We were planning on staying for sunset, but the clouds won over and Diane and I decided to start the long drive home while there was at least a little bit of daylight left.

Tomorrow I will share with you one more lighthouse that we photographed on Saturday.