Favorite images of 2012

It's that time of year again when we look back over the past year......where we have been....what we have done....and pick out our favorite images we have taken.
I will share my favorites from 2012 here in chronological order.

January of 2012 I was fortunate to not only see a Snowy Owl in the wild, but to photograph one of these graceful predators in Duxbury MA.

A beautiful January sunrise at Duxbury Beach

The winter of 2011/2012 did not bring much snowfall to New England, so I was glad I went to Wollaston Beach one early morning after an overnight snowfall. Here is the Squantum Yacht Club.

"The Solo"

This lone tree image was taken as I was hiking up Prospect Hill in Brownington VT. The lone Crow in the tree makes this image for me.

March brought me out shooting with the new (to me) 70-300 mm lens and I just like the curvature of the branches in this sparrow image.

We spent a wonderful March weekend in VT during maple syrup season and these next three images are my favorites from that weekend.

Sunrise at Crystal Lake in Barton VT

Spring arrived and I got some environmental portraits of this nesting swan in Weymouth MA.

The Spring of 2012 was pretty much spent at my fathers hospital bedside, but I did manage to head out to Saquish in June for a photography outing.

My Dads homecoming after spending 9 weeks in the hospital.

Early September in Middleboro MA

Seyon Pond in Groton VT on a still morning with peak foliage. This morning was my "photographic moment" of 2012.

Thanks for sharing 2012 with me.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas 2012. I can't believe the day is almost over. We had a fantastic day here in the S household and I hope you all had a wonderful day as well.
I want to share with you a picture of my great niece, Rowan.
                      ******CUTENESS ALERT******
 Good Lord this child is adorable!!!!!! I just love her and her coat and hat. That coat and hat just kills me!!!!!!

I know it! I warned you!!!! :-)

Here is Christmas love between mother and child.

Love this,

Precious moments and precious memories.

Bless the little children!!

The recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown CT has left a profound impact on all of us and I'm sure will change America forever. I pray for all of the families who have been devastated and hope that the love of their families, their community, and their nation will help them to get through this holiday season.
How blessed was I to spend some time this morning with our great niece, Mckenna, who is up visiting from South Carolina. Each time Mckenna has visited over the past few years, I have put her up on the blog and shown her off to all of you.
She is perfection in every way. There is no doubt about it. It's amazing to see how much she has grown, and her little personality is showing through. She's a little sweetheart......so well mannered, and so well behaved. Kudos to Shantal and Brandon for being such wonderful parents. :-0) Mckenna is very bashful, but she warmed up to us after a while. So much in fact that she made her way over to an empty booth in the restaurant where we were gathered for breakfast this morning, and was having fun with the reflections in the mirror.

This is what Christmas is all about!!!! I wish you a very merry Christmas.

Peace and love,

Carol

One of America's darkest days

Darkness......sadness.....how could this happen?

Horror

Anger

Shock

Grief

With tears in my eyes.........grieving for all of those at that Connecticut Elementary School.

Elementary School????? Elementary School???? This can't be real. Please tell me this isn't real.

This isn't supposed to happen.

Prayers.....

Here comes Schnoodle Clause

Rudy is really getting into the Christmas spirit......

Kaitlyn and Joe's wedding

It was an honor and a pleasure to attend the wedding of Kaitlyn and Joe this weekend. You must remember Kaitlyn and Joe???? They have been featured here on the blog a few times over the past year. They got married down the Cape (that would be Cape Cod for those of you not familiar with the term!) The reception was at the Counamessett Inn. It was gorgeous and all decked out for Christmas. The perfect place for a December wedding!!
 Here are the newly wed Mr. and Mrs. taking their walk down the aisle of the church.

Kaitlyn's Mom and Dad are best-est friends with me and Mr. S. I would like to introduce them to you here........Nancy is "THE NANCY I" who frequently comments here on the blog. She was a stunning mother of the bride, and handsome Tony didn't look too shabby himself! :-)

Oh Kaitlyn......you are gorgeous!!!!

Just look at the expression of happiness on their faces. Sigh........so special!!!!

The perfect ending to a perfect evening......

For Kathy

This post is dedicated to my dear friend Kathy, who lost her husband yesterday to Pancreatic Cancer. Kathy was with me a few years ago on the day that  I took this image. She came out shooting with me on a gorgeous Spring day. We spotted this Great Blue Heron and I wanted to wait for him/her to take flight. I knew it was going to be a while, and Kathy was so kind and told me to take my time.......no matter how long it took for me to get the shot I was after......she would wait with me and just enjoy the day and enjoy being outdoors. That's just the kind of friend that she is.

This image is a symbol for you my friend. Be strong......have patience as you go through these difficult times.......and take flight. You are stronger than you think.

Love you......

Winter's First Whisper

The firstsnowfall of the season is always exciting. The first day of December ushered in the first snowfall here in Southeast MA. Not much.......just enough to pretty things up a bit!

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)

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.

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.

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:

http://www.whiffletreecandles.com/default.htm

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.

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