Happy Birthday Mom and Dad!

We interrupt the regularly scheduled images of Vermont today to celebrate a milestone..............

Being able to celebrate your 90th birthday is a gift. Being able to celebrate your 90th birthday with your husband/wife is a blessing that very few people are able to experience. However, celebrating YOUR 90th birthday on the same day as your husband/wife is extraordinary!!!!!

The folks turned 90 years old today. Yes, that's right........they share the same birthday.......same day........same year!!!!

These two have seen so much in their lifetime and the world is a totally different place today than it was when they were kids. But one thing has always remained the same.... and that is their love for each other, their love of their families, and their faith in God.

We celebrated with a birthday lunch this afternoon.

The official party will be taking place with a family dinner at one of their favorite restaurants this Saturday. But we just had to kick off the festivites on the big day!

We are truly blessed!

My Mom told me the first thing she said to Dad this morning when she woke up was "WE MADE IT"!

:-)

Yes Mom, you sure did and we couldn't be any happier. We love you both !!!!!!

Crystal Lake, Barton VT

Crystal Lake is about 1 mile away from our house in Vermont. It's one of my favorite places and I spent a few hours here on Saturday afternoon.

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/160, f13, -1/3 ev

I have sooooo many wonderful memories of times spent here with the kids when they were younger. This place holds some very special memories for us. Sigh.

Happy sigh.

The good thing is now that the kids are older, they are coming back here and making more memories for themselves. This makes me very happy!

My favorite spot at the lake is over on the right hand side at a little cove. There are several birch trees (I LOVE birch trees) and this is where I parked my chair (and my butt) on Saturday for a few hours of peaceful relaxation with a good book, and my camera of course.

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/400, f9

I wasn't the only one sitting under the birch trees. I had some company.

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/160, f9

It was a beautiful blue sky day and things were really "looking up"! :-)

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/400, f9

It makes me happy to know the next time I'll be visiting here, this place will be ablaze in Fall colors. But no matter what the season, the beauty of this special place is a gift that I certainly do not take for granted.

A Vermont Sunset

We spent a wonderful 3 day weekend in Vermont. The weather was great, and there was a Fall feel to the air. This made me quite happy.
 Friday was sunny in the morning, then clouds came in the afternoon and we had a brief shower at dinner time. The rain ended after an hour or so, and we took a drive up to May Pond Road to look for moose. We saw a few deer, and a possible pheasant that was in a distant field. There was talk amongst us that it could have been a turkey, but my son N decided it was a pheasant, and I decided to go with his assumption because seeing a pheasant is way more exciting than seeing a turkey. :-) No pictures of this questionable feathered friend. However, I was pleasantly surprised when we got to the top of this road, that the clouds began to clear just as the sun was setting. This is always one of my favorite views in Barton of Jay Peak at sunset.

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 640, 1/500, f5.6

Shorebirds

I went to Wollaston today with my friend Jude from my camera club, and also my cousin BettyAnn. Jude lives in the area, and is becoming quite the birder. I knew we were in good hands with her guidance. We walked down to the marsh area behind Caddy Park and were delighted to find 15 White Egrets back there.

Nikon D90, 70-300 mm lens, ISO 250, 1/1250, f11, -1ev

We walked a small path to the other side and found this Semipalmated Plover

Nikon D90, 70-300 mm lens, ISO 800, 1/3200, f11

We then went across the street to Wollaston Beach in search of some Terns. Unfortunately the Terns were not around today, but we did find many more Semipalmated Plovers.

Nikon D90, 70-300 mm lens, ISO 800, 1/2000, f11, -2/3ev

 They blend so well into their environment that it's difficult to spot them along the waters edge.

I titled this shot:

"The Bases Are Loaded"

Nikon D90, 70-300 mm lens, ISO 800, 1/2500, f11, -1ev

Not a Shorebird, but I spotted a pair of  Mourning Doves perched in a tree at Caddy Park. Here's a shot of one of them:

Nikon D90, 70-300 mm lens, ISO 800, 1/500, f11, +2/3 ev

Thanks Jude for a great morning!

Monponsett Pond

Or should I have titled this post "Row row row your boat"?
Mr. S and I took the row boat out this evening.......a glorious summer evening..... and the humidity finally has broken. So peaceful and relaxing. (Well, relaxing for me as I wasn't the one rowing the boat) *wink*

Panasonic LX3, ISO 80, 1/1000, f4,5

Oh how I love that man!!!!! :-)

The setting sun was beautiful this evening. I waited with the boat tied at the dock while Mr. S went to get the truck and trailer. I set the camera on the dock and focused on the knotted rope tied to the cleat and this was the result.

Panasonic LX3, ISO 80, 1/1300, f2.8

One final shot before we departed and headed home:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 125, 1/1000, f4.5

Fire at Morrell's Country Kitchen

There was a 2 alarm fire today at Morrell's Country Kitchen in Abington........a favorite breakfast place for many of the locals........including my Mother-In-Law who ate breakfast here every morning.

Who doesn't love a fire fighter? These men and women are brave and are heros.

This next image says it all. The man on the left in the green hat is Peter Morrell, the owner of Morrell's Country Kitchen.

The fire started in an electrical panel just after 2 pm this afternoon. No patrons were in the restaurant at the time, as it closed at 1:30pm today. No injuries have been reported, thank God.

All images taken with the Nikon D90, 70-300 mm lens

Zinnias!

I bought myself a beautiful pot of Zinnias at my favorite farmstand last week (Lolans Farm on Thompson St in Middleboro) They are blooming and growing like crazy and I just love all of the different colors. They start to wilt by the end of the day, but once they are watered, they come back and are just gorgeous. I have the pot placed on an antique milk can out on my front stoop.

Nikon D90, 17-55 mm lens, ISO 640, 1/250, f8

Nikon D90, 17-55 mm lens, ISO 640, 1/320, f9