Boston Public Gardens Snowliage

 I feel like I'm all over the place here on the blog this Fall. I know yesterday I wrote that the next several blog posts would feature pictures from Vermont, but I decided to change it up and post photos I took this past weekend in The Boston Public Gardens the morning after our Fall snowstorm. 

It was a cold morning with the temperatures in the upper 20's, but it was 100 percent sunny skies and virtually no wind....a very comfortable morning to walk through the city.

The walking bridge across the lagoon:

skyline and snowliage reflections:

More skyline reflections:

Many people were out and about on this beautiful morning:

George Washington greets visitors coming in this entrance to the Gardens

The lagoon bridge:

I hope you enjoyed viewing these as much as I enjoyed taking them. I can't say what the next blog post will be about.....Vermont??.....cranberry bogs??......Boston's Beacon Hill???? I have a lot of posting to do as I've made the most out of this Fall season. I'm not particularly looking forward to this Winter and what it may bring with the covid surge so I've been out while I can.

Stay safe and healthy my friends! xxoo

Jenne Farm Reading Vermont

 After the three day trips that I took to NH and VT this Fall, I went back up with my husband for a four night stay in Killington, as my house in Barton was not available at the time.

 Vermont has some strict travel restrictions this year due to covid 19. My husband and I adhered to the travel restrictions....we both got tested for covid 19 before we went. We stayed at a very nice one bedroom condo at the base of Pico Mountain. The owner assured me the place would be sanitized before our arrival, but I still opened every window and sliding door and sprayed the place down with Lysol spray as soon as we arrived. We also Clorox wiped every single surface, light switch, door knob, faucet, tv remote etc etc etc. We ate our meals at the condo except for one morning we went out for breakfast. This was our first time at a restaurant since February. We chose to eat outdoors under the tent, and we were the only ones out there. We felt very safe.

The next several blog posts will contain photos about this foliage trip. Today I will tell you about my trip to Jenne Farm.

It has been noted that Jenne Farm is one of the most photographed farms in the World.....and I believe it! I've been photographing Fall in Vermont for over 20 plus years and have seen literally hundreds of photos of this location taken by other photographers. I actually got the point of being almost sick of seeing the photos and purposely avoided going here myself. Until this year....and I must tell you that the beauty there is undeniable and really deserves to be seen in person. I'm actually glad I finally made it there.

I first learned of this location from a Massachusetts photographer who during the 70's wrote "a little yellow pamphlet book about finding scenic places to photograph in VT" His name is Arnold Kaplan and I was lucky enough to meet him one day a few years ago before he passed away. He was a superstar in my eyes!

Through the years I've seen pictures of photographers standing elbow to elbow with their tripods set up on the hillside overlooking the farm. Today there is a sign posted to "please stay off the grass." I initially didn't see the sign when I arrived but it's there for a very good reason.....this is someone's home and property and it needs to be respected. Even this Fall I've seen photographs posted on social media that photographers have taken down at the pond by the house. This is a total invasion of privacy so I urge you to please respect the property and the owner's privacy if you go here to photograph. 

As stated, I'm happy to have finally seen this beautiful location. More photos from day one of our trip will be coming soon.

Stay safe and healthy xxoo

Snowliage Trick or is it a Treat?

 We got about 3-4 inches of snow here today at my house in SE MA.

It is the year 2020 afterall, where by now we know to expect the unexpected.

Stay safe and well my friends. xxoo

Words for Wednesday 10/28/2020

 

"For one minute,

walk outside.

Stand there in silence.

Look up at the sky.

And contemplate how amazing life is."

Route 9 Southern Vermont

 On October 2nd, I made another mask wearing day trip up North. This day I went up to explore the Rte 9 "Molly Stark Scenic Byway" in Southern VT. This stretch of road takes you literally across the state of Vermont, from Brattleboro to Bennington. 

On the ride to Vermont....this was taken as we were driving along Route 2 in Athol MA. The sun was rising behind us and the rain was beginning to Fall.

I knew that the weather in the area we were headed was forecasted for showers, rain, and low clouds in the morning, with partial clearing from West to East in the afternoon. I learned a long time ago to not let bad weather prohibit me from heading out with my camera. Low clouds and fog can add drama to the photos, and the color of the wet leaves really pop. 

Route 9 begins in the low lands of Brattleboro. That area was still mostly green, as expected on this fairly early date, but I knew once we got up into the highlands that we would find more color.

Our first stop was to the Hogback Mountain overlook in West Marlboro VT. It was raining when I shot this photo.

The road into Harriman Reservior in Wilmington:

Harriman Reservior:

From here we took Somerset Road in Searsburg and found this lovely row of Sugar Maples.

Another stop we made along this road.

Back onto Route 9 this is the color we saw in the highlands.

We took a different route to get back home and made several stops in Pownal and North Pownal. This area is just to the south of Bennington. As I've said before, the best way to find photo ops and beautiful scenes is to hit the back roads of VT! We found early color in this area and it looked like it had another week to a week and a half before this area would peak. But, I was very impressed with the early color that we saw.

My friend noticed this white horse as we were traveling along one of the many dirt roads in the area, so I backed up to check it out. Although this isn't technically the greatest photo ever, I love the story book feel of this one.

The skies were finally brightening, and here are the last few photos I took in the Pownal area.

It was another long day, but very fun day!

Stay safe and healthy my friends. xxoo

Words For Wednesday 10/21/2020

 

"I can not endure to waste anything so precious as Autumnal sunshine by staying in the house."

                                     -----------Nathaniel Hawthorne

Harrisville NH and Jaffrey NH Fall Photos

 Today's a good day to catch up on posting here on the blog. It's cloudy and a bit chilly here in Southern New England. It's also a good day for cooking and I'm going to be making a big pot of vegetarian chile and a cornbread later this afternoon. 

On September 29th I took a daytrip to Southern NH with a friend. Again, it was a mask wearing long day, but it was a fun day and the weather was beautiful.

First stop of the day:

I'm all about back road driving......that's where you can find the good spots to photograph. As we were driving  North through the town of Peperrell MA we crossed a bridge that went over the Nashua River. The view to the right was lovely, so I turned around and parked the car and walked back to take some photos. I had left my house in SE MA at 4:40 AM and by the time we were this far North the sun was rising and there was no wind with just a bit of fog left on the water in the distance. 

We then made another road side stop at a very small and narrow bridge along the way. I forgot to take a cell phone shot at this location, so I have no idea where this was. Ugh. I really love this shot and regret not knowing the exact location. It is somewhere in Northern MA near the NH border. 

A bit of Autumn Americana:

We then made it to our first destination.....the beautiful town of Harrisville NH. It was my first time here, and I immediately fell in love with this quaint Southern NH town.

From here, we meandered some back roads in the area and came across this old shed which was just begging to be photographed.

We also stumbled upon this field of grazing sheep.

We then made our way towards Mount Monadnock and found this lovely back lit New England Fall scene, complete with a stone wall. 

Some road side blue berries. We didn't eat any, although I was tempted.

Here is Mount Monadnock taken from Perkins Pond in Troy NH:

An adorable farm in Dublin NH with Mount Monadnock in the background.

Our final stop of the day just as the clouds were rolling in was the Jaffrey Meetinghouse in Jaffrey NH.

So happy I was able to safely make this day trip happen.

Stay safe and healthy my friends!