Monthly Archives: May 2023

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May 28, 2023

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Photographic Thoughts — 05/21/2023 to 05/27/2023

“Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure.” — Tony Benn

Random thoughts and ideas for this week.

This week’s adventures.

Sunday, 05/21/2023: Posted photo — Angel of Patience

The Angel of Patience statue by Design Toscano is a majestic sculpture. Patience is the ability to endure delay, trouble, or suffering without getting upset. This statue is in one of the gardens at our church. I took this photo between masses while selling cakes for the Relay for Life.

Flower of the day: Alyssum

This aromatic bloom emits a tranquil, spiritual vibe that promotes emotional equilibrium. Apart from being a symbol of beauty, the sweet alyssum protects the wearer from dangerous situations.

Monday, 05/22/2023: Posted photo — Hiking/Newt/Big Dipper.

Monday night is hiking night. Here is a photo of some of the members of the group of hikers I lead tonight. I took them on some of the more difficult trails. Some people may consider Wachusett Mountain not a difficult mountain to hike. I could bring them on some trails that would change their minds.

During the hike, I came across a newt. A newt is a salamander. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

When I arrived back home from my hike, I saw the big dipper. My phone has a night sky feature so I tried it out on the big dipper.

Flower of the day: Lady Slipper

At one of the trail junctions, we saw some Lady Slippers. A Pink lady’s slipper is a large, showy wildflower belonging to the orchid family. It has two opposite basal leaves with conspicuous parallel veins and a large flower at the end of an erect stalk. The flower is magenta to whitish-pink; sometimes the whitish pink flowers will have darker pink venation. Rarely the flower may be all white. This plant grows 6 to 15 inches tall and flowers generally between May and July. (https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/cypripedium_acaule.shtml)

Tuesday, 05/23/2023: Posted photo — St Anne and Mary.

Saint Anne is the mother of Mary. There were two churches in Ashburnham, St Annes and St Denis. St Annes Church had to close due to safety reasons and this statue was moved to St Denis.

Flower of the day: Lavender

Lavender is a well-known and fragrant perennial plant that will come back every year with gray-green foliage, upright flower spikes, and a compact shrub form. It will grow at a moderate pace, often adding a few inches to its size each year. Lavender can be toxic to pets like dogs and cats.

Wednesday, 05/24/2023: Posted photo — Jack Frost Trail.

Jack Frost is a bipolar trail on Wachusett Mountain. The lower part of Jack Frost is flat, the middle section is what I consider the third most difficult climb on the mountain, and the last third is a mixture of easier and harder sections. A few years ago, the blazes were changed to have a paw print in them. This phot was taken just before the hard section of the trail.

Flower of the day: Azalea

I put out a description of an azalea a few weeks ago. These azaleas are on one of the hiking trails on the mountain. These look different than the ones that I had previously posted. It might be because of the altitude difference between my yard and this location.

Thursday, 05/25/2023: Posted photo — NH 4K Scroll.

As you may or may not know, I have hiked all the 4000+ feet tall mountains in New Hampshire for the second time, completing it last year just after I finished rehab of my ankle. Besides getting a patch to put on my pack, the AMC send out scrolls. There was a banquet to receive your scroll. I could not attend so it was mailed to me, arriving today.

Flower of the day: Lupine

Lupine is a plant of the pea family with deeply divided leaves and tall colorful tapering spikes of flowers.

Friday, 05/26/2023: Post photo — Monument.

There is a memorial at the summit of Wachusett Mountain dedicated to the 10th mountain division. Since Memorial Day is approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to post.

Flower of the day: Pansy

Pansies are the cheerful flowers with upturned “faces.” They love cool weather and are popular to grow in spring and fall. They’re also edible, adding color to salads, drinks, and cakes. Here’s how to plant pansies and keep them growing and blooming.

Saturday, 05/27/2023: Post photo — Sycamore Tree.

I think this is a sycamore tree. The sycamore tree is an immense durable tree with a rapid growth rate and expansive root system. It has an upright, pyramidal crown when young and as it matures develops a rounded, irregular form, with a scaffold of large diameter branches. The most unique feature of the sycamore tree is its camouflage-looking bark. (https://www.savatree.com/sycamore-tree.html#:~:text=The%20sycamore%20tree%20is%20an,is%20its%20camouflage%2Dlooking%20bark).

Flower of the day: Sweet William

Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) is a short-lived, herbaceous perennial or biennial with a height of about 2 feet that is often planted as an annual flower. The flowering plant, with average pointed green leaves, is ideal for use in cottage gardens, perennial beds, or containers. The flowers come in many vibrant shades and are attractive to pollinators like butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. (https://www.thespruce.com/sweet-williams-growing-guide-5200995)

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

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May 21, 2023

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Photographic Thoughts — 05/14/2023 to 05/20/2023

“The camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don’t belong. It gives me both a point of connection and a point of separation.” — Susan Meiselas

Random thoughts and ideas for this week.

Happy Mother’s Day to all who are mothers and who care for others as if they were mothers.

More flower and plant educational posts this week.

Sunday, 05/14/2023: Posted photo — Mother’s Day.

I love this photo and I post it almost every year for Mother’s Day. This is my mother bringing home my youngest brother in 1968. No there is not three sets of twins, just one. I am a twin and am one of the small boys next to my mother. The tall two are the oldest, three years apart. The middle two are numbers three and four, three years apart from them and the number two. Then there is five years between the middle ones and me and my twin and then three years between me and our youngest brother.

Flower of the day: Sand Cherry

The Purpleleaf Sand Cherry boasts deep maroon foliage well accented with white and fuschia blooms in its growing season. This is a low maintenance, medium sized shrub. It tends to establish itself very quickly. This sand cherry is at my in-law’s house.

Monday, 05/15/2023: Posted photo — Robert Goddard.

“In 1926 Robert Goddard was considered crazy when he launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket from his Aunt Effie’s farm. The Auburn Rotary Club felt that the Rocket Man deserved recognition on the landscape, so it built Goddard Park, which opened in 1970. Unable to afford a NASA rocket as a centerpiece, the Club instead settled for a Polaris Missile. Although visually satisfying, the missile is, awkwardly, a solid-fueled rocket.” https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/15412

Robert Goddard was born a few streets away from where I grew up in Worcester, MA. My friends and I would often ride our bikes by his childhood home, daydreaming about what it must have been for him to launch that first rocket. This is the same Robert Goddard that the Goddard Space Flight Center is named after.

I have visited Goddard Park many times as a child and was in the area today and decided to make the Polaris Missile and the full-size replica of his rocket my photos for today.

Flower of the day: Fiddlehead

Technically a fern, fiddleheads are sweet like asparagus, grassy and snappy like a great green bean, with a touch of broccoli stem. They grow in the month of May in this area. Fiddleheads are rich in potassium, iron, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Tuesday, 05/16/2023: Posted photo — Dragon Fruit.

Dragon fruit is a tropical fruit that’s low in calories and high in fiber and antioxidants. Some people say it tastes like a cross between a pear and a kiwi. You can slice and eat the fruit as-is, try it with yogurt, or add it to a smoothie or salad. I did not pick one up to try. I wanted to do some research on them before purchasing to see how to eat them. Next time I go shopping, and if they are still in the store, I will purchase on and report out on how they taste.

Flower of the day: Canna

Cannas are spectacular summer bulbs that thrive in the heat of July and August. Sometimes called “canna lilies,” these perennials are unrelated to true lilies. In warm climates (USDA hardiness zones 8 to 10), canna bulbs can be left in the ground over winter, and the plants perform reliably as perennials, coming back year after year. These cannas were in a flow assembly ready for purchase at one of the stores that I shop on Tuesdays.

Monday night is hiking night and Tuesday night is shopping night every week.

Wednesday, 05/17/2023: Posted photo — Oak Pollen.

It’s the time of year that trees start to bloom. We have may hardwoods in our yard. This is some of the pollen from our oak trees. Out yard is covered with this pollen, and it will take a few windy days and hours of yardwork to get rid of it all.

Flower of the day: Phlox

Phlox is one of those dependable summer flowers any large sunny flowerbed or border shouldn’t be without. There are several different kinds of phlox. Garden and meadow phlox produce large panicles of fragrant flowers in a wide assortment of colors. There are many patches of phlox around my house. These are some that I took on a hike around the neighborhood.

Thursday, 05/18/2023: Posted photo — Star Trail.

This is a composite of 640 photos. I set my camera on my tripod before going to bed, set it to take consecutive 17 second exposures, and then stacked them all together in a star stacking program. The 17 second exposure uses the 500 Rule. The 500 rule is the classic rule for taken photos of the stars without having star trails. The other rule I could have used is the NPF Rule that considers the magapixels of my camera. With the NPF Rule, my exposure time would be 14 seconds.

Flower of the day: Indian Paintbrush

Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), taken in Jasper National Park, Alberta. Castilleja, commonly known as paintbrush, Indian paintbrush, or prairie-fire, is a genus of about 200 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native to the west of the Americas from Alaska south to the Andes.

Friday, 05/19/2023: Post photo — Rabbit Again.

The rabbit was just eating my grass as I was leaving to go shopping for tomorrow’s cake sale. I needed to pick up some fresh fruit to put on the cakes. This rabbit was not bothered by me and allowed me to take this photo. One of these days I will take a photo of this rabbit with my DSLR and not my cellphone.

As a side note: on Saturday morning I saw two rabbits in our yard.

Flower of the day: Hydrangea

From a garden care website: “Blooming in spring and summer, the hydrangea is considered a shrub. But despite their ability to be rather large showstoppers in your yard, how to grow hydrangeas isn’t a question even the novice gardener will need to ask – these beauties all but grow themselves. Reaching up to 15 feet in height, the hydrangea grows quickly and often fills in a space in just one summer.” https://gilmour.com/hydrangea-care

Saturday, 05/20/2023: Post photo — Cake.

This is a vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream. One of the many cakes for sale for our teams ACS Relay for Life team. We are selling them after all the massed this weekend at our church in Ashburnham MA. Our house has been full of cakes for the last few months with this week being decorating week. To help out our team go here: https://secure.acsevents.org/site/STR?fr_id=104259&pg=personal&px=57692320. Currently I have not donations on my page. The start of my fundraising is the cake sale. Please help me out. Thank you.

Flower of the day: Japanese Maple

Well not a flower but a tree. We planted this Japanese maple a few years ago and it is still growing strong. We will have to transplant it soon because we are adding on to our house in the next few years an the maple would be in the middle of our new garage if we did not move it.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

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May 14, 2023

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Photographic Thoughts — 05/07/2023 to 05/13/2023

“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson

Random thoughts and ideas for this week.

I have a flower of day this week. I am attempting to change the format of this blog to have one or more educational items per day to make reading my blog more interesting.

Sunday, 05/07/2023: Posted photo — Pyx.

A pyx is vessel containing the consecrated bread used in the service of Holy Communion. Although pyxes were made in various shapes, the most common form was that of a small cylindrical box fitted with a cover, which is generally conical. The pyx in this photo is the one that I use every week to give Holy Communion to the choir.

Flower of the day: Pericallis

Pericallis senetti provides daisy-like blooms in early spring when the weather is cool. They produce vibrant blues, magentas, violets, and can be bi-colored. They can tolerate low temperatures but are sensitive to frost. These are located outside our church.

Monday, 05/08/2023: Posted photo — On the Trail.

What would Monday night be without a hike? Don’t know. Every Monday that I hike does not happen is a disappointment. The good thing about missing a Monday night hike is that I can spend more time with my family. Today was a wonderful day to hike. The temperature was in the goldilocks zone, not to hot and not to cold. The black bugs were not bothering me as much as other members of the hiking group.

Flower of the day: Hobblebush

“Viburnum lantanoides, hobblebush (also known as moosebush, witch-withy, witch-hobble, witch-tangle and tangle legs) can grow more than ten feet tall, and often at least as wide, in its sprawling, errant, fashion. Branches extend outward, arch and descend, re-rooting where they touch the ground, forming a small copse. This lissome habit is most evident in winter when the hobblebush is leafless and the shrub’s structure can be traced. What appears to be a solitary shrub is usually an aggregate of clonal offspring called ramets.” https://wildseedproject.net/2015/06/viburnum-lantanoides-hobblebush-adoxaceae/

Tuesday, 05/09/2023: Posted photo — Abstract Rabbit.

Came home from shopping tonight and saw this rabbit in our yard. I took out my phone to take this photo. I took this photo from a distance so that I did not disturb the rabbit. It looks like my camera went into the digital zoom range causing this abstract effect. You can see the tree debris that I still need to clean up in this photo.

Flower of the day: Pansy

Pansies are the cheerful flowers with upturned “faces.” They love cool weather and are popular to grow in spring and fall. They’re also edible, adding color to salads, drinks, and cakes. Here’s how to plant pansies and keep them growing and blooming.

Wednesday, 05/10/2023: Posted photo — Start of Third Leg.

I am leading a mystery hike in a few weeks. The group is meeting at a trailhead, and I am giving them direction at trail junctions. The directions will only consist of bearings and distances. This is the location of the third leg of my trip.

If you are in the area and would like to join me, sign up for the trip on this web page: https://activities.outdoors.org/search/index.cfm/action/details/id/144329. You do not need to be an AMC member to join the hike.

Flower of the day: Dandelions

To show the benefits of the once-beloved plant, here are items you might not know about dandelions.

  • Dandelions have deep roots in history throughout the ages.
  • Dandelions were world-famous for their beauty.
  • Dandelions are a green and growing first aid kit.
  • Dandelions are more nutritious than most of the vegetables in your garden.
  • Dandelions are good for your lawn.
  • Dandelions are masters of survival.
  • Dandelions are among the most expensive items in the grocery store.
  • Herbicides used on lawns to kill dandelions take a terrible toll on wildlife.
  • But there’s a safer way to have a dandelion-free lawn.

To learn more, go to https://www.mofga.org/resources/weeds/ten-things-you-might-not-know-about-dandelions/.

Thursday, 05/11/2023: Posted photo — Dam at Round Meadow Pond.

Here is a photo of the dam at Round Meadow Pond. This is a location that I photograph often.

Flower of the day: Bluets

Common bluets produce both nectar and pollen. Their short flower tubes make their nectar accessible to our short-tongued native bees. Quite a few species of native bees including small carpenter bees and some of our sweat bees will visit common bluets. Several of our smaller species of early butterflies will also visit common bluets.

Friday, 05/12/2023: Post photo — Hitting Off the Tee.

My son purchased a hitting tee for the junior high baseball team he coached. I did some hitting practice. Have not swung a bat in a while. I swung the old way with two hands on the bat as Ted Williams did. He attempted to coach me by having me remove my top hand off the bat as the modern hitters do. I like the old way of hitting.

Flower of the day: Malus baccata (Siberian crab apple)

Siberian crab apple inhabits northerly areas of New England, although certain cultivars grow as far south as Florida. The tree produces white-pink, non-hairy (glabrous) flowers in spring along glabrous branches. With a pleasing, rounded crown, abundant flowers and small, edible fruits, this crabapple has been introduced widely as an ornamental tree.

Saturday, 05/13/2023: Post photo — Lilac.

I have a photo challenge this week that is titled detail. Chances. Details are having your eyes instinctively lock on to a small part of the image before looking at the whole picture. I attempted this by putting a mononuclear on my cell phone and taking this photo.

Flower of the day: Azaleas

Azaleas are typically deciduous while other rhododendrons are evergreen. Azalea flowers are funnel-shaped, somewhat two-lipped, and often fragrant. These azaleas in our yard have survived the last heavy snow that fell. The bush was heavily loaded with snow. There is still a large area of the bush that has not yet bloomed.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

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May 7, 2023

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Photographic Thoughts — 04/30/2023 to 05/06/2023

“Look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera.” — Yousuf Karsh

Random thoughts and ideas for this week.

Sunday, 04/30/2023: Posted photo — Votive.

Last week I posted a photo of a votive stand. Today I am posting a single votive. I am posting this because I am in a 52 week photo project and the topic of the week was single light source.

Monday, 05/01/2023: Posted photo — Flow.

Water flowing during my Monday night hike. On photo is of a stream, the other of a trail. This trial was almost like a river with water flowing over the rocks.

Tuesday, 05/02/2023: Posted photo — Roots.

Here are two edible roots, garlic, and onions.

Wednesday, 05/03/2023: Posted photo — Corn.

Corn while eaten sometimes as a vegetable and sometimes as a grain, it is classified by botanists as a fruit, as are tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and other squashes.

Thursday, 05/04/2023: Posted photo — Selfie.

Here is a hiking selfie. Great to complete the hike with daylight.

Friday, 05/05/2023: Post photo — Sunrise.

Nice sunrise this morning. The clouds have great red shadows on them. Photos do not do sunrise justice.

Saturday, 05/06/2023: Post photo — Find Me.

There us someone in my tulip.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.