My blog is taking a holiday this week.
I will be away for the internet.
Stay safe and see you next week.
Monthly Archives: July 2024
Photographic Thoughts — 07/14/2024 to 07/20/2024
“Essentially what photography is life lit up.” — Sam Abell
Various photos from this week. This week we visited all the Great Lakes and the headwaters of the Mississippi River on our way to the WCA North American Rubik’s Cube compitition.
Sunday, 07/14/2024: Posted photo — Lake Ontario.
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border spans the center of the lake.
Average depth: 283 ft (86 m)
Fish: Chinook salmon, Walleye, Lake trout, Atlantic salmon, Coho salmon, Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Largemouth bass
Area: 7,320 mi²
Outflow location: Saint Lawrence River
Cities: Toronto, Rochester, Hamilton, Mississauga
Length: 193 mi
Inflow source: Niagara River.
Monday, 07/15/2024: Posted photo — Lake Erie.
Lake Erie is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest average water residence time.
Average depth: 62 ft (19 m)
Fish: Walleye, Smallmouth bass, Yellow perch, Bigmouth buffalo
Islands: Pelee Island, South Bass Island, Johnson’s Island
Area: 9,940 mi²
Cities: Erie, Cleveland, Buffalo, Toledo, Monroe, Port Colborne
Deepest spot: 210 ft.
Tuesday, 07/16/2024: Posted photo — Lake Huron.
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan.
Fish: Walleye, Lake trout, Smallmouth bass, Lake sturgeon
Islands: Manitoulin Island
Area: 23,012 mi²
Volume: 850 cubic miles
Cities: Port Huron, Goderich, Sarnia, Alpena, Bay City, Cheboygan, Saginaw, Owen Sound, St. Ignace
Length: 206.3 mi
Wednesday, 07/17/2024: Posted photo — Lake Michigan.
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
Average depth: 279 ft (85 m)
Fish: Lake trout, Yellow perch, Smallmouth bass, Largemouth bass, Bowfin
Area: 22,406 mi²
Islands: Beaver Island, South Manitou Island
Cities: Chicago, Milwaukee, Michigan City, Muskegon, Holland
The Mackinac bridge is the third longest suspension bridge in the world. It is the longest suspend bridge in the western hemisphere. It was the longest when it was built. It goes over the Mackinac straight between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.
Thursday, 07/18/2024: Posted photo — Lake Superior.
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third-largest freshwater lake by volume, holding 10% of the world’s surface fresh water.
Fish: Lake trout, Walleye, Lake whitefish, Muskellunge
Area: 31,700 mi²
Islands: Isle Royale
Volume: 2,903 cubic miles
Cities: Duluth, Thunder Bay, Marquette, Superior, Sault Ste. Marie
Water capacity: 2,900 cubic miles
Friday, 07/19/2024: Post photo — Lake Itasca.
Lake Itasca is a small glacial lake, approximately 1.8 square miles in area. It is located in Itasca State Park, in south-eastern Clearwater County, in the Headwaters area of north-central Minnesota, and is notable for being the headwater of the Mississippi River.
Outflow location: Mississippi River
Fish: Bluegill, Largemouth bass, Muskellunge, Black crappie, Brown bullhead
Average depth: 20–35 ft (6–11 m)
Area: 1.815 mi²
Acres: 1065-acre
Islands: Schoolcraft Island
Location: Itasca State Park, Clearwater County, Minnesota, US
Some people call Nicollet Creek the headwaters since it flows into Lake Itasca.
Saturday, 07/20/2024: Post photo — North American Championship.
Traveled out to Minneapolis to be at the North American Rubix’s Cube Championship. My son competed and was on staff. My wife was also on staff. I put in my staff application in too late to be on staff.
Max Park set the world record in the 7x7x7 (single) and 6x6x6 (average) cube at the time I wrote this post. The featured event is Sunday, the 3x3x3 where he has the word record of 3.13 seconds.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
Photographic Thoughts — 07/07/2024 to 07/13/2024
“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” — Steve McCurry
Thank you for reading and interpretation my ramblings and sometimes poor grammar. I think as I type so sometimes the words make sense to me at the time. I do not always to back and proofread.
Sunday, 07/07/2024: Posted photo — Triangle.
Was working on triangular composition this week. Took this photo today to use as a submission if I did not like the ones I took last week. There were many opportunities for triangular composition this week and decided on posting a different photo.
I am posting this one today since I like the contrast between the white and the blue sky.
Monday, 07/08/2024: Posted photo — Robin.
I was out spraying the roof of the cottage with a bio solution to remove the moss from the roof. I looked over at the barn and saw this robin in a nest waiting for food.
I climbed down from the ladder I was on, gathered my camera, and took this photo. I am not happy with the quality of photo that comes out of my 300mm lens, so I attempted to edit this photo to make it sharper.
Tuesday, 07/09/2024: Posted photo — Butterfly.
During my hike, one of the members of the group spotted this baby monarch butterfly. She had a difficult time taking a photo of it.
When we were hiking off the fire tower, the butterfly was still fluttering around the area. I keep my phone handy for emergencies, took it out and photographed the butterfly. I had to take a few photos to capture it with its wings open.
Wednesday, 07/10/2024: Posted photo — Endangered Area.
On the summit of Wachusett Mountain, there is an area fenced off. This area is normally not fenced during the winter months, just during the summer months. I noticed it last year for the first time.
There is a sign on the fence that stated that there is an endangered plant that is growing in the summit and this fence it to keep people out.
Thursday, 07/11/2024: Posted photo — Web.
I posted a web from this location a few weeks ago. This morning, I saw a different web. This time the sun was shining of it. Still not the greatest since there wasn’t any dew on it, but it was better defined.
Friday, 07/12/2024: Post photo — Rabbit.
I came home from work today and saw our friendly rabbit greeting me. I slowly stopped my car, took out my cell phone, and took this photo.
At times like this, I wish that I keep my good camera out of its camera bag and next to me. I have seen so many wild animals on my way home that I am not fast enough to take their photos.
Saturday, 07/13/2024: Post photo — Spoons in Cookie Dough.
This week’s photo challenge was spoons. This is my attempt at it.
I have been busy planning for a trip and did not have much time this week to do anything better. I wanted to do a fancy edit of this photo. Maybe I will do the edit soon and then post this photo again.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
Photographic Thoughts — 06/30/2024 to 07/06/2024
“The whole point of taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things with words.” — Elliott Erwitt
Sunday, 06/30/2024: Posted photo — Negative Space.
Negative space photography is a style of photography that emphasizes the empty space around a subject.
This was my attempt at negative space. My original plan was to take a photo of an object against a bright blue sky. The sky did not cooperate this week.
Monday, 07/01/2024: Posted photo — Burl.
The cause of burls is hard to pinpoint entirely, but they most often form because your tree is under invasion or being affected by some external stressing factor.
This burl is at the junction of the West Side Trail and Old Indian Trail on Wachusett Mountain. The section of Old Indian Trail that we are hiking is considered by most, myself included, as the second most difficult part of the mountain. It is long and steep and then gets steeper towards the end of the incline.
Tuesday, 07/02/2024: Posted photo — Red-berried Elder.
The Red Elderberry is a large native deciduous shrub or small tree. It produces clusters of tiny white or cream flowers in early spring, followed by bright red berries in mid-July through early August.
These are found on Wachusett Mountain during my hike.
Wednesday, 07/03/2024: Posted photo — Newt.
Newt is generic name used to describe several partially terrestrial salamanders. An interesting fact about newts from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, some newt larvae can become terrestrial juveniles, but remain aquatic as adults. Adult newts that return to water to breed may undergo a partial “reverse metamorphosis” back into a larval state.
There are many newts on Wachusett Mountain. When you hike and the ground is wet, you need to take your steps with care so you do not step on a newt.
Thursday, 07/04/2024: Posted photo — Tiger Lilly.
Tiger Lilies symbolize wealth, prosperity, and strength, reflecting cultural significance.
Tiger lilies are one of the most interesting flowers to me. They almost look fake, like plastic, and I like their colors.
Friday, 07/05/2024: Post photo — Annual Fleabane.
Annual fleabane is an annual native to the eastern United States but introduced across much of North America.
These are in my in-law’s flower patch. They are native flowers but look like weeds to me.
Saturday, 07/06/2024: Post photo — Daylily.
Daylilies are rugged, adaptable, vigorous perennials that endure in a garden for many years with little or no care. Daylilies adapt to a wide range of soil and light conditions. They establish quickly, grow vigorously, and survive winters with little or no injury.
This is another flower from my in-law’s flower garden.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
Photo by Joseph Ciras 