Monthly Archives: February 2026

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February 22, 2026

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Friendship, hiking, Nature, Photography, Thoughts

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Photographic Thoughts — 02/15/2026 to 02/21/2026

“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.” — Irving Penn

Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.

Sunday, 02/15/2026: Posted photo — Numbers.

These are some of the numbers that I put up every week to list the hymns that the choir will sing during Mass. I do not sing in the choir. My job is to put up the numbers before the service and to give Communion to the choir. According to the Second Vatican Council the primary purpose of music at Mass is the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful.

The Mass I attend is a folk Mass. The music is performed by guitar and voice. Occasionally there are some brass instruments. When I was in college, I played the organ in a traditional choir.

Monday, 02/16/2026: Posted photo — Rope.

Tonight is one of many nights that I will be hiking this week. I brought my rope with me to practice using it down steep and icy slopes. One of the trails on Wachusett is steep and was a great place to practice. Some people may say that the slope on Wachusett is not difficult. It is not, but it is a great place to practice techniques for bigger and longer hikes.

Tuesday, 02/17/2026: Posted photo — Traction.

Tonight, I practiced using my crampons since the snow is getting soft. The temperature is almost above freezing today, and the snow is much different than it was last night. Crampons are not needed on Wachusett as a rule. Occasionally I wished I had them, especially when I am in a very icy trail.

As I stated yesterday, some people think this is overkill. Over my many years of hiking, there is no such thing as overkill when it comes to my safety. I follow the rule that if you do not use a skill, you may lose that skill.

Wednesday, 02/18/2026: Posted photo — Wachusett Mountain.

I stopped by the side of the road before tonight’s hike to get a photo of the mountain. This is not the greatest photo since they were making snow, and the mountain looked fogged in.

If you look closely at the trails in the photo, you can see that they spell “ski”. This was pointed out to me a few years ago and I keep seeing it when I drive past the ski area.

Thursday, 02/19/2026: Posted photo — Hike.

What a great hike I had with this group hiking at night in the snow. I was in the sweep position tonight since I already hiked the mountain a few times already this week. The ability of the hikers in this group varies greatly, from very experience to not so experience. I would say that the not so experienced hikers are getting better every week. They have been hiking with this group for a while.

When I was sweeping, I was observing the use of hiking poles. Members of the group were using them incorrectly. I plan on posting tips on using hiking poles to this group and other hiking groups that I am a member. Poles are very useful equipment to use. They help with fatigue and save your knees and back, if used properly.

Friday, 02/20/2026: Post photo — Tapping.

It is that time of year again. Our neighbor is tapping our sugar maples to make his syrup. It generally takes 40 to 60 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of finished maple syrup. He has many trees tapped on our property and his property. On average, a tapped maple will produce 10 to 20 gallons of sap per tap.

Saturday, 02/21/2026: Post photo — Sunrise.

What a wonderful way to end the week. When I woke up this morning, I saw colors in the snow. The snow had a pink hue due to the colors of the sunrise. I grabbed my camera and took this photo.

I had to work quicky to get his photo since my camera battery was dead. There is something wrong with electronics in camera. When the camera is off, it is still draining the battery. I need to either get it serviced or purchase a new camera. I purchased my camera in April of 2014. Technology may have changes slightly in twelve years!

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.

“Sumens imagines consolateur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per camera mean.”

“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”

.–. …. — – —  -… -.–  .— — … . .–. ….  -.-. .. .-. .- …

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February 15, 2026

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Histoy, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, religion, Thoughts

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Photographic Thoughts — 02/08/2026 to 02/14/2026

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” — Ansel Adams

Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.

This is a week with little words. With work and going out every night to break up the ice dam on our roof, I did not have much time for commentary. I need to get into a better habit of writing every night.

Sunday, 02/08/2026: Posted photo — Unexplored.

The topic of this week’s photo project is unexplored. There are so many unexplored areas of space. I put my phone done and took an astrophotography shot. Too bad the clouds decided to come in when I was taking this photo.

Monday, 02/09/2026: Posted photo — Footprints in the Snow.

We received another three inches or so of snow last night. They plowed the parking lot at work so there was not much snow between the buildings. When I was walking from one shop to the other, I decided to take a photo of my footprints just in case it was too dark when I hiked later in the day.

Tuesday, 02/10/2026: Posted photo — Valentines Flowers.

I saw these while shopping tonight. It seems a little early to purchase flowers for Valentine’s Day. Why do we give flowers anyway. We give them because they symbolize deep, passionate love, beauty, and devotion, embodying the holiday’s essence. Strange because love lasts forever and not roses or flowers.

Wednesday, 02/11/2026: Posted photo — Starting to Wilt.

Case and point from yesterday. Saw these today and they are already starting to wilt with three days to go before Valentines Day.

Thursday, 02/12/2026: Posted photo — Lemons.

Some lemons that I saw while out shopping tonight. I do not know if anyone is waiting for a fruit photo from me every week or not. If you are, here it is.

Friday, 02/13/2026: Post photo — Sun through the Wood.

The sun was shining through some trees on our property tonight. I liked the shadows they were given off and their silhouettes.

Saturday, 02/14/2026: Post photo — Wood Cart.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Here is some AI information on Saint Valentine: “Saint Valentine, officially known as Saint Valentine of Rome, is a third-century Roman saint widely celebrated on February 14 and commonly associated with “courtly love.” Although not much of St. Valentine’s life is reliably known, and whether or not the stories involve two different saints by the same name is also not officially decided, it is highly agreed that St. Valentine was martyred and then buried on the Via Flaminia to the north of Rome.

In 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar, because so little is known about him. However, the church still recognizes him as a saint, listing him in the February 14 spot of Roman Martyrolgy.”

By the way, I do not like using AI because it is like Wikipedia in my option, I cannot verify the source most of the time.

I had to get some wood this morning and had an inspiration to take this photo. It shows our wood cart and some paths that I snow blew in our yard. One path goes to our shed and the other path goes to our basement. The one to the basement is to give me access to our generator if I need to use it.

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.

“Sumens imagines consolateur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per camera mean.”

“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”

.–. …. — – —  -… -.–  .— — … . .–. ….  -.-. .. .-. .- …

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February 7, 2026

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hiking, Nature, Photography, religion, Thoughts

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Photographic Thoughts — 02/01/2026 to 02/07/2026

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” — Karl Lagerfeld

Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.

Sunday, 02/01/2026: Posted photo — Mary with Jesus.

This is part of a statue in our church. The statue depicts Mary holding Jesus.

Monday, 02/02/2026: Posted photo — Chair.

The theme for last week’s project was chairs. I was at the dentist earlier in the week, so I could have taken a photo of the dentist chair. I did not feel that would be right, so I took a photo of the chair that our priest sits. The chair that a priest sits on during Mass is called a “Cathedra”.

Tuesday, 02/03/2026: Posted photo — Through Kitchen Window.

Looked out our kitchen window today so see these icicles. When I first saw them, the sun gave them a reddish color. By the time I was able to get a good photo, the reflection of the sun was gone.

Wednesday, 02/04/2026: Posted photo — Full Moon.

I when shopping on a different day this week due to commitments. When I came out of one of the stores, I saw a red moon. I attempted to get a photo of it with my cell photo. It did not work too well. Here is the photo.

Thursday, 02/05/2026: Posted photo — Orchid.

Fake flowers are more realistic these days. If I did not tell you they were fake, you may not have known that.

Friday, 02/06/2026: Post photo — Trying to Keep Warm.

Tonight, and this weekend is going to be cold. How cold do you ask? It will be below zero Fahrenheit, below -20 Celsius. We had the fire in the stove going and brought in a double-sized pile of wood. There has only been one day over the last few weeks, that was above freezing. We are also expending a few inches of snow overnight.

Say safe and warm.

Saturday, 02/07/2026: Post photo — Snow on Swing.

We did receive about 5 inches of snow last night and into this morning That is about 13 cm for those of you who are not from the United States.

I was out snowshoeing in our back yard and saw the snow on our swings. We built a swing set for our son many years ago. There have been grand nieces and nephews using them over the years. I would like to have grandchildren using them one day. Who knows if that will happen.

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.

“Sumens imagines consolateur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per camera mean.”

“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”

.–. …. — – —  -… -.–  .— — … . .–. ….  -.-. .. .-. .- …

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February 1, 2026

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HDR, hiking, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, Thoughts

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Photographic Thoughts — 01/25/2026 to 01/31/2026

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” — Karl Lagerfeld

Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.

Sunday, 01/25/2026: Posted photo — Breaking Trail.

It is starting to snow today. School for tomorrow has been called off since yesterday. I went out a few times during the day to shovel and snow blow to keep up with the storm. For most of the day we have been receiving 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour. We will have to see how much snow will fall. Today’s photo will be taken tomorrow.

We it is tomorrow and the photo that I took is of my snowshoe trail as I broke the trail into work today. I walk to work during snowstorms because I feel safer walking than driving. It did take my commute from five minutes to over an hour.

Monday, 01/26/2026: Posted photo — Stopping for a Photo.

It is still snowing this morning. I decided to walk to work, as stated above. When I was hiking on the Mid State Trail, I broke the trail. This is good and bad. The bad thing is that it is very tiring and it takes me much longer to get to work. The good thing is that I am out in nature, snowshoeing and breaking a trail.

Breaking the trail in the morning also leaves me breadcrumbs for my walk home. The Mid State is very different on my way home I have roamed off the trail a few times. If you were wondering, we received almost two feet of lighter snow out of the storm.

I know my snowshoes were working since I only sank about six inches in the snow while my hiking poles sank about 18 inches in the snow.

Tuesday, 01/27/2026: Posted photo — A Little Bit of Snow.

I had a dentist appointment this morning. On my way back from the dentist, I wanted to take a photo of the dam to show the amount of snow we received. I know that I posted a photo of this location not too long ago. Forgive me.

As you can see, the snow almost covered the entirety of the dam.

Wednesday, 01/28/2026: Posted photo — Wooden Heart.

Pareidolia — the psychological phenomenon of seeing recognizable shapes, faces, or objects in clouds or other random objects.

I was filling up our wood cart and noticed a heart in a couple pieces of wood. To take this photo, I had to turn my camera diagonally to get the heart shape. It was easier than turning the piece of wood.

composition. Minimalist composition is not the topic of this week’s photo challenge. The topic is Get

Thursday, 01/29/2026: Posted photo — Danger Zone.

This is a danger zone on our house. With the colder temperatures, and direct sunlight, these icicles formed. These are some of the largest icicles that I have seen in a long time. I knocked them off my roof shortly after taking this photo.

Friday, 01/30/2026: Post photo — Iced Jellyfish.

Jellyfish are about 95 percent water. Lacking brains, blood, or even hearts, jellyfish are simple critters. These frozen “jellyfish” are located on the side of a building.

With the snow and cold weather, we have been having, these ice formations have attached themselves to screws on the side of the building. As for the weather, the temperature is not predicted to go above freezing for the next couple of weeks.

Saturday, 01/31/2026: Post photo — Path in the Snow.

I was out today doing some cleanup from this week’s storm. I was out for a few hours, snow blowing a path to our shed and the door to our cellar, among our cleanups. I saw one of the paths, put my camera down, and took a blind shot. This is the result.

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.

“Sumens imagines consolateur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per camera mean.”

“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”

.–. …. — – —  -… -.–  .— — … . .–. ….  -.-. .. .-. .- …