“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” — Elliott Erwitt
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 10/26/2025: Posted photo — Corn.
“Corn is a healthy grain and a source of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It may promote eye and digestive health.” https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/corn
Monday, 10/27/2025: Posted photo — Gourds.
“Gourds are any of the hard-shelled fruits of certain members of the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. Many gourds are cultivated as ornamentals, decorations, or food crops, and some can be dried and used to make decorative or useful objects.” https://www.britannica.com/plant/gourd
Tuesday, 10/28/2025: Posted photo — Roses.
Just a photo of roses for today. Shopping day leads to “what am I going to photograph today?” There are usually flowers where I go shopping.
Wednesday, 10/29/2025: Posted photo — Onions.
“Onions may provide potential health benefits. These may include reducing the risk of several types of cancer, improving mood, and maintaining skin and hair health.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276714
Thursday, 10/30/2025: Posted photo — Rainbow.
This is an older photo of a rainbow. Rainbow symbolizes new beginnings and change.
I am posting this photo as a symbol of joy and remembrance.
Friday, 10/31/2025: Post photo — Knollwood Memorial Park.
“Knollwood Memorial Park was founded in 1898 by a group of people with a vision of a modern garden-style cemetery that would serve the residents of Eastern Massachusetts. Centrally located in an idyllic setting overlooking the Neponset Valley in Canton, Massachusetts, Knollwood’s location on 340 acres was carefully selected for it’s natural beauty.
Although it is one of New England’s oldest and largest memorial parks, Knollwood is a modern, well designed cemetery with exquisitely manicured grounds. Distinctive works of Carerra marble sculptures and statuary provide visitors with inspiring settings while flowering trees and a myriad of floral plantings serve as a lovely haven that comforts those who come to remember their loved ones.” https://knollwoodmemorial.com/about/history-of-knollwood/
We were at the park for an burial yesterday and took a photo of this statue.
V/. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord. R/. And let perpetual light shine upon her. V/. May she rest in peace. R/. Amen.
V/. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R/. Amen.
Saturday, 11/01/2025: Post photo — Reflection.
A reflection of a fake Jack-O-Lantern in a window.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”
“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam.”
“The camera makes you forget you’re there. It’s not like you are hiding but you forget, you are just looking so much.” — Annie Leibovitz
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 10/19/2025: Posted photo — Moon at Sunrise.
One of my goals is to capture the earth shine on the moon with my moon lens. This is not one of those photos. This photo of the moon with Venus was taken with my cellphone as I did a morning walk.
I find myself taking more photos with my cellphone versus my DSLR and I am not happy about that. I know that it is my doing, I guess that I have been lazy over the last few months. I told myself that I would only use my cellphone if I needed a quick photo, or when I am hiking.
One of the things I like about this photo is the glow of the sun just before sunrise. This was taken during golden hour. The different hours during the day are: Astronomical twilight, nautical twilight, blue hour, golden hour, sunrise, daytime, golden hour, sunset, blue hour, nautical twilight, astronomical twilight, and then nighttime.
Monday, 10/20/2025: Posted photo — Sunrise over Boston.
I was on the mountain for sunrise. There were others on the mountain and the others thought that the moon would rise to the north of the city. Using my photo app, I knew that the sun was going to rise over the city. Again, since I was hiking, I only had my cellphone. Poor planning again on my part.
When I hike for sunsets, I look at Boston and try to remember the last time I saw a sunrise over the city. I took the opportunity to hike for sunrise and was planning just to relax and enjoy the sunrise. When it was rising in the middle of the city, I took this photo. There was haze off the ocean, so this photo has a strange effect around the sun.
As a frame of reference, Boston is approximately 45 miles from the summit of Wachusett Mountain at a bearing of 100°.
Tuesday, 10/21/2025: Posted photo — Point Pelee Mum.
Point Pelee Mums are not only beautiful, but they are also tough! They are hardy in USDA Zones 5a (-20° to -15° F) through 9b (25° to 30°), allowing gardeners in much of North America to enjoy it outdoors year after year with proper care and protection.
One thing that stands out in the photo is that they almost look painted. The light and coloration of these mums was almost ideal.
Wednesday, 10/22/2025: Posted photo — Pumpkins.
Pumpkins are a type of winter squash. This is the time of year to either carve them or eat them.
Thursday, 10/23/2025: Posted photo — Foliage.
Along with chlorophyll, there are two pigments present in leaves are: Carotenoid (produces yellow, orange, and brown) and Anthocyanin (produces red). These colors come out of the leaves as they lose their chlorophyll in the fall.
Some maples, sweetgum, and oaks have red fall leaves. Dogwoods, black tupelo trees, sourwood trees, persimmons, and some sassafras trees also have red leaves. Hickory, ash, some maples, the yellow poplar (tulip tree), some oaks (white, chestnut, bear), some sassafras, some sweetgum, beech, birch, and sycamore trees have yellow leaves in the fall.
Friday, 10/24/2025: Post photo — Deer Print in the Sand.
Walking around cottage, I noticed deer prints in the sand. The water level is very low. I do not know if it is because of the lack of rain or if they opened the dam to lower the water for the winter.
The strange thing about these prints was that I did not see where the deer came from or where the deer went. The direction of the prints lead to some trees and I did not see any signs of the deer turning.
Saturday, 10/25/2025: Post photo — Maple Leaf.
This is a photo of a maple leaf as I was raking up our yard today. The topic for my other project is center focus. This is the photo that I am submitting.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”
“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam.”
“Today everything exists to end in a photograph.” — Susan Sontag
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
This is a repost from four years ago. I have been busy looking through all the wedding photos that I took last weekend.
Sunday, 10/12/2025: Posted photo — Lakeside.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/125 s, 32 mm.
Today we took the dock out of the water at the cottage. The water was cold when first going into it, and then it did not feel so bad. We need to go into the water to lift part of the dock off its foundation to bring it in. Many years ago, the tires on the bottle of the support legs on the dock fell off so we manually need to lift the dock out of the water.
Before the dock was removed, I went out on it to enjoy the foliage from out in the water. I took this photo shortly before the dock was removed from the water.
The day is always a fun filled day with family and friends.
Monday, 10/13/2025: Posted photo — Trees in the Sun.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/125 s, 50 mm.
This is the backside, or inlet side, of the falls at Round Meadow Pond. You have seen a few photos of the water flowing over the dam since that is one of my favorite spots to photograph. I took this photo because of the bright colors of the foliage, and I liked the way the light was reflecting off the trees.
Tuesday, 10/14/2025: Posted photo — More Foliage.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160 s, 50 mm.
Not much to say about this photo. The foliage is starting to get to peak in this area, so I am taking as many foliage photos as I can.
One thing I can say about this photo, and my other foliage photos, is that they look very bright. The histogram looks good for these photos, but the photos look bright when viewing on some screens. It might be because I use calibrate monitors to edit my photos and the other monitors are not calibrated.
Time to do some research into this issue. Maybe I should get one or two of them printed to see how the colors come out.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/250 s, 72 mm.
I was going to post another foliage photos today but decided to post a photo of the morning dew. This photo was meant to show the dew and to break up my trend of foliage photos. Too much of a good thing is not always good.
I attempted to capture the light off the dew on the grass. Please leave a comment to let me know how well I captured the light and to give me some tips to improve.
Thursday, 10/16/2025: Posted photo — Lightning at Sea.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/5.6, 15 s, 48 mm.
15 second exposure looking out to see in Jacksonville Beach, FL a few years ago.
During a past vacation, my family rented a condominium on Jacksonville Beach. My wife has relatives that live in both Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach, so we travel to the area relatively often. Most of the time we rent a house or condo not on the beach.
A common occurrence in Florida is a storm out to sea at night. It is such a great sight to see the lightning in the distance. On this night, I decided to put my camera on my tripod, set the exposure time to 15 seconds, to capture the storm. After looking at the photos, my only regret was that I did not leave my shutter open for 30 seconds.
There will always be another trip back to the beach.
Here are a few camera settings for photographing daytime and nighttime lightning that I have picked up over the years:
Camera settings tips for photographing daytime lightning photos:
Set up camera on a sturdy tripod.
Turn off any image stabilization you might have. If image stabilization is on, the camera will think it is moving when the shutter engages, even though there is not camera movement.
Focus camera lens on infinity or on an object in the distance.
Set the aperture of the lens to f/16 or smaller. This will close the iris inside the lens, allowing a longer shutter speed to be used.
Set ISO to lowest it will go, for example use ISO 100.
Take a test exposure using the slowest shutter speed allowed to see if the image is exposed correctly and your focus is correct.
Set your camera on manual or bulb.
Use a remote timer/intervalometer to fire the shutter continuously.
Here is an example of a daytime lightning photo. This photo was handheld since the storm arrived quickly. For your information, we did not hike down into the Grand Canyon that day.
Camera settings for photographing night-time lightning
Set up camera on a sturdy tripod.
Turn off any image stabilization you might have. If image stabilization is on, the camera will think it is moving when the shutter engages, even though there is not camera movement.
Focus camera lens on infinity or on an object in the distance.
Set the aperture of the lens to a medium value, such as f/5.6 or f/8. This will allow a longer shutter speed by bringing in more light and improve image quality at the same time by allowing the use of a lower ISO value.
Set ISO to lowest it will go, for example set your is to ISO 100. You may have to increase your ISO to ISO 200–ISO 400 depending on the lighting in the area. I prefer my ISO set at ISO 100 for all my lightning shots.
Set your camera on manual or bulb.
Set the shutter speed to between 5 and 20 seconds. You can set it up to 30 seconds if you are in a dark area.
Take a test shot to see if the scene is exposed correctly, remembering that if a strike does happen in the field of view it could light up the scene considerably, depending on how big the strike looks in the photo.
Use a remote timer/intervalometer to fire the shutter continuously.
Friday, 10/17/2025: Post photo — Clouds.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/1250 s, 37 mm.
Today I am posting a photo of a cloud. I took many photos today, but this one was the only one that I liked.
Saturday, 10/18/2025: Post photo — Aster.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/320 s, 106 mm.
I went to my mother’s house today to make sure everything was fine at the house. I also collected some of the wood from the tree that fell on her house about a year ago to bring home to burn. Earlier in the day, I took photos at Leominster State Forest. I went hiking at Leominster State Forest last night and went back today to get some more photos. I will be posting the photos I took in this blog for you to see what I did not post for my 365 project.
When I was at her house, I noticed a lot of asters. I also saw that there was an abundant number of bees flying around the asters. What a great photo opportunity. The aster flowers (Aster spp.) add color to the autumn landscape while offering beauty with little work when caring for asters.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”
“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam.”
“Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.” — Anonymous
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Little words this week. I have been tired and my creativity this week is low.
Sunday, 10/05/2025: Posted photo — Bolton Pond.
Bolton Pond off the Bolton Pond Trail on Wachusett Mountain. This is a trail that I hike on once every year or two since it is one that I find not very interesting to hike. The trail is relatively flat and hard to follow sometimes. I was a little surprised to see that the Commonwealth has done trail work and it is easier to follow.
This trail had a turn that was very wide and, if you did not know the trail, you would have wandered into the woods. The Commonwealth made a barrier at this corner to force people to stay on the trail.
Monday, 10/06/2025: Posted photo — More Progress.
Here is my weekly progress photo of the lift installation. The lift structures are almost all installed. The chairs themselves have not been installed and are still in the ski area parking lot.
Tuesday, 10/07/2025: Posted photo — Lakeside.
We went to the cottage to take out the dock on this fine fall day. The foliage is just starting and should be a peak soon.
This is the view from our cottage looking over Winnekeag Lake.
Wednesday, 10/08/2025: Posted photo — Texture of Pine.
I am testing a plant ID app that I have been using to identify trees. The app is called Seek. I used it to identify the bark of this pine tree.
When you are lost in the woods, you are taught to triangulate. The problem is, when you are lost you do not have any objects to triangulate on.
One way of locating yourself is by slope aspect or finding your location off the contour of the land. This is something I have been practicing for a while and hope to never use. If you want to know more about this technique, please leave a comment.
This is the slope that one of the lifts is at were one of the hiking trails cross the ski area.
Friday, 10/10/2025: Post photo — Day after Full.
This is a photo of the Hunter (or Harvest) moon the day after it was officially full. I took this photo two nights ago and just processed it today.
This photo was extracted from a 15 second video of the moon. I have a photo stacking program that will extract all the frames from a video and stack them into one photo. I have not used this photo much, so I wanted to give it a try again.
I have not been very happy with my moon shots lately. I do not know if it is my eyes or the lens. When I take moon photos, I zoom in as much as possible and manually focus my lens. My “moon” lens is all manual. The zoom is set at 1050 mm and placed on my tripod. With the length of the lens, any breeze or wind will make it shake. I use live view to focus, and it looks focused on the camera. I may have to take my lens apart and give it a cleaning.
Saturday, 10/11/2025: Post photo — Covered Bridge.
This covered bridge is located at the Foster Country Club in Foster RI. This was the site of one of my cousin’s daughter’s wedding yesterday afternoon. Here daughter likes my nature photography and asked me to photograph her wedding.
The photos from the wedding came out great. The photos from the reception were not so great because of the lighting. It is very difficult to take photos inside when they keep the reception hall dark. You need a very fast lens to take photos. I had a fast lens, but with the darkness and the colored lights from the DJ’s booth, I am not happy with the RAW photos.
It is now time to go through all my photos, edit them, and make them presentable to bride and groom.
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Grasso!
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”
“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam.”
“I never have taken a picture I’ve intended. They’re always better or worse.” — Diane Arbus
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 09/28/2025: Posted photo — Bricks.
For the photo project that ended today, the subject was “Soundtrack”. I was having difficulty coming up with a subject.
I was cooking at the grill today and saw the bricks on the ground. The Pink Floyd song “Another Brick In The Wall” came to mind. I do not really like Pink Floyd too much, but I needed a subject, and I saw the bricks. I was hoping that I would find a brick wall, but we spent the day at the lake, and I was not able to get a photo. We live in an area with brick houses that pre-date the American Revolution.
Monday, 09/29/2025: Posted photo — Sunset.
Sunset was a strange color tonight. It was also one of the better sunsets in a while. The clouds were forming a vortex, pointing to something out west.
Sorry about the quality of this photo. The sun was setting quickly and took a quick photo while on the move.
Tuesday, 09/30/2025: Posted photo — Fire in the Sky.
Once again there was a very red sunset. During my hike, I saw the sunset blazing in the trees. It made the trees look like they were on fire.
I hope this photo does this justice, but photos never do justice to seeing nature live.
The photo topic this week is texture. I will be taking texture photos during the week. During my shopping trip, I saw pineapples and took a photo of the texture of their skin.
Today I took a photo of some dragon fruit to show more texture. I will be picking one of these photos for my submission. I will keep looking for more textures during the week.
Friday, 10/03/2025: Post photo — Mums.
Mums are hardy fall plants. At this time of year, almost every place that sells plants has mums.
There are two different types of mums: 1) “Garden” mums (found at garden nurseries) are hardy perennial plants. 2) “Florist” mums (often found at grocery stores and flower shops) are treated as decorative annuals and not grown to survive the winter.
I will have to do more research on the difference between the “garden” and “florist” varieties.
Saturday, 10/04/2025: Post photo — More Mums.
Here are more mums that I saw today. These are also “garden” mums.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”
“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam.”
“Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art.” — Ambrose Bierce
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 09/21/2025: Posted photo — American Dagger Moth Caterpillar.
The American Dagger Mot is found in America east of the Rocky Mountains in wooded areas. They feed on many common types of trees such as oaks and maples and are often found on the ground in the forest. This caterpillar protects itself from danger by “stinging” anything that touches it. I did not touch it since I knew that some caterpillars sting and I did not know at the time if this was one of those.
Here is one of the many differences between a butterfly and a moth. Butterflies tend to fold their wings vertically up over their backs. Moths tend to hold their wings in a tent-like fashion that hides the abdomen. Butterflies are typically larger and have more colorful patterns on their wings. Moths are typically smaller with drab-colored wings.
Monday, 09/22/2025: Posted photo — Lift Progress.
Wachusett Mountain is putting in a new high-speed lift. I have been showing photos of progress as I hike past the construction. This lift is much larger than the lift they just removed.
Tuesday, 09/23/2025: Posted photo — Roses.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been showing individual roses from this bush. This bush is the one that I did not think it would survive before it was transplanted.
When I planted it in the new flower bed, I took care to help it grow by watering it and keeping the ground fertilized. It is now growing wonderfully.
The yellow roses and the white roses bloom at different times. This is like other plants, such as our azaleas, in which the different colors bloom at different times.
Wednesday, 09/24/2025: Posted photo — Full Moon.
As I was looking for a file today, I found this photo of the moon. I took this photo a while ago. It is a composite of 10 separate photos.
This is one of my favorite full moon photos, so I wanted to share it with you.
Thursday, 09/25/2025: Posted photo — Rose during Rain.
We finally had rain. The rain took all the petals off the yellow roses. I noticed that there was a rosebud on this plant.
As I walked past it, I noticed the raindrops on the rose. I went back inside, grabbed my camera and its rain cover and took this photo.
Friday, 09/26/2025: Post photo — Elm Tree.
I like the look of this tree. I photographed it often a few years ago. On my way to work today, I wanted to photograph a great sunrise so I pulled into the cemetery to see if I could get a better view.
I do not know why I pulled into the cemetery, but I found my way to photograph this tree.
Saturday, 09/27/2025: Post photo — Lakeside.
Today was the church bazar. After the bazar we went to our cottage to have a cookout. I took this photo since I liked the way the sun reflected off the hill on the other side of the lake.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”
“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam.”
“If you see something that moves you, and then snap it, you keep a moment.” — Linda McCartney
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 09/14/2025: Posted photo — Rosebud.
A few weeks ago, I constructed a planter for some roses that I purchased. I purchased white roses and yellow roses. The white roses bloomed a couple of times since I purchased them and the yellow roses looked like they were not going to live.
When I planted them, I was hopeful that they both would take root. I took my time and fed them, watered them, and removed weeds to help them grow. The white roses bloomed in the bed again, bending under their own weight. I need to support the blooms the next time I see them start. The yellow roses are starting to have multiple blooms.
This is a photo of one of the rosebuds from the yellow plant. It looks like it will bloom this week. If it does, I will post a photo of it later this week.
I am starting to learn about growing roses. There is much to learn, and any advice will be greatly appreciated.
The bearded dragon is equipped with armor of spiny reptilian scales, which include a “beard” of spikes under its chin that puffs up depending on its mood. A Bearded Dragon represents change, rebirth, and renewal.
This bearded dragon is the pet of one of my brothers. We stopped at his house on the way to one of the two weddings we attended last weekend. One was in Naples NY, and one was in Westminster MA the next day.
Tuesday, 09/16/2025: Posted photo — Chinese Swan Goose.
Wild goose symbolizes loyalty, integrity, and love.
This goose was swimming at the Old Mill during the time of the second wedding we attended last weekend.
This is the centerpiece from the second wedding. The first wedding was more traditional, and the second one was less traditional. The first wedding had less traditional food, and the second wedding had more traditional food.
Both weddings were special in their own way. The first was for a friend, and the second was for my niece. Wishing them both many happy years.
Thursday, 09/18/2025: Posted photo — Jump Off Point.
Ontario County Park at Gannett Hill has a lookout point called Jump Off Point. There is an overlook at the point, but not much of a drop to jump off, just a steep hill.
We took a walk to look at the views before packing up our camping equipment and heading to the wedding we were going to photograph. This was the first of two weddings over the weekend.
This park is very well maintained and is growing. The campsite we had the first time we were there, and when my wife and son camped there a few years ago, is now occupied by the camp host. I can understand why he took that site, it was the best one in the park.
Friday, 09/19/2025: Post photo — Orntario St. Bridge.
This bridge is a hidden wonder. The newly married couple wanted to take photos on this bridge after the ceremony. The bridge had debris on it, so before we took photos, we purchased a broom and swept off the bridge. We later presented the broom as a wedding gift. The couple loved the idea that we gave them this broom that was part of their special day.
Saturday, 09/20/2025: Post photo — Milky Way.
Second attempt at a Milky Way photo using my cellphone. This one was better than the first one, but still not great. There still was light pollution in the area. I attempted to block the light, so this photo came out slightly better.
I will keep taking this photo in darker areas to get a good one.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
Bonus
Here is the photo of the rose in Sunday’s photo in bloom.
“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”
“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam.”
“The picture that you took with your camera is the imagination you want to create with reality.” — Scott Lorenzo
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 09/07/2025: Posted photo — From Above.
The photo theme for the week is taking a photo from above. I took many photos during the week and decided on posting this photo of the altar from above from the choir loft. I selected this one to post since I liked the colors in this photo better than the other photos I took during the week.
Monday, 09/08/2025: Posted photo — Balance Rock.
Glaciers can pick up chunks of rocks and transport them over long distances. When they drop these rocks, they are often far from their origin—the outcrop or bedrock from which they were plucked. These rocks are known as glacial erratics.
This erratic is called Balance Rock. It is located on the Balance Rock train on Wachusett Mountain. It was left behind by the Laurentide Ice Sheet about 12,000 years ago (thank you Matt Landry for that information).
I once heard a college-aged couple discussing how someone would have placed the rocks on each other. I had to explain to them that it was a glacial erratic.
Tuesday, 09/09/2025: Posted photo — View from the Trail.
My hike this week took me across the ski area at Wachusett Mountain. As the sun sets earlier each day this time of year, I wanted to see how the lighting would be on the ski area.
The lighting was not bad. The shadows made it a difficult photo.
Wednesday, 09/10/2025: Posted photo — Graffiti.
Kids do not spend the time outside these days making graffiti the way they did many years ago. Today graffiti is done with spray paint. I often wonder how long it took to carve names into rocks.
Thursday, 09/11/2025: Posted photo — Trial Ahead.
I took this photo for a couple of reasons. These blazes are new on the trail, and I wanted to show them during my next navigation class.
I took this trail this week to challenge myself. I wanted to see how quickly, at a fast-walking pace, I could do a loop. It took me 1 hour 30 minutes to cover 3.93 miles. I had an average moving speed of 2.6 miles per hour with a maximum speed of 4.2 miles per hour. This trail had an ascent of 979 feet. All this information was taken off my Gaia GPS app.
Next time I will take less stops. If I were with a group, my estimated time for this same route would be around 3 hours. I always like to double the time it would take me when I am with a group. This estimate works most of the time if I do not know all the people that are hiking in the group.
Friday, 09/13/2025: Post photo — Stream Crossing.
Hiking trail bridges are necessary to allow for safe crossings of streams, rivers, wetlands, ravines, and other environmental features. I have crossed many bridges in my days and years of hiking.
There are several of these bridges on Wachusett Mountain. They allow for safe crossings of the many streams on the mountain. During the dry season, I might cross next to the bridge since it is a straighter and safer path.
The commonwealth is doing a great job maintaining these bridges. Most of them are in great shape. There are a few in which some of the boards are starting to rot and need to be replaced. These bridges are on the north side of the mountain.
Saturday, 09/13/2025: Post photo — Something New.
They are starting to assembly the new high-speed lift on Wachusett. This is a photo of the new towers at the summit as the ski area prepares to install the upper part of the lift.
For the past 15 or so years, I have been posting a photo of me on the summit of one of the 48 4K mountains in New Hampshire as part of the Flags on the 48 September 11 memorial hike. This year I was unable to do the hike due to a prior commitment. I would like to congratulate the members of the Worcester AMC and the Wachusett Hikers who both took on summits this year.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”
“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam.”
“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.” — Ralph Hattersley
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 08/31/2025: Posted photo — Paddleboard.
We were sitting around the cottage and saw this guy and his dog on a paddleboard. I thought it was interesting, so I took this photo with my phone. My phone does not take zoom photos in low light very well. I do not know of one that does. The phone that might is a Samsung or a newer Pixel phone. iPhones are not usually rated tops in taking photos by photographers and photography magazine reviews.
Monday, 09/01/2025: Posted photo — Night Sky.
Camping out last night. I put my phone done on the dock just after dark, still in the blue hour, and took this photo. I used the astrophotography setting on my phone in which I controlled with my watch.
Tuesday, 09/02/2025: Posted photo — Nectarine.
Just some nectarines I saw while shopping tonight. Needed a photo, took a photo.
Wednesday, 09/03/2025: Posted photo — Garlic.
Garlic supports cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, boosts the immune system to fight infections, protects cells from damage and inflammation, and aids digestive health by acting as a prebiotic.
Thursday, 09/04/2025: Posted photo — Rose.
This is a rose in our flower bed. It needs to be supported somehow since the stem seems very week.
Friday, 09/05/2025: Post photo — Mushrooms.
Mushrooms on some old logs at our house.
Saturday, 09/06/2025: Post photo — Garter Snake.
I saw this guy when I was mowing the lawn today. I mowed early to get it done before all the rain. As I am typing this, we are having some much needed rain.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”
“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam.”
“Once photography enters your bloodstream, it is like a disease.” — Anonymous
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 08/24/2025: Posted photo — Hiking Shoes.
I was just sitting around after a hike playing with a camera that I am borrowing while mine is being cleaned. I was just taking photos by changing the camera settings.
I took this photo of my boots and liked the composition, so I am sharing it with you.
Monday, 08/25/2025: Posted photo — Fire.
Chilly day today. I started a fire in our wood stove. The light from the stove caught my eye so I took this photo. This photo was taken with the long exposure setting on my phone.
The Eastern Newt as a juvenile is reddish-orange with slightly bumpy skin. As an adult, the Eastern Newt turns olive green, and their bellies reveal scattered black spots on a bright yellow background. Juvenile Eastern Newts are also called Red Efts because they have bright orange or orange-red skin with two rows of dark-rimmed yellowish or orange spots on each side of the back.
There were many of these newts on the trail today. I wonder if there were many on the trails because of the little rain we had today. We have not had a good, soaking rain in this area for a while.
Wednesday, 08/27/2025: Posted photo — Sunset.
A glorious golden sunset tonight.
When sunlight strikes gas molecules, such as nitrogen and oxygen, light of longer wavelengths, like red, yellow, and orange, easily passes through, while light of shorter wavelengths, such as blue and violet, is absorbed and then scattered in all directions by the gas molecules. This is why we have colorful sunsets and sunrises.
Thursday, 08/28/2025: Posted photo — Geese.
I took advantage of today by going by the Old Mill to take photos of the geese and ducks. It has been a while since I went to the duck pond.
Today I went with the camera that I borrowed to learn more about it. I will go back tomorrow to take more photos.
Friday, 08/29/2025: Post photo — Standing Goose.
Here is a photo from today’s trip to the Old Mill. The camera that I used does not have much of a zoom. I could not use my zoom lens since it was made by a different manufacturer. Also, my better zoom lens is off with my camera being cleaned.
Saturday, 08/30/2025: Post photo — Rainbow.
The topic for my photo project this week is reflection. A rainbow involves reflection, but it is more accurately described as an optical phenomenon created by the combined processes of refraction, internal reflection, and dispersion of sunlight in water droplets. The light refracts, or bends, as it enters a raindrop, then internally reflects off the back of the droplet, and finally refracts again as it exits, separating into its constituent colors.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
“Quod scripsi, scripsi. Ingeniarius sum, non scriptor.”
“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me. Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam.”
Photo by Joseph Ciras 