“I think good dreaming is what leads to good photographs.” — Wayne Miller
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Looking for some new quotes to use. If you have any, please put them in the comments.
Sunday, 03/23/2025: Posted photo — New Dawn Arts Center.
New Dawn Arts Center in the Community Church.
Monday, 03/24/2025: Posted photo — Mini Rose.
When shopping tonight instead of hiking due to freezing rain and dangerous trail conditions. Came across some mini roses and took my weekly flower photo.
Tuesday, 03/25/2025: Posted photo — Lime.
Nice color and textures on these limes.
Wednesday, 03/26/2025: Posted photo — Do Not Climb.
When on a walk today and came across this sign near the old growth forest. There were many rocks to boulder, but that would damage the fragile ecosystem in the area.
Thursday, 03/27/2025: Posted photo — Sunset.
A great sunset from the mountain. I did not stay to the end of the sunset. Just went up, took this photo, and headed back down.
Friday, 03/28/2025: Post photo — Wachusett Mountain.
Had to visit a vendor for work today and stopped to take this photo. If you look at the trails, they spell out “SKI”.
Saturday, 03/29/2025: Post photo — Wood Stove.
Raw day today so I stayed inside and had a fire in our wood stove.
“Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.” — Diane Arbus
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
This week will show you some of the animals that I encountered during my travels.
Sunday, 03/16/2025: Posted photo — Prairie Dog.
One of the campsites we were camped, was a remote campground in Badlands National Park. In this campground and the surrounding area, there USGA was doing a study on Prairie Dogs. These were some that were near my tent.
Monday, 03/17/2025: Posted photo — Camping Bison.
In the same campground, there was a bison that used the site markers as scratching posts. This bison also showed up in the morning. The remote campground had only 10 sites. All eyes were on the bison. People did come out of these tents as the bison moved away.
Tuesday, 03/18/2025: Posted photo — Ducks.
These ducks were in one of the rivers at Yellowstone National Park. I did look up the type of ducks these are but did not write it down.
Wednesday, 03/19/2025: Posted photo — Elk.
This elk came to visit us at the first campground we had in Yellowstone.
Thursday, 03/20/2025: Posted photo — Bison by River.
At the second campground in Yellowstone, we took a walk in the morning and saw this bison by the river. There was a plaque at this location that stated that this was the exact location that the idea to make Yellowstone a national park was born.
Friday, 03/21/2025: Post photo — Mini Cow.
One of my sister-in-law’s animals.
Saturday, 03/22/2025: Post photo — Feasting Bald Eagle.
This Bald Eagle just caught a fish, brought it to the top of this tree, and had its dinner.
“Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.” — Matt Hardy
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 03/09/2025: Posted photo — First Sunday of Lent.
Today is the first Sunday in Lent. Lent is the time of year when we prepare for Easter, the holiest day in the Liturgical Year.
Lent is not only giving up chocolates or drinking or smoking, etc. but also doing a little extra for others. If you go to church and listen to the readings, they teach you to give up prejudice towards others. In this day, many of us are prejudice towards people unlike us, immigrants from other countries, people with different color skin or different social and political views. Jesus teaches up to get along with each other and respect others.
Some people forget this. Some people are very prejudice to immigrants and other. Remember what Jesus said — love one another as I have loved you. If you see yourself as being religious, you should follow his words and not those of false prophets.
Monday, 03/10/2025: Posted photo — Sunset.
This is the first sunset of the year from the summit. With the time change, my group was able to get to the summit in time for sunset.
The trails were very tricky tonight. With the warm temperatures, the trails were muddy, and the snow and ice patches were unstable. I started out without my microspikes but put them on shortly after the hike started.
My hike last Saturday was on Mount Chocorua in the White Mountain National Forest. The summit on Saturday had gusts of over 50 mph with temperatures in the high signal digits (F). We had to brace ourselves so that we did not blow off the mountain.
Two different mountains, two different locations, two different experiences.
Tuesday, 03/11/2025: Posted photo — Sunset Sky.
What a wonderful view from the summit. This looks like the last good night this week. I am hoping that the clouds hold off for Thursday night / Friday morning so that I can get at least one photo of the total lunar eclipse.
Wednesday, 03/12/2025: Posted photo — Lunch Time.
We were sitting down for lunch last Sunday and saw this squirrel sitting on the rail eating acorns. It was posing for me, so I took its photo. I kept waiting for it to run away but sat there for about 10 minutes.
Thursday, 03/13/2025: Posted photo — Roses.
Quick photo for today. Took a photo of some roses. I need to go to sleep to check out the eclipse tonight.
Friday, 03/14/2025: Post photo — Lunar Eclipse.
Will the clouds hold out? Will the moon clear the trees in our yard so that I do not have to drive to a location to take photos at 2 in the morning? No and Yes. We had partly cloudy skies tonight making it extremely difficult to focus on the moon. I would normally go out before the eclipse starts to focus on the full moon because I know that once the eclipse starts, it would be difficult to focus. I went out and it was difficult to focus on the moon due to the thin layer of clouds. The moon was in and out of the clouds, so I had to guess on the focus. With my lens, any bit of wind makes the photo out of focus.
I set my alarm for 1:45 in the morning so that I could check to see if the clouds covered the moon. I was able to see the moon through some breaks in the clouds, so I put on warm clothes and went to my side yard to take photos. The moon moves very fast, and I needed to set my exposure for over 2 seconds, something I do not like to do for moon photos. You can see in this photo that there is a star next to the moon that shows signs of motion blur.
Here are two total lunar eclipse photos taken 10 years apart. I did the best I could to save the photo from this year. The direction of the shadow is very evident in these photos. Enjoy.
Saturday, 03/15/2025: Post photo — Eggs.
Eggs. Have you seen the price of eggs go down? I have just seen the price skyrocket.
The topic of the week for one of my photo projects is eggs. I needed to go out and purchase eggs so that my wife could bake a birthday cake. I have seen the price as high as $8 for a dozen. I have seen a package of 24 for almost $30. My neighbor sells them at a much lower price. When you purchase eggs in the store, you do not know how old they are. There is a date on the carton but I like them fresh.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/100 s, 20 mm.
Desert View Watchtower, South Rim Grand Canyon National Park.
We arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon just before sunset. We spent the last couple of nights camping and hiking along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and would be spending time on the South Rim. I have been to the Canyon before, but never from this entrance.
From the National Parks Service: “A National Historic Landmark, the Watchtower was constructed in 1932.The design by Mary Colter, is based on the architecture of the Ancestral Puebloan people of the Southwest. This particular tower was patterned after those found at Hovenweep and the Round Tower of Mesa Verde.”
We have been to Hovenweep and to Mesa Verde and agree with that statement.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/16, 1/400 s, 49 mm.
The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states.
Tuesday, 03/08/2022: Posted photo — Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/13, 1/800 s, 90 mm.
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Mosca, CO.
One of the amazing things about the Great Sand Dunes is that you can see them from miles away. As you turn off the main road and head towards the dunes, they are right in front of you. We spent the day hiking the dunes pretending we were in a desert. When you look at this photo, you see a couple of dots in the sand. Those are people. The sand was hot. According to Park Service, the sand surface can reach 150 degrees F (65 degrees C) on a summer afternoon or drop to minus 20 degrees F (minus 29 degrees C) on a winter night. It was close to the 150 degrees when we were walking on the sand.
From the National Parks Service: “The tallest dunes in North America are the centerpiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. Great Sand Dunes National Park is a complex geologic story going back millions of years. Intense volcanic activity built the San Juan mountain range to the west of the modern day dunes and tectonic activity raised the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the north and east.”
Wednesday, 03/09/2022: Posted photo — Hiking the Narrows.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/9, 1/2050 s, 18 mm.
Zion National Park Springdale, UT.
This is a photo my wife took of me as we were hiking the Narrows in Zion National Park. It was a refreshing hike on a hot summer day. When you hike the Narrows, you need to be very aware of the weather. Because it is so narrow, there is no escape route if there happens to be a flash flood.
From the National Parks Service: “The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon. This gorge, with walls a thousand feet tall and the river sometimes just twenty to thirty feet wide, is one of the most popular areas in Zion National Park. You can see The Narrows by hiking along the paved, wheelchair accessible Riverside Walk for one mile from the Temple of Sinawava. If you wish to see more, you will be walking in the Virgin River. This can involve wading upstream for just a few minutes or it can be an all day hike.”
Thursday, 03/10/2022: Posted photo — NRAO Very Large Array.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/10, 1/800 s, 165 mm.
NRAO Very Large Array, Magdalena, NM.
One of the most interesting places to visit. As you can see from the description below, the array can be very large. When we visited, there were 26 radio antennas pointing in one direction and one pointing in an opposite direction. We thought that was strange. They told up that the odd one was scanning the sky.
“The Very Large Array, one of the world’s premier astronomical radio observatories, consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. Each antenna is 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 36 km (22 miles) across, with the equivalent sensitivity of a dish 130 meters (422 feet) in diameter.” — http://www.vla.nrao.edu/
Friday, 03/11/2022: Post photo — Owachamo Bridge.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/125 s, 18 mm.
Owachamo Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT.
Owachomo is the smallest and thinnest of the three natural bridges in the National Monument and is commonly thought to be the oldest. We had a great hike out to the bridge.
We like to travel to the lesser know parks. These parks are lesser know mostly because of location. They are not close to any major city or town. We like to say it is great to have a park to ourselves.
Saturday, 03/12/2022: Post photo — Spruce Tree House.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/5, 1/50 s, 20 mm.
Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO.
From the National Park Service: “Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling (Cliff Palace and Long House are larger), was constructed between about 1211 and 1278 CE by the ancestors of the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest. The dwelling contains about 130 rooms and 8 kivas (kee-vahs), or ceremonial chambers, built into a natural alcove measuring 216 feet (66 meters) at greatest width and 89 feet (27 meters) at its greatest depth. It is thought to have been home for about 60 to 80 people.”
We were lucky enough to get to the park prior to 2012 during one of our northern National Park tours. We were able to explore the Spruce Tree House. We went into some of the rooms and into the kivas. Due to the unstable cliff about the Spruce Tree House, the entire site was closed to the public in October 2015. We have visited the park since then since I have a relative that works at the park. We were able to obtain permits to do some backcountry hiking with my relative guide to some dwellings that are off limits to the public.
“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” — Dorothea Lange
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 02/23/2025: Posted photo — Baptism.
Baptism is a sacrament of initiation.
This is the baptismal font at our church. I was putting up the hymn numbers and saw that the setup for a baptism after Mass, so I took this photo. In the past, baptisms took place during the Mass. When I was baptized, they took place during Mass. That was over 60 years ago. They now take place after the Mass in complete so that more family members, friends, and relatives can witness the Sacrament of Baptism.
Monday, 02/24/2025: Posted photo — Yard Cleanup.
We had snow, ice, sleet, and freezing rain last week. I spend most of the weekend on my roof removing the ice dam. The next project to tackle is the cleanup of all the branches that have fallen from the trees due to the ice and strong winds.
Tuesday, 02/25/2025: Posted photo — Unfinished.
The topic for my weekly photo project this week is unfinished. I was going to call this photo something different and decided not to do so.
The food supply has gone down in the last few months, prices have skyrocketed, leaving empty shelves in the grocery stores because there is no food to stock the shelves. There is no food since the producers are concerned about higher prices to produce the food. The produce and fruit area of the store I shop at was very empty. If you have been following me for a while, you know that I like to take photos of unusual foods that I come across. I cook on the days that I go shopping since it is easier to pick up food and cook instead of defrosting food. Today my dinner plans had to change since the food supply was limited.
The unfinished part of this photo is that they stocking of the shelves is unfished.
Wednesday, 02/26/2025: Posted photo — Flowers.
Why do I take so many photos of flowers. Practice, practice, practice. I am never happy with my photos. After doing this project for over 14 years, you would think that I would get better.
Some weeks are better than other weeks.
Thursday, 02/27/2025: Posted photo — Motion Blur.
Today I was playing around with motion blur. I focused on the center of a fan and set my camera to 1/8 second exposure to get this shot. I experimented with different shutter speeds and found this one to be the best.
I am disappointed in the amount of light in this photo. The photo looks dark to me. Also, the fan is not centered. I could have fixed this with post processing, but I decided to leave it as is as a baseline for future photos.
Friday, 02/28/2025: Post photo — Snow.
This is snow in the wetlands on my way to work. It snowed overnight leaving a little more than a coating of snow on the ground. The snow was wet and heavy, but it melted by the end of the day.
We have having cold nights and warm days. This is great weather for those who make maple syrup. Next week I will be posting a photo of our neighbors taps on our sugar maples.
Saturday, 03/01/2025: Post photo — Flag at Sunrise.
Posting this flag and hoping that this country will not be the laughing stock of the world much longer.
I took this photos since I liked the color of the sunrise against the whites of the flag.
“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in 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, 02/09/2025: Posted photo — Snowshoeing.
We had a little snowfall last night. Only about 7 inches of snow fell. This gave me the opportunity to take my snowshoes out and hike on out property. There were many challenging areas to hike. I when up and down steel hills and through some swampy areas that were frozen over.
I used today to do a test run of my snowshoes. I will bring them with me during my hike tomorrow and hopefully I will be able to use them.
Here are some mountain laurel covered in snow. I saw this during my hike today.
I did not use my snowshoes, just carried them. Since I went the day after the snow, the trails were packed down. I used my microspikes and stayed on the trail. If I was not leading a group, I would have put them on and hiked off the trail. When I am leading a group, I need to be responsible for the fun and safety of all.
Tuesday, 02/11/2025: Posted photo — Snow on Swing.
There was still snow on the swings in our backyard. These swings have not been used for many years. One of our grandnieces was one of the last ones to use them. The photo of the snow on the swings is a photo that I take every year. The weather is going to warm up tomorrow so this may be the last opportunity before the snow next Saturday to take this photo.
I have been doing this project since January 1, 2010. After a while there is repetitiveness in my photos and photography topic. I need to branch out and take more photos of people.
Speaking of creatures of habit, I take a photo of this location often. Besides the moon, this location is my second most photograph location in my project.
A few years back I took a photo on the 6th of the month, every month of every year, at this location to see how it changes. I put a video of my photos together. Let me know if you would like to see it and I can figure out a way to post it in this blog.
Thursday, 02/13/2025: Posted photo — Snow Moon.
This month’s full moon is called the Snow Moon.
There is typically cold and snowy weather in February, so the full moon was given the name snow moon. Storm moon and hunger moon are other common names.
I took this with my 300mm lens, and not my “moon” lens because of the wing. My long “moon” lens is only manual and does not have a stabilizer making it difficult to take photos of the moon in the wind.
Friday, 02/14/2025: Post photo — Icicles.
As the temperature fluctuates, icicles begin to form. These photos were taken in the morning. One is a photo of the icicles on a building, the other of icicles on a handrail.
These were gone later in the day when the temperature rose slightly and the wind picked up.
Saturday, 02/15/2025: Post photo — Looking Up.
Blue sky this morning before the snow tonight. We are expecting several inches of snow, followed by sleet and rain tonight into tomorrow.
“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.” — Don McCullin
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 02/02/2025: Posted photo — Bouquet.
A bouquet of flowers in a store today. With the dismal state of the world, higher gas and food prices, shortage of food in the stores, and many people losing their livelihood in the last few weeks, I wanted to start this week with something positive.
Monday, 02/03/2025: Posted photo — Summit Sights.
Today’s hike was messy. Not that it was rainy or anything, the snow was just like mashed potatoes, sticking to the bottom of my microspikes and balling up. I did not know what would be more dangerous, keeping the microspikes on or going bear boot. I decided to keep them on and clear the bottom of them often. As an editorial note: the temperature dropped on Tuesday and the Tuesday night group had not issues with the snow.
The trail I took passed the top of one of the ski trails. I have posted photos of this location in the past. I took this photo just to have one for today.
Also on the summit is a plaque paying tribute to the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division and its service in Italy during World War II. This plaque was covered in snow. Next time I am on the summit, and if the plaque is still covered, I will remove the snow. Honorary plaques should not be covered.
Tuesday, 02/04/2025: Posted photo — Succulent.
The word succulent comes from the Latin word sucus, meaning “juice” or “sap”. Succulent plants have thickened stems, or leaves. Succulents may store water in various structures, such as leaves and stems.
This was a succulent that I saw while shopping tonight. There were many items out for St. Valentine’s Day. I keep thinking to myself that if you purchased flowers or other items this week, or when the first arrived in the stores, they would die before St. Valentine’s Day arrived.
Wednesday, 02/05/2025: Posted photo — Sunflower.
There is no reason that I posted this photo of a sunflower that I took today. When I saw it, I wanted to practice making a HDR photos using only one photo in GIMP. I have made single photo HDRs in Paint Shop Pro, but I am moving away from that program and using GIMP more.
This is the results of my experiment. Enjoy.
Thursday, 02/06/2025: Posted photo — Tracks.
Snow fell this afternoon, so I took this opportunity to walk to and from work so that I did not have to drive home on bad roads. I have used my new shoeshoes only once. When I got them, I took a loop around our property. Every time that I was going to hike with them, the conditions were not correct. They were mostly conditions for the use of microspikes or crampons, too much ice and not enough snow.
My new snowshoesMy snowshoe tracksRabbit tracks
These photos are from my walk home. There is a photo of one of my snowshoes (if I took a photo of both, my shadow would be in the photo), my snowshoe tracks, and the tracks of a wild rabbit. I have seen deer tracks, bear tracks, coyote tracks, and what I think were mountain lion tracks in the past. Today I only saw rabbit tracks.
It was good to finally test out my snowshoes. I may use them on Wachusett on Monday since there is a prediction of almost a foot of snow in this area on Sunday.
Friday, 02/07/2025: Post photo — Puddle.
For my photo challenge this week, I am to take a photo of a reflection in a puddle. The problem this week was that we did not have many puddles. Most of them were frozen over. Today there was a brief period of melt, but the wind was blowing. I was able to take this photo of clouds in a puddle. I am not happy with it. You just have to take with Mother Nature gives you. At least I have a photo that fits this week’s topic.
Saturday, 02/08/2025: Post photo — Competition.
Today I competed in a cubing event for the first time. The event took place at the school our son teaches so it was a great opportunity to do so. We have been to many comps over the years and our son’s friends keep asking us if we can solve. We say “yes”, and then they ask if we compete, we say “no”.
I took the plunge. I did not finish last, just next to last to someone that did not complete all their solves.
My name tagMy first offical scorecardNon-consistant on the 2x2x2
Today I competed in the 3x3x3 and the 2x2x2 events. I have posted my times below. For the 2x2x2, there were three solves when I thought I was solving the cube and it looked to me that nothing had happened. I gave up on one. Some of my son’s friends were laughing at me because they saw something that I should have done.
“The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.” — Andy Warhol
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 01/26/2025: Posted photo — Something Old.
Photo challenge of the week — Something old.
Many have posted old house, jewelry, or other items. I have posted a Cub Scout award that my brother received back in the 1960’s. My brother would have aged out of Cub Scouts in 1961 making this 64 years old. I have this memento to remember him along with some other items from his youth and his time in the Peace Corps in the late 1960’s.
Monday, 01/27/2025: Posted photo — Sunset.
This was taken just as is leaving the office. The colors were past peak but still wonderful to see this time of year. This was the first opportunity that I had to take a sunset photo as I was leaving work. As the days get longer, I am looking forward to getting on the local mountain and seeing the sunset from the summit.
Tuesday, 01/28/2025: Posted photo — Garlic.
Another shopping day. I tend to do my grocery shopping on Tuesday nights. The only time I do not is when I go hiking with the Tuesday night hiking group.
Garlic can reduce the severity of common cold symptoms, helping manage cholesterol and blood pressure, boosting heart health, and reducing the risk of liver injury.
Wednesday, 01/29/2025: Posted photo — Sunrise.
We had a few inches of light, fluffy snow last night. It was snowing off and on during the day with little more accumulation that in the morning. Since there was overcast sky this morning, the sun was just poking through the clouds.
I also took this photo of the flag against the snow. The flag was changed today since the high winds of the last few days had torn it.
Thursday, 01/30/2025: Posted photo — Boots.
Went to a new store near us. It was called the Boot Barn. I wanted to go into see if they had any hiking boots. They did not (not that I saw).
When I walked into the store, I felt like I was back in Houston Texas. The store was full of cowboy boots and hats. It did have some work boots, but most of the store had the ranch theme. I do not know how long the store will be there since there are not many ranchers in our area, but I did find the price of the shoes and hats as expected.
I thought of my niece and her children when I saw these boots. She lives in Washington state and lives on a farm with her family. She loves cowboy boots and pink.
Friday, 01/31/2025: Post photo — Blue Sky.
This week’s theme is blue. We had some snow last night and the sun was out today. I took a photo of the blue sky. Nice contrast between the snow, trees, and the sky.
Saturday, 02/01/2025: Post photo — Flowers.
Some flowers to close out this tiring week. Been editing procedures this week at work and have not gotten much sleep.
“No place is boring, if you’ve had a good night’s sleep and have a pocket full of unexposed film” — Robert Adams
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 01/19/2025: Posted photo — Leading Lines.
Photo challenge of the week — Leading Lines. I took many photos today to try to fit this theme. This was the winner. The lines are leading you down the seawall along the beach at Hampton Beach NH.
Wall at Hampton Beach NH
It was a cool day to be on the beach. When walking with the wind to my back, it felt warm. When I was walking into a headwind, you can tell it was frigid outside with the wind chill.
My bother made this one and just electrified it. He made one for one of his granddaughters during the summer and wanted to make one for himself.
Over all of GuitarSound board using tarp grommetsInscription on neck
As you can tell by the inscription, he is also a hiker. He was the past chairperson of the local chapter of the AMC and is now on the AMC Board of Directors.
Imagine the perfect citrus — super easy to peel, extra juicy and amazingly sweet. This is a hybrid of the satsuma, navel and mandarin orange varieties developed in 1970’s.
Dekopon Mandarins
I have posted many times before, the supermarket that I go to every week has a great assortment of fruits and vegetables. I like taking photos of them and doing research on them before purchasing them.
Wednesday, 01/22/2025: Posted photo — Coating a Japanese Yew.
Some snow on a Japanese Yew at my office. I like the contrast of colors.
Patches of snow
Thursday, 01/23/2025: Posted photo — Moon from Office Window.
I looked out my office window last week and saw the full moon. I took out my camera and took a photo for the moon through the office window.
I have people tell me that my moon photos are great and they wished I had something in the foreground, do I took this photo with the branches in the foreground.
Full moon in the morning
Friday, 01/24/2025: Post photo — New Hampshire Marine Memorial.
“It started as a grave marker… and became a monument!” This started out from a father wanting a grave marker for his son lost at sea in 1945. What his efforts brought after many years of endeavor, was a memorial at Hampton Beach to all New Hampshire sons and daughters lost or buried at sea during World War II.
Looking out at seaHonored names
This monument is across the street from the location of a cubing event that took place last weekend. I saw this monument as we entered for the competition and I went out to take it before the snow.
Saturday, 01/25/2025: Post photo — Training Hike.
Today I held a training hike to introduce people into winter hiking. I know that we are part way through the season but it was the first opportunity for a training hike. A few weeks ago, we (the Wachusett Hikers) had a conference call with people that wanted to learn about winter hiking. It was an informative call and some people wanted a hike planned to practice we talked about.
Summit photoSome gear inside my pack
I set up this hike to be the training hike. There were some that signed up for the hike and canceled last minute, as with typical hikes. Even if there were only one person signed up, I was going to do this hike. The temperature today was in the low 20’s (F) and the sun was shinning. This was so far the warmest day of the week.
I showed them my full winter gear and talked about which item was needed for local hikes and upcountry hikes. We also discussed layering for heat control, how to used microspikes, what type of microspikes to purchase and what type not to purchase, how to keep your water from freezing, how to properly adjust their hiking poles and how to use them properly, and other topics. It was a great hike and it made the two hikers that joined me more confident in their abilities. That was the main purpose of the hike.
As a bonus, we saw a bald eagle flying at the summit. By the time I took out my phone camera, it had flown out of range.
Photo by Joseph Ciras 