“The whole point of taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things with words.” — Elliott Erwitt
Some photos from hikes.
Sunday, 11/13/2022: Posted photo — Groot.
Saw Groot today on Old Indian Trail on Wachusett Mountain. He was just greeting hikers as they passed.
Groot on the Trail
Monday, 11/14/2022: Posted photo — Friends.
My son with one of his friends from college, who is now his cousin-in-law.
Tuesday, 11/15/2022: Posted photo — Trail Marker.
Before there were signs to mark the trails, people carved the trail names in rock. This is the trail marker for Old Indian Trail. I just wonder how long it took for someone to mark the trail.
Wachusett Mountain Summit PinOne of the three reference marks on the summit
Benchmarks (survey marks, survey monuments, or geodetic marks) are objects placed to indicate key survey points along the Earth’s surface. They are used primarily in geodetic and land surveying. Informally, such marks are referred to as benchmarks, although strictly speaking the term “benchmark” is used to indicate elevation.
Reference marks point to benchmarks. People get them confused sometimes sing the benchmark is a pin or some other object that is difficult to see in some conditions.
Thursday, 11/17/2022: Posted photo — Summit Sign.
The sign that indicates the summit of Wachusett Mountain. Even though the mountain is not very tall, it should not be taken for granted. Many people had to be rescued or get lost on the mountain. The mountain was over 20,000 feet tall when it was young.
Friday, 11/18/2022: Post photo — Mount Monadnock.
Monadnock State Park is located in and around the 3,165-ft. Mount Monadnock. The park is surrounded by thousands of acres of protected highlands. In 1987, Mount Monadnock was designated a National Natural Landmark. The park offers year-round recreational opportunities.
Mount Monadnock from the summitMount Monadnock from North Road
Monadnock is often claimed to be the second-most frequently climbed mountain in the world, after Mount Fuji in Japan. Monadnock is climbed by 125,000 hikers yearly, while Mount Fuji sees 200,000-300,000 hikers yearly.
This is the view of Mount Monadnock from the summit and from North Road.
“What is butternut squash? Technically, a fruit, butternut squash is a type of winter squash that grows on a vine. It is long and oval in shape with a bell-bottom, yellow-orange, hard outer skin covering the inner orange flesh and seeds.” https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-butternut-squash
Monday, 11/07/2022: Posted photo — Bananas.
“Bananas are both a fruit and not a fruit. While the banana plant is colloquially called a banana tree, it’s actually an herb distantly related to ginger, since the plant has a succulent tree stem, instead of a wood one. The yellow thing you peel and eat is, in fact, a fruit because it contains the seeds of the plant.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/271157
“Honeycrisp, or Honey Crisp, is a modern apple variety, developed in the 1960s and introduced to the market in the 1990s – sometimes trademarked as Honeycrunch. It is increasingly available in supermarkets. Honeycrisp comes from a long line of apples developed by the University of Minnesota from the 1930s onwards. One of the objectives of this breeding programme has been to develop varieties which can tolerate the bitter cold of winters in some parts of the USA, and most plantings have been in the northern USA, including New England, Minnesota and Washington State.” https://www.orangepippin.com/varieties/apples/honey-crisp
Friday, 11/11/2022: Post photo — Peas.
“Peas are the green seed pod or small spheres inside the pod of the pea plant (Pisum sativum). While often eaten as a vegetable, botanically, the pod is a fruit since it comes from a flower and contains seeds. The whole pods and the seeds inside them are eaten of some varieties, such as snow and snap peas. For garden peas (also called sweet peas), the seeds are removed from the pod, which is discarded.” https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-are-peas-and-what-can-you-do-with-them-4774699
Saturday, 11/12/2022: Post photo — Red Pepper.
“Red pepper—also called bell pepper, red bell pepper, capsicum, or sweet pepper—has a mildly sweet yet earthy taste. These peppers are fully mature versions of the more bitter green bell peppers.
The red pepper is a variety of Capsicum annuum, a family that also includes cultivars like jalapeño, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, and a few other hot peppers. While you’ll see other types of peppers that are red in color, only the red bell pepper is colloquially known as “red pepper.” https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-red-pepper
“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” — Ansel Adams
Events over this past week.
Sunday, 10/30/2022: Posted photo — Wood.
We had five cords of wood delivered. Looks like we have a few hours ahead of us putting into the wood shed. We normally receive two shipments a few days apart in order to put the first truckload away. This year we received all five at once.
Monday, 10/31/2022: Posted photo — Residence.
A private residence near the Kennedy Compound on the Cape. Made to look like a lighthouse.
Tuesday, 11/01/2022: Posted photo — Gull.
Just a gull looking out at sea on this wonderful day. Hard to believe it is November.
Was not easy to get a photo of the lunar eclipse. The sky was very dark during totality. This is a two second exposure. Anything less that two seconds, the moon was too dark. Look at the movement in the moon.
From the web: “The Sagamore Bridge has a 616-foot-main span over the canal like the Bourne Bridge, but from abutment to abutment, the bridge is 976 feet shorter than its identical twin two and one-half miles to the west.”
Friday, 11/04/2022: Post photo — Cranberry Bog.
From the web: “Cranberries grow in beds layered with sand, peat and gravel. These beds are commonly known as bogs or marshes and were originally formed as a result of glacial deposits. In Massachusetts we call the place where cranberries grow a BOG. Natural bogs evolved from deposits left by the glaciers more than 10,000 years ago.”
Saturday, 11/05/2022: Post photo — Cranberries.
From the web: “Both cranberries and their close cousin the blueberry are not actually berries. Rather, they’re classified as epigynous, a type of fruit commonly called false berries.”
“If you see something that moves you, and then snap it, you keep a moment.” — Linda McCartney
This week I am posting 3D photos. These are two methods to see them.
Free-Vision Fusion (Cross-eyed method)This technique has the advantage of not requiring special viewing equipment. Fusion is the term used for the process for visually merging the left-eye image and the right-eye image into a single 3-dimensional image. When using a viewer, most of the work of achieving the needed abnormal convergence for stereo viewing is done by the optics and design of the stereo viewer.
Free-vision fusion requires patience and practice because your willpower and eyes must do the work of the stereo viewer. You must be able to focus where your eyes aren’t looking.
Place the image in the center of your screen.
Sit at your normal distance.
Slowly cross your eyes. You will see a double image, or four dots.
Continue to cross until the middle two images overlap.
Adjust focus on middle image, keeping the two images overlapped.
You should see the blue circle floating above the black circle.
If you are having problems with this method, try the following alternate method:
Place index finger between images.
Focus on your index finger.
Slowly bring your finger towards your nose, staying focused on your finger, but paying attention to the background images in your peripheral vision. You will notice that instead of two images, there are four images floating about.
Continue bringing your finger closer to your nose- you will see the two middle images moving towards each other.
When the two middle images are aligned, or are on top of each other, stop moving your finger. You will now see three images in the background. The middle one contains the left/right images overlapped.
Slowly remove your finger from your field of vision, while keeping the middle two images aligned.
Gradually force your focus out to the combined left/right image in the middle.
If you have problems keeping a lock on the middle image, try leaving your finger in the image for a while, but still focusing on the center image. Use your finger to regain left/right fusion.
If at first you fail, don’t worry. It took me a while. Relax, go away and rest your eyes, and try it again later.
Sunday, 10/23/2022: Posted photo — Chairs.
Some chairs that appaired at the cottage.
Monday, 10/24/2022: Posted photo — View of Boston at Night.
Not the best photo of the city, but a view of Boston from the summit of Wachusett Mountain.
Tuesday, 10/25/2022: Posted photo — Boats.
Boats at the cottage before they were put away for the winter.
Wednesday, 10/26/2022: Posted photo — Logs.
Logs that are ageing at our house. These logs came from my mother’s house a couple of years ago.
Thursday, 10/27/2022: Posted photo — Tree.
Here is one of the trees at the cottage.
Friday, 10/28/2022: Post photo — Rock.
This rock is at my neighbor’s house at the start of their driveway.
Saturday, 10/29/2022: Post photo — Batting Cage.
This is my son’s batting cage.
Taking a 3D photo
Always take photos in portrait orientation. Set the camera to full manual and choose the correct exposure and focus. Put your feet square on to the subject of your 3D photo. Put your weight onto your right foot, without lifting your left. Take the first photo. Put your weight onto your left foot without raising your right. Unless your subject is very close, you don’t need to turn your camera to keep it in the center. Take the second photo.
Here is a photo of Wachusett Mountain taken from Round Meadow Pond. What wonderful fall colors today.
Monday, 10/17/2022: Posted photo — Hike.
There is a cave on Mount Monadnock in NH that is a secret on the mountain. The location of the cave is secret and only clues are given to people who what them. If you find this cave, you are not to tell its location. I have been searching for this cave for a while and this time I hiked with some friends that were also looking for the cave.
We found the cave! We took out a map, looked at all the clues we collected, mapped out our trail and found the cave.
Wednesday, 10/19/2022: Posted photo — Peace
One of the markings on the wall inside the cave. Someone carved a peace sign.
Thursday, 10/20/2022: Posted photo — Flags.
Some flags inside the cave. These were hung there by someone who found the cave. There is a message on the flags to follow Leave No Trace principles and to leave the cave clean.
Friday, 10/21/2022: Post photo — Inside the Cave.
A fireplace to keep warm inside the cave. If you look under the flags, you can see a star carved into the wall along with the peace sign.
Saturday, 10/22/2022: Post photo — Morning Light.
The sunrise brought out some great colors this morning. The contrast between the leaves, sunrise, and fall colors were stunning.
“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.
One of these weeks I will be up to date on my posts. I am attempting to get back to my original format so people do not lose interest in my blog.
Some photos that I took this week.
Sunday, 10/09/2022: Posted photo — Pattern.
I liked the pattern on the roof in our church.
Monday, 10/10/2022: Posted photo — View from the Summit.
This was my view from the summit of Wachusett Mountain tonight. The light is my headlamp.
Tuesday, 10/11/2022: Posted photo — WACHUSETT.
This was the original summit benchmark on Wachusett Mountain.
01/01/1844 by CGS (SEE DESCRIPTION)
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1844 ON THE SUMMIT ON WACHUSETT MOUNTAIN, ABOUT 8 MILES SW OF FITCHBURG, 3-1/4 MILES SSW OF WACHUSETT VILLAGE AND 2-3/4 MILES N OF PRINCETON CENTER. THE STATION IS ON A DETACHED ROCK ABOUT 4 FEET BY 2 FEET AND IS MARKED BY A COPPER BOLT SET IN THE ROCK. THREE REFERENCE MARKS, HOLES DRILLED IN ROCKS, AND FILLED WITH LEAD AND COPPER TACKS, WERE PLACED IN THE FORM OF AN EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE ABOUT THE STATION AT DISTANCES OF 11 FEET 11-3/4 INCHES TO THE NNE, SE BY S, AND W BY S, RESPECTIVELY. IN 1884 ONLY THE LAST-NAMED REFERENCE MARK REMAINED, THE OTHERS HAVING DISAPPEARED IN THE COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION OF A ROAD AND THE ERECTION OF A HOTEL CALLED THE SUMMIT HOUSE. IT WAS ALSO REPORTED THAT THE ROCK BEARING THE STATION MARK WAS MOVED TO BE USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOTEL, BUT, SUBSEQUENTLY ON LEARNING THAT IT WAS AN IMPORTANT MARK OF THE COAST SURVEY, AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO RESTORE IT TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION. THE MASSACHUSETTS TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY COMMISSION HAVING OCCASION IN 1895 TO USE THE POINT, AND LEARNING OF ITS REPORTED REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT, DETERMINED THE POSITION OF THE COPPER BOLT AS FOUND AND CALLED THE STATION WACHUSETT 2. THEIR FINAL COMPUTATION INDICATES THAT WACHUSETT 2 IS 0.3 METER S AND 0.2 METER E OF THE ORIGINAL STATION.
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Some photos that I took this week.
Sunday, 10/02/2022: Posted photo — Echo Lake.
My hike today took the group past Echo Lake. As we hiked past Echo Lake, the reflection of the foliage caught my eye, I took out my cell photo and took a photo of the scene. The hill you are looking at is not the summit. It is just one of the hills that you need to climb prior to getting to the summit.
Monday, 10/03/2022: Posted photo — Full Moon near Boston.
Looking at the moon rise from the summit of Wachusett Mountain. I thought about taking my good camera on my hike tonight but did not since the weather was unpredictable.
Tuesday, 10/04/2022: Posted photo — Full Moon.
Since I was not able to take a photo of the moon last night, I took a photo of the moon this morning on my way to work.
We had some rain overnight. The rain brought out the bright colors in the foliage.
Thursday, 10/06/2022: Posted photo — Trio of Leaves.
I wanted to get an artistic photo today so I picked up a trio of leaves and took a photo of them.
Friday, 10/07/2022: Post photo — Cloudy Day Foliage.
I take a photo of these trees every year. I do like the color of the foliage in the rain.
Saturday, 10/08/2022: Post photo — Maple Leaf.
Our property has many sugar maples on it. This is a leaf on one of the trees. Our neighbor taps our trees every year in the spring to make maple syrup.
“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.
Here are some random photos from my first photo book. My second photo book is in process. I am looking for someone to print and sell my books are a reasonable price point.
Sunday, 09/25/2022: Posted photo — Dunefield.
A dune field located in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado. Being on the dunes was like being in the middle of a desert. What impressed me is how far away from the park you can see the dunes.
This is a photo of the old watch tower on Wachusett Mountain. You can clearly see the wind blow ice on the tower.
Tuesday, 09/27/2022: Posted photo — The Golden Rule.
My niece got married this past weekend. She married one of my son’s friends, a great guy. He asked my son if he could date his cousin. I found a verse in the Bible, took off my wedding ring to take this photo. This is a photo that I have wanted to take for a while.
Balance Rock in Arches National Park. This is not the traditional view of Balance Rock, but I like it.
Thursday, 09/29/2022: Posted photo — Footbridge of the Virgin River.
I saw this bridge at Zion National Park and took this photo. I liked the way the bridge was situated with the view of the cliffs and the water.
Friday, 09/30/2022: Post photo — Star Trail.
Every once and awhile I have an urge to take a star trail photo. I set up my camera, point north to the stars, set my timer on 20 seconds and unlimited shots, go to bed and let either drain my camera battery of fill my SD card. I have a stacking program that I use to create my star trail.
Saturday, 10/01/2022: Post photo — Reflection Lakes.
One of my favorite photos and the cover photo of my first photo book. Just loved the stillness of the water and the reflection of Mount Rainier.
“Once you learn to care, you can record images with your mind or on film. There is no difference between the two.” — Anonymous
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
This week we travel to Cape Cod Massachusetts and visit some of the lighthouses. I am posting from each of the lighthouse webpages since my niece and one of my son’s best friends are getting married this Saturday and I have relatives staying with us. This leaves my little time to be creative.
Sunday, 09/18/2022: Posted photo — Nauset Light.
Nauset Light, the most well-known and photographed lighthouse on Cape Cod, is located within the boundaries of the Cape Cod National Seashore. It is an important part of Eastham’s cultural and maritime history. In 1993 a group of citizens in Eastham formed the Nauset Light Preservation Society (NLPS), a non-profit volunteer organization whose original mission was to rescue the lighthouse. Through the successful efforts of the NLPS the Nauset Lighthouse was moved approximately 300 feet back from the edge of a sixty-foot high eroding cliff in 1996. Though no longer under the auspices of the United States Coast Guard, Nauset Light serves as a private aid to navigation used by the fishing fleets and small recreational boaters who navigate close to the shore. https://www.nausetlight.org/mission
Monday, 09/19/2022: Posted photo — Three Sisters.
An 1836 petition by Eastham residents concerned about loved ones at sea caused the Boston Marine Society to recommend to the United States Congress the construction of the Nauset Lights. Congress granted $10,000, and the contract was awarded to Winslow Lewis, the lowest bidder at $6549.
Three 15-foot high masonry towers were built. The lights soon gained the nickname “The Three Sisters” because from sea they looked like women in white dresses with black hats.
Highland Light Station, also known as Cape Cod Light, is located on Outer Cape Cod within Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro. Commissioned by George Washington and established in 1797 as the 20th light station in the United States, the original 45-foot tall wooden tower and keeper’s dwelling were built more than 500 feet from the edge of a 125-foot-tall clay cliff. A new brick lighthouse was erected near the original tower in 1831. The present 66-foot-tall brick light tower, keeper’s house, and generator shed replaced the previous structures in 1857. An enclosed walkway connects the tower and the one-and-one-half-story, L-shaped, Queen-Anne-style keeper’s dwelling. https://www.highlandlighthouse.org/history
The Pilgrim Monument was founded in 1892 as the Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Association—Cape Cod’s oldest not-for-profit organization. Its purpose is to commemorate the Mayflower Pilgrims’ first landing in the New World in Provincetown, in November 1620. Here the Pilgrims spent 5 weeks exploring the tip of Cape Cod, before they sailed on to Plymouth. They also drew up and signed the Mayflower Compact, which established the rule of law for the new land. https://www.pilgrim-monument.org/pilgrim-monument/
Thursday, 09/22/2022: Posted photo — Wood End Light Lookout Station.
Located approximately one and one half miles across Provincetown Harbor from Provincetown, Wood End Light Lookout Station is situated on several acres of sand and dunes with no other structures in sight. It was first illuminated on November 20, 1872 to guide mariners into busy Provincetown Harbor. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/maritime/woo.htm
Friday, 09/23/2022: Post photo — Chatham Light.
Chatham Lighthouse, in its origin, was placed on Cape Cods Southeastern location. The present lighthouse is one of six that were built in the Cape. This area entertained a great deal of maritime traffic. However, the waters of Cape Cod were brutal to many ships that graced its shores.
The coastline of Cape Cod is rumored responsible for over 3500 wrecked vessels (1850 through 1980). Those who sailed close to the Chatham shores tell tales of ghostly images that lured ships to what seemed like, safety; only to have their hopes dashed against the rugged shores of the Cape.
Photo by Joseph Ciras 