“Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art.” — Ambrose Bierce
Short comments this week.
Sunday, 08/11/2024: Posted photo — Mushrooms.
Some mushrooms seen on a hike.
Monday, 08/12/2024: Posted photo — Falls.
Some flowing water on Wachusett Mountain.
Tuesday, 08/13/2024: Posted photo — Steam.
Pavement being cooled off.
Wednesday, 08/14/2024: Posted photo — Wildfires.
The sun seen through the smoke from the Canadian wildfires.
Thursday, 08/15/2024: Posted photo — Second Day.
Second day in a row with a strange looking sun.
Friday, 08/16/2024: Post photo — Oyster Mushroom.
Mushrooms in our yard due to all the recent rain.
Saturday, 08/17/2024: Post photo — Bird Watching.
Some bird watching equipment on Wachusett Mountain. I forget how this works. I did talk to people quickly last year and they said something about listening to bird migration.
“The picture that you took with your camera is the imagination you want to create with reality.” — Scott Lorenzo
Things I did this week.
Sunday, 08/04/2024: Posted photo — Birthday.
Today is my birthday. It is also my brother’s birthday. We turned 60 years old today. When I was younger 60 years old was old. Now that I am 60, and still actively hiking, it does not seem so bad.
This is a photo of my brother, our dog, and myself in the mid 1960’s.
Monday, 08/05/2024: Posted photo — Heavy Rain.
Over the last couple of days, we have had periods of very heavy rain. This is a photo of the croquet course at the cottage. People were sitting around enjoying the day when the rain came and flooded the area.
There is great drainage in this area. Within an hour of the rain stopping, the flood waters were no longer. Before it drained, I was able to play a couple of games of water croquet.
Tuesday, 08/06/2024: Posted photo — Distortion.
The topic for one of my photo projects this week was distortion. Being at the lake, thee is always distortion of the sun on the water when there are waves.
I just happen to get lucky as a drop of water from a tree causes a splash on the sun making this photo better than I planned.
For fun tonight, I wanted to make a star trail photo. I will post the star trail photo later this week. Tonight was the only clear night of the week. With the early week’s rain and the remanence of a hurricane this weekend, this was the best, and only night, to do so.
This is a composite photo of 10 of the over 600 photos I took last night. I live in an area with ambient light, as you can see around the tree line. I did take these photos during astronomical night, but the neighbor left his light on all night.
Thursday, 08/08/2024: Posted photo — Flies on Goldenrod.
During my walk this afternoon, I saw some goldenrod. Not unusual for this area. I did notice that this plant had several flies on it. I took out my cellphone and took this photo.
I was expecting the flies to fly away, but they did not seem to be bothered by my presents.
Friday, 08/09/2024: Post photo — Star Trail.
This is the start trail photo that I noted in my Wednesday post. This is a composite photo of over 600 seventeen second shots.
When I was reviewing the photos, I did notice what looked like the Milky Way. The photo on Wednesday was my attempt of developing the Milky Way in my photos. If I thought about it, my settings would have used Milky Way settings on my camera and not star trail settings. Poor planning on my part.
Saturday, 08/10/2024: Post photo — Hike.
This morning, I took a hike to check out the trail conditions on Wachusett Mountain. There are relatives here from Florida, and I wanted to check out the trail conditions as a possible hike. The trails were very muddy so I would find an alternative hike.
As of the time of this writing, we have not hiked yet. I do have a plan on a drier hike when we do hike.
“Photography has nothing to do with cameras.” — Lucas Gentry
This week’s blog features some of the scenes from my vacation.
Sunday, 07/28/2024: Posted photo — Milky Way.
During my vacation, I attempted to take a Milky Way shot. The first two nights, I practiced at a couple of different locations. Both these locations had a large amount of ambient light. I was hoping that when we traveled away for civilization, the sky would be darker. No luck. When we were away from civilization, either the moon was too bright, or there was cloud cover. Here are my test shots.
Monday, 07/29/2024: Posted photo — Ganoga Falls.
We went to Ricketts Glen State Park in PA during this trip. This park features 23 waterfalls along a 5 to 7 mile trail (depending on your direction). We were able to see 18 of these waterfalls. This is the largest of the falls. Ganoga Falls has a height of 94 feet.
Another fall at the park is RB Bicketts Falls. This 36 feet waterfall is a wonderful example of the cascading falls in the park. The hike we took had about 800 feet in elevation change over some easy and difficult trails. The trail we took was marked the most difficult trail in the park. It was well worth the hike.
Ozone Falls is the second highest falls at 60 feet tall. The water was flowing well in the park. It will be great to go back in the fall, after the snowmelt, to see how much water is in the river. We camped two nights at Ricketts Glen to be able to hike and rest up before we moved onward.
Thursday, 08/01/2024: Posted photo — Bee on Flower.
Back home after vacation, we went to the cottage. My wife’s family has their reunion the first Saturday in August every year. I am always in the lookout for bees on flowers since I need practice on talking high speed photography.
Friday, 08/02/2024: Post photo — Rainbow.
Rain today. Rain this time of year produces rainbows. The strange thing about rainbows is that no two people see the same rainbow at the same time. They are based on your perspective.
This one started out weak, and then became stronger and then a double. The photo is an attempt to capture the full rainbow using the panorama setting on my cellphone.
Saturday, 08/03/2024: Post photo — Nature.
Just a shot of a log with moss on it to close out the week. When I returned to the office, I had one day to get up to date with my work before customers and auditor paid me a visit.
This photo was taken during the family reunion. Great to see old and new faces once a year.
“Essentially what photography is life lit up.” — Sam Abell
Various photos from this week. This week we visited all the Great Lakes and the headwaters of the Mississippi River on our way to the WCA North American Rubik’s Cube compitition.
Sunday, 07/14/2024: Posted photo — Lake Ontario.
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border spans the center of the lake.
Shore of Lake OntarioLake Ontario DriftwoodFeet in Lake Ontario
Average depth: 283 ft (86 m) Fish: Chinook salmon, Walleye, Lake trout, Atlantic salmon, Coho salmon, Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Largemouth bass Area: 7,320 mi² Outflow location: Saint Lawrence River Cities: Toronto, Rochester, Hamilton, Mississauga Length: 193 mi Inflow source: Niagara River.
Monday, 07/15/2024: Posted photo — Lake Erie.
Lake Erie is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest average water residence time.
Feet in Lake Erie
Average depth: 62 ft (19 m) Fish: Walleye, Smallmouth bass, Yellow perch, Bigmouth buffalo Islands: Pelee Island, South Bass Island, Johnson’s Island Area: 9,940 mi² Cities: Erie, Cleveland, Buffalo, Toledo, Monroe, Port Colborne Deepest spot: 210 ft.
Tuesday, 07/16/2024: Posted photo — Lake Huron.
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan.
Feet in Lake Huron
Fish: Walleye, Lake trout, Smallmouth bass, Lake sturgeon Islands: Manitoulin Island Area: 23,012 mi² Volume: 850 cubic miles Cities: Port Huron, Goderich, Sarnia, Alpena, Bay City, Cheboygan, Saginaw, Owen Sound, St. Ignace Length: 206.3 mi
Wednesday, 07/17/2024: Posted photo — Lake Michigan.
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
Mackinac BridgeFeet in Lake Michigan
Average depth: 279 ft (85 m) Fish: Lake trout, Yellow perch, Smallmouth bass, Largemouth bass, Bowfin Area: 22,406 mi² Islands: Beaver Island, South Manitou Island Cities: Chicago, Milwaukee, Michigan City, Muskegon, Holland
The Mackinac bridge is the third longest suspension bridge in the world. It is the longest suspend bridge in the western hemisphere. It was the longest when it was built. It goes over the Mackinac straight between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.
Thursday, 07/18/2024: Posted photo — Lake Superior.
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third-largest freshwater lake by volume, holding 10% of the world’s surface fresh water.
Feet in Lake Superior
Fish: Lake trout, Walleye, Lake whitefish, Muskellunge Area: 31,700 mi² Islands: Isle Royale Volume: 2,903 cubic miles Cities: Duluth, Thunder Bay, Marquette, Superior, Sault Ste. Marie Water capacity: 2,900 cubic miles
Friday, 07/19/2024: Post photo — Lake Itasca.
Lake Itasca is a small glacial lake, approximately 1.8 square miles in area. It is located in Itasca State Park, in south-eastern Clearwater County, in the Headwaters area of north-central Minnesota, and is notable for being the headwater of the Mississippi River.
Fire at our campsiteFeet in the HeadwatersMississippi River HeadwatersNicollet CreekNicollet Creek
Outflow location: Mississippi River Fish: Bluegill, Largemouth bass, Muskellunge, Black crappie, Brown bullhead Average depth: 20–35 ft (6–11 m) Area: 1.815 mi² Acres: 1065-acre Islands: Schoolcraft Island Location: Itasca State Park, Clearwater County, Minnesota, US
Some people call Nicollet Creek the headwaters since it flows into Lake Itasca.
Saturday, 07/20/2024: Post photo — North American Championship.
Traveled out to Minneapolis to be at the North American Rubix’s Cube Championship. My son competed and was on staff. My wife was also on staff. I put in my staff application in too late to be on staff.
Working on staffFirst solve at NACMax Park on his way to a 5x5x5 world record average
Max Park set the world record in the 7x7x7 (single) and 6x6x6 (average) cube at the time I wrote this post. The featured event is Sunday, the 3x3x3 where he has the word record of 3.13 seconds.
“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” — Steve McCurry
Thank you for reading and interpretation my ramblings and sometimes poor grammar. I think as I type so sometimes the words make sense to me at the time. I do not always to back and proofread.
Sunday, 07/07/2024: Posted photo — Triangle.
Was working on triangular composition this week. Took this photo today to use as a submission if I did not like the ones I took last week. There were many opportunities for triangular composition this week and decided on posting a different photo.
I am posting this one today since I like the contrast between the white and the blue sky.
Monday, 07/08/2024: Posted photo — Robin.
I was out spraying the roof of the cottage with a bio solution to remove the moss from the roof. I looked over at the barn and saw this robin in a nest waiting for food.
I climbed down from the ladder I was on, gathered my camera, and took this photo. I am not happy with the quality of photo that comes out of my 300mm lens, so I attempted to edit this photo to make it sharper.
Tuesday, 07/09/2024: Posted photo — Butterfly.
During my hike, one of the members of the group spotted this baby monarch butterfly. She had a difficult time taking a photo of it.
When we were hiking off the fire tower, the butterfly was still fluttering around the area. I keep my phone handy for emergencies, took it out and photographed the butterfly. I had to take a few photos to capture it with its wings open.
On the summit of Wachusett Mountain, there is an area fenced off. This area is normally not fenced during the winter months, just during the summer months. I noticed it last year for the first time.
There is a sign on the fence that stated that there is an endangered plant that is growing in the summit and this fence it to keep people out.
Thursday, 07/11/2024: Posted photo — Web.
I posted a web from this location a few weeks ago. This morning, I saw a different web. This time the sun was shining of it. Still not the greatest since there wasn’t any dew on it, but it was better defined.
Friday, 07/12/2024: Post photo — Rabbit.
I came home from work today and saw our friendly rabbit greeting me. I slowly stopped my car, took out my cell phone, and took this photo.
At times like this, I wish that I keep my good camera out of its camera bag and next to me. I have seen so many wild animals on my way home that I am not fast enough to take their photos.
Saturday, 07/13/2024: Post photo — Spoons in Cookie Dough.
This week’s photo challenge was spoons. This is my attempt at it.
I have been busy planning for a trip and did not have much time this week to do anything better. I wanted to do a fancy edit of this photo. Maybe I will do the edit soon and then post this photo again.
Negative space photography is a style of photography that emphasizes the empty space around a subject.
This was my attempt at negative space. My original plan was to take a photo of an object against a bright blue sky. The sky did not cooperate this week.
Monday, 07/01/2024: Posted photo — Burl.
The cause of burls is hard to pinpoint entirely, but they most often form because your tree is under invasion or being affected by some external stressing factor.
This burl is at the junction of the West Side Trail and Old Indian Trail on Wachusett Mountain. The section of Old Indian Trail that we are hiking is considered by most, myself included, as the second most difficult part of the mountain. It is long and steep and then gets steeper towards the end of the incline.
The Red Elderberry is a large native deciduous shrub or small tree. It produces clusters of tiny white or cream flowers in early spring, followed by bright red berries in mid-July through early August.
These are found on Wachusett Mountain during my hike.
Wednesday, 07/03/2024: Posted photo — Newt.
Newt is generic name used to describe several partially terrestrial salamanders. An interesting fact about newts from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, some newt larvae can become terrestrial juveniles, but remain aquatic as adults. Adult newts that return to water to breed may undergo a partial “reverse metamorphosis” back into a larval state.
There are many newts on Wachusett Mountain. When you hike and the ground is wet, you need to take your steps with care so you do not step on a newt.
Thursday, 07/04/2024: Posted photo — Tiger Lilly.
Tiger Lilies symbolize wealth, prosperity, and strength, reflecting cultural significance.
Tiger lilies are one of the most interesting flowers to me. They almost look fake, like plastic, and I like their colors.
Friday, 07/05/2024: Post photo — Annual Fleabane.
Annual fleabane is an annual native to the eastern United States but introduced across much of North America.
These are in my in-law’s flower patch. They are native flowers but look like weeds to me.
Saturday, 07/06/2024: Post photo — Daylily.
Daylilies are rugged, adaptable, vigorous perennials that endure in a garden for many years with little or no care. Daylilies adapt to a wide range of soil and light conditions. They establish quickly, grow vigorously, and survive winters with little or no injury.
This is another flower from my in-law’s flower garden.
“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
Here are some mountains that I have seen during my travels.
There were many great views of the mountain in the park. Took this photo was in the morning when the water was calm. There was someone sleeping in a hammock just outside the frame of this photo.
Monday, 06/24/2024: Posted photo — Grand Teton National Park.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
The Tetons are great and majestic mountains. Took this one just after sunset in the golden hour.
Tuesday, 06/25/2024: Posted photo — Lake McDonald.
Glacier National Park, Montana
This was my first view of Glacier National Park. We did some hiking with a mountain goat and her children on this trip.
Wednesday, 06/26/2024: Posted photo — Prince of Wales Hotel Waterton Lake.
Waterton – Glacier International Peace Park, Alberta
When we arrived at the park, the ranger saw that I had a camera. She told me of the spot to take this photo. It was up a private road used just by the rangers.
Thursday, 06/27/2024: Posted photo — Along the White Pass Yukon Route Railway.
Alaska
We took a ride on the White Pass Railroad on our trip to Alaska. We did go into the Yukon to turn around. This is one of the mountains along the way. This photo is in color.
Friday, 06/28/2024: Post photo — Lake Louise.
Banff National Park, Alberta
I did not know that Lake Louise was a famous lake. We just stopped in to take in the views. It was crowded when we arrived in the morning and was very crowded in the afternoon when we continued our journey.
Saturday, 06/29/2024: Post photo — Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument.
Washington
Been to Mount St Helens many times since it erupted on May 18, 1980. I am amazed with the way nature is recovering. The first time I went there was ten years after the eruption and there were still logs floating in Spirit Lake.
The usage of votive candles is a pious practice which continues today in many churches. The symbolism reminds us that prayer is the light of Christ, allowing our souls to be filled with His light, and letting that light burn on in our souls even though we may return to our other activities. These candles are usually lite in memory of or for pray for someone we love and care for.
Theses candles are in the back of our church. As mentioned in past posts, the holder for these votive candles is dedicated to a friend who passed with ALS and his family. It is good to see people using the candles.
Monday, 06/17/2024: Posted photo — Hiking Group.
We had a good time hiking tonight. One member of the group took this photo to capture the closeness of the Monday night hiking group.
If you live in around Wachusett Mountain and would like to join the group, please let me know. The group once had 12 regular hikers and is down to 5 or 6 regulars. We hike year-round and hike at the speed of the ability of the people that hike that evening.
Tuesday, 06/18/2024: Posted photo — Pinecones.
This year there have been many more pinecones on the ground than I can remember. Maybe my memory is not that great, but this was the first year that I have seen them around in our yard.
I do not have any pine trees on my property and have seen pinecones in the yard. These pinecones were on the croquet course at the cottage. They had to be raked to the side so that the croquet ball can make it to a wicket with fewer obstacles.
Wednesday, 06/19/2024: Posted photo — High Bush Blueberries.
This is another repeat/progress photo. A few weeks ago, I posted a photo of these high bush blueberries starting to flower. Today I took a photo of them starting to ripen. It will not be long until it is time to pick them and use them for breakfast and deserts.
Thursday, 06/20/2024: Posted photo — Baby Robins.
Remember back when this nest was found so that I could not power wash a deck? The eggs have hatched, and three of the four babies survived. There is one big bird and two smaller birds (you can see the beaks of the smaller birds in this photo). The mother was feeding them and teaching them how to fly. It will not be long until they leave the nest and live on their own.
Friday, 06/21/2024: Post photo — Fish.
Sitting by the lake today, I saw these fish looking at me. When I moved the fish shifted position to look in my direction. It was strange.
Saturday, 06/22/2024: Post photo — Promise.
Today is our 33rd wedding anniversary. This is one of the gifts that I gave my wife a few years ago.
Bonus Image:
Here is a 3D image of boats under a tree.
Look at the image cross-eyed and the 3D image will appair in between the photos.
I have this weed growing at the end of our driveway. Took a photo of it before cutting it down. The name, Oriental False Hawksbeard, was given to me by my Seek app. This app is part of iNaturalist, and I use it to identify plants and animals when I hike.
Monday, 06/10/2024: Posted photo — Crossing the Ski Trail.
For the hike this week, I took the group up a trail that starts at the Wachusett Mountain ski area. I normally do not hike starting at this trail because it is on the busy side of the mountain, and I like hiking in less crowded areas and less crowded trails. This time of year, once the lifts stop, the hiking trail crosses three of the ski trails.
Tuesday, 06/11/2024: Posted photo — Web.
Walking around at work today, I spotted this web at one of the entries. I took a couple photos of it attempting to a good photo.
These are not the greatest since the sun was shining on them. It would have been better in the morning when there was dew on them.
Wednesday, 06/12/2024: Posted photo — Petunia.
Some petunia that I saw today. Petunias symbolize emotions like comfort, passion, and hope. Potted petunias can be seen outside of many stores this time of year.
Thursday, 06/13/2024: Posted photo — Rabbit at Work.
I have seen bear, turkey, great blue heron, deer, red-tail hawks, snapping turtles, and various species of birds over the years at work. Today was the first time I saw a rabbit.
I thought I scared it away when I pulled up to my parking spot. When I got out of my car, it was just waiting to have its photo taken.
Friday, 06/14/2024: Post photo — Flag Day.
Flag day celebrates the anniversary of June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress approved the design of a flag for the United States, which at the time featured 13 stars and 13 stripes, representing the 13 colonies.
The principal acts affecting the flag of the United States are the following, based on information from the Smithsonian Institution:
Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777, stated, “Resolved: that the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”
Act of January 13, 1794, provided for 15 stripes and 15 stars after May 1795.
Act of April 4, 1818, provided for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added to the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state.
Executive Order of President Taft dated June 24, 1912, established proportions of the flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward.
Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated January 3, 1959, provided for the arrangement of the stars in seven rows of seven stars each, staggered horizontally and vertically.
Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated August 21, 1959, provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizontally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.
This flag in this photograph is outside my office.
Saturday, 06/15/2024: Post photo — Championship Game.
My son, father-in-law, and I went to Polar Park today to watch the MIAA Division 3 state championship. Oakmont High School, the number 1 seed, versus St. Mary’s of Lynn, the number 2 seed. My father-in-law was one for the original teachers at Oakmont and has a conference room named after him. My son is an alumnus of Oakmont and has taught there. The second game of the day was my alma mater, St. John’s High School, the number two seed, playing BC High, the number 1 seed in the Division 1 state final. Oakmont won the state title for the second year in a row. My team lost their game. Both the number 1 seeds have won.
Exchanging LineupsOakmont State ChampionsWall of FameSt. John’s warming upOne of Worcester’s many diners
Here are some photos from the ballpark.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
Here is a bonus photo. I did a new edit of an old Milky Way photo. I think it looks overprocessed.
Photo by Joseph Ciras 