“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.
“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.” — Irving Penn
This week ended with a special memorial hike.
Sunday, 09/08/2024: Posted photo — Mount Rainier.
Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning five major rivers. Subalpine wildflower meadows ring the icy volcano while ancient forest cloaks Mount Rainier’s lower slopes. Wildlife abounds in the park’s ecosystems. A lifetime of discovery awaits.
I have been to this mountain many times. We camped out in an area where we saw signs about being in a lava flow area.
Monday, 09/09/2024: Posted photo — Mount St. Helens.
At 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted, shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. In a few moments this slab of rock and ice slammed into Spirit Lake, crossed a ridge 1,300 feet high, and roared 14 miles down the Toutle River.
I have been to Mount St. Helens over the years since the eruption and have seen the trees grow back, trees leave Spirit Lake, and the dome inside the crater growing. When I first saw the blast zone, I had a loss for words. You go through lush and dense forests, turn the corner, and then nothing. Trees look like pickup sticks in the direction of the blast. You need to see it.
Tuesday, 09/10/2024: Posted photo — Mesa Arch.
Perched at the edge of the mesa top, this 27-foot-long (8.3 m) arch frames views of the canyon far below and the La Sal Mountains in the distance.
I took this photo before I knew Masa Arch was famous. I took this during my first year to Canyon Lands National Park in the Island in the Sky area. Since then, I have been to the Needles section, and looking forward to going to the Maze section someday.
Visible from the parking loop at The Windows, Double Arch is an impressive feature—the tallest (112 ft/34 m) and second-longest (144 ft/44 m) arch in the park.
This is a composite photo. I took the sky from a photo of Balance Rock. If you look closely at the photo, you can see some people.
Mount Wachusett is a mountain in Massachusetts. It straddles towns of Princeton and Westminster, in Worcester County. It is the highest point in Massachusetts east of the Connecticut River. The mountain is named after a Native American term meaning “near the mountain” or “mountain place”.
This is an HDR photo from Round Meadow Pond.
Friday, 09/13/2024: Post photo — Sunset.
During my hike this week, I captured this sunset from the summit of Wachusett Mountain. This week was the last week that we will be returning from the summit without headlamps. We made it down just as astronomical twilight was ending and Nighttime was beginning.
Saturday, 09/14/2024: Post photo — Mount Flume.
This year, I co-lead a hike to the summit of Mt. Flume for the Flags on the 48 event. This was an Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) hike.
Flag raised on the of Mt Flume
From the official website: “We in the hiking community continue to honor the deceased with a tribute: flying the American flag atop all 48 four-thousand foot and higher mountains in New Hampshire”. This event happens on the closest Saturday to September 11. If September 11 falls on a Sunday, the hike is that Sunday.
Mt Flume from Mt Liberty
This is my 11th time doing this hike. The hike started on the Saturday after September 11, 2001 with one peak, Mt Liberty, and it quickly took off. Just a few peaks the next year, and then all the 48 4000 footers were covered. This event is now in Maine, Massachusetts and other locations.
“I never have taken a picture I’ve intended. They’re always better or worse.” — Diane Arbus
Photo for the week. Comments welcome.
Sunday, 04/28/2024: Posted photo — Leading Lines.
I needed a photo for one of my photos projects this week. The topic was leading lines. I kept my eye open for the perfect photo opportunity and did not find it. I saw the lines in the ceiling leading to the altar, so I took this photo to post if I did not see anything else that met the topic today.
Monday, 04/29/2024: Posted photo — Off on a Hike.
Monday night is hiking night, as you know if you have been following this blog. The last couple of hikes started and ended in daylight. The trails have been drying up over the last few weeks, so more people are out hiking.
These are some of the members of the Monday night hiking group enjoying the good weather.
This is the trail junction of Harrington and Semuhenna on Wachusett Mountain. Semuhenna trail a 1.1 mile connector trail. The trail I took tonight was a 0.5 mile sections between Harrington and West Side. Most of the time I go up Harrington. The section of Harrington after this trail junction is the steepest section on the mountain. It is steep and there are many scrambles for novice hikers.
Semuhenna is not an old Indian name, as most people believe. Looking at the name backwards, it is Annehumes or Anne Humes, the name of the wife (or daughter according to some people) of the person who made the trail.
Wednesday, 05/01/2024: Posted photo — Texture in the Sky.
When I looked at the cloudy sky tonight, I saw textures in the clouds. There is rain coming in tonight. I do not think that this photo does this justice. Sometimes it is difficult to relay the emotion of nature into a photo. Sometimes the photo puts more emotion into nature. I think this photo is too blown out to have the intended emotional value.
Thursday, 05/02/2024: Posted photo — Fiddleheads.
Fiddleheads are the tightly coiled tips of ferns that are eaten cooked. These delicate delights are available only in early spring when ferns grow their new shoots. These fiddleheads are growing near my mailbox. I may have posted photos of fiddleheads earlier this year and they are still growing. They are around for a very short period.
Friday, 05/03/2024: Post photo — Mount Rainier.
This mountain always inspires me. Either seeing it from Seattle, hiking on it, viewing from different sections of the national park, or flying past it, Mount Rainier is majestic. I feature Mount Rainier on the cover of my first photo book (portfolio book).
An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning five major rivers. I have camped at Mount Rainier a few times and always remember the signs stating that this is an active volcano, and I am camping in a lava flow path.
I took a photo of a waterfall one spring and went back a couple of years later to take a photo of the waterfall with more snow cover. I had the GPS location but could not find it. After looking at my path, I was standing on top of the waterfall and could not see it because of the snow cover.
Saturday, 05/04/2024: Post photo — Historic Marker.
I have Wilderness First Aid (WFA) training today and tomorrow. This class will certify my in doing first aid on people that are more than 1 hour away from definitive care. That means when I am leading groups or hiking in the mountains or a remote location.
On the way to the training, I passed this historical marker in the John Havard Mall adjacent to the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) headquarters.
“An eclipse is one phenomenon that is actually more impressive from the ground.” — Leroy Chiao
This week’s blog will feature photos of one of nature’s wonders, a total solar eclipse.
Sunday, 04/07/2024: Posted photo — Moose.
Today was a travel day to Houlton ME to see the eclipse. We were looking to go to either western Ohio, northern New York, or Vermont to see the eclipse. We have relatives and friends in those areas. Looking at the weather for tomorrow’s eclipse, it was decided to head to Houlton ME. There is a Walmart in Houlton. Since we saw the last total solar eclipse seven years ago in a Walmart in TN, we thought it would be a good idea to go to one in Houlton. Walmart had a big open space and there would be many people. We also though we could sleep in the parking lot. This did not happen, we slept in a rest area on the way. Houlton ME was predicted to have the best weather in the country along the path of totality. It did not disappoint.
This moose is at the Kittery Trading Post. We stopped in Kittery to get candy and to go to the Trading Post. I needed another fuel can for my camping stove. If the weather was cold, we were going to have hot chocolate while we waited, and I did not want to run out of fuel. We also stopped in Freeport to go to LL Bean. We shop the outlet store and did not go to the main campus this trip.
The ride to ME was uneventful. There were signs in both NH and ME warning people about the traffic and not to stop on the side of the road to see the eclipse. We did not see many vehicles on the road.
Monday, 04/08/2024: Posted photo — Sundog.
While waiting for the eclipse, I saw a sundog and took a photo of it with my cell phone. I adjusted by camera setting for the eclipse and did not want to change them.
Sundogs are colored spots of light that develop due to the refraction of light through ice crystals. They are located approximately 22 degrees either left, right, or both, from the sun, depending on where the ice crystals are present. This sundog was in the little clouds there were.
Tuesday, 04/09/2024: Posted photo — Second Contact.
Second contact is the start of totality. First contact is when the eclipse starts, second is the start of totality, third is when totality ends, and fourth is when the eclipse ends. Between first contact and second contact, a special solar filter needs to be put on your camera. It is the same type of filter that are in solar glasses.
Just before totality, a single bright spot will remain, resembling a diamond in a ring. I missed taking a photo of this phenomenon during the eclipse seven years ago and was fully prepared for it this time.
Wednesday, 04/10/2024: Posted photo — Totality or Maximum Eclipse.
Totality lasted 3 minutes and 18 seconds in Houlton. It was very close to the maximum totality line. Three minutes and 18 seconds is not a long time, but it was worth it. Looking at the horizon and seeing sunset/sunrise. Seeing Jupiter and Venus on either side of the eclipse was another bonus. I was looking for comet 12P/Pons-Brooks near the eclipse but it was too bright to see.
Here are a few photos of totality. Unlike seven years ago in TN, the sky was cloud free and the eclipse as spectacular.
Thursday, 04/11/2024: Posted photo — Third Contact.
This is Baily’s beads just as third contact starts, or totality ends. During the last few seconds before totality, the crescent Sun breaks up to form Baily’s beads (those are typically only visible through a telescope with a solar filter attached). At the end of totality, this sequence happens in the reverse order, starting with Baily’s beads until the returning burst of sunlight becomes too bright to view with the naked eye. I also missed this during the eclipse seven years ago and did not want to miss it again.
When looking at this photo, you can see some solar prominences. Though they look like they could be made of fire, they are eruptions of plasma, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). They are a hot gas made of electrically charged hydrogen and helium, extending outward from the sun’s surface.
Friday, 04/12/2024: Post photo — Collage.
Here is a composite photo of different phases of the eclipse.
The timing for these photos were taken from the Partial Phase Images area in my Solar Eclipse Timer app. This was a great app to use since it gave verbal instructions and information on what was happening during the eclipse. It would tell you want to look for on ground level and it would count down to the different contacts.
Saturday, 04/13/2024: Post photo — Daffodil.
The daffodils are starting to bloom in our yard. This is a sign of spring. The cold and damp weather did not stop their growth.
“Once you learn to care, you can record images with your mind or on film. There is no difference between the two.” — Anonymous
Random photos of the week. Not my best week of photos.
Sunday, 03/17/2024: Posted photo — Wet Road.
The subject of my weekly photo project this week was road. As with most weeks lately, I had full intention to take another photo for this project and time flew by. I am finding it more difficult to do this weekly project that it was to do the daily project.
This is a photo looking down my street from our driveway. The water on the road gives this photo my character that if the road were dry.
Monday, 03/18/2024: Posted photo — Boundary.
There are two Massachusetts State Parks withing 10 minutes of our house.
The 3,000-acre Wachusett Mountain State Reservation offers plenty of natural and recreational opportunities. And Leominster State Forest that has hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing and fishing. Both locations have segments of the 95-mile Midstate Trail in them and I hike and snowshoe in them, depending on the season. Leominster State Forest is flatter and easier to snowshoe in, and I have rock climbed the Crow Hill Ledges often when I was younger.
You have seen many posts from me about my hiking Wachusett Mountain and not many about my adventures in the Leominster State Forest. I will have to post more about those hikes.
Tuesday, 03/19/2024: Posted photo — First Day of Spring.
Today is the first day of spring, the vernal equinox. This was the earliest that the vernal equinox occurred across the contiguous United States in 128 years. Why was it the earliest that the vernal equinox occurred across the contiguous United States in 128 years. According to space.com, there are two specific reasons for this: 1) The quadrennial intervention of leap year often causes a slight variation of the date, and 2) Daylight saving time (DST).
These are tulips that are starting to break through the soil at our house. I was looking to take photos of crocus, but have not seen any this year.
Wednesday, 03/20/2024: Posted photo — Are you Looking at Me.
I came home from work today and saw this squirrel just looking at me. I took out my phone to take it photo expecting it to run away, but it just stayed there.
One of my co-workers heard a story about a state running out of license plates numbers in a particular state so he wanted to know how many combinations of six digits there are. I sent this problem to my son, a mathematician, and these are his calculations.
He did the calculations with (36) six-character plates (26 letters and 10 numbers) and with five character with the last digit indicating the month of registration, as it is done here in Massachusetts. There are other special cases that he did not calculate.
Friday, 03/22/2024: Post photo — Good Morning.
Some snow and ice on family vehicles. Taken in the future (Saturday morning, not today)
Saturday, 03/23/2024: Post photo — Snow and Ice.
Woke up to snow and ice. This weather was expected. I had to run some errands in the morning and the roads were bad. I saw a few cars that have drive off the road. Some people are just invincible.
“I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.” — Diane Arbus
Random photos of the week.
Sunday, 03/10/2024: Posted photo — Trees.
Looking up at trees. This was an attempt a symmetrical subject. These are two of the sugar maples on my property that are being tapped by my neighbor. I like the way the trees are almost silhouetted against the sky.
Monday, 03/11/2024: Posted photo — Bat House.
The bat populations have decreased significantly over the last few years. Bat houses can be very useful in providing secure roost sites for bats. Bats provide several benefits to humans and the environment. Bats play an essential role in pest control, pollinating plants, and dispersing seeds. Bats that eat insects are called “insectivorous.” They feast on insects each night, eating about 50 pounds of insects each night.
This bat house is at one of the trailheads on Wachusett Mountain. I took advantage of the later daylight by doing a longer hikes this week starting in the daylight and reaching the summit at sunset.
Tuesday, 03/12/2024: Posted photo — Sunset.
My Monday night group reached the summit for sunset for the first time this year. We almost made it back to the trailhead without our headlamps. We were about a half hour short. On the way up to the summit, I wanted to take a longer trail. When the group reached the trail junction at which I was going to turn, it was 10 minutes to sunset, so I took the more directed route to the summit.
Wednesday, 03/13/2024: Posted photo — Mount Monadnock.
Mount Monadnock from the summit of Mount Wachusett. It is always good to see Grand Monadnock on a clear day. There have been many days this year in which I have hiked to the summit during the day and not seeing her due to rain and low cloud cover.
Thursday, 03/14/2024: Posted photo — Orion.
Happy pi Day to all!
This photo was taken with the long exposure night setting on my cellphone. My cell phone as an astrophotography setting and I am attempting to figure it out. What I am attempting to do is manually change to that setting. So far, no luck. I need to rely on the phone changing the setting on its own.
Orion, in astronomy, major constellation lying at about 5 hours 30 minutes right ascension and 0° declination, named for the Greek mythological hunter. Orion is one of the most conspicuous constellations and contains many bright stars. Orion can be easily identified by the three stars of its belt.
Friday, 03/15/2024: Post photo — Waypoint.
This is a waypoint from a hike. I was out verifying the coordinates in my GPS match the coordinates I calculated for this orienteering course using Google Earth and a map that I know is incorrect by scale. There were a couple of locations that I did not have the GPS coordinates for the next waypoint so I had to take out my map and compass to get to the next waypoint.
Saturday, 03/16/2024: Post photo — Stone Wall.
Throughout New England there are stone walls in the woods. How did they get there? At one time most of the land was clear cut for farming and the farmers used the field stone on their property to outline the property lines. This stone wall is in the High Ridge Wildlife Management Area where I went out hiking today to start my third verification hike of waypoints.
“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
Here are some mountains that I have seen during my travels.
Sunday, 03/03/2024: Posted photo — Sunrise.
A wonderful sunrise. Took this photo on Monday morning and not on Sunday. I was busy on Sunday with a birthday celebration from a member of my family.
Monday, 03/04/2024: Posted photo — Night Hike.
I lead the Monday night hike this week. As the weather is getting better, more people are hiking on Monday nights. We have had 2–4 people on hikes during the winter, tonight we had seven. More people are expected due to the warmer weather and it being lighter at night. Time for some sunsets!
Tuesday, 03/05/2024: Posted photo — Stream.
With the snow melt and the rain we have had recently, the streams on the mountain are running. This is a photo from tonight’s night hike. Again, I did not realize that my headlight had a blue tint to it.
Wednesday, 03/06/2024: Posted photo — Bouquet.
A bouquet of flower that I took while food shopping this week.
Thursday, 03/07/2024: Posted photo — Rabbit.
The rabbit that lives on our property has been seen for the first time this year. I have seen rabbit prints in the snow during, but this is the first time I have seen it. Glad to see it made it through the wet, cold winter.
Friday, 03/08/2024: Post photo — Cube Solving Robot.
I help the robotics team at my high school alma mater. They were practicing their judging speech for the state championships and showed us that they have designed a robot that will mix up a cube to create a pixel for a mosaic that will be making. They did this through a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education program) that they started. This is the first STEM Rubik’s project in the country and they are sponsored by Rubik. I know a couple of the robotics team members from the speed cubing community. Here is a video of the robot: https://youtu.be/Id_YpwkuKww?si=U987aegensWYtoMc. It is long but it give you an idea of how these two cubers programmed the robot.
Saturday, 03/09/2024: Post photo — Covered Bridge.
This covered bridge is at the Bull Run Restaurant.
I attended Don White’s Annual Birthday Show at the Bull Run with some old college friends. It was not about the show, it was about connecting with people you spent a lot of time with earlier in your life and just getting together very sporadically over the years. The show was interesting, and the company was great. Will I remember who performed or what they sang, probably not. I will remember going out with some old friends.
When I was younger, people would tell me not to take family and friends for granted. As I get older, I understand what they mean. Thank you Chris for taking this group photo to keep the memories alive.
“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, 02/19/2024: 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, 02/20/2024: 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, 02/21/2024: 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, 02/22/2024: 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, 02/23/2024: 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, 02/24/2024: 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.
Photo by Joseph Ciras 