I fell in love with the Blackstone River when we moved to the valley fifteen years ago. The birds that nest along its length, its canals, tributaries, bridges, ponds. Even the swamps make this one of the most beautiful places in the world. In the autumn, the trees are magnificent.
Mallards on the Mumford
Twilight at the pond
Manchaug Falls
Dam on the rocks
Mumford
Photo: Garry Armstrong – Not much water over this dam
The Canal – June 2015
Ducks on the Mumford in November — Sorry, NOT square!
Photo:; Marilyn Armstrong
Summer at Manchaug
We have swans and geese, ducks and herons. Turtles, beaver, fishers, and trout — they all live along or in the river. It is a rich and fertile world. Beautiful and ever-changing.
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Categories: #BlackstoneRiver, #DamsAndWaterfalls, #gallery, #Photography, Blackstone Valley, Nature, New England, River
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
This is absolutely worth calling a muse. I have already fallen in love with the dream destination ( how badly I want to be here ! ) You captured nature so perfectly. Excellent shots and so many to enjoy the serenity of the valley.
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Thank you. It’s the best part of living here. Actually, it’s great to live in a beautiful place. I always lived in or around cities and they have their own beauty. But this is special. Nice to have it everywhere I look. Sometimes, when we are coming home from town or maybe the grocery store or the doctor, I’m just amazed at how gorgeous it all is. Just driving down my own road.
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I will check rest of the posts too especially the three quotes. Amy had invited me to play but I fell sick by then. I missed your photo story prompt too. I will try to do it tomorrow.
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Just get better. Migraines are disabling and sometimes, the computer (or television) makes them worse.
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Seems to be a really beautiful place and I can understand why you are drawn to take photos time and time again. Also agree that swamps can indeed be some of the most awesome places. Thanks for sharing and great take on the challenge 🙂
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I have to really take courage in hand to shoot in or near the swamps. The bugs are always hungry and I look like a gourmet dinner! Hell, I look like an entire smorgasbord.
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Each river has its own character, according to where it is, the topography of its place, its animal life, just everything. they are fascinating places. Our local River is the Aar and you get so used to it as you do your Blackstone river. You have a different type of bird life as we have. We would never see turtles or herons, probably our Winters is not their sort of thing, This afternoon we took a walk to the Verena Schlucht, which is a crevice between two cliffs and the Verena stream runs through it. Again something completely different, this time no fish, but probably plenty of small creatures somewhere in the water. I always love rivers, they have their own individual charm.
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I think the only water fowl we have in common is the mute swan (the big white one) because they are actually European, brought over by English settlers in the 1700s. Otherwise, aside from a stray Canada goose blown off course by wind, I don’t think we share any water birds. I’m pretty sure there are garden birds we have in common, in some cases because (again), settlers brought them to the Americas from their native homes in Europe. Starlings, which have taken over a lot of city parks, were brought here, I’m not sure from where. England, maybe. We have more animals in common than birds. I’m surprised you have no fish. No fish at all? I thought all rivers had fish.
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I can understand why you will go back again and again. It is always changing, never the same. Brilliant photos.
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Thank you 🙂 The hard part is to find new angles for very familiar scenes.
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I know. But the fun part is trying.
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Using different cameras and different lenses helps.
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Gorgeous ,,,
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Thank you 😉
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Wonderful journey! Your images convey how much you love the river. I can see peace, strength, beauty… Thanks.
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I never lived by a river before. It’s so different from growing up in New York city. I do love it. Thank you.
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I enjoyed this walk very much. Poetic captures of your muse!
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Thanks, Paula. I tried to get a little of everything. I have thousands of pictures of the river, though for obvious reasons the majority of them are taken during the warm seasons. I wish I had a few more winter pictures, but getting near enough to take pictures in winter is hard. Thanks again.
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Yes, it must be hard.
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This year, with 10 feet of snow, it was impossible.
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And then if the winter is mild and without snow, the captures would not be what you wish for.
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Exactly. So I get what few winter along the river images late in the season, usually March when at least some of the snow has melted. This year, it was April.
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Lovely, Marilyn.
Leslie
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Thank you. This used to be a vacation area when I was young. My first husband and I used to come up here to look for giant pumpkins and see the amazing change of foliage in the fall. There were inns and hotels and stuff. The tourists are gone, but the beauty is still here.
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I’d like to paint some of the pictures sometime. The colours are sensational.
Leslie
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You are welcome to any picture you fancy. My mother was a painter.
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It is all a matter of time, but you do have some lovely compositions there.
Leslie
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You are always welcome.
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I will keep that in mind, Marilyn, thank you so much.
Leslie
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We are very fortunate.
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Yes we are. Between the crises, I am so grateful we don’t live in the city anymore.
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Peaceful and yet energetic. A very worthy muse. Great photos!
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Thank you 🙂
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Breathtaking clicks !! 🙂
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Thank you. It IS inspiring 🙂
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I love the picture with the ducks, looks like they are swimming toward a golden palace
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The trees were golden and the way the light hit, it was all reflected in the river. It was all angle, bronze and yellow trees, and being there — at the right time — with a camera. Most of photography IS about being where you need to be with a camera. Luck is no small part of the process! of course, having a camera with you wherever you go really helps. A lot.
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I’m with LaNae on the shot of the Great Blue. Marvelous.
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Thank you. He was there. He was there a long time. More than an hour. My battery gave out before he left. He barely moved. I had the right camera and lens, so I got really lucky.
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This is the first (only) great blue I’ve ever seen. Truly serendipity at its finest.
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Sorta exemplifies the very definition of the word.
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He was a really BIG bird. I’ve seen a lot of green herons … they are all over the valley … but never gotten up close and personal with one of these big guys. Definitely serendipity. I think he found ME. He obviously wanted his portrait done.
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Beautiful album! Nature is the biggest inspiration for most creative people. 🙂
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Thank you. Yes, it really is 🙂
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Looks like a truly inspirational place to live.
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If nature does it for you, this a very inspiring place to live. Thank you.
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Breathtaking. Both the scenery and the photography.
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Thank you😁
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Love the picture of the heron. And all the different seasons you’ve captured. Beautiful!
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Thank you. I got lucky with the heron. He was there, I had the camera out and ready. Otherwise, that’s my neighborhood. It is beautiful and I try to capture it 🙂
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