Today is the day before Garry and my 30th anniversary. It’s been a long time a’coming. I spent the day taking too many Tylenol and finally going to the hospital to get a COVID test because I’ve been running a… Read More ›
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JUST A QUICK HELLO FROM EL DUQUE
He was on the right place on the sofa and I had a camera. It’s hard to get both of his eyes because of the black fur around both eyes, but I really did try!
OISEAUX DU JOUR
Another perfect day. Cool, comfortable, sunny. Not a hint of rain. Well, okay, that is I admit, a flaw because we really need rain … but it’s a holiday weekend so perfect weather doesn’t include rain no matter how much… Read More ›
THE CHANGING SEASON – AUGUST 2020
The Changing Seasons, August 2020 So here we are with summer about to end. It’s Labor Day next weekend. Time to start school. Oh, wait, there is no school. Well, maybe there will be so crunchy leaves underfoot, if only we… Read More ›
THE PILGRIM’S LATE SUMMER DAY IN UXBRIDGE By GARRY ARMSTRONG
Initially, it was just a quick run to our local supermarket for a few items. It turned out to be one of the nicest afternoons I’ve had in a long time. An impromptu photo session turned into a brief lesson… Read More ›
WHAT WILL BECOME OF OUR VALLEY?
Growing up in what was probably the very last unsullied woodlands in Queens, NY, we used to find arrowheads in the woods. My mother had insisted we buy the wooded property adjacent to our house. It wasn’t connected to the… Read More ›
THE CAMERA I DIDN’T BUY – AND THE ONES I’VE ALREADY GOT
I got an “on sale” notice from Adorama about the Olympus OMD M1 Mark II, down from $1300 to $900. I know from long experience that if Adorama has it on sale, so does everyone else. That’s because the Mark… Read More ›
BIRDS OF AN ORANGE FEATHER
Nothing could have startled me more than realizing there was another orange Cardinal! I got more pictures, but I my camera was set wrong and the others didn’t come out, but at least I got one. You’ll have to trust… Read More ›
BIRDS OF ODD AND ORANGE FEATHERS WITH BABIES
This is the way he looked last week. I’m still wondering if we are breeding a new kind of Cardinal here in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Yesterday, I met the lady of the family and today, the babies showed up. Yes, orange… Read More ›
HALLWAYS OF MEMORY
Every night, I fill up my cup, grab my bag of medications, give the Duke his nighttime treats, and hike the hallway to the bedroom at the other end of the house. After arriving, I put the bag where it… Read More ›
BIG WHITE HORSES IN THE VALLEY
We grow a lot of horses in the valley. Many are saddle horses. Quarter horses. Morgans and Tennessee Walkers. But mostly, we grow big horses. Belgian Draft horses and Percherons. They don’t do anything much. No circuses for these horses…. Read More ›
HAIRY WOODPECKER AT WORK
I got up this morning and there was a hairy woodpecker working hard on a tree. He wasn’t where I usually shoot, but I managed to find a window that was clean enough to shoot through and I got some… Read More ›
SPARROWS, WOODPECKERS, AND CAROLINA WRENS
We got a bit of rain yesterday and today, but not enough. Not nearly enough. We are in a stage called “serious drought, ” but we may move into “dangerous drought” by the end of next week. Not surprisingly, living… Read More ›
VACATION MEMORIES: MAINE, VERMONT AND COOPERSTOWN
A Photo a Week Challenge: Vacation Memories Our honeymoon was in Ireland and that was definitely our most memorable vacation. But I don’t have much in the way of pictures from those weeks on the Emerald Isle … and it really… Read More ›
ALWAYS AUTUMN
Fandango’s Dog Days of August #28: LOVING AUTUMN New England has always been the best place in the world to see the colors of Autumn. We have always had “bad” autumnal years. There can be too much rain or an… Read More ›
DELIVERING THE GOODS
We have already spent a lot of time talking about USPS and voting and all that, but we haven’t gotten to our favorite amusing anecdotes about UPS and Fedex. Each has its own cute and funny methods or not getting… Read More ›
EARLY VOTING IN A SMALL TOWN
By “here,” I mean pretty anywhere in the valley. Basically, anyplace in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which isn’t in the ring designated as “greater Boston” is just a mark on the map. Voting early requires two things. The first is… Read More ›
BIRDS AND A RED SQUIRREL IN LATE AUGUST
I have recently gotten a new lens, an Olympus 12-200mm (24-400 in SLR terms). It overlaps the 100-300 long lens I have. Although I have always known that each lens and each optical design has its own characteristics, this is… Read More ›
IT’S THREE O’CLOCK AND WHAT SHALL I DO WITH THE DEFROSTED MINCED MEAT?
This is the time of day when I have to ponder dinner. I think Owen’s going to make meatloaf. He does that well. Better than I do. I used to make pot roast to die for, but somewhere along the… Read More ›
WOODPECKER BABIES AT THE FEEDERS
It’s that time of year again. We have tiny squirrels who are apparently starving, even though there are literally piles of huge acorns all over the woods. We must have a more interesting menu. And baby birds. We have a… Read More ›
YOUR HOBBY VERSUS YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE
Fandango’s Dog Days of August #15: HOBBIES From Fandango, here’s the question: Today’s theme is “your hobby or hobbies.” Do you have a hobby? Do you collect things? Do you work on model airplanes? Do you whittle things from wood? Do… Read More ›
ALL ABOUT BUILDINGS: OLD BUILDINGS, BARNS, SHEDS, HOUSES
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: All about buildings: Old buildings, barns, sheds, houses Old building make great pictures. They aren’t nearly as much fun when you live in one, though. There’s only so much architectural admiration you can give your house before… Read More ›
SUMMER? FEH.
5 Things I Hate About Summer I lived for 9 years in Jerusalem. It’s hot in Israel and temperatures, during a bad chamseen, could hit 110 or more. A chamseen is a sand-filled wind that blows up from the Sahara…. Read More ›
BUMPY ROADS
Life is a road which urgently needs repaving. It’s so full of potholes, rocks, broken branches, quicksand and mud, it’s amazing anyone can navigate the whole distance. What makes repaving plans tricky is no two people travel the same road,… Read More ›
