I had a few minutes this morning before it started raining again to photograph the house with our landscaping foliage at peak color (perhaps a day or two past). If the weekend weather is accommodating, I may head south on Saturday to capture the last of this year’s color in what has been a most spectacular year.
The rising success of the US National Amputee Soccer program would not be possible without the dedication of the all volunteer staff of the American Amputee Soccer Association (AASA). Pictured above from left to right are the Head Coach, Massage Therapist, Assistant Coach, and Athletic Trainer. Without their contributions to the team, it would not have been possible to secure the victories we did in Costa Rica last week.
Today my team held a half day offsite program retrospective for the Form 3. The idea is to identify what went well and what could have gone better so as to learn how to improve on future programs. As is the culture at Formlabs, we spent 99% of our time focused on our mistakes. Also in keeping with our culture we spent the second half of the afternoon enjoying ourselves in each other’s company.
I took a red-eye from San Jose to Boston today and was back in the office by noon. As is usually the case when I take a “vacation,” I returned entirely spent but spiritually recharged. I experienced the natural beauty of Costa Rican volcanoes, waterfalls, and wildlife. I had the pleasure of watching Nicolai playing the game he loves so much while wearing the colors of his country. Perhaps most gratifying, however, was witnessing the inspirational impact that our amputee athletes had on all who watched them compete. Able bodied observers walked away with a new appreciation for the determination and adaptability of differently-abled people. Those facing their own physical challenges were lifted in the knowledge of what is possible.
With one win and one loss, today’s match between the US and Costa Rican National teams was for all the marbles. Actually, it was for the President’s Cup trophy. Despite last night’s ordeal, the team voted to go ahead with the competition and on some level used their collective anger to push themselves to new limits. The US scored first; the Costa Ricans answered almost instantly. The US scored again and with just minutes left in the game the equalizer came, forcing another penalty kick shoot out. Thanks once again to our excellent keeper we were up 3-1 on PKs. Once again, Nico was summoned for the deciding kick which he put away definitively for the 4-1 win and his twentieth international goal. If you want to know what pure joy looks like, have a peek at the celebration below.
I will return to Boston totally exhausted and thoroughly happy for my solo time in nature and my community time with Nico and his teammates. A full set of soccer photos can be found here.
The field we played on yesterday was right next to the Church Vazquez de Coronado which I photographed early this morning before the team boarded a bus for seaside Puntas Arenas. There the US faced Costa Rica for the second time with a much less satisfactory outcome. The team gave up two early goals and a third in the second half falling to a 3-0 defeat. The two hour ride in a barely large enough bus had done little to help with the stiff muscles everyone was experiencing. Nicolai played well and put shots on both the left and right posts but could not find the back of the net.
After the match both teams enjoyed dinner at a restaurant just off the beach. A number of us paused our meal to enjoy a beautiful sunset and to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean. The two hour return to San Jose after losing was not made easier by constant rain. Adding insult to injury, we arrived at the Olympic compound only to discover that the room Nico was staying in had been burglarized. Three of our players lost all their electronics and other valuables and one lost his passport. Amazingly, Nico’s belongings were undisturbed. Apparently the thief had to make a hasty exit. Cue memories of my last visit to Costa Rica when all my camera gear was stolen. Hours were spent investigating and providing the police with necessary details. A decision on withdrawing from the tournament to help our stranded player with obtaining a replacement passport was postponed until the morning.
Having enjoyed a few days of vacation it is now time to get down to business. In my capacity as the Vice President of the American Amputee Soccer Associations and more importantly, the team photographer, I am in Costa Rica to support the US National Amputee Soccer team as they face Costa Rica in a series of three international friendly matches. The team is being hosted at the Costa Rican Olympic Training Center, an oasis in an otherwise densely populated suburb of San Jose. Nicolai is captain of the US team and was featured in a flattering article published earlier this week in the local paper. I used Google to translate the article into English.
The team’s first match was this afternoon in a light rain. At the end of regulation time the score was tied 0-0. By prior agreement, a winner would be determined in a penalty kick shoot out. Thanks to some outstanding goal tending, the US went up two goals to zero. A third goal would secure victory and Nico delivered a low shot to the right corner for the win and celebration with his teammates. It must be said that officiating was fairly one-sided making the victory that much sweeter.
Many people consider the Resplendent Quetzal to be the most beautiful bird in the world. I would not disagree. It is also very hard to photograph. They feed primarily on wild avocados so the key to finding one is to locate and stake out an avocado tree with ripe fruit. Ninety percent of the time the Quetzal is in and among the branches and leaves making a clean shot nearly impossible. Posted here are my best images from today and yesterday. A total of ten hours at one tree. Some might think this is a crazy use of vacation time. It may be easier to relate if you think of this as a form of hunting, something deeply embedded in our primitive programming. I enjoy the challenge, the resulting “trophy” and spending quiet time in a beautiful natural setting which for me is very restorative.
This morning I got an early start for San Gerardo de Dota, high in the mountains about two hours south of San Jose. Access to the valley is by a two way 1 1/8 lane road in desperate need of repair. One side of the entire road is a shear cliff drop off. I traversed this road not once, but twice as I had difficulty locating the tiny rustic cabin I had rented for the night. Cell service was right at the margin and my map app was getting royally screwed up. I am glad I persisted. The wildlife shots I posted earlier this week were taken in a nature park where the subjects are essentially captive (albeit in very natural settings). The birds I photographed today are all wild. I spent 5 hours hoping to get a shot of the very elusive Resplendent Quetzal. I had several sightings and a few half decent shots but not the killer image I have been hoping for. That said, I was able to capture several other very beautiful species.
Even though October is the peak of the rainy season in Costa Rica, I have been lucky so far. Yesterday I simply drove to places that were not raining. Today, the morning was perfectly clear affording me a pristine view of the Volcan Poas and Catarata del Toro before the heavens opened. On my last trip here, I took some really great pictures of both these locations only to have them stolen along with my camera gear (see account here). It is said that every cloud has a silver lining. Such was the case today. The weather at Poas was perfect and I was the first to the observation point (arrived at the gate at 6am for a 7am open) giving me wonderful morning light and perfect camera position. At the del Toro waterfalls, vegetation that had partially obscured my original photos has been cut back. Oh yeh; I also have a much newer camera and shot these both as panoramas with more than 200 MPixels of resolution (the ones I post here are significantly downsized, even the larger versions). I could not have been more pleased with the photos I got today. Some of my best were taken with my drone but I forgot the adapter I need to download the images to my computer so these won’t post until next week.
Having visited Costa Rica twice before, I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to go and had prepared a tightly scripted itinerary. Let’s just say that the plan didn’t survive the morning. Picking up my rental car proved to be an exercise in aggravation and delay, my first destination (the Volcan Poas) now requires advanced reservations booked online, and the nature park I had hoped to visit was closed for maintenance. Despite these hurdles which cost me hundreds of fruitless driven miles and nearly half the day, I made the best of the situation and came away with some very nice images.
I am off to Costa Rica for the next week. Nico is playing for the US National Amputee Soccer Team in an international friendly tournament in San Jose later in the week. I will meet up with the squad when they arrive. Until then, I hope to do some photography, weather permitting. October is smack in the middle of the rainy season and it remains to be seen how successful I will be dodging the weather.
This morning I enjoyed a perfect fall day on the soccer pitch. My team managed a 2-1 win in the closing minutes against a Wayland squad that was more physical than talented. After the match I grabbed a quick shower and left to pick up Jeanine at the Amtrack station. We drove into the Seaport district for lunch before she dropped me off at Logan for my flight. It was exciting to hear all about Jeanine’s adventures in NYC and I was grateful for the few hours of overlap we had.
Today I started my road trip in Littleton, NH and followed the Connecticut River from north to south crossing between Vermont and New Hampshire a dozen times and eventually into Massachusetts. The weather could not have been more gorgeous and the foliage was pretty good. By the time I reached Turners Falls I found the town celebrating The Great Falls Festival where I paused for diner and live music. In total I covered 275 miles and feel like I got my last big gulp of autumn in New England.
I had to leave work early to make a 3pm dentist appointment in Lexington. I was expecting to have one restoration done but left the office with a pair. I decided to head west and north with my camping gear so I could get an early start on fall foliage photography. Tomorrow is forecasted to be ideal conditions. Pictured here as the sun was setting is the French King Bridge over the Connecticut River.
Today’s entry is courtesy of Jeanine. She texted me this image with no explanation. Reverse triangulating from the three buildings I recognize (Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and the UN) I am fairly certain she was in Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. Update: Jeanine informs me that she was in Gantry Plaza State Park.
No sooner than she returned from visiting Maya in Seattle, Jeanine is off to NYC for the balance of the week. She will connect with her close friend Monica Frost, from Indianapolis. They are planning to see several broadway hits (Carol King Beautiful, Tina Turner, The Book of Mormon) while sampling the NYC food scene. I dropped her off at the train station on my way into work this morning. When she returns on Sunday, I will pick her up and then drive to the airport where I will embark on a week long visit to Costa Rica. Our work schedules have conspired against us doing a joint vacation this fall.
Followers of this blog are all too familiar with how much I hate my commute. In the Boston area, many companies have Columbus Day off which means that traffic today was extremely light. For this one solitary day I was enjoying life in the fast lane when the reflections of blue flashing lights in my rear view mirror sucked all joy from the moment. The officer who pulled me over said he clocked me at 83mph in a 55mph zone which sounded entirely accurate. I politely provided my license and registration and wondered how much the ticket was going to cost and what it would do to my insurance rates. When the officer returned, he gruffly returned my documents and a warning citation (for 56mph in a 55mph zone as determined by estimation). I will never know exactly what happened, but I got the feeling that there was some type of glitch with the radar gun and he was not able to use the reading. FWIW, at the moment he started chasing me, I was being passed by a car that had to be going 90mph.
Jeanine spent a long weekend visiting Maya in Seattle. The two enjoyed great food, a spa day, and communing with nature. I must admit that I was envious of their time together and wish I had joined Jeanine for the trip. Maya will be coming home for Thanksgiving and I am very much looking forward to seeing her then. She has finalized arrangements for her study abroad program and will spend the balance of the academic year in Amsterdam starting in January after she has completed her internship at Blue Origin.
A perfect day for soccer led to one of my team’s best games of the season. With a 2 goal lead at the 20 minute mark one of our players was red carded for swearing at the referee leaving us a man down for the remaining 70 minutes. The disadvantage forced us to play a much more disciplined and strategic game. We went on to win by a margin of 7-0 and I managed a nice assist. I took further advantage of the beautiful day to venture into western Massachusetts for some fall photography.
Fall foliage this year is as spectacular as any I can remember. I spent the entire day in New Hampshire taking in the glorious scenery and making the best of a mostly cloudy day. Be sure to click on the panoramic view to fully appreciate the beauty of Franconia Notch.
I dropped Jeanine off at the airport early this morning for a flight to Seattle where she will spend several days visiting with Maya. Maya has been interning with Blue Origin for some time now, helping to test sensors used on the outside of their spacecraft. Apparently she has also been doing a little blacksmithing as evidenced by the knife she fashioned from a horse shoe.
Jeanine hosted her book group at the house last night. Invited was Katharine Esty, the author of the book being discussed, Eightysomethings, and a member of her writer’s group. It never ceases to amaze me how good Jeanine is at bringing wonderful people together.
I love this time of year when fall colors are approaching peak intensity. This morning I put the drone up for an aerial view of the landscape surrounding our home. The thumb shaped field at the center-right of the photograph is the field behind our house and the reason we feel so immersed in nature. The colorful rectangular area to the left only became known to me when I started flying my drone; a real lesson in how perspective can change your view of everything. Click on the photo to see more detail.
I arrived at my dentist office at 8am today only to discover that I had cancelled my appointment for this time slot some time back (for reasons that escape me now). Fortunately, there was a cancellation and opening at 9am which left me with an hour to spend in downtown Lexington. After a light breakfast, I walked over to the Lexington Battle Green. It was here, on the morning of April 19, 1775, that “the first blood was spilt in the dispute with Great Britain,” as George Washington wrote in his diary. In this first skirmish, 77 Minutemen (local colonists who had volunteered to be first responders to military and other threats) faced British Regulars. Eight Minutemen lost their lives and 10 were wounded. Two British soldiers were also injured.
When one of my colleagues returned from his honeymoon, he found his desk covered in nuts and bolts and various other hardware. Such pranks are common around the office and it is only a matter of time before I become the target of one.
Jeanine and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary today! As has been the reality in our marriage we spent some of the day together and some of the day apart. Jeanine completed the 25 mile Ride for Food fund raiser while I played soccer this morning (beating Lexington 3-1). We then spent the afternoon and evening together relaxing over a tapas dinner out while discussing plans for our future. In years past, our conversation would have been centered on the kids but now we are more focused on how we plan to spend our remaining work and retirement years. Of all the big life decisions I have ever had to make, asking Jeanine to marry me is the smartest thing I have ever done. She is as smart and loving as she is beautiful and the only reason I have evolved into a half decent man.
With perfect conditions forecasted for the day, I ventured north to Franconia Notch only to find that I was probably a week early for optimal fall color. Even so, any day spent in the mountains is a day well spent. Weather and schedule permitting, I hope to make a return visit when peak color has arrived.
The Head of People Operations at Formlabs reached her 7 year anniversary with the company today. To celebrate, her staff threw her a surprise party which included two of her very favorite things, a petting zoo and a dipping bar (variety of foods that can be dipped). If you had told me when I started my career at Bell Labs some 40 years ago that cuddling of baby animals would one day be a component of work life, I would have thought you were nuts. That said, I think it is a wonderful development.
You don’t see one of these too often. Bound, no doubt, for a car/motorcycle show. I did a quick internet search and believe this to be a 1000cc 2-cylinder bike made circa 1920.
Normally when I sustain a bruise, I have a pretty good idea of how I got it. Not so with this one on my bicep. I have had it since last weekend and cannot think of something that would have caused it. Soccer is the obvious choice but the near perfect circular shape is inconsistent with the kinds that I have experienced in the past. Jeanine thinks I got it while clearing vegetation from around our air conditioners. While doing so, I was stung by a bumble bee, once on the neck and once on the face. I made a rapid exit from the area through thick brush and may have been poked by a branch in the process.
One of the followers of this blog has a keen interest in bridges. Given I was too busy catching up at work for any new photography today, I decided to feature pictures of bridges I took during my recent travels.
This last image is a rather depressing one. It was taken from my plane as I departed Hong Kong. In any other setting the bridge and mountains would have been totally clear. What you see here is the impact of air pollution. For all the strides the Chinese have made, this will be their legacy if they do not take action to protect the environment now.
