Today we enjoyed a visit from Brennan, Maya’s boyfriend, Fiona, and her boyfriend Ben. They arrived by canoe after paddling here from Framingham, about 13 miles upstream. We fed them snacks to fuel the remainder of their journey, another 2 miles to the Lowell Rd. bridge. Although Fiona appears to be enjoying a free ride, I understand that she did her fair share of the work earlier in the day. We enjoy having visitors, and somehow it is even better when they arrive by way of the river.

Jeanine suggested a photo on the couch Maya purchased from a neighbor, but has yet to sit in.

My home for all of yesterday and this morning was the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at the Leahy Clinic. I was in the first of 30 units, separated by curtains on a 30-bed ward. I received wonderful care from over a dozen nurses and staff. They made me as comfortable as could be expected given the normal consequences of my surgery. Despite my inclination to document all the experiences of my captivity, I will spare you the graphic details. On her way to retrieve me, I asked Jeanine to pick up a huge box of chocolates as a gift for the staff, a thoughtful act I picked up from my sister, who has had more than her fair share of hospital visits.

I need to take it easy for a couple of days and then ease back into more strenuous activities over the course of a month or two.

Initial testing of my newly cored out prostate suggests I should be able to write in the sand from a distance of ten feet. Nine feet if measured from the tip of my penis. Readers should consider the possibility that I am still under the influence of pain medication and had only an hour of sleep last night as I write these words.

I generated this AI image and sent it to my Urologist, Dr. Jessica Mandeville.

The prostate is unique as it is the only organ that continuously grows in size with age. Mine has now grown to three times the normal size, resulting in a condition called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), which causes several quality-of-life issues (difficulty urinating, waking once or twice every night to urinate, increased occurance of bladder stones). About 50% of men in their 50s show signs of BPH, and this percentage climbs about 10% per decade. Symptoms only get worse with age, so today I had surgery to remove much of my prostate.

Of the many options available, I elected a procedure called Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP). The HoLEP procedure is performed by inserting a specialized scope and laser through the urethra into the bladder. A holmium laser is then used to cut away and separate excess prostate tissue from its outer capsule, pushing the detached tissue into the bladder. A mechanical device called a morcellator is introduced to break the tissue into tiny fragments. Finally, these tissue pieces are suctioned out through the scope, creating an open channel for urine flow. Of the available minimally invasive surgical options, this approach has the highest durability and, with any luck, will resolve my symptoms for the remainder of my life.

My surgeon says she removed 23 grams of tissue and that the procedure was successful. I will remain in the hospital for one night and hope to be released tomorrow morning. As can be seen in the before-and-after photos, I look 23 grams lighter in the second one.

Depth of field refers to the zone of acceptable sharpness within a photo, stretching from the closest to the farthest in-focus elements. This visual effect is controlled by three main photographic variables: aperture size, lens focal length, and shooting distance. A wide aperture, a longer focal length, or moving closer to your subject will dramatically narrow this sharp zone to isolate the subject against a blurry background. Conversely, narrowing the aperture, using a wide-angle lens, or moving farther away will expand the focus to keep the entire scene clear from front to back.

More often than not, I use a shallow depth of field to isolate a subject and blur out all the surrounding distractions. Occasionally, however, the goal is to get the entire image in focus.

Today, I practiced a technique called focus stacking, which will allow you to get crisp focus over the entire frame. To do this, I took 24 images of the pictured crab shell, each one focused at a progressively deeper depth in the image. Then I used software to merge all of the images into one using the sharpest areas of focus from each. Pictured above is the stacked image. Compare it to the single image below by clicking on each and see if you can spot the difference.

Feeling decidedly better today, I ventured out for some aerial photography. Pictured in the foreground above is Concord’s South Bridge Boat House, where people can rent kayaks and canoes for an outing on what is arguably one of the prettiest stretches of river in the state. The holiday weekend translated to a lot of traffic on the river.

Below is a field just off of Nashawtuc Rd., which is frequently inundated by the adjacent Sudbury River. I was drawn to the distinctive patterns in the grass. My first guess is that deer like to sleep in this area. It is close to water and food, offers numerous paths for escape, and is not an area where humans normally tread. Another possibility is that it has to do with how the water recedes as the river level drops. Either way, the pattern makes for a nice foreground element in the photo,

Jeanine and I spent most of the day resting, mostly watching World Cup matches, as we recover from some sort of virus. The kids, by contrast, were out and about celebrating the fourth. Nico and Teddy took in the Boston fireworks, Maya and Brennan are in Portsmouth, Maine, with friends for the weekend, and Kyle (or at least his leg) spent it in Ipswich with his friend Allie.

The extent of my travel was a 15-foot excursion out to our patio in my bathrobe, where I photographed a male and female American Goldfinch and a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.

Jeanine is well on her way to recovery after weeks since she first developed symptoms. I have a much milder case and feel that I have already turned the corner.

I am feeling significantly worse than I did yesterday with a sore throat, cough, headache, and the sniffles. Naturally, I thought this would be the perfect time to wash the exterior of all the windows on our house. I decided to do so early, before temperatures are forecast to reach 100F. Sometimes, when I am not feeling well, I like to keep myself occupied with work that takes my mind off my discomfort. Pictured in the top left corner is the water deionizer I constructed last year, and in the foreground, the pole-mounted brush with integrated water delivery. The entire task took under 2 hours and I spent the rest of the day being a vegetable.

I have picked up whatever ailment Jeanine has been fighting for the last few weeks. I spent most of the day indoors, taking it easy with much of my time spent watching the World Cup and the remainder doing online research on several topics of interest to me. My concerns about the impact of AI on white collar works seems to be supported by the graphic above, which I encountered while watching the video below. On a positive note, the prediction of the guest is that overall, the economy will continue to grow as AI helps companies become more efficient, allowing them to reinvest savings to further expand.

On a whim, I drove to Rockport today for a little photography. From start to finish, the outing was a disaster. On the way there, I encountered traffic due to a serious collision on the highway, adding 30 minutes to the 1-hour drive. My photo above of the famous Motif #1 is crap. It needs a foreground element, which I was unable to conjure. I used Lightroom to remove some distracting buildings in the background, hoping it would enhance the image, but I feel it only got worse. I did enjoy lunch at a bar with the England – Democratic Republic of Congo World Cup game on a big screen TV, so that was not so bad. I then drove another half hour to Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, hoping to do a little drone photography, only to discover that I had left my controller at home. A major traffic detour on my return drive added insult to injury. Fortunately, it appears that Jeanine will be returning from Pennsylvania this evening in time to watch some of the USA-Bosnia and Herzegovina match with me.

Designed by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935, Fallingwater is a masterpiece of organic architecture located in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. The home was built as a private mountain retreat for the Kaufmann family, owners of a prominent Pittsburgh department store. Its defining feature is a series of bold, cantilevered concrete terraces positioned directly over a cascading waterfall on the Bear Run stream. Today, the iconic site operates as a public museum under the care of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, showcasing Wright’s genius for blending human structures with nature. Jeanine shared these photos from her visit today.

Kyle and I were watching the German-Paraguay World Cup match when he spotted this doe meandering down the shoreline. I managed to get outside for the shot without scaring it off but did not really have the right lens for the job.

Jeanine is on the road with her friend Carolyn. They are on their way to Pennsylvania to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. I hope to post some of her photos tomorrow.

This morning, my soccer team played for all the marbles in our league’s championship final of our over-62 division.

For a bunch of old men, we looked nearly spry as we took care of business with a decisive 3-0 win over Raynham. I am pictured above with some of my teammates wearing our champions’ jersey and with the whole team below immediately after the match.

It was arguably my best match of the season as I scored the opening goal with a high-flying header. The match was videotaped, so I hope to post a clip of the goal when it becomes available. Until then, I am sharing an excerpt of the match report prepared by one of our players.

“The game started, and Concord soon showed its superiority, having much of the ball in the Raynham half. A good 30 minutes into the game, and Dave Wilson on the left wing crosses into the box for the right winger Carl to leap ( and this is not hyperbole ), like a salmon over the defender and send a bullet header past the goalie. 1-0. Carl bookends the season with the first goal in the first game and an even more welcome first in the last game. Raynham had a few wild shots from outside the box, which was the sum total of their efforts for the first half.”

Kubb (pronounced “koob”) is an ancient Swedish lawn game often referred to as “Viking Chess”. The goal is to use wooden batons to knock over the opposing team’s wooden blocks, and finally the “King,” before your opponent does. It requires a mix of skill, strategy, and precision. The family was joined by Maya’s boyfriend, Brennan, and childhood best friend Sarinnagh to celebrate her 27th birthday and a belated Father’s Day. Playing on the infield of the baseball diamond at Lincoln Park, we enjoyed a very competitive game followed by several rounds of Bocce. Later, we dined at Olé, a great Mexican restaurant a few blocks away.

Shifting my body clock back by 6 hours has not grown easier with age. The USA versus Turkiye World Cup match last night helped me stay up until midnight, and I slept like a rock afterwards. Today, however, I paid the price. Several times, I had to fight off the urge to take a nap, knowing that sleeping during the day would only prolong my return to Eastern Standard Time. Rain early in the day gave way to sunshine in the afternoon, allowing me to do a little backyard photography.