Our first stop was at Turners Falls where we got out to stretch our legs a little. This is the dam which diverts water into the canal providing a source of power for the mills which line the river.

 
Today Jeanine and I loaded up the kayaks and hit the road for a two day fall foliage weekend get away to celebrate our wedding anniversary (actually October 6th). We headed towards western Massachusetts with a loose plan to take in the southern Berkshires and the Quabbin Reservoir.

 
My parents arrived earlier in the day. They have generously offered to look after the kids while Jeanine and I get away for a long weekend in celebration of our 18th wedding anniversary.

 
Downtown Concord is about as quaint and photogenic as any town in the country. Living here I often take the beauty for granted. Today on the way home from work I paused briefly to capture the ambiance.

 
Nicolai has been attending a volleyball clinic for several weeks and last night his instructor recommended he join an intermediate level group. My work schedule has not afforded me the opportunity to see him play yet but I am really looking forward to see how his skills have developed.

 
I sold one of my camera bodies today to offset the cost of a newer model which I should receive in the next few weeks. Here is the glamour shot I used in my for sale listing.

 
I had ocassion to look at some of my old photos today. This one taken in 1981 documents my last visit to the Grand Tetons. My cousin Vincent and I stopped here briefly as we drove cross country from California to Indiana. I had just completed my Master’s degree at Stanford and was moving back to the Midwest. When Maya sees this photo she is going to point out that my feet should have been together and my toes more pointed. I recall that the other side of this wall was a steep cliff and will use this as my excuse for poor form.

 
Between sleep-overs and soccer practice, Jeanine and I found ourselves kid free late this afternoon. We decided to go out for ice cream and stopped along the way to buy fresh organic produce at Hutchins Farm Stand. Jeanine was stocking up for her next cooking class while I was shooting this still life. When I looked up I saw one of my soccer teammates with a couple of stems of broccoli in his hand. I let him know they would be closing any minute and he gave me a funny look. I then learned that he and his brother are the owners of the farm and stand and could not believe the synchronicity. This man who I so enjoy playing soccer with also grows the food which my wife prepares for our family and to which I am drawn as a subject for my photography.

 
This musician plays an instrument of her own design consisting of nested glass bowls of increasing diameter on a long pole connected to a crank. A member of the audience was asked to turn the crank while she moistened her fingers and applied them to the various bowls to play music using the harmonic vibration of the glass. The sound was as beuatiful as it was difficult to describe.

 
We took a brief rest on the longest sofa in the world. It stretches for a city block and measured 213 feet in length.

 
Diversity was well represented as was homogeneity. Here we have an all accordion, all male band.

 
A Honk band does not even require musicians. Chanting and dancing suffice.

 
We’re All in the Same Boat.

 
Today we had an early family night and arrived at the Harvard Square Oktoberfest and Honk Band Parade Festival by noon. What is a Honk band? Think marching band crossed with political activism combined with a healthy dose of irreverence.