From another section of the sky moments later. It would have been nice to have a wide angle lens, but I made the most of the telephoto I had in hand.

A very long day in the office precluded any photography today so I am posting a picture I took last night. Now and then, we get a sunset that is absolutely spectacular, and this was one of them.

As the center midfielder, Nico has both offensive and defensive responsibilities. Here, he clears a corner kick out of the goal area.

The CCHS Freshman Soccer team traveled to Arlington High School for their match today. As this is very close to my office, I was able to catch the second half of the game. Nicolai splits two defenders and blasts a shot on goal. Although he did not score with this effort, his team won 4-2, and Nico had some really nice distribution throughout the contest.

Later in the evening, Nico (aka Chris) and friend Kevin (aka Michael) asked me to film a science experiment which involves the chemical reaction between Coke and Mentos mints. Their initial attempts produced disappointing results. They quickly adjusted parameters and their final four attempts produced geysers that easily reached 25ft high. In the pictured attempt, the bottle on the left had a hole that was too small and the one on the right had a hole that was too big. One might inquire as to why these boys Incorporated holiday attire (Xmas and Halloween) in a high school science video but then you would also need to understand why anyone would find it enjoyable to be drenched in sticky soda. I do not know that answer to either of these questions but I think it provides a glimpse of that great mystery which is the male teenage brain.

How many critters can you find in this photo.

You will need to enlarge this photo to appreciate the intricate beauty of this plant. I will have to ask Jeanine what it is.

Great Meadows attracts the very young (with parents in tow) and the very old with not as many folks in between. I would not be unhappy if this were Jeanine and I in about 20 years.

Among the collection of Great Blue Herons, White Egrets, and Mallard Ducks, I found this Yellowlegs Sandpiper to be the most interesting subject.

This morning I played soccer in Duxbury (75 minutes away). Although we gave up two goals in the second half, the team looked pretty good in the first and I finally played a game that I was pleased with. My knee is now as close to 100% as it is going to get. During the afternoon I decided to take some time for photography and made the short drive to the Great Meadows Nature Reserve where I found much to shoot.

Visiting us for several days is Tess Robins a long time friend of Jeanine’s who lives in Seattle. When I saw them dressed in nearly identical clothes this morning I simply assumed they had coordinated their attire. Later I discovered this was not the case and attribute the synchronicity to the proximity of kindred souls.

This morning Maya and I braved the often torrential rains to attend her first soccer game of the season. She was in exceptional form playing primarily in the defensive line. She made several very dangerous attacking runs and despite her petite stature sent two much larger girls to the sidelines in tears after collisions with them. Maya is one tough cookie. Her team dominated the match but the refereee gave away a very questionable PK which resulted in a 1-1 final score.

Maya has decided to take up the alto sax for band and we got her set up with a horn this evening. Within 15 minutes she was able to play a one octave scale. Her father used to play the tenor and had vague recollections of the proper fingering and was able to provide minimal instruction. The alto seems to me to fit Maya’s personality perfectly.

This season Nicolai is playing for the CCHS Men’s Freshman team. I missed his opening match earlier this week but was able to make it to his game today. I was rewarded for the effort when he scored the goal pictured here. He volleyed a cross over the goalie from between two defenders who stood by helplessly. Opponents often underestimate what Nicolai can do and all suffer the same consequence. This ball was too low to head and probably a tad too high for a two-legged player to volley. Nicolai can strike the ball from a much higher position than most players and finished this one-touch goal beautifully.