What can I say? I am a sucker for a meandering stream. I passed this scene as I was returning from meetings in Watertown. The fact that I was wearing dress shoes was not a consideration as I trudged through the snow in search of an unobscured view of this partially thawed lowland area. Regrettably, no such vantage point was to be found and I had to settle for a distracting foreground and pair of cold feet. While on the subject of thawing ice, here are two crops of the same image, a picture of the edge of  block of ice (an ice damn that fell from our roof) which is being thinned everyday by an ever present and intense sun.

I did not appreciate finding this insect in the duffle bag I am using to pack my camping gear for my upcoming trip to California and Florida. I am not one to squash bugs (mosquitos being a notable exception) but have no compunction whatsoever about ejecting them from the house, even if it is cold outside. Once I photographed him on the ice where he landed (this thing flies), I moved him to the warmer grass which is now exposed over the area where our septic tank is buried.

Maya is trying out for the CRI crew team this spring as a coxswain. If bossiness is one of the desirable attributes, then I think she will be a shoe in. Maya has a way of making you do things that you don’t necessarily want to do without making you upset. Winding up with half an orange I have peeled for myself or slowly stealing my blanket as the reward for massaging her fee, for example. She has practice every night this week and today I was in charge of delivering her to the Harry Parker Boathouse, pictured below, along with the Ruth Somerville Sculling Pavillon and a crew that dodged chunks of ice to get a workout on the water.

With temperatures hovering around the freezing point all day it was not until late afternoon that rain gave way to snow, possibly the last of the season. Snow is most beautiful (IMHO) when it sticks to the trees which has not been the case at all this winter despite the prodigious amounts. Today’s coating was little more than a quarter of an inch but it stuck like glue making for some nice photo opportunities.

I have been checking our local heron rookery in recent days and have yet to spot a single bird. I settled for a photograph of a stand of trees distinguished by their uniformity in size, distribution and color. I head to California this Friday for a visit with Kyle and will spend the following week in Florida where I expect to find all of our heron still basking in the warmth.

Nicolai opted to remain in Colorado for his block break and has joined his roommate, Thomas, and his family to ski Breckinridge. The mountain is 13,000 feet high and features 187 trails. We were happy to receive the photo above, taken by Thomas’ mother, but have yet to receive any reports from Nicolai. He was quite a proficient skier as a youngster, pictured at age 14 below, but it has been many years since he was last flying down a mountain.

My new Canon 200-400mm telephoto zoom lens arrived yesterday. After putting it through some testing, the image quality has proven to be as exceptional as I had hoped for. Its range falls between my Sigma 120-300mm and my Sigma 300-800mm and my thought was that I would sell these two lenses to help offset the cost of the new Canon. Both have served me very well over the last 4 and 7 years respectively but I cannot justify keeping them knowing I will always reach for the Canon first in all but a few very rare situations. I spent a few hours creating the glamour shots to be used in my listings, a form of photography I enjoy a great deal.

The stories that went with the giant photos presented to me at last nights farewell celebration.

While traveling in China I became involved in a chopstick slippery peanut pick-up contest (I may have been the one responsible from turning a casual dining experience into a competition). The goal was to pick up, one at a time, and hold as many slippery peanuts as possible with a pair of chopsticks. It is much harder than it sounds or looks. Our local hosts were amazed when I reached a total of five compared to their best effort of three (at least these are the numbers I remember although the fish may be getting bigger every year).

It is generally not a major event when a senior executive wears a suit to work. In my case, however, it was not until year four of my stint with iRobot that I did so. We were in China to participate in the opening of a new factory building dedicated to manufacturing iRobot products. The SVP of Operations felt it necessary to hint several times that those participating in the ribbon cutting ceremony should be well dressed. When I arrived for breakfast in a suit and tie that morning my colleagues were so shocked they felt compelled to document the occasion with a photograph. I prefer to wear clothing suitable for climbing tall mountains when I go to work. They are far more comfortable and equally appropriate for overcoming mountainous challenges in the office.

Whenever attending a work function, I was sure to bring along the appropriate photography equipment to document the event and the environs. In the case of an executive retreat to a Maine shoreline hotel, I brought along a 300-800mm telephoto birding lens that is half as big as I am. What is not shown in the photo is the fact that the end of the lens is propped on the shoulder of a colleague who was acting as a make shift tripod for the 15 pound rig. Always at the ready with a camera it was noted that I was probably the highest paid corporate photographer in the world.

My iRobot colleagues honored me with a farewell celebration this evening. Many kind words were spoken and I was humbled by the attention and compliments. Mostly, though, I was grateful for the opportunity to personally thank so many of the people who have contributed to the success for which I am given credit. The Home Business Unit GM spoke of my accomplishments and loyalty to the company and people I work with. The SVP of Operations made fun of the way I dress, the way I pack for business trips, my competitive nature, and my penchant for photography. He presented me with a single-use Kodak camera after determining that any other photo related gift would be too expensive. The CTO spoke of his respect for my work-life balance and presented me with an inspirational coffee table book entitled “Great Journeys” which has already caused me to update my bucket list. My team presented me with a signed and framed montage of four photos I had taken over the years which chronicles the evolution of the iRobot engineering management team during my tenure. Earlier in the day I spoke by phone with the CEO and was encouraged by his support for the new company I am (tentatively) forming. I was truly touched by the entire affair. I tried to thank everyone who attended but as I look back at the photos, I realize there were many that I did not have a chance to connect with. For that I am sorry. I will always look back on my iRobot years with great fondness but I am also looking forward to the next chapter in my career.

Photo credits to Doug Marsden, Rob Figler and Youssef Saleh.

For years I have been dreaming about getting Canon’s first super-telephoto zoom lens, the 200-400mm f/4 with 1.4x extender. This is the ultimate field sports and wildlife lens which can potentially replace two of my current lenses (or so I tell myself to justify the purchase). With a retail price of $11,799 I have thus far been reluctant to take the plunge. I have been on the look out for a good used copy since its introduction but almost nobody who has one of these bad boys is interesting in letting it go. When I happened on a sale for a new one that was below the current market price for a used one in excellent condition, I jumped at the deal. It is due to arrive on Wednesday and I am already starting to plan a few national park excursions to put it to good use.

Eager to stretch our legs after two days of driving, Jeanine and I joined Mayela and Stephen for a walking tour of historic downtown Harrisburg. We started from City Island and crossed the Susquehanna on an old railroad bridge. Minutes later we arrived at the State Capitol, designed in 1902 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative Renaissance themes throughout. The capitol houses the legislative chambers for the General Assembly, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, as well as the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. It is often referred to as a “palace of art” because of its many sculptures, murals and stained-glass windows. Our tour guide proclaimed it the most beautiful capitol building in the United States, a claim I found easy to believe.

After a bit more walking through the downtown area, we returned to City Island by way of the Market Street Bridge, a work of art in its own right. Mayela paused to make a snow angel before we departed for a second visit to Hershey, this time to tour the Hershey Museum.

After a half dozen attempts at the photograph below did the pair realize I was quite happy with the first shot. Neither complained.

Mayela and Stephen were treated to dinner by my mother and other sister, Alissa. We arrived shortly after they were seated to effect our second surprise of the weekend. All this a prelude to the main event, a concert by Mayela’s favorite group, We Banjo 3, a band from Galway, Ireland that plays traditional Irish, old time, and bluegrass music. The band is composed of two sets of brothers, Enda and Fergal Scahill and Martin and David Howley. I do not understand the name of the band as they are 4 in number and only 2 play the banjo. What I did understand by the end of the evening was what musical genius and flawless technique sounds like.

Included with our cottage accommodations was a continental breakfast at the nearby Bear Mountain Inn. The building has been called “among the earliest examples of a monumental rustic park lodge of a type that became common in state and national parks”. The meal was entirely forgettable but not so the architecture and interior of the building constructed in 1915. Our next destination was Hershey, PA which we reached by noon. There we stopped briefly at the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum before continuing on to Hershey’s Chocolate World where we purchased some confectionary gifts for my sister, Mayela.

We reached our hotel in New Cumberland, PA well before my sister and her husband Stephen who are traveling here from North Carolina. Immediately after they checked in, Jeanine and I knocked at their door claiming to be “room service” and gave her the surprise we had hoped for. We enjoyed an exceptional dinner at Bricco, a collaboration between the Olewine School of Culinary Arts and the Harrisburg Hotel Corporation, one of the areas finest restaurants featuring up-and-coming culinary stars. I had the Calabrian braised short-ribs and it tops my list of favorite meals I have enjoyed outside of Jeanine’s kitchen.

The New Croton Dam, part of the New York City water supply system, stretches across the Croton River near Croton-on-Hudson, NY. This masonry dam is 266 feet broad at its base and 297 feet high from base to crest. The dam has an unusual spillway, part artificial and part natural, which forms a waterfall that is both dramatic and unique. The total length of the dam and spillway combined is 2,188 feet and at the time of its completion, it was the tallest dam in the world.

Jeanine and I stopped to admire this marvel of civil engineering as a way point on our road trip to Harrisburg, PA where we are headed to surprise my youngest sister in celebration of her 50th birthday. We also made a brief visit to nearby Chuang Yen Monastery which houses the largest indoor Buddha in the Western Hemisphere. We spent the evening in Bear Mountain State Park in a stone cottage that sleeps 8 in four bedrooms. Unfortunately, the inside temperature was controlled by a single thermostat which our cottage mates kept set to 76 degrees. Unable to sleep in these sauna like conditions, I was up at 1am to quietly adjust it down to 66 degrees and again at 5am to reset it to 72 degrees.

I spent a good part of the day organizing my shop today. I would like to prototype an idea I have been thinking about and like to start with everything in order. For some reason a box of old newspaper clippings had found its way into a corner and I came across this snippet as I was moving it out. What a blast from the past. I don’t know what I found more humorous; the amount of hair on my head or the uniformity of dishevelment with the other wrestlers.

Another massive chunk of ice slid off the roof yesterday bringing down the rest of the gutter on the back side of the house. A solid slab standing 6 feet tall, 3 feet wide and 1 foot thick, it shook the entire house as it plummeted onto the deck. Not until the snow melts will we know the full extent of the damage done.