Fort Mifflin, originally called Fort Island Battery and also known as Mud Island Fort, was commissioned in 1771 and sits on Mud Island on the Delaware River near Philadelphia International Airport. During the American Revolutionary War, the British Army bombarded and captured the fort as part of their conquest of Philadelphia in autumn 1777. The United States Army began to rebuild the fort in 1794 and continued to garrison and build on the site through the 19th century. It housed prisoners during the American Civil War. I flew over the fort on approach to PHL where I connected for my return flight to Boston bringing my ten-day vacation to a close.

Apart from the Visitor Center, Biscayne National Park’s 172,971 acres are only accessible by boat. On New Years Day, 1966, the schooner Mandalay ran aground on Long Reef within the park’s boundaries and that is the snorkeling destination I will explore today followed by a brief visit to the Island of Boca Chita. The following images represent my first attempts at underwater photography and were taken with a very inexpensive camera which is to say they are not up to my normal standards.

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I don’t have a lot of experience snorkeling but it is hard for me to imagine a more enjoyable site. I was surrounded by huge numbers of fish of seemingly infinite variety and could have easily spent the entire day in the water except for that small matter of the setting sun. On the way back into port I was able to frame some para-sailers against the Rickenbacker Causeway and the Miami skyline for an interesting photo.

My bucket list includes visiting all 59 US National Parks and my trip to Florida was motivated by a desire to add two more, bringing my current total to 22. Florida in the spring is THE time for bird photography and the reason you have been treated to (or tortured by) so many avian portraits in recent days. My visit to Corkscrew Swamp today should be the last for bird photography for some time. I had good luck on the trail and stayed until the light got harsh before driving to Miami Beach.

I arrived early in Venice, FL this morning at a rookery that I discovered while researching this trip on the internet.  It proved to be every bit as magical as I had hoped.  Several nests contained fledglings and I watched for hours as parents tended to their new borns.

At noon I departed for Cape Coral, a preferred nesting destination for the Burrowing Owl. Although the burrows can be found all over the place, it is harder to find ones that are occupied, have a high mound and a photogenic backdrop. My searching paid off and I found this attractive pair who cooperated just long enough for me to take this picture. It is good birding etiquette to spend no more than a minute or two in proximity to nests so as not to disturb the occupants. With the shot I was looking for in the bag, I headed for Fort Myers Beach to enjoy the sunset and to have dinner.

Within the Everglades National Park is the tiny town of Flamingo.  All manner of birds and critters can be found near here with the notable exception of flamingos.  I spent the entire day within the boundaries of the park taking short hikes at every point of interest along the main road between the entrance and Flamingo.

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I returned to Key West from Dry Tortuga by mid day and drove directly to the Everglades where I arrived in time to take advantage of evening light.  Here is just a small sampling of the wildlife I encountered.

I learned an important lesson last night about tent camping; it is no fun in hot places. To date, I have always camped in cold climates were staying warm is just a matter of having the right gear. Once you are naked, however, there is no getting cooler when night time temperatures are in the high 70s. Lack of a restful night’s sleep did little to diminish my enjoyment today as I flew by seaplane to the Dry Tortuga National Park located 68 miles west of Key West. The land based portion of the park is on seven tiny islands, the largest of which is home to Fort Jefferson.

Fort Jefferson is the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere and is composed of more than 16 million bricks. It was built to defend the Gulf Coast but never fully completed or used for that purpose.

Beyond the foot print of the fort, only birds are permitted. Most were too far away to photograph but I did manage a nice in-flight photo of this little fellow.

The flights to and from the national park were equally interesting. Flying below 500 feet it was easy to spot sea turtles, dolphins, ship wrecks and the amazing undersea sand dunes which are characteristic to this area of the Gulf of Mexico.

I made good use of the drive from Fort Lauderdale to Key West stopping frequently when I spotted an opportunity to photograph interesting wildlife. The four hour journey took twice as long but I was rewarded with a great collection of images. I arrived in time to set up my tent before sunset and enjoyed a nice dinner in town.

My flight today from California to Florida flew directly over Yosemite affording me an exceptional view of the entire valley. As luck would have it my cameras (all four that I had with me) were in the overhead compartment and I was not able to gain access to them in time. Instead, I had to settle for this aerial view of a city which I found interesting.

It rained last night like their was no tomorrow. Fortunately our tent proved to be a match for the storm and we remained dry if slightly rattled by the lightning and thunder. Our reward was a moody sky at morning light which made for some fine photography from Tunnel View.

Kyle’s strep throat grew worse throughout the morning and after breakfast he elected to sleep in the car while I made the hike to Vernal Falls. I found some nice off trail paths which opened up on nice views of the falls.

We left Yosemite at noon for our return to Santa Clara where we were joined by Kyle’s new girlfriend Karina for a very nice Mexican dinner on Santana Row. She was kind enough to capture an image of father and son to commemorate our long weekend adventure.

I was up before the sun for some morning light photography. Kyle, having pulled several late nighters cramming for exams, was content to sleep in. Morning light favors the eastern exposure of El Capitan so I hunted for a spot on the Merced River that would provide a nice reflection. I found several nice shooting locations and settled on the one pictured here as my favorite. During my location scouting I encountered a very healthy looking coyote which remained focused on finding breakfast even as I stalked him for a photo.

When I returned to the tent several hours later, Kyle was still sleeping (we later learned that he was suffering from strep throat). We grabbed a quick breakfast and made a tour of the valley floor including a quick jaunt up to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls.

This is my fifth visit to Yosemite and the panoramic vista from Tunnel View never ceases to inspire me. For a new perspective, Kyle and I made the 2.6 mile roundtrip hike from Tunnel View to Inspiration Point, a 1000 ft. gain in elevation. If truth be told, the view from the top is not all that inspirational compared to one that can be found about a third the way up the trail. We have since learned that the original Inspiration Point has been renamed to Old Inspiration Point and the place we discovered along the path has now been deemed, justifiably, the new Inspiration Point. When we returned from our hike we drove to Curry Village in the valley and checked into our accommodations for the next two nights, the platform tent pictured below.

Once situated, we ventured out for more exploration and stopped at Valley View for a nice evening light scene. We arrived at the Yosemite Lodge just in time to have dinner before the restaurant closed which was fortunate as both of us had worked up quite an appetite.

I flew from Boston to San Francisco today where I rented a car and drove to Santa Clara to visit Kyle for an extended weekend. Pictured here is the student housing complex which he moved into at the beginning of the semester. His two bedroom apartment, which he shares with one other student, is quite an upgrade from the tiny dorm room he moved into as a freshman. Below is a photo of the Santa Clara Mission Church, the iconic center of campus.

Our plan is to head for Yosemite National Park in the morning and I am really looking forward to sharing the experience with Kyle who is now the same age I was when I first visited. My desire to visit all of the US National Parks was no doubt kindled when I first gazed upon Yosemite valley from Tunnel View.  Profoundly beautiful is the only way I can describe it.

I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Frank Wilson, General Manager for the Defense and Security Business Unit at iRobot for two and a half years. He has been a great partner in crime and his departure will be a huge loss for the company.  This evening we celebrated his contributions while roasting him at every turn.  An inspirational leader with bold vision and an intense desire to satisfy customers, he has a gift for building engagement and motivating people in a culture free of blame and focussed on the future.  Frank is also a pilot and co-owner of a plane. He agreed to take me up for a ride until I asked if we could remove a door to facilitate my aerial photography.

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.

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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.

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Every so often, I get in the mood to sell items that I do not use enough to justify holding on to them. I view it as a form of recycling and an excuse to spend time in my photography studio making product shots. Pictured here is a DeWalt Impact Driver which was one of a half dozen tools I put up for sale today on Craig’s List. I freely confess to being a tool junky in need of a 12-step intervention of some kind. I currently own five DeWalt cordless drill/drivers (a big 20V hammer drill, a medium-sized 20V drill, a small 12V drill/driver, and two 20V impact drivers; not to mention my assortment of corded and pneumatic drills). Even though each tool is unique in its specialization, it is impossible, even for even me to justify keeping them all. Any time I sell some tools (or photography equipment) I feel entirely justified in using the proceeds to purchase something new. In this case a cordless grinder and cordless oscillating multi-tool.

The Old North Bridge was deserted when I stopped in after dropping Maya off at school this morning. I fought my way through waist high snow to position myself for this photo. Aesthetically speaking it is not particularly strong but as a study in shadows, it is quite interesting indeed (to photographers, at least). See if you can determine where the sun is situated (answer at the end of this post). Last night, high winds proved to be the last straw in bringing down the gutter on the back side of our house. One more spring project to add to a long list of repairs that will be needed to recover from this winter’s extreme snowfall (note the 4 foot high bank which still resides on our deck).

~The sun is coming from behind the photographer whose shadow can be seen on one of the bridge supports. The remaining shadows are created by trees and not by the bridge as might first appear to be the case~

Another couple of inches of snow last night necessitated an early morning outing with my trusty snowblower. As weary as I have grown of this task, I am looking forward to the forecasted storm for later this week. Hopefully it will produce enough snow to establish the all time record snowfall for our area. Having endured the blizzards, I would like, at the very least, a record to show for it. During a few hours of the afternoon, temperatures rose slightly above freezing for a brief respite from the cold.

Maya’s futsal season came to an end this evening on a high note as her team won in decisive fashion against a strong opponent. The coach requested a team photo and I was happy to oblige. As I was switching the settings on my camera from shooting the action to shooting the portrait, I made the image below which I actually find much more interesting.