I decided that Maya might like to see a picture of a horse having just returned from Merrivista camp, where she spent three days with students from her school enjoying the great outdoors and getting to know each other.

I have agreed not to make any parental type remarks on the blog in exchange for photography privileges of this wound to Kyle’s left hand.

Apparently this fascination with shaving of the father’s beard runs in the family. Kyle, as a toddler, was equally interested if not nearly as proficient as Maya.

For no apparent reason, Maya announced that I needed a shave and that she was going to do it for me. She did an excellent job and it was a wonderfully enjoyable experience for me.

Maya’s soccer team enjoyed a 3-0 win this afternoon. So far this season no opponent has scored a goal against Concord while Maya is on the field and she continues to be a ferocious little defender. A less that perfect header gave her a bloody nose but she did not seem to be phased by the injury. My game produced a less desirable outcome as we lost our first match this season 1-2 against Belmont, an admittedly strong team. I was fouled just outside the box and the ensuing direct kick produced an early 1-0 lead. Late in the game, trailing by a point, I was taken down again but we were not able to convert that opportunity into a goal.

Nicolai was being a clown this morning as I tried to get a decent photo of him for his passport renewal. Jeanine’s sister, Susan, has joined us for the weekend and the two spent the better part of the day shopping, something neither often does.

I have started to experiment with extreme macro photography. I am still working on my camera technique, but the real challenge is getting your subjects to pose. Does anyone want to guess what kind of insect this is?.

This entire flower is only the size of a match head, and although the focus is much softer than other versions I made of this image, I liked the overall dreamy quality and composition of this particular photo.

Maya’s friend Sarinnagh has been staying with us this week and Nala has been the beneficiary of additional attention.

On the way in to work this morning I noticed that the inspection sticker on the Smart Car had expired so I made a quick pit stop to rectify the situation. I have been enjoying the car since I sold my Audi and feel no sense of urgency to get another. Nicolai, however, realizing that this will be his car to drive when I replace mine is providing constant encouragement for me to pick a new car.

Nicolai made the CCHS JV soccer team which opened their season this afternoon with a 0-0 tie to Acton-Boxborough. The team did not look crisp and was lucky to walk away with the draw. Nico was not at his sharpest either but did set up some dangerous attacks on goal and did a fine job on the defensive clear pictured here.

Jeanine returned from a long weekend getaway at Kripalu just in time to retrieve Nicolai from the Alewife T station and deliver him to a mandatory meeting at our church for youth traveling to El Salvador next year. Nicolai spent the afternoon in Boston visiting with a friend he met while at the Encore Coda music camp two summers ago. She was in town for an audition at Symphony Hall. Nico missed his return train by seconds forcing him to take the T as far as Alewife where his mother was kind enough to pick him up. I felt there would have been a good lesson in having him pay for the taxi drive back instead.

My soccer team came away with a nice 3-1 victory this morning and I was able to contribute with two assists. I will know how my knee fared after all the Ibuprofen wears off.

Maya successfully steps through an attacker to strip her of the ball and then passes up the wing setting up the team’s only goal in their 1-2 season opener loss to Natick. Maya is playing with her friends on the Division One team and looked very strong in her defensive role. She remains smaller than most of her opponents but is tough as nails on the ball and no goals were scored by Natick while she was on the pitch.

I took a half day of vacation today so that I could better prepare myself to photograph my niece’s wedding next month. I offered my services as a second shooter at no charge so that I could practice my skills in a real world setting. Many professional wedding photographers use a second shooter to cover more of the wedding (a 2nd covers the groom getting ready while the primary covers the bride, for example) and to get additional angles on critical moments (nothing worse than missing a must have shot because someone inadvertently stepped in the line of sight). I was fortunate to hook up with a great photographer and fantastic couple which made this both a great learning experience and a lot of fun. I was totally spent when I returned home at 1AM after 5 hours in the office, 4 hours on the road (to/from Falmouth) and 8 hours shooting the wedding. The pro unexpectedly split his tip with me making this my first paid photo gig. I think I will stick to my day job, but it was a very nice affirmation to be paid for my photography work for the first time.

Cool temperatures this morning made it easier to sneak up on this bee, who was moving rather lethargically. There is a definite feeling of fall in the air.

Jeanine consoles Nala as Maya leaves for school.

Nala’s electric containment fence prevents her from waiting at the curb with Maya, so she looks on from her favorite perch.

Summer vacation has come to an end and Maya is looking forward to her first day in middle school. Jeanine and I wait with Maya for the bus.

This evening I shot senior portraits for Kyle and Hannah. These are my personal favorites but the final selections will be made by them.

This morning I fitted Jeanine’s new car with a towing hitch so that we can attach our bike carrier. I was very pleased with the results and I know this addition will be put to good use immediately. I then drove to Schenectady in the Smart Car to visit with my parents. My father continues to struggle with health issues caused by his progressing congestive heart failure. After a very nice dinner we all enjoyed a walk through my mother’s Japanese style gardens before sitting down to a conversation which turned to end of life planning. It is not easy to talk about death with a loved one. At the same time, it was so worthwhile to understand my father’s idea of a good death and for him to realize that he has a voice in deciding what that will look like. Whether he has 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 decades left I am very pleased that he has embraced the idea of planning for a graceful death on his own terms.

On the way home we stopped off in Newburyport where we had a rather disappointing diner at a locally recommended Mexican restaurant called Agave’s. The people here are a little stiff but otherwise it is a very quaint and friendly place.

After a productive morning of organizing around the house, Jeanine and I took advantage of the perfect afternoon and drove to Plum Island where we hiked a couple of the nature trails and discovered the island’s namesake. We finished our visit to the wildlife refuge napping on the beach enjoying the dramatic wave action caused by the recent passage of Hurricane Earl.

Kyle, sporting a new haircut, and his buddies were attracted by the aroma of the broth Jeanine was cooking so we gathered them in for the last shot of the day.

Jeanine is putting the finishing touches on her professional web site and asked me to take a picture of her cooking. We had a lot of fun doing the project.

My Audi A3 sold for the asking price yesterday and today I am feeling a little seller’s remorse. It has been one of my favorite cars but it had reached the age when the financially prudent thing to do was sell. I am in no rush to find its replacement as I really enjoy driving the Smart Car. I am still leaning towards another A3 but have decided to keep an open mind and consider other options.

Pretty humdrum day when the blog features a photo of my doctor’s office. I was in for my 52,000 mile check up. Engine looked strong, air intake was good, tail pipe inspection was satisfactory, on board computer checked out OK but oil pressure was very high and 3 out of 4 suspensions joints are shot. The mechanic implied that the junk yard was the next stop if I didn’t take better care of the machine. On a brighter note my earlier visit to the dentist revealed no needed work on the grill.

Nicolai spent the weekend in tryouts for his high school junior varsity soccer team. There are many kids vying for a small number of remaining openings. For the first time, Nico’s skill and determination may not be enough to compensate for his inability to run as fast as others. Of two things I am sure, however. First, Nico is putting every ounce of his strength into these tryouts, evidenced by another stress induced crutch failure shown in the photo. Second, that the decision of his coach will look past his disability and only consider his effectiveness on the field. For many years we struggled to work past small minded officials who could not imagine that Nicolai would be able to play or contribute to the beautiful game. He has since proven to the entire local soccer community that he has game and the question now is no longer one of discrimination or exclusion. Our fingers will remain crossed for him.

Maya and friend Lydia laid her deceased pet hamster Twitch to rest this afternoon. We froze him (double bagged) until Maya returned from camp knowing she would want to do this. My soccer team won our season opener by a 4-1 margin against a team that beat us last year. I took enough ibuprofen to neutralize my knee pain but struggled with poor conditioning in the 90 degree weather. I played a good 60 minutes and earned a penalty kick which we converted for one of our goals.

I have little doubt that before long Kyle will apply his marketing savvy to his new acquisition.

Kyle has invested some of the profits from his landscaping business into an 8×14 foot trailer. This will allow him to transport larger equipment to his work sites and store his tools somewhere other than our garage. He now has 35 clients and his business continues to grow based on word of mouth referrals. We have told Kyle he is not permitted to store this Goliath on our property and he is working to secure a parking location on a friends farm.

Maya received three tickets to the Revolution soccer game this evening and invited Sarinnagh to join her. Maya prepared roast beef sandwiches and we had a mini tail gate party before the game. The Revs scored the first goal but shortly thereafter lost a man to a highly questionable red card. They played one man down for more than half the game and held their lead until the final minutes when they gave up two goals to lose the game. The girls and I had a great time despite the disappointing outcome.