I re-injured my left hamstring during my soccer match this morning and therefore let my drone do all the work for my photograph of the day.  Operating the controls from the comfort of our deck, I flew all the way to the Sudbury River and back.  Above is the patch of colorful trees and bushes I only recently discovered by virtue of flying the drone.  It is located adjacent to the field behind our house (on the right above) but I had no idea it was there for the last 15 years.  The lesson I take away is that finding beauty is a matter of perspective. Below is an image of Mattison Field.  Both are best viewed at full resolution on a large screen.

Twenty eight years ago on an equally splendid fall day, Jeanine and I were married in a wooded setting not too dissimilar from that of our afternoon outing in the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge.  Jeanine’s beauty and my love for her have only grown with the passage of time.  It is hard to imagine that so many years have passed in what seems like the blink of an eye.  If we remain healthy, we may have only reached the halfway point in our marriage.

While walking through the refuge we encountered little in the way of wildlife but a veritable treasure trove of mushrooms.

Every autumn I spend countless hours driving around New England in search of photogenic fall foliage.  Last week I discovered the most vibrant scene I have ever witnessed.  Today, I finally had a sunny day and some time to photograph it.  Now for the unbelievable part of the story.  This field of small trees and bushes is located adjacent to the field behind our house.  It is literally a stone’s throw from our backyard.  How is it possible this went unnoticed by me for 15 years?  The area is surrounded on all sides by larger trees which when viewed from the ground are only moderately interesting at this time of year.  I have tried to enter this field during the summer months but it is invariably water logged and so thick with brambles that you cannot traverse it.  If not for my drone, I would have never found this gem.  Expect future photographs depicting its full extent and location relative to our house.

Followers of this blog know that I have been following the construction of the buildings that are part of the Mass+Main project in Central Square.  While researching the construction, I came across a live webcam that is documenting the construction, and the images captured will one day be used to form a time-lapse video.  I became curious about the location of the camera and was able to locate it today by reverse engineering the angles and using my drone to find it.

I managed to break another tooth this afternoon while eating pita bread at lunch.  This makes the 3rd or 4th tooth I have broken and if I keep up the pace I will soon have more broken teeth than intact ones.  Fortunately, the break was completely above the gum line and therefore one I can live with provided I have my dentist grind off the sharp edges on the remainder of the tooth.  Eventually, I will need a crown but for now, I will just leave it the way it is.  The reason I break so many teeth is because I grind them together while sleeping.  Time to locate the mouthguard I am supposed to wear at night to prevent such outcomes.

I had to bring my i3 in to have the airbags replaced as part of a factory recall campaign. Apparently, women in the fifth percentile of body size (approximately 5 feet tall and weighing 110 pounds) are slightly more likely to suffer a neck injury during a frontal collision if they’re not wearing their seatbelt. It’s a very small edge case, and it requires a person to not be wearing a seatbelt, but either way, the vehicle is ever so slightly outside of federal regulations hence the recall.  I have been given the X2 pictured above until the service has been completed.  Jeanine has been eyeing it lustfully so I have made a point to hide the keys.

I drove into Boston earlier than usual this morning affording me the time for a nice 5 mile walk before work. I opted to carry my drone rather than my camera with me, pausing a few times for interesting aerial landscapes.  I am glad I took the opportunity because the beautiful autumn morning gave way to a dreary afternoon of grey skies and rain.

Following my big birthday celebration yesterday, it was a little difficult rolling out of bed for an 8AM soccer match. Happily my tweaked hamstring from two weeks ago has healed and I managed to play the entire match without further aggravation, even managing an assist on one of our 4 goals. My team is on a real streak, having won our last 15 matches without surrendering a single goal. With half the season remaining, we are now solidly in first place. I returned home in time to bid farewell to my visiting sister, mother, and sister-in-law and then to spend time teaching my nieces to fly one of my drones. Above is a dronee taken by Sophia before my brother and his family traveled to Olin with Jeanine and I to visit Maya. She gave a tour of the campus leaving all the engineers in the family wishing they could go back to school and her young nieces with a glimpse of what a future in college might look like.

Sixty years ago today I entered the world, the first of four children born to Frank and Angela Calabria in Albany, NY.  A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. I am happy to report that I have few regrets and many blessings to be thankful for.

Jeanine conspired with family and friends to throw me a surprise party to celebrate the milestone. Misdirection took the form of a visit to the Boston Aquarium with my nieces, Sophia and Rose, and brother, Mark. This to lure me down to the waterfront where a classic sailing schooner, manned by a large contingent of my family and friends was waiting wharf side to collect us for a sunset cruise of the Boston Harbor. Our group of ~35 then walked to the North End where we dined at the L’Osteria Italian restaurant.  Between appetizers and the main course, guests were entertained by a game in which they had to answer various trivia questions about the birthday boy. The highlight of the evening for me was hearing the words offered by my children in celebration of their father.  A more wonderful day I could not have hoped for.

This aerial photo of the field behind our yard revealed an entire patch of fall color on the right side of the frame.  As soon as we get some sun, I plan to investigate more thoroughly.  This is a very exciting discovery and I can hardly wait for some decent weather.

I made it to CCHS in time to catch the end of a women’s varsity soccer match today.  I was hoping to put my new sports-oriented camera body through its paces.  I could not be happier with the results.  For the record, CCHS enjoyed a hard-fought 1-0 win.

Today after work I picked up a used Sony a9 camera body. It is the camera of choice for sports photography and will be part of the kit I take to  Mexico for the Amputee World Cup tournament a month from now.  I got a highly discounted price on a very lightly used copy which looks to be in perfect condition. Tomorrow I plan to give it a real workout.  The Concord Carlisle High School women’s soccer team has a late afternoon match at home. 

Raptors are some of the most photogenic birds of all.  This one flew across the road as I was driving by.  I spotted where it landed, pulled over, and got out my telephoto lens.  I approached slowly and was rewarded for my effort with this nicely framed portrait against a dramatic blue sky.  Regrettably, I did not have time to hang around while it hunted.

Since I was nursing my hamstring yesterday, I decided to photograph the match. The image above is one of a sequence showing my teammate, Frank, dribbling around the keeper and several defenders to score a beautiful goal.  The full set of images can be found here.