After a busy morning of work, I jumped on a plane for Houston and then drove to The Woodlands where I arrived with 3 minutes to spare before the opening kick-off of the US Amputee Soccer Lonestar Invitational. This international friendly tournament between the national teams from the USA, England and Haiti is considered a tune-up before the Amputee Soccer World Cup to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico later this year.  Nicolai was sporting a new haircut which was a joint effort between himself and his girlfriend Karuna.  I thought the look suited him perfectly.

After briefly saying hello to Nico and members of the squad I jumped into my role as team photographer.  A complete set of images from the tournament can be found here.  A few of my favorites of Nicolai appear below.  The US team played better than I have ever seen them before but sadly where not able to overcome a one goal deficit loosing to Haiti by a score of 1-0.

Nicolai’s conditioning was not where it has been in the past and Houston’s intense heat and humidity only added to the challenge. Even so, Nicolai remained a force to be reckoned with on the field and he was generally double teamed any team he got near the goal.

Despite an extremely physical contest, the players have genuine respect and admiration for each other. Once the final whistle has blown confrontations give way to consolations and congratulations.

After an interview with a local TV station which carried coverage of the tournament, the team remained at the field to scout the English squad while I retired to the hotel for a respite from the heat and a nice nap. England destroyed the admittedly now tired Haitian squad by a score of 6-0 which did not bode well for tomorrow’s match with the USA.

I pass the Lincoln Public Library every day on my commute to Cambridge.  Today it was decked out with American flags and a lovely wreath.  I have no doubt this was done to commemorate Memorial Day which means I have driven past it two times this week without noticing. I often use my commute time to think about design challenges at work which renders me oblivious to anything other than collision avoidance.

The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurs (NFTE) helps foster a future generation of business owners by working with high school students in under-resourced communities to develop the skills needed for success.  Each year they sponsor a nationwide business plan competition. Students have 7 minutes to pitch their business concepts and 3 minutes to respond to questions from judges.  This evening I had the honor to serve as a judge in the Northeastern Regional Finals which were held at District Hall in the Seaport district. The top prize at this level is $1,500. The top two finishers will advance to the Nationals where the first-place winner will receive $15,000 to be used for their business or for their education. 

With the grass in the field behind our house growing taller, a number of deer have taken up temporary residence.  Each morning heads can be seen popping up to survey their dormitory.  I only spotted two today (see if you can find them in the photo) but I have seen as many as ten before. 

Despite an overcast day, Jeanine and I spent the afternoon walking the grounds of the 281 acre Arnold Arboretum located in Jamaica Plains.

The Arboretum was established in 1872 when the trustees of the will of James Arnold (1781-1868), a whaling merchant of New Bedford, Massachusetts, transferred a portion of his estate to Harvard College. Arnold envisioned a park which contained “all the trees and shrubs . . . either indigenous or exotic, which can be raised in the open air. The Arboretum is now part of the famous “Emerald Necklace,” a 7-mile-long network of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted for the Boston Parks Department.

On our drive home we passed through the Chestnut Hill and Fisher Hill neighborhoods where we paused at the Fisher Hill Reservoir Park. The reservoir was built in 1888 to supply water for Brookline and retired in 1970. It was recently transformed into a public park containing a soccer field with spectator seating on the sloped landform, surrounded by various landscapes: a reconstructed woodland, meadow, and wet meadow. The original gatehouse (pictured below) is listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.

The New City Microcreamery was voted by Zagat, as one of the 15 hottest ice cream shops in the United States. Located in Hudson, MA, it was our destination for an early evening family outing. The expressions on Maya and Kyle’s faces tell the story as they return to the counter for a second order. Made on-site with locally sourced ingredients flash frozen with liquid Nitrogen, the ice cream lived up to the hype. Fortunately for our belt lines, the shop is located 25 minutes away which should limit our visits to special occasions.

WaterFire centers around a series of nearly 100 bonfires that blaze just above the surface of the three rivers that pass through the middle of downtown Providence, RI. The string of fires illuminates nearly two-thirds of a mile of urban public spaces and parks, as residents and visitors gather to stroll along the river, listening to music and watching performances.  Although it seems far away, reaching Providence for Jeanine and I took less time than my commute into Boston.  We arrived late in the afternoon and started our visit at the State House where several young ladies were celebrating their Quinceañeras. We then walked along the river and stopped for dinner at an Irish Pub.

The Waterfire festivities were kicked off with a Japanese drumming performance followed by the lighting of the floating bonfires.

At the risk of being overly nostalgic, I am posting another batch of athletically themed images from May 2005.  Kyle still plays soccer on rare occasions but can be found weightlifting at the gym everyday. Nicolai still plays volleyball and soccer with the same intensity as he did in his youth. Maya has moved past soccer to ultimate frisbee while Jeanine continues to ride her bike and play tennis.  I am approaching the end of my soccer playing days but still share the pitch with more than half my teammates from 13 years ago.

This month marks the 13th anniversary of this blog and this is my 6,927th post. Between photography, post-processing, and writing, I spend an average of about 15 minutes each day (72 days in aggregate) keeping it updated. A labor of love, no doubt; but also a time each day to relax while photographing and writing about the people I love and the adventures we pursue. To put 13 years in perspective, here is a look back at the family from May 2005.

At Superpedestrian we have been working recently to diagnose some problems we have seen with one of the seals we use on the Copenhagen Wheels.  Using my camera stand and a ring light, I took a high-resolution photograph of a suspect seal so that we could use available software to perform critical measurements (a poor man’s optical comparator).  The most tricky bit of this setup was ensuring that the camera sensor plane was dead parallel to the seal.  I also made a set of images with my flatbed scanner which offered higher resolution at the expense of 7 minutes per side scan time.

The family returned to Concord arriving just after 1 am this morning.  I had much to catch up on at work and little time for anything else. These photos were taken yesterday before Nicolai’s commencement ceremony. I was up before the sun and was well positioned in time for golden light at the Garden of the Gods.

Nicolai graduated from Colorado College today with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education. Over the summer he will be doing professional development for the college museum’s docent staff. In August, he will join the Teaching and Research in Environmental Education (TREE) program staff as a fellow. He has also been accepted into the Colorado College Masters Degree program in Education which he will begin in September 2019. Nicolai has thrived at CC, made a wonderful group of friends, and taken advantage of all his college experience had to offer. We are very proud of him.

Jeanine and I enjoyed a walk on the Colorado College campus and through parts of downtown Colorado Springs this morning.  Seating and stages for tomorrow’s commencement ceremony were already set up and worthy of an aerial photo based on the colors and geometric symmetry. If you examine the set of black chairs on the right, you will notice that they form a point with two chairs at the end.  This is where I will be seated during tomorrow’s event, carefully picked for the angle it offers of the stage and unobstructed sight line.

After our walk, we rejoined the family and those of Nicolai’s roommates for a lovely brunch.  Afterward, we gathered the group for a photo in a nearby park my first such photo using the drone.

Later in the day, the sibs hung out while Jeanine napped and I set off to visit Seven Falls. It is worth a double click to examine these falls covering a drop of 181 feet. 

This evening we dined at Four by Brother Luck. Brother Luck (that is the chef’s real name) was the winner of Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay where he won the judges over with his love of pork and also a finalist on Food Network’s Chopped. Our four-course meal was delightful and shared with Nicolai’s roommate Thomas, his family, and Karuna. Afterwards, we attended Colorado College’s Commencement Reception and Dance where Nicolai performed on the keyboard with his band. It was the first time the family had a chance to hear him play in public and he was fantastic.

Earlier in the day Jeanine and Maya walked through, Kyle ran around, and I enjoyed photographing the Garden of the Gods. Despite overcast skies, it was nice to be in the great outdoors. Nico joined us afterward for a truly memorable breakfast at a nearby restaurant of the same name.