These girls are best friends and it will be fun watching them grow up together. 

Maya and Sarinaugh behind bars (where they belong) at the Willard Fun Festival. Earlier in the day my soccer team was content to earn a 0-0 tie against a team that had beaten us soundly earlier in the season. I got 80 minutes of playing time and am totally exhausted. 

This evening, after a day of shuttling kids all over the planet I enjoyed some night photography. I joined a group of photographers, led by a friend I met at Ferry Beach, on a tour of Lowell. Here are a few samples (best viewed in dim light). 

After his referee assignment, Nico had diving practice followed by a soccer game. Here he winds up for an awesome score on goal. He volleys the ball into the back of the net before the keeper can even blink. 

Maya was in action today and she held her own against the big dogs helping her team to another win. 

Nicolai officiated his first outdoor soccer match today. I used to shovel snow and rake leaves to earn money as a youth. He blows a whistle and tells everyone what to do. If you argue with him, he can throw you out. I’d say he is off to a far better start than I in the working world. 

My brother sent me this photo to let me know that I was going to be an uncle for the ninth time and we could not be more thrilled. I have placed my order for a neice despite Marie’s instinct that it is a boy. On the home front, we took the first steps to add another member to our family as well. After work, I joined Jeanine and the kids at a local adoption center (for dogs). There was near agreement, but not family consensus so we decided to return next week when 70 new puppies will arrive. 

Construction of our stone wall terrace has been completed. Landscaping is the next and final phase of our renovation project. 

I decided I just had to post a couple more bird shots from Ferry Beach and one from the backyard this evening. Pictured are a pair of mating Tree Swallows, a male Goldfinch, a male House Finch and finally a Northern Flicker taken from our new deck. 
 
 
 

What would Ferry Beach be without the daily visit of the Good Humor man? 

This year I was asked to take the Ferry Beach group photo. I decided to shoot from a third floor dormitory window to get an interesting perspective and to include the ocean for context. I am still working on the final image in which I hope to Photoshop in some late arrivals. Click on the image for a larger view. 

Maya helped some of the older kids dig a really deep hole in the beach. The surf board was used to lower and extract her. When I was her age, I recall being thrilled to dig a neck-deep hole. She could stand on my shoulders and her head would still not clear the surface of this ten foot crater. 

Nicolai made many new friends at camp this year. The fact that most were girls seemed to be just fine with him. 

Maya being Maya. 

What happens when a cute girl wearing a bikini bends over to pick up a croquet ball? 

Kyle spent almost all of his time hanging out with friends. I did, however, see him whenever he needed money for ice cream. 

Nicolai once again made it to the croquet tournament finals. He is deadly accurate and made some unbelievable shots. Had he and his partner won the final match he would have been banned from future play as a three time winner. The game went to the final wicket and was very exciting to watch. 

Maya has taken to volleyball like her father and brothers before her. 

Last night it rained heavily and this morning we were treated to a beautiful sky. 

I rose early (4:30 – 5:30AM) each morning to do a little bird photography and was rewarded for my effort with good light and some great sightings. I spent most of my time at the Scarborough Salt Marsh. Pictured here are a Glossy Ibis, Great Egret (having breakfast), Black-Bellied Plover, and a Willet. 
 
 
 

Maya was very dissappointed that her friend Madison did not come to the camp this year. She consoles herself on the beach feeling the weekend has been ruined. Thirty minutes later she has hooked up with another 7-year old girl named Maya Rose. Not only do they share the same first and middle name, their father’s families both came from Calabria, Italy. 

Lauren, one of the girls Jeanine mentored this year, for reasons unknown to me, hoists Nicolai off the ground. Motives aside, the light was great and Nico was unable to run away. Perfect time for a photograph. 

Kyle wasted little time connecting with friends Seth and Zach. The object of this game is to make Seth puke. Fortunately, Kyle was not up to the task and Seth was simply rendered unable to walk in a straight line for several minutes. 

Jeanine makes a bee-line for the kitchen where she spent a good portion of the weekend. Please note the huge smile on her face. I hope she will consider becoming a professional chef because she never seems happier then when cooking for hundreds of people in an industrial size kitchen. Her efforts did not go unnoticed and the appreciation she was shown simply ensures that next year she will not come out of the kitchen at all. 

Memorial Day weekend is synonomous with Ferry Beach for the Calabrias. Each year Jeanine and the kids pick me up from work and we drive to Ferry Beach, Maine where our church has a camp/conference center. We are joined by members of the Lexington parish and this year numbered 280 in total. 

Because the percussionist stand at the back of the stage, it was hard to get a good photograph of Nico playing. Here he is actually playing the bongos which are hidden by the conga drums. 

This evening was the Spring Concert and Nicolai helped introduce the song in which he had a drum solo. During the course of the evening, Nico played the snare, triangle, bongos, and a bass drum. 

On the way into work I spotted this Catbird. Click on the photo for a more detailed view. 

Intense pressure on my brother Mark finally yielded a photo of my neice Sophia although his taste in sleepware has now been called into serious question. 

I keep telling Maya to stop clowning around when it is time for bed. Clearly she is taking me very seriously. 

In a matter of days, this pile of rocks will take the form of four walls that frame our as yet to be agreed upon landscaping plan. I was amazed at the amount of progress made by the time I returned home this evening. Tommorrow, I plan to observe the wall building process. It is a job I have never tackled and I would like to learn how.