While traveling down the highway at 70mph it was hard not to notice two massive Great Danes with their heads sticking out of an SUV, ears, and jowls flapping all over the place. By the time I could pull out my camera for the high-speed snapshot, only one was still enjoying the breeze.
Homemade blueberry pie was on the dinner dessert menu this evening courtesy of Jeanine’s sister Susan. She arrived yesterday with her friend Jean and will be staying with us for the weekend. They spent most of the day organizing our walk-in closet (read helping Jeanine decide which clothes were ready for donation) while I was reorganizing the garage to make room for my new car which should be arriving by the end of the month.
Maya’s bike expedition has entered Glacier National Park to begin their third and last week on the road. From the Apogee blog is the first photo in which we can clearly see Maya.
I spent the better part of 6 hours installing a new washer and dryer in our second-floor laundry room. The new units arrived this morning and were delivered to our first-floor foyer. I managed to get the old units down and the dryer upstairs by myself (using various principles of mechanical advantage). The washer was just too heavy so I enlisted the help of Nico and his friend. The water supply shut-off valve was stuck in the on position which meant I had to turn off the water to the entire house and then repair the valve (extra two hours). Mounting both units on pedestals also took longer than I would have expected but will make for a lot less bending over in the years to come and was well worth the extra effort. Jeanine made a delicious chicken cacciatore dinner as a reward and we pulled up chairs to watch the first wash cycle through the glass portals. Possibly the most pathetic date night ever, but oddly one we both enjoyed.
We are members of a local CSA . Each week we pick up a basketful of in season vegetables and/or fruits. With Jeanine arriving later this evening it fell to me to make today’s pickup. I must admit it was fun to select from the variety of offerings with the knowledge that Jeanine would transform it all into some very yummy and healthy meals.
I spotted this hawk in the backyard and was able to get close enough for a decent shot. This is possibly the largest one I have seen in the area.
Pictured here is my kayak storage / car loading system. A pulley system lowers the kayaks directly onto my homemade car carrier with almost no effort. In the storage position the kayaks are near the ceiling of the garage where they are well out of harms way. I can load and secure a kayak in less than 2 minutes with no assistance.
224 miles into her Montana biking expedition, Maya reached the small town of Choteau today. The kids get to make one phone call each week and Jeanine was the recipient of the first. Maya reports that she is having a great time and that their route is extremely beautiful. I Googled Choteau and found this image by photographer Ann Torrence. Before she left I gave Maya a nice camera and I hope she is making frequent use of it.
Still stiff from the volleyball tournament yesterday, it was not easy to drag myself to soccer practice this morning but I did none the less. After a torrential downpour during the early afternoon, I set out for some photography in the towns of Sudbury and Maynard. My final destination was the Assabett River National Wildlife Refuge where I found an ample supply of subjects.
Each of the following photos contains at least one insect. There are a total of 78 including 6 species.
This evening, Nicolai was the honorary captain of the New England Revolution MLS soccer team participating in the coin toss to start their match against the Columbus Crew. He earned his stripes by winning the toss for the Revs. Nico received ten complimentary clubhouse tickets and invited his friends to join him for the game. When one couple canceled, I was next in line for a ticket and enjoyed the opportunity to see him at center field with Jose Goncalves and Michael Parkhurst, captains for the Revs and Crew respectively.
Earlier in the day I attended the iRobot annual summer picnic at Kimbal Farm. This year I was assigned to a pretty respectable volleyball team and we placed second in the eight team tournament. I was able to make some positive contributions to my team but with each passing year I feel my speed is approaching that of this guest of the farm.
At any given time I own a half dozen cameras. The one pictured here is a Sony RX100 which I carry with me all the time. One day (soon) someone will design a high quality camera phone. Until then, I will be using a purpose built camera for my everyday “snapshots”. Today I sold this trusted friend and replaced it with the newest generation of the same model, the RX100 iii. It features a better lens, a better sensor, and a pop up viewfinder to name the key improvements.
When people ask me why I love living in Concord it would be easy to explain if I had this photo on hand. Beyond our quaint downtown and our historic landmarks, the town has fought fiercely to preserve open spaces. This scene is less than a mile from our house.
Liverpool F.C. played A.S. Roma this evening in a friendly match at Fenway Park. Who knew you could squeeze a soccer pitch into a baseball park? Roma scored the only goal in stoppage time for the win. I attended the match with Nico as a guest of Lumber Liquidators. They are sponsoring Nico’s amp soccer teammate, Noah Grove (pictured above) who is in town for the event with his parents. The match was not terribly exciting but the company was great.
Jeanine left for California this morning and will be spending the next week with Kyle.
My eye is often drawn to patterns. These can be found across from Verrill Farm on the Old Road to Nine Acre Corner, one of my favorite street names of all time. The tongue-twister title of this post was created with today’s pattern theme in mind.
Lilly celebrates her first birthday surrounded by balloons sent by Jeanine and her sister Susan. Lilly is the daughter of Jeanine’s niece, Erica.