Jeanine alerted me to a spectacular sunrise this morning. Peak color lasted for less than 90 seconds.

 
My Sonos commute does not feature as much natural beauty as my Avid commute did but that is not to say it is without any.

 
Nicolai scored the opening goal with this beautiful header and his team went on to a decisive 8-0 victory. His team finished the season with 62 goals for and 8 against setting an all time school record for goal differential.

 
Nicolai played his last middle school soccer game this evening. His team is 11-0 and looking to close out a perfect season this afternoon.

 
Five minutes into my soccer game this morning I was kicked in the ankle (note the variety of unnatural colors). The free kick this earned was not worth the pain I suffered for the rest of the match or the potential impact on next week’s game. We played Lexington who beat us 5-1 on their field the last time we met. On our turf we were able to achieve a 1-1 draw. I had a number of nice break away opportunities but was fouled from behind on all but one. On my one chance, the goalie did a good job of cutting down the angle and my shot missed wide by inches. I redeemed myself five minutes later by setting up our only goal with a nice cross from the end line.

 
Maya has become a tough little soccer player. With four minutes left to play, she scored on a beautiful shot to the low corner giving her team a 3-2 advantage. She then came off the field to nurse a bruised knee only to watch her opponents score twice for the win.

 
Kyle’s high school team played under the lights this evening and secured a 3-1 victory against Wayland. Kyle put a strong shot on goal but it bounced off the cross bar and no one was in position to put it away. Here he jumps to play the ball in the air.

 
Because I will be in Santa Barbara on Election Day, I am voting by absentee ballot for the first time. Never, in my opinion, has the outcome of an election been so important and I encourage everyone to vote. I remain irritated by the fact that the USA does not elect our president democratically and look forward to the day when we abolish the Electoral College and give each citizen one vote. What a concept!

 
This evening Maya and I worked on a model of the treehouse she would like to build in our woods. She has located a tree with three major trunks and cleared a path to the proposed site. We may start construction this fall or wait until spring to begin the project.

 
Another scene from Harvard Square.

 
Every day I drive through Harvard Square on my way to and from work. This evening I decided to take in the sights and sounds. Pictured here are two incredibly talented street musicians. If not for the need to get home for dinner I could have listened to their smooth jazz all evening.

 
Chloe coerced Kyle into a photo this afternoon but I did not get a single shot where they were both looking at the camera. Earlier in the day I played my best game of the season. Finally injury free, I scored two goals, one a blistering drive over the goalie’s head and the other a diving header. Unfortunately we still lost the game by a score of 2-3.

 
On the drive home we simply had to stop when we saw the sign for Janine’s Frostee. The fine ice cream made for a sweet conclusion to our two day adventure. Jeanine and I were married in 1990 at our home under fall foliage and this was a most befitting way to celebrate that day and all the years since.

 
Our final destination was the Quabbin Reservoir where we hiked along the Winsor Dam, climbed to the top of the Quabbin Hill tower and walked out along the Goodnough Dike. The dam is one of the largest in the east at 2640 feet in length. The reservoir provides the drinking water for Boston and is carried there by a series of underground tunnels the longest of which is 25 miles and terminates at the Wachusett Reservoir. When the Quabbin was created, the towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott had to be abandoned and now lie at the bottom of the 150-foot deep reservoir.