The choice of stone dust for our front walkway has proven to be suboptimal. It becomes soft when wet and is easily deformed by Nico’s crutch tips. Wet or dry, the stone dust gets tracked into the house, and it is not very easily cleared with a snowblower in the winter. We have decided to have a bluestone walkway installed over the top. I was asked by one of the contractors bidding on the job to evaluate the thickness of the substrate, leading me to do a small excavation, revealing six inches of stone dust over compacted clay. I have yet to hear back if this will be adequate to build on or if we will have to excavate and fill with a thicker base.

Years ago, I purchased the pictured set of salt and pepper shakers. They feature a very unique top that “pops” open when the center is pressed. The design is quite clever and works perfectly to keep moisture and dust from contaminating the contents. On a recent picnic outing, we left one of these behind and find ourselves missing it dearly. When I searched the internet for a replacement, I discovered that it had been discontinued by the manufacturer. I then spent the better part of an hour searching for a retailer that still had a pair in stock. After visiting dozens of sites, I finally found one that still had inventory and I purchased their last remaining pair. It is odd to become so attached to something as mundane as a salt shaker but it speaks to the value of great industrial design.

My sister departed for New York this morning to meet up with her husband, who is driving up from North Carolina. We enjoyed a lovely long weekend with her, which was centered on the consumption of ice cream. She left us with five Dwarf Hummingbird Mint Kudos (Agastache Hybrid) plants as a housewarming gift, which Jeanine and I planted next to our patio this morning.

Since it was released 2 years ago, the DJI Mini 4 Pro has been my go-to drone. I prefer the small size and weight to the larger, more expensive drones I have since sold. For months now, I have been anticipating the announcement of the follow-on model Mini 5 Pro, which is primarily distinguished by a higher-quality camera among many other significant improvements. Today, it became available for sale worldwide except for the United States. Here, it is now subject to politically motivated import requirements. DJI must prove that its drones are not produced with coerced Uyghur labor or used to spy on Uyghur people. The company believes it can prove that neither of these are true but the relevant US regulatory bodies are making no effort to move the process along. I suspect the situation will not change until the US and China reach a comprehensive trade deal which could take months or years. I may try to purchase one when we travel to Canada later this month.

In addition to his work on the Bionic Project, Nico serves as the assistant coach for the Lexington High School men’s varsity soccer team. At his request, I took team photos of the varsity, junior varsity, and freshman squads in addition to headshots of the varsity team and coaches. The boys were very cooperative, and I am pleased with the results, which will be posted on the team’s website.

The Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island, is a scenic 3.5-mile public trail along the southeastern shore of Aquidneck Island, famous for its dramatic ocean views and historic mansions from the Gilded Age. Jeanine, Mayela, and I ventured there after stops in Providence and Jamestown on an all-day car trip. Pictured above is the Anglesea, a private residence that may be my favorite on the Cliff Walk.

The Breakers is a renowned mansion built as the summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, chairman of the New York Central Railroad, between 1893 and 1895. The estate remained a Vanderbilt family property for decades. After Cornelius’s death, his wife, Alice, and then his daughter, Gladys Széchenyi, inherited it. Gladys leased the mansion to the Preservation Society of Newport County in 1948, who bought it outright in 1972.

The Forty Steps is a historic stone staircase originally constructed in the early 1800s and later rebuilt with granite in the 1990s. It became a lively gathering spot for mansion staff and locals during the Gilded Age, where people socialized, danced, and enjoyed ocean views after work.

The Chinese Tea House sits atop the Marble House estate, built between 1912 and 1914 by architect brothers Richard and Joseph Howland Hunt as a tribute to Song Dynasty architecture. Commissioned by Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, it served as a site for suffragist rallies, with “Votes for Women” china and calligraphy inscribed to celebrate women’s rights.

While my soccer team cruised to a 5-0 victory this morning, Nico’s New England team won a hard-fought semi-final match against New York in a penalty kick shootout, earning them a place in the US Cup finals. There, they faced last year’s champions, Miami, which is basically the Haitian national team.

In the finals, New England looked very strong through 80% of the match. The team had the more dangerous attacks with two shots just off the posts. Miami, however, managed to score with ten minutes remaining, putting New England into a must-score situation. They pushed forward more players on offense, leaving themselves exposed to counterattacks, which Miami exploited for two additional goals. Nicolai left everything he had on the field, collapsing as the final whistle blew. It was a tough loss for New England but a great victory for amputee soccer.

Visiting us from North Carolina is my baby sister, Mayela (right), who traveled here specifically to watch Nico play in the US Cup this weekend. Also in attendance at today’s match against Colorado was our good friend Eliza Edwards. Nico was in fine form on the pitch, scoring the first goal in a 3-1 victory. For those unfamiliar with the use of forearm crutches, it requires considerable strength and keen balance to execute an overhead kick, as shown below. I usually think of Nico as an attacker, but today it was hard not to recognize how critical he is to the team’s defense. I lost track of the number of interceptions he made and the turnovers he forced. His New England squad will play in the semi-finals tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, I will miss that showdown as I will be playing with my own team in Medway at that time. Should his team advance to the finals, I will have enough time to make it to Weymouth to see him play again.

Nicolai was instrumental in creating the US Amputee Soccer Cup, hoping to increase the level of participation and competition among regional teams in this country. This weekend, it is being contested for the third time here in the Boston area. Five teams from across the country are competing for the national title. Nico’s team is from New England and defeated Chicago in the opening match by a score of 5-1. Nico was in fine form, scoring the first goal of the tournament on a blistering shot from distance. He is pictured here winning a header in midfield and paying the price for his effort.

Normally, this fallen branch that extends above the Sudbury River just outside our house is reserved for use by the local Great Blue Herons. Occasionally, King Fishers will use it for a scouting perch. On this day it was the domain of a very large Red Tailed Hawk. It makes me wonder what the perching policy is; fist come, first served or biggest talons rule.

This filing cabinet has served as a storage cabinet for miscellaneous items in our various garages over the past three decades. I can no longer remember how I acquired it, but I am sure it was free. It has never been an optimal solution and always looked out of place. I moved it to the top of our driveway and took a photo to advertise it as a free item on Craigslist. I had a taker within minutes. For some reason, I find the image interesting. Perhaps it is the juxtaposition of the industrial steel, painted black, against an all-natural setting.

Last night, the keypad used to operate our garage door openers started beeping incessantly. I assumed it was a warning that the battery was nearly depleted and removed it. I decided to wait until this morning to replace it, expecting to complete the task in a few minutes

Today, I discovered that the battery was not the problem and that the unit had basically lost its mind, the result of water ingress, I suspect. A consequence of never throwing out anything of value, I was able to locate not one, but three possible replacement units in a bin labeled “garage door components.” Two were used, not compatible with our new openers, and did not have backlit keys, making the choice easy. The third unit was brand new but did not include programming instructions. The subsequent scavenger hunt for the manual launched me on an exhaustive search and subsequent all-day re-organizing mission which included my desk, credenza, and the cabinets where I store my photo gear. Six hours later, it took all of ten minutes to install and program the new keypad using instructions I downloaded from the internet. I decided to lubricate both doors while I was at it for good measure.

Today, I made an effort to organize and declutter the room in our basement that was meant to be my photo studio. Instead, it has become a dumping ground for all manner of items that do not have a permanent home elsewhere. I made significant inroads and cleared an area large enough to facilitate a modest two-strobe lighting setup.

During the course of this work, I came across this photo of my Uncle Ernie with his friend Tony Bennett and a woman whom I do not recognize. Ernie played the guitar professionally and was an accompanist for many famous artists of the day, including Harry Belafonte, Burt Bacharach, Dinah Shore, Josephine Baker, Marlene Dietrich, Nana Mouskouri, Miriam Makeba, Steve Allen, Diahann Carroll, Melba Moore, and Eartha Kitt, in addition to Tony Bennett.

Oddly, I feel that I know more about my uncle now than I did when he was alive.

Jeanine returned from Greece today and shared the highlights of her 2-week adventure as we drove back from the airport. She spent her time in Athens traveling solo and on the island of Aegina staying with friends. Later, she showed me all of her photos and provided a more detailed description of her exploits.

This morning, my attention was focused on the first match of my fall soccer season. We faced arch-rival Medfield during intermittent and sometimes torrential rain. We squandered numerous scoring opportunities throughout the match and found ourselves down 1-2 late in the game. Fortunately, we found a way to score the equalizer and the tie felt like a win.

My week-long Nevada, Utah, Arizona road trip has come to an end. The weather (although bloody hot) has been most cooperative. I managed to not crash my drone, or car, or get stranded in the middle of nowhere despite a few close calls on all counts. Most importantly, I returned with a treasure trove of photos I have been wanting to make for many years. As a bonus, I am returning several pounds lighter, the result of skipping at least one meal everyday, several daily hikes, and the sweltering temperatures.

I am eager to see Jeanine again when she returns tomorrow from her adventures in Greece. Her photos and texts suggest she has been relaxing in paradise, sampling the wonderful food and culture, visiting the sights, and enjoying the company of friends, old and new.