Among the collection of Great Blue Herons, White Egrets, and Mallard Ducks, I found this Yellowlegs Sandpiper to be the most interesting subject.

This morning I played soccer in Duxbury (75 minutes away). Although we gave up two goals in the second half, the team looked pretty good in the first and I finally played a game that I was pleased with. My knee is now as close to 100% as it is going to get. During the afternoon I decided to take some time for photography and made the short drive to the Great Meadows Nature Reserve where I found much to shoot.

Visiting us for several days is Tess Robins a long time friend of Jeanine’s who lives in Seattle. When I saw them dressed in nearly identical clothes this morning I simply assumed they had coordinated their attire. Later I discovered this was not the case and attribute the synchronicity to the proximity of kindred souls.

This morning Maya and I braved the often torrential rains to attend her first soccer game of the season. She was in exceptional form playing primarily in the defensive line. She made several very dangerous attacking runs and despite her petite stature sent two much larger girls to the sidelines in tears after collisions with them. Maya is one tough cookie. Her team dominated the match but the refereee gave away a very questionable PK which resulted in a 1-1 final score.

Maya has decided to take up the alto sax for band and we got her set up with a horn this evening. Within 15 minutes she was able to play a one octave scale. Her father used to play the tenor and had vague recollections of the proper fingering and was able to provide minimal instruction. The alto seems to me to fit Maya’s personality perfectly.

This season Nicolai is playing for the CCHS Men’s Freshman team. I missed his opening match earlier this week but was able to make it to his game today. I was rewarded for the effort when he scored the goal pictured here. He volleyed a cross over the goalie from between two defenders who stood by helplessly. Opponents often underestimate what Nicolai can do and all suffer the same consequence. This ball was too low to head and probably a tad too high for a two-legged player to volley. Nicolai can strike the ball from a much higher position than most players and finished this one-touch goal beautifully.

Except for Nicolai, who had practice with the CCHS freshmen soccer team, all Calabria’s were in attendance for the match. Jeanine with Maya in tow and me straight from work.

The CCHS soccer program is quite strong due in no small part to head coach Ray Pavlik. I liked his calm and very clear guidance to the team at half time. I hope in time he will become as strong a mentor for Kyle as his former coach Charlie was. As serendipity would have it, Charlie was at the game watching his son and several of Kyle’s former team mates play for the AB team. After the game I had a chance to thank him again for the positive influence he has had on Kyle.

Kyle is playing on the CCHS Men’s varsity soccer team this season and today was the season opener against Acton Boxboro. The boys played extremely well and came away with a decisive 3-0 win. Kyle saw limited action but made a strong showing while on the field. Followers of this blog realize that the next couple of months will include many soccer photos of our kids so I opted to start this season with a non-Calabria image that caught my fancy.

This evening, Jeanine and I attended a kick-off dinner for the CCHS’s Men’s Varsity soccer team, which Kyle will be playing for this season. It was a great opportunity to meet other parents and the coaches.

 
We returned from Schenectady this afternoon and immediately set about installing a garden sculpture gifted to us by my parents. We considered locations in the front of the house but decided on the patio off our family room which we look out across daily. In this location we can enjoy this magnificent piece year round from both inside and outside the house.

The focus is soft, but I really like this photo of Nico by firelight. A speakerphone call to cousin Rory for his comedic interpretation of select lines from the movie Madagascar completed the evening.

As the evening winds down all three generations present gather around the fire in something of a meditative atmosphere.

I took advantage of the wonderful evening light to photograph all the kids with their grandparents. This was one of my favorites.