Jeanine returned this evening after a week in Indianapolis. After greeting the kids and the dog she made a bee line to the gardens. Fortunately we have had a good bit of rain and everything was thriving. Working with her sister and several friends, Jeanine was able to settle many of her father’s affairs and to ready his home for sale. In no small part due to the generosity of neighbors and friends who have been providing a constant supply of prepared food, I have managed to keep all the children and the dog alive. I am very happy that Jeanine was able to see her father before he died and that she was able to grieve with her sisters. That said, all of us are very happy to have her home.

 
Nicolai and I went to see Maya play this morning. Her team had a come from behind 3-2 victory. It was oppressively hot and Maya was quite pleased with an after game ice cream treat courtesy of her coach.

 
Frequent visitors will recognize this Japanese inspired bridge as one of my favorite seasonal subjects on my old Avid commute. This afternoon I returned to Avid to celebrate the on-time release of the companies largest ever software release. The team was in really good spirits and it was great to share in the celebration with them. I also felt a sense of closure seeing this project out the door after more than a year of effort by an extremely dedicated team which I was proud to lead.

 
With Jeanine in Indianapolis taking care of her father’s estate and me working dawn to dusk on the new job I have not had a spare moment to shoot any photography this week. This evening, however, Kyle was working on his photography assignment for school and I took this shot over his shoulder. He is shooting film, I am shooting digital. The entire concept and execution is Kyle’s. He hung the watering can from the stairs with fishing line, positioned the flowers and his sister. We used a white sheet for the background and this was the result. I think it is safe to say that Kyle has a very creative mind and keen eye.

 
During the closing song of Maya’s Bridging ceremony, Jeanine called to say that her father had passed away at 6:35pm. She sounded at peace and it is comforting to know that Larry was surrounded by his entire family during his last hours. Larry was a generous and kind soul who will be missed by all who knew him. Maya believes he is going to join Jeanine’s mother and will be happy when he sees her again. No words of mine can match that image.

 
Kyle did not return from his tournament in time, but Nicolai attended and bore witness to his sister’s right of passage.

 
When you live in Concord, the only bridge that will do is the Old North Bridge and here Maya crosses with her friend Allison.

 
Today was a very special day for Maya who graduated from being a Brownie to being a Junior in the Girl Scouts program during a Bridging Ceremony. Crossing the bridge signifies that a girl has become aware of her achievements and is ready for new adventures and responsibilities. Jeanine was very much looking forward to sharing this with Maya so I took many photos and video so that she can relive the experience when she returns from Indianapolis. Here the girls gather in anticipation of the ceremeony.

 
This morning I drove for an hour and a half before 7:30am to deliver Kyle to his soccer tournament and me to my match. Kyle’s team won one and lost one. My team came from behind to win 2-1 and I had a great game scoring both goals. On the first, I slipped a nice pass through to one of our forwards, he took a strong shot on the goalie who bobbled the ball. I zoomed in to take the ball off his hands for the score. On the second, I received a great chip from the midfield and beat my defender for a 1 on 1 with the goalie. He guessed left and I shot right. When I returned home I found our fields being mowed and Nala nearly horse barking at the intruders. Fortunately for everyone, her electric fence keeps her out of harms way.

 
Maya goes up for her first header in a game. She executed perfectly and was quite proud of herself afterwards. Jeanine’s father, Larry, has taken a turn for the worse after emergency surgery earlier in the week revealed a large tumor in his bladder. After learning of the developments she decided to leave right away for Indianapolis and was able to make it in time for a brief visit this evening.

 
Without a doubt my favorite. Great light and phenomenal colors. I think I may have to print this one at poster size. Click on the image for a higher resolution view.

 
My window seat on the return flight offered up many gems for my collection of aerial photographs.

 
Despite the beauty and wealth everywhere, my 6am walks to the office took me past many homeless people. It is hard to reconcile the gross inequity between the rich and the poor here. I know there are homeless people in every city, but to see the degree of contrast in this community was very sobering.

 
I really enjoy the colors, textures, and architecture to be found in the city. Everyone here seems to be very health concious and it was nice to be afforded such an array of organic and natural cuisine.