Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category
There’s a chill in the night air these days and I certainly know what that means. It means we have just a month or so before we start dismantling the garden, cleaning and inspecting the heating system, and unpacking all of our Winter clothing. This summer came and went much too quickly.
This week the better-half had two days-off which means only one thing . . . Road Trip! We made our way westward across Maine and entered New Hampshire just north of Lake Winnipesaukee and proceeded north through the lakes region. We traveled mostly on the back roads where the traffic is light and the scenery is spectacular.
Of course as you can imagine, my better-half required numerous pee stops, coffee breaks, and an obsession to stop at every dirty and filthy antique shop (her term, not mine). This was the nicest one we saw the entire day.
The roads we chose wound in and around the numerous small lakes and ponds and made for a great ride. All the while we could see the White Mountains slowly approaching in the distance.
After a few hours we arrived in Conway, New Hampshire which is a town known for it’s never-ending supply of outlet stores. Normally the better-half could spend an entire day roaming around this area and shopping . . . but not today. Fortunately for me we both received matching text messages from our home alarm system that reported a motion alarm on our enclosed and locked rear porch. It was the perfect excuse to leave immediately for home which we did.
Luckily it was just a false alarm that actually saved me from an addition two or three hours of shopping. All in all it was a great day with a lot of sunshine and the discovery of a little jewel of a pizza shop in the bustling metropolis of Cornish, ME. If you’re in the area and you like pizza, stop and have lunch at Susie Q’s. Good food, good prices, and friendly people.
Goodbye August! Now begins our downhill slide into Fall and the always unavoidable Winter. This Summer has sped by faster than any I can even remember.
The better-half and I spent a couple of hours yesterday canning the remaining cucumbers, jalapenos, and assorted hot peppers from the garden. With all of the canning competed I can now start dehydrating my collection of our main cooking herbs. It’s amazing to me just how many herbs we consume each winter. That’ll be my main job during the coming week because we have a large supply of oregano, tarragon, mints, parsley, and thyme to choose from.
We still have a few zucchini’s to be used along with a few kohlrabi’s and beans. The sunflowers are now in bloom and the birds are already circling. Those little beasts can strip a sunflower in a matter of hours once the seeds are ready to eat.
We didn’t feel much like cooking yesterday which means an afternoon visit to Applebee’s. For a lot of years we avoided the place because the food was mediocre and over priced. Going there now is like visiting a brand new restaurant. They’ve changed their menu to something on the order of a TGIF. The food selection is terrific, the preparation is excellent, and the prices won’t break the bank. It was Fish & Chips for me and Shrimp for the better-half. I also washed it all down with a couple of extra tall Gin & Tonics. Life is good.
With August in the rear view mirror, this week was a mix of this, that, and everything else. I was a little unfocused but that’s not all that unusual anyway. I spent part of the week back in the swamps looking for those illusive little dragonflies that were as always, illusive. A few dozen mosquito bites and another overexposure to bug spray yielded very little.
There were more than a few in the area but they avoided getting anywhere near me. I’ll be trying again in a week or so after the next crop hatches. I have a few decent pictures but I need five or six more before the cold weather sets in.
I was wandering around my garage looking for something to do when I saw my former satellite dish lying in the corner. For more than four years that dish provided me with thousands of hours of television and cost me a few thousand dollars in fees and charges. With that much of an investment I just couldn’t discard that dish. The company told me they didn’t want it back so threw it in the corner which gave some time to think about it.
I take great pride in my ability to repurpose objects that have out lived their original usefulness, why not this stupid dish. I dismantled the old dish, took everything apart, and began the changeover from satellite dish to table.
There’s a lot more work to do including a nice, deep black, and high gloss paint job. Once it’s complete it will take it’s honored place among my other trophies as a game table in my man-cave. Thanks again Dish Network.
I’ve spent the last few days making friends with my new camera. My Nikon D3200 is by far the best camera I’ve ever owned but it’s size becomes an issue at times. If we happen to be in town or shopping the D3200 is cumbersome. It has 24.2 megapixels which allows me a great deal of freedom when editing and I still plan on using it as much as I possibly can. Also my collection of lenses for that camera gives me more flexibility than I’ll ever need.
All that being said, I decided to purchase a small point-and-shoot camera that can easily be carried in my pocket. I know your wondering why I don’t just use the camera in my smart phone. Two immediate problems caused me to scrap that idea. While the telephone’s camera is already being carried everywhere by me it lacks lens flexibility. The default lens is useful but not as useful as I’d like. Secondly, the camera in my phone has only 13 megapixels which for me is inadequate.
My search began on-line and I must have looked at a hundred different styles and types of cameras and brands. After all of that research I decided to stick with brands that I’m already familiar with such as Samsung and Nikon. I then began my visits to local retailers to see the actual cameras and get a little hands-on experience.
After those visits my choice became easy to make. I finally purchased a Nikon Coolpix L32 for a more than reasonable price. It has everything I was looking for and then some. It uses a standard SD card making the transfer of photo’s to my computer much easier. It’s zoom and focus capabilities were impressive for such a small unit and it’s 20.1 megapixels make it just about perfect for my use.
I then made a few field trips in the area to do a little experimentation with the new camera. It was a bit confusing at first but within a few minutes I was taking some reasonably good photo’s. I returned home to snap a few more pictures in and around our garden. These photo’s will be easy to post on this blog and with a little image resizing can be emailed without a problem.
For a change I feel like I actually got a good value for the money spent. All too often in the past after making purchases I get the feeling I’ve been had. I have to say that all of my Nikon purchases over the years have been excellent and reliable. Check these snaps out.
With both of these cameras in my bag I should be able to handle any situation or location and still get really decent results.
Every so often I read or hear something that sets my teeth on edge. In recent years it’s been this constant drumbeat of hatred between the global religions. If you’re one of those people who can’t abide religious criticism, I suggest you stop reading now. It’s not that I mind offending you because I don’t . . . it’s just a courtesy and fair warning. I’m sick to death of hearing about Islam, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and the numerous Christian sects. How long can the human race on this planet continue to sit back and allow themselves to be manipulated as they’re convinced by organized religions to commit the most heinous crimes you can imagine?
I’d hate to guess how many people have died over the centuries in the defense of religion and their ingrained hatred of everyone else’s. From the Crusades, to Northern Ireland, to the Middle East, and beyond. The total number of deaths is almost unimaginable. Every religion that has ever existed has their own set of commandments to live by and all of them seem to agree that murder is a big no-no until it involves another religion. Then they get some special dispensation from some insane religious leader, grab their weapons, and off they go to murder and butcher anyone who doesn’t agree with them. Yeah, that really makes me want to become religious.
If being stupid and brainwashed is a requirement for me to be considered a religious person you can just forget it! So a big hats-off to all those devoted Christians who can’t even agree amongst themselves, to the Muslim religion who suffers from the same affliction, and the Jews who aren’t much better. Even the Buddhists piss me off when they claim to want calm and peace in the world, then set themselves on fire in protest of some stupid thing or another. I’m not quite ready to sign up for that anytime soon either. Suicide is nuts regardless of the circumstances.
My own history with religion leaves much to be desired. I apparently wasn’t a good Catholic boy when I was thrown out of catechism classes for reading a dirty magazine. I think it was an issue of Giant Boobs or something like that. My late mother and I fought for fifty years as she tried to coerce me back to that same church teaching the same old nonsense. Oh yeah, don’t forget to donate that 10% every year too, God really needs the money. Still not gonna happen Mom!
Recently I took to wearing this T-shirt. Everyone seems to be in such a big hurry these days to label others. He’s Jewish, she’s Catholic, he’s Protestant, and she’s an atheist. In order to make life easier for those people I decided to wear my label proudly. I’ve been called so many things over the years I just felt the need to clear up any confusion.
Many years ago I heard this quote on religion by Charles Caleb Cotton (1780–1832), an English cleric, and it stuck with me. Every time I find myself in a heated religious discussion with some fanatic I’d bring it out to enhance the discussion.
"Men will wrangle for religion, write for it, fight for it, die for it, anything but live for it."
The Dog Days of August are upon us with all of the heat and humidity that they bring. I’ve been staying fairly inactive due to the heat but it’s driving me crazy. I just need to get the hell out of the house.
I decided to visit an old friend today. That’s the Wildlife Sanctuary in Scarborough, Maine. Over the last five years I’ve spent a great deal of time there documenting the plants and wildlife. I was driven to create a photo book of the place which took me two years to complete. I was very proud of the result but knew all along it could be a double-edged sword. My biggest fear was that people would read the book and then decide to visit the place in large numbers that might change things in the Sanctuary. Unfortunately I was correct.
In past years the Sanctuary wasn’t visited all that much and remained a pristine place to monitor and photograph the wildlife. In just two short years the place has dramatically changed. Since the town received copies of the book, they’ve begun promoting the place. The trails are now mowed to twice their original size and from all of the piles of dog feces, it’s becoming a dog park rather than a wildlife refuge.
Vandalism is evident in certain places with hints of teenage visitors from nearby high schools occasionally appearing. Most of the wildlife I initially photographed is now almost impossible to find. They must have decided to leave the immediate area due to the increased human and canine traffic.
Here are a few photos I snapped as I made a casual walk-thru just looking for anything.
‘The milkweed fields are as healthy as ever.’
“Thistles continue to flourish.’
‘Lots of elderberries available for use.’
The birds and squirrels are harder to find these days and even the deer seem to have moved on. I decided to made a quick stop in the swamp, hoping for some dragonfly activity but even it was minimal. In years past they completely filled the air over the swamp but that’s no longer the case. I was hard pressed to get more than a handful of usable photo’s.
I continued on to a second small pond looking for damn near anything. Usually the place is overrun with frogs but I found just these two.
There was a time when I could visit the sanctuary three times a week and never see another person. Today there were three cars plus my own. A family with three small children and three dogs were running here and there while the parents picked blackberries nearby. They spent part of their time trying to keep the dogs from attacking me, which I greatly appreciated.
I’m sorry I ever made the book available to the public. I should’ve visited the Sanctuary, created the book for myself, and kept my mouth shut about it. I may have helped ruin the place and that makes me sad.
It’s beginning to feel like Fall already and I’m certainly not happy about that. We’re just a couple of weeks from Labor Day and then it’s all downhill from there. Most of the smaller nurseries are already closing down except for veggies being shipped to the local grocery stores.
One telltale sound indicating Fall here in Maine is the sound of tractors pulling hay wagons down the road past our house. It’s a distinctive sound which has been steadily increasing in recent weeks. This is a common place scene in this area these days:
The large bales of hay covered in plastic will be appearing by the hundreds almost everywhere over the next month in preparation for Winter. It appears to have been a great summer for hay production which should keep the animals happy and healthy until Spring.
We’ve been tending our garden more often of late because the veggies are ripening rapidly. There are a few things every day that require picking as you can see:
These items went from that basket directly to our table for dinner. The three white turnip looking items are kohlrabi’s. As I’ve mentioned in the past these vegetables aren’t available in stores very often. Most people have never tasted them or even heard of them. These were picked while they were still young and tender. The larger they grow the harder they become to peel and eat. As you can see by the photo, they grow fairly large but this is the best size for harvesting:
This kohlrabi was immediately peeled, sliced, diced, and added to our salad for dinner. They have a wonderfully mild flavor reminiscent of white radishes and are absolutely delicious. I’ll be sure to return them to the list of plantings for the 2016 garden.
Yesterday was an odd day. After my forty-five minute workout I completed what few chores I had scheduled, changed clothes, and was off to do some shopping. At 11:30 I received a message from my better-half who’d just left work and was headed home. I no sooner stepped from my car than it was decided we’d be spending the next few hours exploring along the seacoast and looking for a restaurant. We were hoping for a place we’d never before visited. Our travels brought us to Cape Porpoise, Maine located in a small harbor near the Whale Island lighthouse. We’ve been in this area many times before but never had occasion to visit any of the three small restaurants located there.
I saw a sign, "The Ramp", with a walkway extending behind a larger restaurant down towards the water. It was a tiny Bar & Grill tucked behind and under the other restaurant.
It had a sports theme and the walls and ceilings were covered with memorabilia from just about everywhere. Football helmets, autographed pictures, political signs, basketball hoops, and a helleva lot more. It was one of the coolest bars I’ve ever visited and I’ve been in a few.
We had a couple of drinks while we waited for our food and the place was packed with people. Fortunately for us we’d been seated just before the big Friday afternoon crowd arrived. The wait for a seat was close to forty minutes but nobody seemed to mind. You could lounge with a drink along the water waiting for your table.
I ordered a plate of Portuguese mussels that were without a doubt the best I’ve ever had. They were swimming in a broth of red chili’s, hot sausage, and herbs. My better-half had the crab cakes which she raved about for the rest of the day.
The beer was cold, the food delicious, and the help was better than expected considering how busy it was. We found ourselves making plans to return to this little bistro before we’d finished our first beers.
‘The Whale Island lighthouse.’
This little place was one of the nicest surprises we’ve had in some time. We’ll be returning very soon to try a few more local brews and delicious food. The meal was beautifully presented, delicious, and nicely priced. Our check not including the tip was $62.00 and believe me when I say it was money well spent.
‘You can’t get seafood much fresher than this. Right off the boat.’
If you’re ever in the vicinity you should stop by for a nosh. This is one of those hidden little treasures that’s mainly frequented by the locals who know a good thing when they have it.
How many of you live in the northeastern United States and have never gotten up close and personal with a desert. I assume most people only have that opportunity if they live or visit the southwest. I found out his week that my assumption was wrong. Who knew I’d find a desert right here in Maine.
Yesterday my better-half and I were as usual out roaming around the state taking photographs. As we were cruising south on the interstate we saw a sign that said Desert Road. Never hesitating to explore we exited the expressway and drove a few miles west into the woods. What do we find? This!
Right smack dab in the middle of a huge pine forest is a fifty acre desert with sand dunes and everything. We couldn’t resist checking it out and immediately coughed up $20.00 for the grand tour. Of course the better-half was off to the gift shop to buy postcards and other weird items for her family members. I was finally able to drag out of there, through the building, and out the backdoor to the tram.
‘This is a tram.’
It’s amazing to me how this desert was initially formed and the sand is still forty feet deep in spots with dunes as high as ninety feet. There’s even a sign along the tour route where an old Spring House once stood before being buried by the shifting sands. Here’s an old photo showing the final days of that building.
‘Then’
‘Now’
The visit to the desert was fun and informative but as always the better-half was irritated that there were no live camels to ride. She’s never happy! I found this one but we couldn’t come up with a workable solution to get her in the saddle.
Then it was back on the road, stopping for a decent lunch, and then home. I’ve finally made my first and hopefully last visit to a desert. I really do hate the heat but fortunately this desert was a moderate 85 degrees and even I could handle that.
I also have to tell you that sitting on the tram can be treacherous. Some little darling left a gob of gum on the seat that stuck to my ass like glue all day. Just “be careful out there . . .”
I’m asked one question more than any other, “Why do you work so hard to have a garden?”. It’s not a simple answer but I’ll try to explain as best I can. For me gardening gets me out of the house, allows me the freedom to work hard, sweat a little, get dirty, and remember my later father in his garden. Having a healthy and happy herb garden accomplishes the same things except it was my mother’s favorite thing to do. She taught me almost everything I know about herbs and growing them.
Gardening is hard work with preparing the soil, planting the plants, fighting off bugs, other critters, and dealing with good old Mother Nature. After all of the hard work she can easily ruin your garden with one severe storm. It helps me appreciate the good things the garden provides and this week it begins. The plants are producing and the harvesting can begin albeit in a limited amount.
The cherry tomatoes are beginning to ripen and we’ll be enjoying hundreds of them over the next couple of months.
Eating healthier has been our mantra for the last few years and the garden makes that so much easier to do. Tonight’s dinner will be supplied totally by the garden except for the chicken breasts. I just harvested this kohlrabi which is the size of a large softball. Many people aren’t familiar with them but they are similar in taste and texture to a radish.
This was was peeled and diced and set aside. It was firm and tender and I was forced to eat some immediately with a little salt. The following items along with the diced kohlrabi were used to prepare a delicious collection of flavors, wrapped in aluminum foil, and slowly warmed over the grill while the chicken breasts were cooking.
Fresh Chives & Parsley
Fresh Green & Purple Basil
Diced Kohlrabi
Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Pea Pods
Radishes
The finished product was plated and served on the deck with a pretty decent Chardonnay. This is the type of meal we eat for most of the Summer and Fall. Our hard work gives us fresh food, delicious, organic, and priced just right.
As the production increases the meals will become even more interesting. We’ve started canning and freezing a number of items for use this Winter already, with more to come.
The saddest thing about having a garden is to see it end every Fall. You can be sure our freezers will be filled, our herbs dried, and our pantry shelves filled with new canned goods. We’ll be eating healthy all Winter.
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