Wood Duck

The female Wood Duck, finally comes out from hiding, but thanks to one of the mutts, she is back in hiding!

Great Blue Heron

What a gorgeous fall day. This Great Blue Heron (a frequent visitor) is enjoying a peaceful walk through the field, after a quick lunch from the pond. A beautiful female wood duck has stopped in for a visit today as well. The Wood Ducks usually stop in for a few days in the fall and spring. I haven't yet gotten a nice photo of her. I suspect she is hiding down the hill, behind the trees. Since both the Wood Ducks and the Blue Herons are very skittish, I haven't gone out to investigate. I will need to set up my hunting blind later this evening to try to get a few nice photos. 

Unfortunately...

... someone tried to post a comment that got caught up in Bloggers spam filter. That comment never made it through Bloggers security to the blog. I've heard from several people that many comments aren't getting posted for whatever reason. I'm not getting them on my end either. I apologize for the inconvenience....these technological details can be a bit tricky to navigate. I've made some changes to prevent whatever spam was detected in the last comment (most likely computerized spam links and such), but most of you have navigated the security code to prevent computerized spam messages before. Thanks for visiting!

A White-Breasted Nuthatch in Provincetown, 2010.

Catch of the Day

This is one, of three Belted Kingfishers, that lives nearby and fishes regularly from the pond. This male has caught a large tadpole for breakfast. 

Life returns....

....to normal. Well, life really has returned to its pre-trip state. I am trying to decide where to go from here with the blog. I originally started the blog to stay connected with people whilst traveling, so now that I am home I wonder what I should do with this site. I think I would like to keep it going. Maybe I could have several topics to work with each day and post something about either photography, birds, nature, perhaps some cooking or recipe ideas, but I haven't quite worked out the details yet and so I am struggling to entertain you at the moment. If you guys have any suggestions or ideas please chirp up!

I have been keeping busy going through all of the photos from the trip to Nova Scotia, New Bruswick, PEI, Maine and Massachusetts, so the blog has really been moved to the back burner. I am attaching this photo of a Barred Owl I took a couple years ago out here in the front field. This guy was a wonderfully pleasant surprise. I hope you enjoy him too.

Blog Statistics

If it is teal, it is a link, so you can click it and go directly to that post (if you are so inclined). 

I enjoy checking the blog statistics and so I thought I would share a few with you. This one always surprises me. The number one viewed post on my blog is: (1) Blog Blogging, which blows the competition out of the water. It isn't even close to the runner up which is (2) Peggy's Cove, a wonderful day with friends, followed by (3)Jump , a local show review, then (4) Toothpaste: A Choking Hazard? (my very first post and one of my personal favorites), (5) Rooster or Hen? - in the top 5 seriously? I chalk that one up to the number of people Googling "cock" out there! I used to do that when someone at work would leave their desk and forget to secure their computer. Bet some of you are still wondering what that damn chicken is! You will know soon, I promise. Then (6) The Pearl Truck followed by (7) Dear Mr. Bloomberg   which reminds me - I am still waiting to hear back from Mayor Bloomberg (maybe I should send a follow-up email?). (8) The Canadian Gang -  what a good looking group, eh?(9) Beech Forest, Provincetown always a lot of fun and (10) Back on the Maine-Land. Those are NOT necessarily my personal favorites. They are the posts with the highest number of views to date. I don't expect that these will always remain the same, so I will update these statistics for you from time to time. A couple of my favorite posts were The Original Big Gulp (a true story from my childhood) and Acadia National Park for the photos.....and of course there are many more, so please feel free to read them all and comment as often as you like. Comments come directly to me via email, as they are written, so you can leave comments on older posts if you wish, I will get them and they will appear on the recent comment list in the right hand collumn of the blog page as soon as the comment gadget updates! I always read and enjoy your comments and appreciate your taking the time to do so.

My very favorite part, of the blog statistics, is the snap shots taken of you guys reading my blog! You really should turn your cameras off and/or away when not in use. Those photos are priceless! 

Ok seriously -- I'm just joking! There are no photos of you guys reading my blog. But I am chuckling to myself wondering how many of you just checked your camera! Actually, the statistics are pretty generic. They don't tell me who is reading and much to my dismay there are no photo snap-shots of your oddly contorted, consternated faces staring at the computer screen! The statistics do reveal that most of you are reading at work, during the work week and that your network administrators are taking notes! Wow statistics now show everybody has suddenly logged off!

For those of you statistics indicate are ONLY looking at the pictures: This one's for you! No particular rhyme or reason, just a random photo I selected from my computer. This was shot at White River Gardens, Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Blue Jay

I watched this Blue Jay from the sofa for several minutes before deciding that the leaves would soon be gone and the sky was the perfect shade of blue. Finally, convincing myself into action,  I sprung from the couch, grabbed the camera and got off a flurry of shots before it flew away. He is a frequent visitor, so a good chance you will see him again.

Remember.....

.....my ice cold, outdoor shower that day back in Massachusetts? Well here are the photos to commemorate that event. In retrospect, I could never, ever imagine doing this again. I guess it goes to show that a person will do just what they have to do, when it needs to be done. I honestly recall wondering, at that point in time, how miserable it would be to be homeless and have such a difficult time finding a place to shower. Determination of the human spirit. I recall that shower seemed like an amazing human triumph when it was over!

Yes, it is every bit as cold as it looks!

Grafiti, food, trash, beer bottles, open roof.

Wow! This place has it all.

Can you imagine?

Ptown Women's Week 2012 (cont.)

I know some of you have been waiting for this post with bated breath and some of you perhaps with baited breath. So, without further ado, here goes. 

I realize that there is a certain irony in looking for the wet spot in Provincetown during Women's Week, but I assure you I was hunting for cranberries rather than what some of you out there may already be thinking! I am never going to hear the end of this one, am I?

I had driven out to an isolated parking area near the forest and was enjoying the scenery so much that I decided to have lunch there on the tailgate of the truck. I had a turkey sandwich with cranberry chutney and finished up the fruit salad from the day before when a woman pulled into the parking lot.

Roasted turkey with cranberry chutney on marbled rye.

I have no idea what spawned the conversation (a hubcap, a sand particle, a pine cone, you just never know with me) but we started talking. She had come to pick cranberries. Cranberries? That piqued my curiosity. Having only seen cranberries in a bag, on my sandwich and on TV, in the Ocean Spray Cranberry commercials, I thought cranberries floated on water and required chest waders to harvest them (see how TV makes you stupid). 

I wasn't doing anything more interesting myself, so I followed her down a very steep sand dune, that I feared I would never get back to the top of. As we walked she told me how easy it was to get lost and that she had been so lost one time that she ended up at the end of the Provincetown Airport runway after dark. Oh shit! I don't want to be lost out here I thought, but also knew I was fresh out of breadcrumbs so I did my best to note the location of the sun in relationship to the big sand dune we came down and the direction we were walking as she proceeded to penetrate (lol) deeper and deeper (lol) into the forest, in search of the wet spot (Oh, I can't believe I am writing this).

Somewhere in the forest.

Finally the dry, desert like sands gave way to a moist, soggy sand and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself  in the middle of a thick, lush, leafy patch of  beautiful red berries. Yippee! The wet spot! Now it shouldn't surprise anyone to know that I wasted no time sampling those berries (did I really just say that? lol). Popping a couple bright red, firm berries quickly into my mouth before my cranberry picking friend could get the words out, "you don't want to eat those ..... (short pause ) .... without sugar". Those berries were so tart they caused my cheeks to dimple instantly. You know, they taste absolutely nothing like the dehydrated cranberries I buy from the store (forgetting of course, that those would be saturated with sugar). Now you may be wondering, did I spit or swallow? (Oh boy...this is only getting worse by the minute). I chewed those berries up entirely, expecting the whole while that they would eventually release some natural sugars ...but they did not! I did indeed swallow them;) Good thing they weren't poison, eh?

A Red-breasted Nuthatch somewhere in the forest.

So after a short while tinkering around my new friends forest and cranberry patch, I turned around and realized .....Oh shit ...where's that steep sand dune we came down? It was gone! We were so deep into the forest that I could no longer see which direction to go to get out. That was it! That was where the fun ended for me.  I hate to eat and run, but bye bye cranberry friend! And like a horse out of the starting gates, I was off and running! Suddenly there were sand dunes all around me and they all looked alike. The sun? Completely obscured by clouds. PERFECT! Before panic set in, I found some shoe imprints in the sand and followed them best I could, but they often just vanished without a trace. Soon, I heard some disembodied voices off in the distance and I knew they had to be near the trail head.  I never located the people that belonged to those voices, but eventually the sun peeked through the clouds and I got a bright sun glare off of the windshield of a car driving by on the road above. I turned sharply that direction and climbed the giant sand dune, arriving at the parking lot only a few feet from the truck. A sigh of relief escaped my lips at that moment. I would probably turn down the cranberry tour in the future!

But when it was all said and done I had conquered enormous sand dunes, an enchanted forest, found the wet spot and tasted the berries! (oh that did not come out right)!

And after all that can you believe that the only photo of cranberries I got were those on the sandwich above? I cannot believe I forgot to get a photo of the berries and I know that doesn't help me out of this jam one bit. So, before this story gets out of hand with some of you.... please let me assure you, that while I am famous for double entendres, sexual innuendos and metaphors, I was only teasing with the playful wording of this story. Dunes are actually sand dunes, wet spot is actually a wet sandy soil, forest is truly a forest and berries are actually cranberries. FOR REAL, Ok?  And now....let the comments fly!

Ptown Womens Week 2012

So I got a little behind on the blog with some seriously long travel days my last week of freedom. I really want to go back and share with you some of the interesting adventures I had in Provincetown during Women's Week 2012. 

First of all on Monday October 8th, I set out to locate Michele and Johann, two of the loveliest women you will ever meet. I located them within minutes of beginning my search and we made plans to meet up the following morning and we had a wonderful few hours together talking over coffee.

Our story actually begins four or five years earlier when we met met in Ptown during women's week. Unfortunately, we never really got the chance to get to know one another (for whatever reason our stars did not align that year). That was the year Beverly and I missed our flight on account of my taking an extra five minutes to condition my hair. Hahahahahaha! I can't believe you remembered that.....we had all but forgotten that event. Anyway, I knew a sit down session was long overdue and was determined to meet up with Michele and Johann. I am so glad we finally got the opportunity to get to know one another this year ladies. Thank you for the memories, I know we will be in touch.

  Old Friends

Michele, Johann and Me

It seems to me that we always meet the people we are suppose to meet at precisely the right time in our lives when we are meant to meet them. I never question why but it always surprises me when the moments present themselves.

I met the next couple of ladies at the Beech Forest while feeding the birds on Sunday October 7th. I really never thought I would see them again, although I did get email contact info to send them photos I had snapped of them feeding the birds. The following morning I emailed the photos to them and to one other woman whose daughter I got a photo of feeding the birds as well. I never saw the lady or her daughter again during my visit. These two, on the other hand, just kept turning up everywhere. Yippee! My own personal stalkers. Right On!

New Friends

Me, Julia and Deb

On Monday night I was looking for something to do and with my lovely concierge (Bev) on the phone I was trying to decide on which event I wanted to see. Bev texted the evenings show list to me and I had settled on the theater to see a play, but finally decided on a walk instead. On a whim I popped into the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) store and had a look around when all of a sudden Julia entered....then Deb. I was delighted to see them because I really did want some company that night. We walked around briefly and I joined them for a wonderful dinner at Ross' Grill. After dinner we had a nice long walk down Commercial Street with Nyxy and then parted ways. The following morning they showed up at the coffee shop where I had met up with Michele and Johann. I tell ya, we were meant to be friends. You simply can't deny that three chance meetings in three days are the result of some divine meddling. I really did enjoy the short time we had together and I am sure we will keep in touch. I mean we have already spent enough time together to rent a U-Haul and move in together, haven't we? LOL! Thank you for making my trip that much brighter!

The Best Day of My Travels

The very best day of all of my travels was the day I spent with my Grammie at the Drake Well Museum in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The day after our visit to the museum, my grandmother said she was so excited the night before for my visit that she had a hard time falling to sleep. When she woke the next day she wondered had she imagined me or was I really there. So when I arrived again to see her she was just as tickled as she was the day before. We had a terrific lunch and a nice walk together before I left for home. I tell you it was very difficult to leave my grandmother. I thank my lucky stars for every moment I have ever shared with her.

Me and Grammie

Obviously, Route 8 south entering Titusville.

This was taken heading south down route 8, north of Titusville.

Guess what the weather was doing for my visit with my Grammie? If you guessed rain. You'd be a big winner!

The world's first oil well, the Drake Well where in 1859, reaching a depth of 69.5 feet, Edwin L. Drake struck oil in Titusville, Cherrytree Township, Venangoe County, Pennsylvania.

Grammie admiring the 1912 Hatfield Truck.

The Col. Drake Steam Pumper (1868) carried 700 foot of hose and pumped water 300 feet. This pumper, no. 283, was built by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, NH.

Metal stencils of the various petroleum refiners.

The incredibly rugged, 4-wheeel drive, 1947 Dodge Power Wagon was used to carry nitroglycerin to the oil fields, where "shooters" would lower the nitro-filled torpedoes down the wells. The explosion would fracture the sandstone and increase oil production. 

1927 GMC Big Brute Truck equipped with a 1917 Sanderson Cyclone Drilling Rig.

I woke to these leaves outside on the ground with morning dew.

Home Sweet Home!

I have so much to share with you all from this week. I have just arrived home safe, but probably not sound. I will blog about this weeks adventures after I have time to catch up with my wife, take a deep breath, get a good nights sleep and organize my thoughts...give me a couple days. Bev has made some wonderful dinner reservations at my favorite restaurant (Traders Point Creamery) for tomorrow evening and tickets to see Dance Kaleidoscope. What a wonderful welcome home!

Beech Forest, Provincetown

Had a great, but rainy day in Provincetown Sunday. I was in town on Commercial Street Saturday and thought it was a little too busy for my liking. I won't return again until after the holiday is over. I did have a very nice time at the Beech Forest yesterday afternoon, despite the rain. I got some wonderful photos to share with you. Enjoy.

White-Breasted Nuthatch (front).

 White-Breasted Nuthatch (back).

Red-Breasted Nuthatch.

Red-Breasted Nuthatch.

Cardinal (female).

Cardinal (male).

I really should have increased the shutter speed here... his beak is a little blurred. Can't win them all!

Eastern Towhee (male).

Downey Woodpecker (male).

This is what Wild Turkey looks like out of the bottle dear!

Red Squirrel.

Greedy little nut thief!

Eastern Gray Squirrel.

I never knew the red and the gray could exist in the same location. 

Took the next set of photos, with the cell phone with one hand metaphorically tied behind my back.

The Black-Capped Chickadee is so light it feels like a ping-pong ball on your hand.

They fly in and out by the dozens and often two at a time will land on your hand.

....and they just keep coming, one right after another.

The Tufted Titmouse finally gets the courage to stop by for a snack.

The Black-Capped Chickadee is very comfortable being hand fed,

North Truro, Massachusetts

So I got lost in Massachusetts yesterday in the early, early morning hours. The last time I pulled off the road along the highway around 2 a.m. a wonderfully kind police officer pulled in behind with his blueberries on. I had thought I was very near Providence, Rhode Island until the officer pointed out where I was, just to the  northwest of Boston. Not only did he get me going back in the right direction but he wrote out the exit numbers and the highway numbers, on my map, to get me to Ptown. Thank you officer!

I did not make it to Ptown that night though. I was so tired that at about 4:00 a.m. I stopped in Hyannis and took a three hour nap in a grocery store parking lot. The next morning I really wanted a shower, so I stopped at Nauset Beach and took a shower in the beach changing house. The shower was an outdoor shower, with four wood panels hung like a cheap tool shed (only a tool shed would have been nicer and provided more privacy), but was large enough for perhaps 20 women to hang towels and change clothes and it had an open roof, similar to a pergola. The shower was on a concrete slab and did not have any hot water. It was just one of those "rinse the salt water off you" showers, so it was ICE cold.....but I didn't care...I wanted showered so bad I even took the time to wash my hair under that icy, barely trickling, water spout. The difficult part was that not only was I freezing cold, standing outdoors on a concrete slab in the chilly morning air, but I also had to hold the water button the whole time in order for the water to work, which made getting the shampoo out of my hair interesting. Afterward, I drove across the parking lot to Nauset Lighthouse, to get this photo for you Mom.

 So I was going to stay the night at the campground in Provincetown, but their site's were seriously undersized and their prices were incredibly oversized and had absolutely nothing to offer me, so I drove back out to North Truro (8 miles away) and found a nice campground where I could have a cell phone signal and free WiFi....for ten dollars cheaper per night.  Ding ding ding.......we have a winner. And that is where I set up camp. The Tufted Titmouse above flew in for a short visit yesterday afternoon and I was able to get this shot. 

Tufted Titmouse.

Back on the Maine-Land

Hi guys! I'm back on the mainland in Maine. And darned my timing eh? Isn't it Women's Week in P-town? I will be heading to Provincetown. How could I pass that up? Sorry dear! Thank you all for your wonderful compliments on my photos. I just cannot believe that Nyxy wasn't a favorite!

Beverly, I know that every bird you see is a "Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker", but today I photographed one for real! Just for you!

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker.

Oh the joys of bird photography....always a leaf or a twig in the way somewhere. So, while these are less than  perfect bird photos, by my standards. It is what it is. 300 photos and the best of the batch have branches in front of the bird. The red chin indicates it is a male, a female Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker would have a white chin.

White-Throated Sparrow.

Just got lucky that after about two hundred attempted, out of zoom range, shots and an hour wait this White-Throated Sparrow, plopped down right in front of me.

Just for fun.

Can you find the bird in this photo? By the way, this was shot at 300mm, so the maximum range of my zoom lens.

How about now that I have circled him?

Zoomed in.

See those white streaks? Laughing to myself!

You just got a taste of what it is like shooting bird photography.

First you have to find them, which isn't easy even when they are right in front of you. Talk about intelligent design, eh? Then you have to photograph them so they are actually visible in the photo. It is a challenge, but can be truly rewarding when you finally get the shot. I never did get a great photo of this little wren. I think it may be a Marsh Wren...given his colors or perhaps even a Sedge Wren, but it could also be a Brown Creeper.

Brown Creeper.

SHROOM for just a few more pictures!

I love this shot although I probably appreciate it a whole lot more than you because I had to stick my face in the moss to get it!

This little mushroom made me think about that scene in Disney's Fantasia where the mushrooms dance.

Good Times:)

This makes me curious. 

Getting my face in the moss again.

Something has been nibbling on this one.

Ok-I'll stop there....so many photos, so little time.

Oh wait...just one more.

Off to P-town now!