boston public library

Boston Public library

- established in 1848, it was the first publicly supported city library in the country.

The Copley Square location opened in 1858

 - designed to be a "palace for the people"

I often hear people say that libraries are obsolete

- yeah - they should really come here for a visit

because this library is alive and well

- and while I've been borrowing e-books for several years

this was the first time I actually stepped inside this location

which I'll admit - my first thought upon entering was "huh?"...

but this is not your library of yesteryear

ummmm - sorry - I seem to have a thing for reflections, lately

- kind of like two photos in one - or something like that

and never fear

- you can still find real books, here

Back out front, I stopped to snap these statues

and was photobombed by this dapper gentleman

(love it when that happens!)

So anyway - this was my first real experience with "street photography"

I learned a lot - and have a lot to learn

but as far as lunch breaks go - this definitely sets off the fun-o-meter

- and I'll be back - because, well, exploring Boston is a bit like

awe inspiring...

I'm joining Tom for Tuesday's Treasures

because the BPL is truly one of Boston's treasures

Do you enjoy visiting your local library?

Thanks for dropping in!

photo challenge week #5 - door(s)

"Library doors are a gateway to anywhere."

Boston Public Library - Copley Square

Yeah - so - this challenge had me stumped

doors - everywhere - mostly nondescript...

Then I happened upon the quote above

- and because - well - I can spend hours in a library - exploring

I knew what I needed to do -

Another lunchtime walk to Copley Square,

watching as people entered this majestic gateway to anywhere...

"I always felt if I can get to a library, I'll be OK." Maya Angelou

Next week - from a low angle

Other than home - what are your favorite door(s) to walk through? -
(real or metaphorically)

Canon EOS REBEL T3i

EF-S18-55 f3.5-5.6 IS II

35 mm 1/100 sec at f/4.5

Thanks for dropping in!

happy thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving preparations are well underway
as I look forward to hosting my family, this year.

Earlier this week while walking to my office
- and mentally making a shopping list

I noticed a splash of red - hanging on late in the season
grocery list can wait...

I pause for a moment at the dog park
- city dogs need a fenced-in area to run around in

And back to thanksgiving preparations
I reflect on the many things that I am grateful for

I would like to give a heartfelt thank you to
Theresa - aka TexWis Girl
not only for hosting Good Fences for the past few years,
but for gathering a warm and friendly group of bloggers,
- many of whom I think of as friends

Theresa - I will miss your insight and wit
you never failed to put a smile on my face
I wish you all the best!

And for everyone else - a very happy thanksgiving!
(whether you celebrate or not - because, feeling thankful is always a good thing...)

I'm joining TexWis for one last Good Fences

day tripping - saratoga springs

A couple of weekends ago,

Greg and I, along with our friend, decided a little exploring was in order.

Destination - Saratoga Springs

Where there truly are mineral springs - many of them

This area was sacred ground to Native Americans of the Iroquois Nation
known as "Medicine Spring of the Great Spirit"
In the 1800's visitors flocked to area resorts to "take the cure"

New York, later declared 800 acres as state reservation
 - creating Saratoga Spa State Park

 

And - after tasting the water for myself,

I decided that before drinking anymore,

I pretty much needed some kind of guarantee that this was the fountain of youth...

But Greg was enjoying it - (I'll be looking for signs of - you know - youthfulness)

Sunlight playing through the arcade - part of the Hall of Springs

As Greg and Bonnie explored, I was taking my own little photo walk.

The park also has a performing arts center
- ballet -

- and music -

And then - heading into town,

Well, Golly

Batman,

so many fun shops to poke around in

- not to mention a fantastic chocolate shop 

where I bought a waffle cone full of some kind of awesome deliciousness

No photos - I ummmm - didn't want it to melt

To make up for it - I give you this rusty metal pig

- which is way more cool to look at, anyway

And that wraps up our day trip to Saratoga Springs -

but I definitely recommend checking it out for yourself

and I'm not kidding about that chocolate shop - I kind of want to go back - right now...

I am joining Tom for Tuesday's Treasures
and Lady Fi for Our World Tuesday

Have a wonderful thanksgiving!

photo challenge week #4 - from a high angle

morning at Away

my favorite time - relaxed, quiet

enjoying a cup of coffee and reading about lines,

setting my book down and head up to the loft with my camera

time for practice...

Meanwhile - morning sun streams through the living room slider
- Greg, deep in thought - concentrating, learning 

relaxed in his "Vermont comfy clothes"
I'm certain he hears my camera clicking from some far away place - background noise

he'll soon be out puttering in the yard - busy with this or that

but for now, it's that perfect, peaceful slice of time
mornings in Vermont

Next week - Door(s)

I've decided to switch my photo challenge posts from Monday to Sunday
 - blogger's prerogative :-)

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Canon EOS REBEL T3i

EF50mm f/1.8 II

50 mm 1/40 sec at f/3.2

vermont - quiet time

It's the quiet time of year in Vermont
foliage is past its peak and ski season, not yet in full swing
while I enjoy both foliage and skiing,
I enjoy this most

more scenes from the train station in North Bennington

and daughter Laura, clowning around with my new bff

later - entering my favorite book store

- once again, noticing this fence across the street

I wonder why I have never stopped to take photos

without the usual crowds in Manchester Center

I'm free to wander with my camera

Can you believe it's mid-November - already?
 time to think about turkey dinners, family gatherings, tractor parades...
and being thankful for all we have - and don't have
and for me, quiet weekends in Vermont

Have a wonderful weekend!

photo challenge week #3 - the color red

One of my mostest favoritest colors!

as it turns out - red is everywhere
and my real challenge wasn't finding something red to take a photo of
but finding something red that spoke to me

So - back in Vermont - out for a country ramble,
I see this guy standing at the train station
- North Bennington, Vermont
and I tell Greg I need to take his photo

Clicking away, with the station as my backdrop,
I hear a train coming down the tracks
I could not have timed this if I had tried...
:-)
- which feels a little bit like cheating - but not really

So, I think this might actually be self-portrait #2
- I mean, like it or not - I am this guy
and all I can think is - look up, buddy - enjoy the moment!
 but there he stands - at the station - waiting...

Next up - From a High Angle
???????

Happy Monday!!

Canon EOS Rebel T3i

EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II (kit lens)

1/60 sec at f/6.3 37mm

mountain air

For those who remember me from before my long blogging break,

you may have noticed a lack of posts from Vermont

It's been a busy couple of months

 - and our trips to Away have been sporadic at best.

So last weekend as we crossed the border into the Green Mountain State

it felt like - ahhhhhhhhh - mountain air!

our hectic week at work was left behind

and Saturday morning, with no real plans

we set off for the old Grandma Moses homestead

which is actually across the border in New York

yeah, well, I didn't say this was going to be about Vermont...

home of artist Will Moses - and the Mt. Nebo Gallery
- beautiful farmland and rustic fences

- I'm counting at least four in the photo below

(to make up for last week - my lame fence segment and dock railing - with is kind of like a fence)

and here's a familiar face - one of the cats from the Vermont Catamount Prowl

- we first stumbled upon this (and posted about), back in 2013

"The Spirit of Vermont" by Will Moses

and a good reminder for this Veteran's Day weekend

to be thankful for all the sacrifices they have made for our country!
(the Veterans, that is - not the cats - but cats are cool, too)

We're headed back to Away this weekend

- two in a row - yippee!

Enjoy your weekend!

I'm joining TexWis for Good Fences
- and Tom for the Barn Collective

photo challenge week #2 - clouds

a girl, a camera, and a lunch break

Copley Square - Boston, Massachusetts

The cue this week is clouds

easy, peasy - right? - I see them almost every day
 - which made me think - hmmm - I see them almost every day
if an interesting cloud formation doesn't present itself,
what can I do that is - well, kinda, sorta different?

about a 15 minute walk from my office, the John Hancock Tower is all mirrored glass

(except it's not called that anymore - but I still do)

why do they keep renaming landmarks? It's confusing...

standing across the street from the tower, I caught the clouds reflecting off the glass
- with my 50mm, which I knew was the wrong lens for tight city spaces,
but stubbornly took it with me anyway - I'm oddly attached to this lens...

Oh, and then I googled the John Hancock tower to find out its new name
- and my computer filled with images of reflected clouds
- some from very cool perspectives, making me wonder - why didn't I think of that?
so much for different...
and, who even cares what the new name is? argh!

anyway - this was such a fun place to take photos
this girl and her camera - will be back!

On deck - the color RED - yippee! one of my favorite colors! hmmmm
Have a great day!

Canon EOS REBEL T3i

EF50mm f/1.8 II

1/200 sec at f/8.0

sunday sunrise

Parker River - Newbury, Massachusetts

So - after scouting sunrise locations on Saturday,

I checked my weather app - no rain, and sunrise at 7:16 am

Me: Sunrise tomorrow is at 7:16 - that's not too bad

Greg: Cool, have fun

Me: What? You're not coming? But you were up at 6 this morning

Greg: Okay, well - maybe

Me: I need you to make the coffee, because, you know - I have to get dressed

(guys don't have to get dressed - right?)

Anyway - we got the details all squared away (no arm twisting involved)

and at 6:30 am we set out - hot coffee in hand :-)

and as it turns out

there's a lot more to taking photos at sunrise than scouting locations at the wrong time of day

and showing up at the right time...

- yeah - I really should have known that...

- as we watched the sky brighten and turn pink on the horizon

the sun rose behind us - hidden by trees

but the blues and pinks were so pretty, anyway

and the reflections on the river...

and after packing up - I walked across the bridge to the other side of the river

and found where the sun was rising...

live and learn

This weekend, we "fall back"
making sunrise around 6:15 (or something ridiculous like that)
so, I'll probably not repeat this exercise for a while
in the meantime, I'll do a little studying

Have a great weekend - and for those of you in the USA
- enjoy that extra hour!

scouting for a sunrise

I've been seeing some awesome sunrise photos, lately

- kind of making me want to give it a try

-should I ever decide to get up early enough -

on the weekend, that is

because on weekdays, I'm sitting on the train sleepily sipping coffee
before the sun makes its appearance

- but well - weekends are for beauty sleep

- which somehow sounds a little better than "just being lazy"

but I digress...

So - last Saturday, Greg and I decided to scout possible sunrise locations

because if I'm getting up early on a weekend, I'm sure not wasting time driving around...

The area where we live is full of salt marshes

- and shoreline

which I rather like - a lot

Normally I prefer sharp photos - but for this one, I purposely reduced the clarity

The boats, on this rainy day, felt sort of dreamlike in all that hazy blue

And - all good explorations should be rewarded with a good meal

(or so I tell myself)

- which we found in the beautiful town of Newburyport

On another note - I quite by accident learned that I have a new skill
Apparently, I can stand on a moving subway and type comments on my iPhone without holding on
#MadLifeSkills #OldDogLearnsNewTrick

sunrise adventure - to be continued

I'm joining Theresa for Good Fences

have a great day!