Canoeing

At 5:00 this morning the temperature was 35 degrees, and I was concerned for the flat of tomato plants on the deck. By the time we went out in the canoe it was in the upper fifties, and much more June-like.

This part of the lake is a small shallow cove, which contains a few large boulders similar to those found in the woods, thanks to the most recent glacier to pass through the neighborhood. Several of the rocks support dwarf trees or blueberry bushes. The largest of the boulders has split into several sections, and I assume that eventually the winter ice will break them apart into smaller boulders.

Last fall I photographed reflections of the colorful foliage in this area. Reflections of the green spring leaves are interesting as well.

Since the cove is shallow, warm, and fairly stagnant, it is usually filled with blooms of algae. These colonies are filled with air bubbles, and resemble the ice that forms here before the lake gets covered with snow. This morning in the cove we saw large and tiny fish, some sunning turtles, a gigantic snapping turtle lurking on the bottom, and an otter scampering along the shoreline. When it is warm, mosquitoes and deerflies are abundant here as well.

Portsmouth NH on Mothers' Day

I enjoy walking around Portsmouth's waterfront neighborhoods in the spring. Many small, beautifully landscaped yards display colorful flowering trees, bushes, and perennial plantings. The new, short-lived blossoms contrast with the brick and multi-hundred year-old buildings that dominate the area. The colors appear and fade away within a couple of weeks, but those weeks are spectacular.

More Fort Stark

Here are a few more images from the Fort Stark walk.

Fort Stark Easter

We took a little hike around Fort Stark Sunday. The tide was out, and there were a lot of interesting things to observe and photograph.

April 23

Those aren't really snowflakes. They are time - release water capsules.

Boston April 19

We had a very enjoyable day in Boston today. It was cold and drizzly, but I managed to take a couple of photographs along Newbury Street. We certainly weren't shopping there, just visiting a photography gallery. Anyway, I liked the top of the Prudential Building looming over the other one, and the flowering tree framed by the staging seemed to represent nature trying to survive in the urban environment.

Mud Season

I went outside with my camera to see if there was something pretty to photograph. I quickly changed the criteria to "something interesting" since mud season doesn't reveal very much pretty around here. I did find an ice baby, a mud cloud in a puddle, some newborn daffodils, a representative section of the driveway, and some enjoyable designs in the melting snow. The pretty stuff will appear soon.