I am thrilled with this photo even if it is not the "best" hummingbird photo it is by far my best. And I have tried a lot. It is handheld at 1/1000 at 5.6 and 110mm with an ISO of 400. It is, of course, a juvenile (I think, contrasty head with throat and slightly shorter bill) Ruby-throated. Anyway, it is my best.
"I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved." Matthew 5:18 NLT
Waves hit the rocks at Seawall in Acadia National Park.
Among the beauty of the farms and the people of this part of Pennsylvania you occasionally get a view that enhances both.
The World finals for 2016 were held in Ames, Iowa at the basketball arena at Iowa State. Our grandson's team was here to complete and they took third place in their division. This is from the opening ceremony. 21,000 kids make a lot of noise! What a treat for us to see it all.
These vibrant yarns are at the weaving house at Colonial Williamsburg. They are produced with natural dyes from roots, fruits, flowers, seeds etc. It took several years for an apprentice to become a qualified dyer and four additional years with a different master to learn how to dye greens. A PhD in green, who knew.
Loved the color and the texture of these ferns. They were just a bit outside the park on a cliff over looking the ocean.
Sorry for the inside joke that only two people will understand.
This is a really nice easy walk along an inlet and out to the ocean near Southwest Harbor on Mt. Dessert Island. This is a part of the Acadia National Park but on the "quiet side" of the island.
The vistas and mountains are awe inspiring but there are really neat things to see in the details. I have no idea what kind of mushroom this is or if it would be good on pizza, but it looked like a glaze was applied to it and it simply shown on the trail among the greens.
This light was installed in 1724 in the Old North Church. There was quite a kerfuffle because the people did not think it was appropriate to celebrate Christmas but the man who paid for the two lights had them illuminated anyway and they have been used every since.
Bass Harbor lighthouse has been photographed a lot. Morning, evening, night and even, like this, in the middle of the day. It is actually a small house but since it clings to the rock and you can shoot from the rocks below it looks taller than it actually is. In the evening the rocks are swarming with people, tripods and every kind of camera you can imagine. They start gathering well before sunset and I just was not up to another two hour effort so, here we are in the afternoon. And it was pleasant.
I find this perennial pond that sits on the apex of Mt. Champlain highly interesting. It has expanded over the years and the foliage has grown up around the edge. We climbed up the Precipice Trail, a rather vertical 1100 foot climb that has lots of iron hand rails and ladders.
The Modern Bakery and Mikes Pastry compete with each other on opposite sides of the street in Boston's North End. We choose sides and were not disappointed, course pastry for lunch is never a bad thing.
This modest home in the Brookline area of Boston. JFK was born in 1917 in the upstairs room on the right side of the house. The tour is ranger guided and was well done. There is a small gift shop in the basement but there is no parking. We parked on the street but the signs said "resident only." We and the two people in the rental honda were not ticketed but we were in and out pretty quick.
Nice to be back in Acadia National Park. Feels like home.
Found this guy, what is left, on a ledge beside the ocean. Not sure if it was a cooked one that a gull stole or if after time it just turned red. It was in an area that few people would see or go.
...on the crest of a mountain in Zion National Park.
"For the lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens." Psalm 113:4 NLT
Never more true than the iconic Washington Monument. I am reading a fascinating book, "Washington's Immortals." It is about the regiment of Continental troops from Maryland that saved the army from destruction in August of 1776 and then continued in key battles of the Revolution where their valor and courage earned them the "Immortal 400" name. It is sort of like a Band of Brothers for the Revolutionary War. Doing this trek has opened ups lots on new interesting stories: Wright Brothers, Gen. Clark, Washington and two Civil War books so far.
This home was once called the Lee-Custis house and was associated with both the Washington and the Lee families. It is quite a history. The grave in the foreground is John F Kennedy's with the eternal flame behind it. The flag is at half-mast because it is the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11.
The striking building the center is the new Museum of African American History. It is scheduled to open this week. The building is very distinct from the other massive granite and marble structures on the Mall.
This is a different view than I shared in the old blog of a Snowy Owl I photographed two years ago at Chincoteaque. Stunning bird.
