Denise Goldberg's blog

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Oregon by time lapse

All I can say is wow! I saw this video on Google+ and I just had to share it.

From the authors at Uncage the Soul Video Production:


"Finding Oregon is the compilation of six months of timelapse photography across the state of Oregon, punctuated by a 1600 mile road trip in September. We've filmed the Columbia River Gorge, Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, the Southwestern Coast, the Alvord Desert, Leslie Gulch, Blue Mountains, Crater Lake, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Deschutes River, and more. We're proud to have touched all four corners of the state; however Oregon is the kind of place that the more you see, the more places there are to still discover."

Finding Oregon from Uncage the Soul Productions on Vimeo.

Watch in full screen mode by clicking the arrows symbol to the right of HD after the video starts playing.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Soon...

I feel like the days have been flying by. Soon I'll be on my way to the desert southwest, heading for not one but three favorite parks.

This magic sky above mountains is from last year's visit to Death Valley.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

A visiting weekend

The Thanksgiving holiday was a long weekend for visiting, for walking, for sharing.

trees, Valley Forge National Historic Park

It wasn't intended to be a photography weekend, but you know me - I did have a small camera with me. A few more photos can be found in the gallery Autumn 2011 starting with this photo and ending here.

Bailey posing

Have you ever lived with an animal who made you laugh?

This is Bailey. He is a character, a source of smiles, laughter, and love.

Bailey, at Valley Forge National Historic Park

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Water

I wonder if we'll find water in Death Valley this year. Denise said we were very lucky last year to see water in more than the usual wet spots, and a friend of hers saw almost no water on a visit to Death Valley just two weeks ago.

I know that Denise will be happy to wander there in any conditions, to see the wonders of the desert, salt flats, and sand. I'd love to see water again. I wonder...

--- Rover

water, Death Valley National Park

Thursday, November 24, 2011

One more week

I'm still looking through photos of our previous desert southwest wanders to make sure that Denise has all of my favorite spots on our list of places to bounce through. Last year was the first time we visited Spring Mountain Ranch. It's kind of funny - it's a Nevada State Park, but it's on land that belongs to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The loop road and trails in Red Rock Canyon are definite wander spots for us, but I think I'd like to stop by Spring Mountain Ranch too. I really liked the way the light reflected in this pond.

It's a good thing that Denise is letting me help plan our wanders, isn't it?

--- Rover

reflecting sky, Spring Mountain Ranch

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Wild winds

The flight from Manchester (NH) to Philadelphia is usually much calmer (than today's flight). We were delayed for a half an hour this morning waiting for ice pellets to clear the area. Then a short wait for de-icing, and we were off. The plane lifted off, and then...

The winds were wild! It felt like we were being tossed all over the sky. It was a time of non-level flight, wings dipping, plane bouncing. As we climbed higher we found quiet(er) air for most of the flight. The bouncing returned a couple of times, smoothing out after a bit.

It's been quite a while since I've been on a flight this wild; in fact, I think this one was the wildest.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Dreaming forward

It seems like the days are flying by; our wander out west is coming soon!

I decided it would be fun to go through some of the photos from our previous trips to the same parks. This is a favorite from our very first visit to Valley of Fire State Park. I know Denise wants to go back to this spot; I do too! It's near the end (or I guess the beginning if we hiked the trail in the opposite direction) of a loop trail. We could do an out-and-back walk to find this spot, but I think I'll convince Denise that we need to walk the full loop.

--- Rover

dreaming of Valley of Fire

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Parker River afternoon

What a beautiful day! The temperatures warmed into the low 60s by late morning, a treat for a November day. It felt like a good day for a walk by the ocean.

Today's destination was the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. I stopped at a few inland spots first, then headed to the beach. Low tide was at 12:33 PM, and that's when I started heading south along a rather slanted beach. I spent a good two hours walking, listening to the quiet sound of the waves, watching the birds, soaking up the warmth.

grasses and water, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

reflecting sky, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

More photos from today can be viewed in the gallery Parker River wonders - 2011 starting with this photo and ending here.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

River sunset

sunset over the Merrimack River

A quick Maudslay visit

Hmm... I clearly need to start remembering that the sun sets earlier now!

It was a day for a mid-afternoon was Maudslay State Park. Knowing that daylight was limited, I did an out-and-back walk, not wanting to get caught in the woods by darkness.

reflections, Maudslay State Park

a tree without leaves, Maudslay State Park

A few more photos from today can be viewed in the gallery Wandering Maudslay State Park - 2011 starting with this photo and ending here.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

A walk in the rain

The hardest thing about going for a walk in the rain is opening the door and stepping outside.

I'm glad I convinced myself open the door tonight. My walk was decorated by the quiet sound of falling rain.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Warmth in November

Crisp temperatures in the morning warmed into the low 60s by early afternoon. It was a good day for wandering outside in very light layers, a good day for walking, a good day for riding.

Warmth... nice!

through the branches

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Following the sun

Today was a gift from the weather wizard, a November day with temperatures in the 50s. Tomorrow promises to be a repeat too!

Afternoon came, and I headed for Odiorne Point State Park along the New Hampshire coast. It has a mix of inland trails and coastal walks along rocky beaches, a good place to wander. I started on the inland side, following a paved trail, then heading back through the woods with occasional "beach" stops to check the light on the water.

Finished, I was heading south towards home when I caught a glimpse of the light at Jenness State Beach. It was low tide, and the sun setting in the west was casting pink light over both the sand and the sea as I looked to the east. Yes, of course I stopped for a beach walk!

Odiorne Point, water, reflection

Jenness State Beach, sunset

More photos from today can be found in the gallery Along the New Hampshire coast - 2011 starting with this photo and ending here.

Opening, exploding

milkweed seed pod, opening

milkweed seed pod, exploding

Friday, November 11, 2011

Waiting for December travel

Did you see that today is a funny date? It's the 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year. Hmm... maybe I should be writing this at 11:11 AM instead of now. I don't want to wait, so...

Wow! We're a third of the way through November, and Denise and I are going wandering out west in early December. That's not too far away now. There are three parks on our list - Death Valley National Park, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, and Valley of Fire State Park. Denise was thinking she should find someplace new to visit, but early December is a funny between seasons time at some of the other places she was considering. I told her it's a good thing to go back to these three beautiful places. I really like bouncing in these parks, and I know they all have lots of interesting scenery to exercise Denise's camera. And oh! the desert scenery will be so different from Acadia!

I found a different kind of place for us to visit too, a building. Denise really likes wandering outside, but I was wandering a bit on her computer and I found a really funny looking building that I want to see. When I stuck a photo in front of Denise she said she wants to see it too. The building looks kind of squooshed, doesn't it? That's not a drawing, it's a real photograph!

I'm so glad we're going to be traveling again soon!

--- Rover

Lou Ruvo Brain Center, photo courtesy of KIRK GITTINGS
Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas.
Photo courtesy of Kirk Gittings, as published on wikipedia

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Half power

Now that was odd!

At about 8 tonight the power went out. All I could think was not again. I was upstairs in the dark. I looked out of my front windows, and I could see that the lights on the outside of the buildings that are always on at night were out. But it was odd - there were lights coming from some of my neighbor's houses. Hmm...

I turned to head downstairs and realized that the lights were on on the first floor but not on the second. OK, that's flat out weird. I headed outside, standing in the rain comparing notes with my neighbors. A couple of people had full power, but most of us had half power. I've never seen that before. I called the power company, making sure to talk with a person instead of leaving an outage report on the automated system. I wanted to make sure it was an outside power issue as opposed to an inside issue. I was assured that there were power outages in my area, and that it wasn't abnormal to have some power. I settled in to wait.

At 10:30 the house went completely black. Oops! Just as I picked up the phone to call National Grid again, the power popped back on - all of it. Phew!

Rain

Today's forecast called for heavy rain. The morning was dry with a soft light rain starting around noon, a good day for a mid-day walking break. Walking in light rain was much better than walking in the later in the day heavy downpour.

fallen leaves, brilliant colors

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Groundcover in orange

...from the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park

color, on Cadillac Mountain

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

So dark

Last night darkness had already descended by the time I left the office. Tonight I left a little earlier, while there was still an edge of glowing light in the west. By the time I arrived home and headed out for my evening walk, it was very dark out.

I walk wearing blinking lights, lights that allow me to be seen. I let my eyes adjust to the dark; for the most part walking in the dark works quite well. The not so well part? I walk in neighborhoods that don't wear street lights. In many places there is enough light coming from the houses to light the road, but in others it is very dark. I only walked into one pile of downed branches from our late October storm tonight, stopping before I did more than brush the wood. Oops!

Turning the clocks back an hour is very noticeable in the first days after the time change. I know I'll become accustomed to starting my late day walks in the dark, hopefully within the next couple of days. Dark...

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Cattails & ocean waves

Walking by the ocean jumped to the top of my things to do today. I headed to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge early in the afternoon, targeting my arrival to coincide with low tide.

I started on the inland marsh side of the refuge. Cattails gone to seed were spreading fluff through the air, browns and reds of autumn were everywhere. Moving to the ocean side, the wind was ruffling sea gull's feathers, ocean waves were crashing on the beach. Listen...

cattails gone to seed

beach, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

More photos from today can be viewed in the gallery Parker River wonders - 2011 starting with this photo and ending here.

Photos, Acadia

Photos from my too-quick weekend visit to Acadia National Park are available for viewing in the gallery October, Acadia. Enjoy!

October, Acadia

Interested in words? You can find my ramblings in my blog entries tagged Acadia 2011-10.

Saturday, November 05, 2011

Rocky Schoodic

Acadia's Schoodic Peninsula has become my favorite part of the park. It's on the mainland, the next peninsula to the east.

puddles, rocks, and trees, on the Schoodic Peninsula

A walk in the woods

It was a lazing around home kind of day. I thought about driving to the coast, but somehow walking close to home appealed more than driving.

The air was crisp, the sky bright blue, the ground dry. It was a good day for a walk in the woods.

bright yellow leaves against a clear blue sky

A few more photos from today's wander can be seen in the gallery Autumn 2011 starting with this photo and ending here.

Subtle colors

The colors were somewhat muted but still representative of autumn. This photo was partway up Cadillac Mountain, looking to the west on the late side of afternoon.

muted colors as viewed from Cadillac Mountain, looking to the west

Friday, November 04, 2011

Peeling

White birch, curling, peeling bark...

white birch, curling, peeling bark

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

October snow

The snow that fell Saturday night was heavy and wet, coating everything with a blanket of white (about 4 inches deep). As I looked out of my back door early in the morning I could see trees wearing white. As the sun rose higher, the coating of snow on the ground began to melt.

Later in the day I headed out to see trees with broken branches, still wearing green leaves, twined with power lines.

trees coated in snow, a winter wonderland in October

branches wearing green leaves, broken, twined with downed power lines

It's hard to believe these two photos are from the same day, isn't it?