Denise Goldberg's blog

Thursday, April 30, 2015

hanging out

This cat insisted on posing for a photo.

He lives outside, swaying in the wind, smiling through good and bad weather.

hanging out

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

patterns

I found it interesting to find flipped and almost reflecting patterns in the clouds and the lines of the shore.

lines mirrored
along the coast in Odiorne Point State Park, Rye, NH

Monday, April 27, 2015

a carpet of flowers

Tiny flowers, known as glory-of-the-snow, form a carpet of purple.

a carpet of flowers

Sunday, April 26, 2015

to the sea

It was a day for a calming walk by the sea.

I headed to the New Hampshire coast without a specific stopping point, knowing (hoping!) that something interesting would catch my eye. I hopped out of the car at Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, NH, choosing to walk a loop starting along the coast and following an inland trail to return. The trails in the park are easy walking, the coastline not so much.

I wanted to get close to the tide pools which meant traversing the very loose rounded rocks along the coast. It was close to low tide when I arrived, slippery seaweed exposed. I walked across still brown sea grass and onto what appeared to be dry mud flats. I hoped the dried mud was in a state to hold a human walking. I was very lucky that it was; I had images of sinking up to my ankles in mud!

It was a wonderful day to walk along the coast. As I looked to the east and south I saw blue sky decorated with white clouds. Later interesting patterns of gray emerged, especially as I looked inland. I love the combination of an interesting sky and coastal scenery.

tide pools, at Odiorne Point State Park

More photos from today can be seen in the gallery New Hampshire coast 2015 starting with this photo and ending here.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

before the leaves

It's late April, just over a month since the spring equinox. Trees are just starting to show a blush of color, flowers before leaves, a celebration of spring.

before the leaves emerge

Friday, April 24, 2015

flurries

What's that I see? Snow?

As I neared the end of my drive to work this morning I started to see bits of white hitting the windshield. A few snow flurries were decorating the air.

The forecast for today is for early spring temperatures topping out in the low 50s.
No snow!


No, I wasn't imagining snow. Take a look at the Boston Globe (online) article:

You call this springtime? Yes, it snowed this morning in Boston

national weather service snow flurries map

Thursday, April 23, 2015

rabbit rabbit

I was delighted when this rabbit agreed to pose for my camera.

rabbit sitting, watching

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

magnolia, open

Spring has been slow to paint the landscape with color this year, making the emerging flowers especially precious.

A magnolia reaches toward late afternoon light showing shades of pink.

magnolia open, reaching for the light

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

watching

A cat sits safe at home, watching...

watching

Sunday, April 19, 2015

colors emerge

It's a month past the spring equinox; plants are waking up, starting to show their colors. This afternoon I saw a single forsythia wearing yellow and one magnolia tree wearing bright pink. Other plants of the same varieties are still wearing bare branches.

I was happy that a few plants decided to share bright colors today.

early forsythia blooms

Saturday, April 18, 2015

a wander at Maudslay

It was a sunny day, a day of wind, blue skies, and a temperature that brought a hint of spring.

I headed to Maudslay State Park for a walk in the woods with a hope of seeing flowers. It's still early in the season but I did find color adorning the ground. Some of the tiny flowers of early spring were flourishing, daffodils were in bloom, and skunk cabbage was showing (new) bright green leaves.

glory-of-the-snow, a splash of purple

The trails were dry, sometimes surrounded by patches of very wet ground. I managed to keep my feet out of the muddy spots, watching the ground as I walked at the same time that I was watching for pops of color.

More photos from today's wander can be seen in the gallery Maudslay State Park - 2015.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

snowdrops

Here's a spring flower wearing a winter name, snowdrops...

I don't remember noticing these beautiful spring flowers before last year. How could I have missed them?

snowdrops, a welcome sign of spring

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

focused flight

This bee knew exactly where to find pollen. The early spring bloom of a crocus is a good target for his focused flight.

focused flight

Sunday, April 12, 2015

tiny flowers

My morning walk destination was The Stevens-Coolidge Place. I headed there with crocus on my mind; I was rewarded by seeing crocus popping out of a grassy field.

Today's flowers were all small, wearing purple, white, and a bit of blue. I was happy to see crocus, snowdrops, and glory-of-the-snow.

crocus wearing stripes of purple and white

It's probably a good thing that I was the only person visiting the flowers (for quite a while) since I spent a bit of time on hands and knees to place my camera in line with the crocus. By the time I left my knees were quite wet and wearing a few streaks of mud!

Saturday, April 11, 2015

to Halibut Point

With the temperature edging into the 50s and the wind howling my thoughts turned to finding a good walking destination for today. We're coming into mud season; I wanted a place that didn't involve traipsing down wet and muddy trails.

My choice? I headed to Halibut Point State Park in Rockport for a circle around the quarry and a walk on the rocks by the sea. The wind was so strong that it was hard to stay upright at times. Luckily the inland part of the park was a little calmer.

I don't know why I was surprised when I found the water in the quarry was still wearing a coat of snow and ice.

ice slowly melting

The gallery Halibut Point - 2015 is the home of more photos from today's visit.

Friday, April 10, 2015

yellow

It's chilly outside, rainy too. Even with the cool temperature the water in the air is a good sign of spring. It's crocus season!

crocus in yellow

Wednesday, April 08, 2015

stacked

On a small rocky outcropping just south of Odiorne Point (on the New Hampshire coast) I found stacks of rocks placed by humans. I wonder how long the sea will allow these to stay in place.

stacked

Tuesday, April 07, 2015

dreaming

It's time to dream of traveling. Denise has a long weekend visit to Acadia planned early in May but she hasn't made any plans for any further away destinations. I guess I need to start looking into interesting destinations and leaving the information showing on her computer. What do you think? Would that help her decide?

As always I'm looking forward to wandering in Acadia. That's one of Denise's favorite places, and it's turned into one of mine too. I do hope that there is enough warmish weather between now and when we head out to uncover the ground in the park.

As of April 2: All areas of the park are covered in heavy snow and unusual amounts of ice. Most areas of the park are inaccessible for this reason. Please use extreme caution while traveling in this area.

from the Acadia National Park Current Conditions page

If there is still snow remaining we'll just have to think hard about where in the park we can (and should) wander. Funny, I think Denise would like to visit the park in the winter sometime; I wonder if we'll see winter in the spring?

--- Rover

dreaming of travel!

Monday, April 06, 2015

in the window

I love the animals who live in the window at Canine Cupboard in Portsmouth, NH.

in the window, at Canine Cupboard

Sunday, April 05, 2015

slow melt

Today was a bit calmer than yesterday with a matching temperature and slightly less wind. It felt like a good day for a walk along the coast.

I headed to New Hampshire, stopping just south of Odiorne Point to walk on both the ocean and the inland side of the road. Although most of the snow is gone there are still swaths of white under trees and along the edge of the road, with ice continuing to cover the edges of (inland) pools of water.

melting slowly...

Saturday, April 04, 2015

emerging

The temperature is chilly and the wind is howling.
There is bare ground showing in places, light blankets of snow in others.

Today I enjoyed a delight of spring... crocus emerging, coloring the landscape.

crocus, the tiny flowers of early spring

Thursday, April 02, 2015

amazing journey

It was April 1st when I read an article in the Boston Globe about a tiny bird called a blackpoll warbler. At first I wondered if the article was an April Fool's joke; finding a research submission told me that it wasn't.

Tiny blackpoll warblers make mind-boggling migration

For decades, it’s been the stuff of birding legend: Each fall, fist-sized songbirds called blackpoll warblers leave the spruce forests of New England and eastern Canada and fly south across the open ocean toward South America.

Now, improbable though it seems, the rumors have been proven true. A research team led by an ecologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst outfitted five birds with tiny geolocator backpacks and found that each completed the incredible journey, flying up to 1,721 miles in one go.

from the Boston Globe story, written by Carolyn Y. Johnson

I find it amazing that these tiny birds leave from New England and eastern Canada and fly to South America without stopping.

Curious? There is quite a bit of information in the Globe article; it's well worth reading.


Wednesday, April 01, 2015

waiting for spring flowers

It seems to be my focus lately... I'm waiting for spring flowers!

Here are some bright daffodils from an inside garden, a bit of color for today.

daffodils wearing yellow