dreamy

A flower of summer, a dream of sorts...

purple beauty

A flash of purple caught my eye as I walked through the garden this afternoon.

rabbit rabbit

I caught a glimpse of a turkey mom and babies as I stood near the window on the second floor of my house. I grabbed a camera and snuck around the back of the building, hoping to grab a photo. The turkeys moved much too fast for me but this little rabbit was kind enough to pose for me.

opening soon

Most of the spring flowers have dropped their petals; summer flowers will be opening soon.

twisted

The flowers of the poppies are long gone but the stems still stand and twist, highlighted by the purple flowers that have popped up in the background.

beach day!

The southern end of Hampton Beach was a good spot for a wander on the beach last Friday afternoon. There were people playing in the sand and in the (cold) water, with plenty of open space remaining for walking.

pink

The bright pink petals of a wild rose pop on a summer morning.

back to the beach

In spite of heavy rain this morning I headed back to Hampton Beach to see the finished sand sculptures. I'm glad I was able to see the remarkably detailed sculpting that went into the finished creations.

It was a wander with raincoat and umbrella morning, with the added challenge of balancing umbrella and camera.

My favorite sculpture was Justin Gordon's BFF's :), a sculpture of an ogre and his best friend, a tiny kitten.

The photos of the finished sculptures can be found in the gallery created in sand. Work in progress (as of Friday afternoon) is shown first, followed by images of the afternoon's peaceful sea, and then today's rainy day captures of the completed sculptures.

garden morning

Morning, it was time for a walk in the garden.

I found flowers in a state of transition, the garden inhabitants changing from spring to summer blooms.

Japanese iris, also known as iris ensata, blooms from late June into July

afternoon light

The ocean glistens in wonderful afternoon light.

created in sand

I'm so in awe of the artists who participate in the Hampton Beach Sand Sculpture Event. Seeing the work in progress is something that I enjoy so late this morning it was time to head to the coast.

Here's one of the artists hard at work:

sculpture by Carl Jara

The level of detail that can be sculpted in sand is quite surprising.

As is typical for me my eye was caught by just a few of the artists at work. Some of their emerging creations in sand can be seen in the gallery created in sand.

after the flower

Poppies are beautiful during their short blooming season. I find the remnants beautiful too, the star that's left after the petals fall is simply amazing.

painted

When I look at these beautiful flowers I always imagine a small creature painting the inside of each blossom.

flowers wearing the name digitalis, also known as foxglove

from a bridge

Looking inland from the the bridge to Peirce Island I can see houses lining the water and people playing in boats.

roses

Light dances through roses, creating a bit of magic.

product review :: Lenstag

I recently discovered Lenstag, a free service that protects camera gear and images. I registered my camera and lenses, using my cell phone to take photos of the serial numbers (which is one of the methods of completing the registration of your gear). As noted on the site, it took a few days for my gear to be marked as verified.

Lenstag is a security blanket for my camera gear. It won't prevent theft but it does identify the gear as mine; in the event that it is stolen it gives me a way to flag it. I know, flagging gear as stolen doesn't mean it will be recovered but I suspect that the more people use this service the more protection will be provided.

According to the Lenstag web site the gear rental companies BorrowLenses and LensRentals both register their gear with Lenstag. That feels like a pretty solid recommendation to me.

posing

A cormorant, posing...

an illusion

I was standing on the rocks above the water. There was some standing water on the rocks, a straight-down drop, and then the surface of the water in the quarry.

When I look at this photo I can almost see a flat line of water; in actuality the two pieces of water are not connected.

at Halibut Point State Park, Rockport, MA

a field of lupine

Lupine in white pop against a background of colors.

still thinking

Hmm... it's June; I really thought that Denise would have settled on some wandering spots for this year by now. I'm sure we'll head back to Acadia sometime in the fall but we need a longer escape to someplace far from home too.

I heard Denise talking with a friend about (maybe) visiting Badlands National Park in South Dakota. I've never been to that state and Badlands is supposed to be beautiful so I hope we go there.

I was sitting with her when she started looking at places in Quebec and in Atlantic Canada. And then sometimes she looks across the big water to the east. It seems like there are places floating in her mind but she just hasn't made a decision (or plans!).

I wonder... maybe this year we will travel without making plans ahead of time. Do you think that would work?

--- Rover

Rover, standing on the rocks lining the coast in Acadia National Park

tiny

Gardens show off flowers of all sizes. The larger blooms jump out but sometimes the smaller ones require a second closer look. Tiny flowers can be quite exquisite.

This set of flowers needed a "sitting on the ground" photo.

garden walk

I was delighted with the splash of color I saw when I arrived at the gardens of the Stevens-Coolidge Place this morning. I am so lucky to be within walking distance of this beautiful garden.

The predominant flowers in bloom are iris and peonies.

An iris dressed in purple and white is a form of pure beauty.

stop 2 :: Halibut Point

Continuing east (and a bit north) from my first stop of the day at Long Hill, I headed to Rockport and Halibut Point State Park. It's a state park that is jointly managed by the state park system and by Trustees of Reservations which owns an adjoining 54-acre piece of land.

During my last visit in April the quarry was still wearing ice; today it was clear water decorated with birds.

It was a good day to circle the quarry and to hop across the rocks at the coast.

More photos from today's visit can be seen in the gallery Halibut Point - 2015 starting with this photo and ending here.

stop 1 :: Long Hill

Today was a two-stop wander. From home I headed a bit south and to the east. My first stop of the wander was at Long Hill, a Trustees of Reservations property that highlights beautiful estate gardens. I was last there just two weeks ago, deciding then that I needed more than a single visit during the prime blooming season of May and June.

I found beautiful gardens graced by different flowers than those I saw two weeks ago.

More photos from today's wander can be seen in the gallery Long Hill - 2015 starting with this photo and ending here.

shades of purple

Lupine wearing shades of purple shine in late day light.

raindrops on roses

Raindrops on wild roses add a highlight to the bright pink petals.

lines

The flowering season of a poppy seems to be quite short. After the flowers drop the stems create patterns of lines.