Denise Goldberg's blog

Sunday, October 29, 2017

gray

As I drove to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon rain was falling. I planned to walk on the beach before my visitor center shift and while I had a rain jacket with me I was hoping for a somewhat dry walk. As I got closer to the coast the rain got lighter and then stopped. Perfect!

When I started down the boardwalk from parking lot 3 I could already hear the sounds of the ocean. Low tide had just passed leaving firm sand that was perfect for walking.

low tide at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

Saturday, October 28, 2017

inflatable objects

I feel lucky that I receive (and read!) daily newsletters from both the Boston Globe and WBUR, the NPR station affiliated with Boston University. One of the emails this week introduced an exhibit at one of BU's art galleries. (The Boston Globe article is available here.)

Yesterday I headed to Boston to visit the exhibit.

Claire Ashley: (((CRZ.F.4NRS.AAK)))

Claire Ashley’s large-scale inflatable objects combine painting, sculpture, installation, and performance to defy a singular definition. The coded title of the exhibition translates to “Crazy Female Foreigners Alive and Kicking” referencing Ashley’s Scottish nationality and alluding to the instability of global politics, and the temporal existence of her sculptures inhabiting and moving through space.

from the exhibit announcement, Claire Ashley: (((CRZ.F.4NRS.AAK)))

Most of the sculptures were large but there were a few small pieces too. I enjoyed walking through the artist's wonderful creations.

(((CRZ.F.4NRS.AAK)))

(((CRZ.F.4NRS.AAK)))

More of Claire Ashley's creations can be seen in the gallery capturing (((CRZ.F.4NRS.AAK))).

Better yet, if you're in the Boston area I highly recommend visiting the exhibit. It's at 808 Gallery at BU through December 3, 2017.

Friday, October 27, 2017

after sunset

Sunset seekers on Cadillac Mountain tend to gather at the Blue Hill overlook (just below the summit) to watch the sun sink into the sea. I chose to stay at the top of the mountain, looking away from the setting sun to see the color change at the edge of the sea.

from Cadillac Mountain, just after sunset

Thursday, October 26, 2017

painted water

The water of this small pond is painted with the reflecting colors of autumn leaves.

evergreens against painted waters

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

photos! Acadia

Photos from my recent wander in Acadia National Park are available for viewing in two galleries, one containing images from the park and the other focused on outside-of-the-park coastal locations.

Start your viewing by clicking to the top level gallery Acadia :: October 2017 or by clicking on one of the photos below to go to a specific gallery.

autumn, Acadia

at the top of Cadillac Mountain, at sunset

a swath of coastal Maine

Stonington harbor

Monday, October 23, 2017

late color and fog

Before the fog cleared this morning I headed to the Harold Parker State Forest for a walk in the woods. Trees are still wearing color here although I suspect it's close to or just past peak.

late color at Harold Parker State Forest

Saturday, October 21, 2017

lift span placed

The structural steel span that will serve as the lift section for the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge was floated in and installed last Wednesday. As installed it weighs approximately 3 million pounds. Once it is completed - with a paved road surface and railroad tracks down the center - the span will weigh approximately 4 million pounds or 2000 tons.

Channel Closure Scheduled to Begin October 17th

Beginning on Tuesday morning the navigational channel will be closed to all vessels - from kayaks to tankers - within a 300-yard radius of the bridge. The nearly 3 million pound center lift span will be floated in on barges across the Piscataqua River between 10:00 a.m. and noon and positioned for the float in.

On Wednesday morning, between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. the rising tide will lift the span to clear the bearings. Between 9:00 a.m. and noon the lift span will be put into position over the bearings. At 1:45 p.m. the outgoing tide will lower the lift span onto the bearings. Once resting on the bearings, the barge will be pushed to the state pier. Adequate clearance to remove the barge from under the lift span should occur at approximately 3:45 p.m.

published on the Sarah Mildred Long (SML) Bridge Replacement project web page

I find the method of span placement to be fascinating. And I'm amazed at the minds that have the capacity to design a structure like this one.

The Coast Guard has closed the Piscataqua River around the bridge until 6 AM on October 27th. I assume that's the time that is needed to connect the lift span to the pulley system on the towers that will raise and lower the bridge.

While I wasn't there for the float in I felt a need to see the bridge in progress. Today was a good day for a Portsmouth visit and bridge sighting! I'm lucky that the Memorial Bridge includes sidewalks; it was a good place to stand for an unobstructed view of the new bridge.

Sarah Mildred Long Bridge with lift span placed
Looking inland, the lift span is currently sitting at the level of the railroad tracks.
The green bridge in the background is the I-95 bridge.


Sarah Mildred Long Bridge with lift span placed
It's a little easier to see the lift span when looking to the sea.

If you're interested in seeing some photos of the lift span placement, take a look at the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge Replacement Project Facebook page.

Friday, October 20, 2017

by the sea

The Schoodic Peninsula is one of my favorite places in Acadia National Park. I love walking over the tilted rocks at the tip of the peninsula. It's also a peaceful spot to sit by the sea, to watch and listen to the ocean waves.

at the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula

Thursday, October 19, 2017

home again

A walk along Ocean Path this morning provided a good ending to our Acadia visit. The sun was very glary, both in the sky and as a reflection on the ocean. Even though Denise likes cloudy days I thought the brightness of the sun was pretty amazing.

Now that we're home it's time for Denise to sort through the photos from this short trip. That should be fun!

--- Rover
leaves along Ocean Path, Acadia National Park

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

from the top

Cadillac Mountain called to me at the end of the day. I headed up for a summit walk and a chance to enjoy subtle colors on the horizon.

from the top of Cadillac Mountain

to Schoodic

After a good breakfast we headed to the piece of Acadia National Park that lives on the Schoodic Peninsula. To get there from Bar Harbor we turned inland, crossing the bridge from Mt. Desert Island and eventually heading to the east. It took a bit over an hour to get to the entry point of the park at Schoodic. It's well worth the drive, especially since it is Denise's favorite part of the park.

We walked over the tilted rocks, stepping carefully and not going too close to the edge. We even sat a bit and watched the waves, listening to the sound of the ocean.

The air warmed up while we were there, back to T-shirt weather. That was really nice. One of these days the temperature is going to drop and stay cold, but for now I'm enjoying the warmer than fall days!

--- Rover
waves at the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

late light

As the sun was setting today I walked along Bar Harbor's Shore Path. The play of light on the water was very peaceful.

late day light, from the Shore Path in Bar Harbor, Maine

short wanders

Today was a day of short wanders. We were always in motion but we didn't hike any long trails. I don't think I can even list all of the places we wandered today. I think we spent most of the time following interesting colors.

It was a good day even with the cold start. I think the temperature moved into the 40s pretty quickly but it took quite a few hours to move to 50. Denise said that she was wearing the right layers to be comfortable.

We started the day with a quick trip to the Asticou Azalea Garden. There were some trees wearing color but I think it was more muted than when we visited last fall. After that quick out-of-the-park visit we headed into Acadia National Park to wander along Park Loop Road. We stopped whenever something looked interesting to Denise, sometimes doing a short hike, sometimes staying pretty close to our stopping point. There were places where colors were reflecting in water. I always like looking at the patterns in the reflections.

Our last stop of the day was at Jordon Pond. I don't know how Denise grabbed this photo without people in it - there were more people than I thought I'd see there. We did manage to find some quiet space though.

It was another good day.

--- Rover
autumn color on Jordan Pond

brrr!

It was 34 degrees when we woke up this morning. Now it is a chilly 32 degrees, right at the freezing point. I wonder how long it will take to warm into the forecast low 50s.

Denise is wearing layers, and Blue and I found a cozy cubbyhole in Denise's new camera bag so we can stay warm. I plan to bounce along some trails today but I'm going to wait until it gets warmer. I'll stay inside until then - I just need to figure out how to peak out to see where we are wandering.

--- Rover
Rover & Blue in Denise's camera bag

Monday, October 16, 2017

driving & stopping

I feel like we were in the car for a long time today. Luckily Denise didn't get tired of driving!

We visited a friend in Yarmouth, Maine last night so we were a little closer to our destination than we would have been from home. We drove on the highway at the beginning but we jumped onto smaller roads that headed towards the coast just after we hit Augusta. We wanted to see the colors and Denise wanted to be able to stop to look around.

There were places where the colors appeared to be at peak and others where the leaves were already gone. And some trees were still wearing a lot of green. Hmm...

We stopped at the Penobscot Narrows Bridge for a bit. That didn't surprise me since Denise always seems to be fascinated by bridges. This one is a narrow (only two lanes wide) cable-stayed bridge; it's very pretty. (Oh! is that an OK word to use to describe a bridge?)

Next we decided to visit Stonington. It's on Deer Isle at the tip of the peninsula between Bucksport and Ellsworth. The coast of Maine is very jagged and the roads aren't too straight. It seemed like it took a long time to get to Stonington - probably because of the windy and narrow roads - but I think it was worth the drive. Walking around the town along the edge of the harbor was fun.

After our walk we continued on to Bar Harbor. Evin greeted us when we arrived at the Holland Inn, our home away from home for the next few days.

--- Rover

boats in Stonington Harbor

Sunday, October 15, 2017

a flower and a bee

Yesterday afternoon I headed to the Stevens-Coolidge Place to enjoy the flowers still in bloom. I suspect we're getting close to the "no more outside flowers" season; I'm always happy to see floral color.

There were still a few butterflies and bees enjoying the flowers.

a bee and an anemone
a bee enjoying a pink anemone

Saturday, October 14, 2017

practice

Oh! it's been a while since I've written. I think I'd better write one blog entry as practice since I promised Denise I would write the blog entries while we travel so she can focus on photos.

I was just going to start bugging Denise about planning a trip to Acadia National Park when she told me we are going to be traveling there soon. I just checked the long-term forecast for Bar Harbor. It looks like it will be cooler than home with fall-like temperatures and sunshine. I know Denise would like some clouds. I wonder if the weather wizard pays any attention to requests from little red dogs. Oh, probably not! I can hope though.

I'm hoping to see some fall colors and I think Denise is too.

Maine foliage map

I went looking for a foliage report and found Maine's Official Fall Foliage Website. The area along the coast is shown as having moderate color. The words next to the map say: "Central and coastal Maine (zones 1, 2 and 3) are at 50 percent color change." I think that should be good.

As always, I'm looking forward to bouncing through Acadia!

--- Rover
Rover, on the boardwalk on Jesup Path
on the Jesup Path boardwalk, from our visit last fall

Friday, October 13, 2017

review :: Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20L

Was it fate that I received an email from SmugMug (the home of my photo galleries) with an offer for 20% off of gear from Peak Design? I had been thinking about my need for a smaller backpack to carry my photo gear and a look at the Peak Design web site told me it might be time.

My (existing) camera pack was still in good shape but it was much larger than I need for my everyday wanders. The old pack has a 37 L capacity; my new bag has a 20 L capacity. That was shocking at first glance, but when I looked at the difference between the size of the dSLR and lenses that I used to carry and the size of my Fuji X-T1 with lenses it's pretty obvious that smaller is more than acceptable.

I used the information on the Peak Design web site as a starting point, then I found a video that a photographer I respect published about the 20L version of the Everyday Backpack. Watching solidified my decision and I ordered the bag.

I've had my Everyday Backpack 20L for a bit over a week now; I've already used it for 4 or 5 photo wanders. The bag is comfortable and has plenty of space to carry camera, lenses, water bottle, extra layers, whatever I need for comfortable wandering.

Camera gear is loaded from either side of the pack and is easily accessible by wearing a single shoulder strap and swinging the bag around. Three included FlexFold Dividers can be configured to provide either two or three slots for camera gear; so far using 2 slots has been enough for camera and extra lenses. With either configuration there is still enough room in the top of the bag to carry extra layers and gear as needed.

The one thing that concerned me was the presence of a waist belt as opposed to a padded hip belt. As it turns out the waist belt works quite well, allowing me to transfer weight from the shoulder straps. So far the lack of padding isn't a problem.

I suspect there will be days when I use my larger bag but I also believe this one will quickly become my "go to" bag.

The Everyday Backpack has a minimalist look while providing needed functionality. I like it!

Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20L

If you have a need for a bag like this and would like more information, take a look at the Peak Design Everyday Backpack product page and the support video Everyday Backpack Tips, Features, and Functions.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

quiet

As I walked in the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge I spent some time watching a flock of Canada goose in the water. Quiet water and a quiet bird created a perfect reflection.

reflection, Canada goose

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

on the dike

In honor of National Wildlife Refuge Week the dike between the North Pool Overlook and parking lot 4 is open for walking this week at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. It's an area of the refuge that can be experienced if you opt to take a "behind the scenes" tour; other than that it is usually off limits.

After my time volunteering at the visitor center yesterday afternoon I headed into the refuge to walk the dike. It was a beautiful afternoon and a wonderful almost solo walk. I walked, I stood and watched birds, I absorbed the beauty around me.

on the dike, at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

on the dike, at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

Monday, October 09, 2017

color in oak leaves

I don't remember seeing so many oak leaves painted in beautiful colors before. I remember green fading directly to brown; I'm happy to change that memory this season.

oak leaves

Sunday, October 08, 2017

soaked!

I headed out for a long (exercise) walk this morning under cloudy skies. With a temperature in the low 70s I wore summer weight clothes, no rain gear.

The light got progressively darker, and then the rain started. The rain was light at the start, then heavy. I was soaked by the time I finished but with summer-like temperatures I was quite warm. My shoes are stuffed with crumbled newspaper to speed up the drying process.

In spite of the wet it was a very good walk!

autumn leaves

Saturday, October 07, 2017

peaceful

Inland waters are calm, creating a flat surface that reflects a subtle cloud cover.

coastal waters near Rye Harbor

Friday, October 06, 2017

sea gull standing

The sky was gray, and intermittent light rain was falling. It was a good day for me to walk along the coast, and a good day for this sea gull to stand on the edge of a boat and look around.

sea gull standing

Thursday, October 05, 2017

changing leaves

Today was a good day for a walk in the woods, a search for autumn color. Pops of orange and red stood out from the still predominantly green leaves.

autumn leaves

Wednesday, October 04, 2017

chasing butterflies

Wednesday morning is volunteer time at the Stevens-Coolidge Place. As we worked in the gardens I took a break periodically to watch the butterflies. Even as the flowers fade, the butterflies remain attracted to the zinnias, stopping to feed, flitting off again, always moving quickly.

I returned this afternoon to wander through the flowers, standing still to watch the butterflies. I attempted to capture butterflies with my camera whenever one of these beautiful creatures decided to pose for me.

monarch butterfly
Monarch butterfly perched on a zinnia

Tuesday, October 03, 2017

red

It's another sign of autumn, a bright red splash of color against still-green leaves.

red berries

Monday, October 02, 2017

mixed seasons

A walk at Maudslay State Park this afternoon highlighted mixed seasons.

Bright pink dahlias are still in bloom in one of the gardens. The flowers feel like summer, yet some of the leaves on the trees have started to change into their autumn clothes.

dahlias

a leaf wearing autumn color