curled

While most leaves are on the ground there are still a few holding on to branches, curled and dry.

wild wind

It was a warm day for the end of November with temperatures reaching close to 60 degrees. The warmth was tempered by wind gusting to 32 mile per hour. As I walked in Maudslay State Park this afternoon the wind picked up leaves from the ground and threw them into the air.

Most of the branches are bare; a few wore berries in bright red.

watching

This sea gull was standing, watching, making sure no one approached his spot.

in Prescott Park, Portsmouth, NH

blue and white

Inland waters near the edge of Odiorne Point State Park provided a perfect canvas for reflections, a painting in blue and white.

lift span raised

The the lift span of the still under construction Sarah Mildred Long Bridge is in place and tested. The span currently sits in the open position, probably to avoid the need to staff the bridge before it opens to traffic.

waves

Yesterday felt like a good day for a walk on the beach. I headed to Reid State Park in Georgetown, Maine for a bit of a wander.

As soon as I arrived I heard the sound of the waves. It's always good to walk by the ocean.

bright

A bright pink bougainvillea brings a touch of color on this gray and rainy day.

return to The Point

My last visit to check the murals of The Point in Salem was in late September. I chose not to visit in October since Salem with its history of witchcraft really gears up for Halloween. With today's (relative) November warmth it was time for a walk among the murals. During my last visit I saw murals in progress; today I saw the finished art.

I was fascinated by the change in the mural titled "The Lovechild 2017" by Chor Boogie. Only the top of the mural was in progress when I saw it in September. The full mural is fascinating!

More photos from today's visit are in the gallery walls and water :: Salem, MA starting with this photo and ending here.

flipped seasons

I was delighted to see blueberries at Whole Foods this week. It's well past the blueberry season here - these fresh beauties come from Peru. They were grown by Talsa, a family-owned company in the Trujillo valley of Peru.

Talsa’s new exciting blueberry project, which is the result of Rafael Quevedo's vision, will have over 1,000 hectares of blueberries that will reach maturity during the next few years and will make Talsa and Peru one of the largest blueberry producers in the world. from the Talsa page of the Gold Cup Fresh website

The taste? wonderful!

chrysanthemums

Longwood Gardens is a place that I always enjoy visiting.

Last week's visit allowed me to experience the Chrysanthemum Festival. The exhibit includes 13 mum classifications; the variety is simply amazing.

More photos from this visit can be seen in the gallery Longwood Gardens :: 2017 starting with this photo and ending here.

lines of light

Thursday's walk was graced with changing light. Sun sneaking through the clouds created patterns both in the sky and on the ground.

mirrored

Calm inland waters provided a canvas for reflections, creating a mirrored image.

on Peirce Island, Portsmouth, NH

changing sky

It was a good morning for a walk at the Valley Forge National Historical Park.

The sky was pure blue when I started with an occasional puff of a white cloud decorating the blue. As I walked the inner loop of the Joseph Plumb Martin trail the steady wind blew dark gray clouds in, obscuring the sun. A few raindrops fell.

As I was driving back, a band of heavy rain appeared. It disappeared quickly, leaving the sky blue again.

to Longwood Gardens

Today was a good day to visit Longwood Gardens.

It's close to the end of the Chrysanthemum Festival, providing a chance to see many different varieties of these beautiful flowers. Some I easily recognize but there are others that I wouldn't recognize without seeing the signs and exhibit details.

impressionist painting

A lone autumn-colored tree in a sea of evergreens creates a reflection that reminds me of an impressionist painting.

a pop of rust

A broadleaf tree wears rust-colored leaves, standing out against a line of evergreens.

delicate

While most of the flowers that caught my eye during yesterday's greenhouse visit were orchids, there were a few other flowers blooming. I was attracted by the delicacy of this one.

in a greenhouse

Today felt like a good day for a visit to the Lyman Estate Greenhouses.

I found color in the petals of many varieties of orchids. This one is wearing a combination of browns and purples. It is both complex and beautiful.

underground at Ink Block

In early September an article in the Boston Globe titled Boston gets an artsy new public space in a former no-man’s land caught my eye. When I saw that the space included murals I knew I needed to visit.

Once you make that crossing, you’ll find a ribbon of colors painted on the sidewalk. Follow it, and you’ll wind up in a world of green trees, brown boardwalks, and soaring, swooping, concrete — the underside of that massive highway and its onramps, whirring with traffic. from the Boston Globe article

Yesterday I headed into Boston to experience the new park. I traveled by commuter rail and subway, then asked my cell phone for walking directions to the park. I was very happy to be walking, not constrained by or confined in a vehicle. Once I arrived at the space under the highway I walked through the space, following the lines painted on the sidewalk.

It's worth a visit if you're in the area. Information is available at undergroundinkblock.com.

If you're interested, more photos are in this gallery.

quiet

While the ocean was wild, the inland waters in Portsmouth were quiet.

from the bridge to Peirce Island, Portsmouth, NH

wild water

High tide along the New Hampshire coast this afternoon was higher than I remember seeing it before. When I got close to Hampton Beach on route 101 I saw houses surrounded by water. I headed north on route 1A following the coast. There were places where the road was wet from waves crashing over the sea wall. Beaches were very narrow and the waves were wild.

I feel lucky that I was able to experiences the wild conditions today. I wasn't alone; there were others walking the narrow beaches and there were surfers in the water. The ocean was simply amazing!

oak leaves in red

Many trees are wearing bare branches. Leaves had started falling prior to Sunday night's storm, and the crazy wind increased the rate of fall.

Oak trees seem to hold on to their leaves longer than other varieties. I was delighted to see oak leaves in red on my visit to Harold Parker State Forest.

warmth

The air warmed into the 70s by afternoon. It felt like a perfect day for a walk in the woods so I headed to Maudslay State Park.

The sky was blue when I started. I walked, noticing as time progressed that the level of light dropped and the sky was repainted in shades of gray. As I cut through a lightly traveled path near the end of my walk I started to hear scurrying noises. Apparently the squirrels and chipmunks saw my presence as a human incursion; they quickly ran to the trees to climb out of reach.

I was lucky; the rain waited until I was driving home to start falling.

80 hours

Sunday night's storm threw quite a punch at New England. High winds and rain enveloped the region, and while many trees had already dropped their leaves there were still many that were fully dressed and targets for the wind. The power (at my house) flipped off and back on twice before disappearing for good at 3AM Monday morning.

The first two days I ventured out on foot only, no driving. There were trees down, some blocking streets, some sitting on top of cars or houses. There were neighborhoods without power sitting next to houses wearing lights. I watched the National Grid web site in an attempt to get a hint as to how long the power would be out. The first prediction I saw said that they expected 100% restoration by 11:45 PM on November 2nd. Yesterday that changed to noon on November 3rd, then changed back to the previous prediction. I kept my fingers crossed, hoping.

I was quite happy to get an email from the YMCA Tuesday night saying that their power had been restored and that they would reopen Wednesday morning. My first stop of the day on Wednesday was the Y - not to exercise but to get a hot shower. That felt good!

Classes at the Y filled my morning today. After finishing up I grabbed a shower then headed home to check the power situation. I was very happy to find that my power was back.

As of 6PM, National Grid has restored 98% of Massachusetts customers who lost power as a result of Sunday's high winds. Over 800 crews are working around the clock to restore service to the remaining 4K customers without power. The damage from this severe storm has been one of the most disruptive in recent history, challenging our restoration efforts and the patience of our customers. There were many cases of downed trees – not just limbs – causing broken poles and downed wires. Reconstruction work continues, along with the labor-intensive process of cleaning up tree damage, setting new poles, and repairing wires down. from National Grid's Outage Central page

80 hours without power was an eye-opener - I keep thinking about the people in Puerto Rico who have been in an untenable situation for the past six weeks and who likely have many months to go before things return to normal.

There were places to go to sit in warmth and share stories with others. Local libraries were available for sitting, reading, charging electronics as were other community centers.

Having no power makes life challenging. I'm very glad it's back.

after the storm, in Harold Parker State Forest