on the coast

Today's coastal destination was Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, NH. Although the sun was hiding behind clouds the color of the grass was bright, standing out from the gray of sand and rocks.

afternoon light

A wander at Maudslay State Park this afternoon was enhanced by unseasonal warmth.

The play of light in the clouds was wonderful.

a patch of blue

Clouds decorate most of the sky, allowing a patch of blue to peek through.

top photos :: 2022

It's that time of year, the time when I wander through the photos that I've published during 2022 to find my favorites. It's always an interesting exercise, one that takes time and changes day-to-day until I have made my final choices.

From the beginning of the year, here are my selections.

perched

butterfly at rest

curved

summer coneflower

love lock

on a fence

dahlia

wearing pink

tiger swallowtail

feeding on a butterfly bush

patterns

sand, sea, and clouds

bright

a dahlia in autumn

along Ocean Path

in Acadia National Park

chrysanthemums

in the Lyman Conservatory at Smith College

under a cloudy sky

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge beach, at low tide

mirrored clouds

at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

These photos are collected into the gallery top photos :: 2022. If you'd like to see larger versions of the photos or you would like to view them as a full screen slideshow, click here to jump to the gallery, then press the triangle-shaped button at the top.

mirrored

Clouds reflect on wet sand as the tide flows out.

While I considered returning to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge today, the air temperature is so cold that I think I will wait for a day or so. This photo is from last Sunday's low tide walk on the beach at Parker River.

after the storm

After the rain stopped I headed outside to enjoy the last of the unseasonal warmth.

As I looked to the sky a beautiful rainbow appeared.

gray

The sky is wearing gray, perhaps a warning of tomorrow's predicted wind and rain.

The pond is wearing ice, a sign of the season.

approaching low tide

I arrived at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge yesterday about an hour before low tide. That's a magical time for a walk on the beach, a time to absorb the beauty around me.

bright

As I wandered through Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory I stopped often, looking at butterflies in flight and butterflies at rest. While I would love to capture a moving butterfly with my camera I need to settle for those who have halted their movement for a second.

I watched bright orange Julia butterflies flitting about; I was rewarded when two decided to rest on a red and yellow hibiscus.

posed

A tiger longwing butterfly sits still for a moment, posed for a portrait.

first snow

The first snow of the season fell yesterday. Only an inch fell but the temperature is cold enough that the snow remains on the ground. Ponds in the area are starting to freeze too.

The snow and ice makes me believe that winter is here.

watching

Seagulls lined the pier in Newburyport's Cashman Park. They all faced to the west, watching the Merrimack River.

river walk

This afternoon I walked along the Merrimack River in Newburyport.

The air was cool and the wind was steady. The river reflected the blue of the sky.

a butterfly visit

Today felt like a good day to visit butterflies.

My destination for the day was Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in South Deerfield, MA. I arrived at 10:15 after close to a 2-hour drive to find that I was the first visitor of the day. The only other people with the butterflies for the first hour I was there were staff members. It was amazing to have the place to myself!

I always enjoy spending time with the butterflies.

across the Merrimack

The river was calm, creating a reflection of the opposite shore in the late afternoon light.

by the sea

Low tide and the timing of the predicted rain worked in my favor today. I headed to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, arriving a bit over an hour before the 10:30am low tide and several hours before rain was forecast to arrive.

I found that I had the beach almost to myself; I shared it with some sea gulls, no other humans. The sand, smoothed by the ocean, was a wonderful walking surface. The ocean provided a song to walk by, and other than some sprinkles I managed to stay dry.

late day light

Late day light can be magic.

As the sun dropped lower in the sky it highlighted a fallen oak leaf.

a recipe search

Earlier this week I went searching for a (new to me) recipe for red lentil carrot soup. I found several, settling on a recipe from The Herbeevore, Red Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk Recipe (Vegetarian, High Fiber).

I almost followed the recipe. I didn't use the specified coconut oil, doubled the carrots, skipped the parsley, and added a can of chick peas. The coconut milk is added at the very end. I tasted the soup before and after the addition. It was good without the coconut milk but so much better with it.

I'm so glad I found this recipe!

photo courtesy of The Herbeevore

If you'd like to try it, click to the recipe.

skim ice

Cold temperatures are feeding the growth of skim ice on the surface of ponds.

across the river

A brisk wind made the air feel colder as I walked along the Merrimack River this afternoon.

spoon bloom

It was amazing to see so many different types of chrysanthemums at the fall mum show at Smith College.

This one is a spoon bloom. Its petals have little curls that open up to look like a spoon.

bittersweet

I'm loving that search engines support searches based on photos. I've always seen these bright red berries surrounded by an orange-yellow cover but I never knew the name.

This plant wears the name bittersweet.

first frost

When I woke up this morning the temperature was in the mid-20s, with the ground decorated by the first frost of the season.

While most leaves are now wearing shades of brown I found a lone leaf in red as I walked in the woods this afternoon.

photos! fall mum show at Smith College

I always enjoy visiting the greenhouses at Smith College. This time I was enchanted by the chrysanthemums that were displayed in the 2022 Fall Mum Show.

Many of the flowers wear bright summer colors while others show the muted color of autumn.

Click to view photos in the gallery chrysanthemums at Smith College :: 2022.

chrysanthemum in pink

A wander through the fall mum show at Smith College yesterday allowed me to enjoy a sea of flowers. It's amazing how many different flowers wear the same name.

photos! Acadia

Wandering in Acadia National Park last week was wonderful. The park was quiet; while there were other people in the park I had a lot of alone time to absorb the beauty around me.

Photos can be seen in the gallery late autumn, Acadia.

warmth and wind

Today the air was warm; tomorrow the air will return to the feel of autumn.

As the tide flowed out I headed to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge for a walk on the smooth sand. The ocean waves provided a soothing background sound.

a house for birds

As I wandered on the outskirts of Bar Harbor I discovered some wonderful birdhouses. This was my favorite.

along Ocean Path trail

There was time for one more walk in Acadia before heading home today.

We started at Sand Beach, then walked the Ocean Path trail to Otter Point before we reversed direction. Oh! Denise walked and I bounced!

The sky was very blue again today. Even though Denise likes cloudy days for photos I know she enjoyed the very reasonable walking weather that we had for our wanders.

--- Rover

around Jordan Pond

Denise and I walked in a couple of different places today. For our middle walk we followed the trail around Jordan Pond. We've walked that before but it was long enough ago that there were some changes - or maybe I should say there were a couple of sections that seemed new to me!

The beginning of our walk was on a fairly flat trail through the woods. Next was a rocky section where Denise really had to watch where she put her feet. It was easier for me to bounce on the stable but angled rocks than it was for her to walk. Before we were back on what I would consider a normal trail surface there was a very long section of boardwalk. The boardwalk consisted of two flattened sections from what looked like logs (the top was flat but the bottome was kind of curved) with occasional additional space to allow people to pass. The surface was flat but we didn't want to fall from the boardwalk - we would have been wet and muddy then.

Even with the changing walking surface it is a beautiful trail.

--- Rover

isolated color

Patches of isolated color continue to delight me as I wander through lowland areas of Acadia National Park.

There are leaves wearing yellow and rust as well as the bright green of evergreen trees.

a carriage road loop

It was early in the afternoon when we got back from the Schoodic Peninsula. We had plenty of time for another walk.

I wasn't sure where we were headed until Denise turned off on Duck Brook Road. She said she wanted to walk the Witch Hole Pond carriage road loop but she couldn't remember the name of the road to take. She thought it was right after the Eagle Lake parking area so she just took the next road. Luckily that was the right choice.

The carriage roads are peaceful places to walk, wide paths used by both walkers and bikers. We were mostly by ourselves today - we saw two pairs of bikers and several other people and dogs walking.

When we finished our loop we walked down Duck Brook Road a bit so Denise could capture the view with her camera.

--- Rover

view from Duck Brook Road

to Schoodic

Since we spent a lot of time in the car yesterday I wondered if we would stay in the part of the park that lives on Mount Desert Island. Nope! Denise really wanted to spend some time on the Schoodic Peninsula so we jumped back on the road this morning to drive an hour further up the coast.

Schoodic is rocky with big slabs of stone tipped at different angles. And there are places where water gathers in pools. It's interesting looking at the different patterns created by the rocks and water.

I really like bouncing between the rocks. Denise is more careful, making sure she has good stable rock under her feet.

--- Rover

heading to Acadia

Wow, it's been a long time since I've helped Denise with her blog. In case you don't remember me... I'm Rover, a little red dog who travels with Denise. I like to play with words so while she captures photos I find words to use to share our travels.

Today we drove to the north and east for miles and miles, heading to Acadia National Park. It's hard to believe that the last time we visited was before Covid, back in October of 2019. That's three years, quite a difference from our previous twice a year visits.

Oh! I found a picture of me from that last visit so I'm going to include it here.

Once we arrived in the park we headed out to walk along the rocky coastline. It's beautiful here!

--- Rover

rusty

Leaves still remaining on trees have turned a rusty color, a sign of late autumn.

Dale's dogs

Twenty of Dale Rogers' big dogs are installed in an exhibit on Haverhill Common this weekend.

I visited the dogs early this morning.

If you're interested in seeing more of his work click to the site at dale rogers studio.

after the rain

When the rain stopped falling this afternoon I headed to Pomps Pond for a walk in the woods.

The pond was still; it provided a good surface for reflections.

maple leaves

Maple leaves wearing a pale orange color float above a pond in Harold Parker State Forest.

yellow

Yellow flowers decorate a late season garden.