Pretty in pink

Unfurling

A little bit of macro play

Sunshine, comfortable temperatures, light wind...

Walking with a macro lens is always an interesting exercise. A tripod (which of course I wasn't carrying) would have helped in some ways, but I think it still would have been difficult to grab shots of the low-to-the-ground wildflowers. Let's see, flowers are moving in the wind, photographer swaying. Oops! A bit of a blur! As always it was fun playing, and I did end up with a couple of shots that I like.

Falling, flowing water

Today was another gift from the weather wizard, summer in April. I thought about driving to the coast, but then I decided to let my bicycle wheels follow roads closer to home. I stopped to watch the water jumping over the Lawrence Dam on the Merrimack River, happily exercising my camera.

And what luck! As I was snapping away, two men walking across the bridge stopped to chat, to share the wonder of the flowing water. I didn't know, but now I do... they told me that it there is a path that leads under the bridge, allowing visual access to the water falling over the dam. Of course that's where I headed next! Across the road, through an industrial area, and on to a park and a path next to the river. Hmmm... the path ends too soon. But look! I can walk across some dirt, and I'm standing under the bridge at the base of the dam, watching the water fall.

Click to see more of the images that jumped into my camera today at Lawrence Dam.

A bike-triggered light

Hey! The new bicycle-activated lights really do work.

I just missed the light to turn onto route 125 as I was heading home from my ride this afternoon. I was alone in the road at a newly installed traffic light. I rolled to a stop right over the cyclist symbol in the road. The light changed! Awesome...

It's so nice to see that these new symbols are not placebos.

Packaging decisions

Do you ever wonder how food companies decide how to package their products?

A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to taste World of Grain cookies at Whole Foods. Ah, tasty! and (for cookies) they have some good qualities from a nutrition standpoint. The product inside of the box is good, but the packaging? I'd have to say it needs a great deal of improvement.

A box of cookies contains 4 inner bags, each containing (about) 7 cookies, 130 calories for the contents of the bag. OK, 4 bags, 7 cookies, that's 28 cookies at 18.5 calories each. The box seems to imply that a bag is a serving, and that was confirmed by the company representative running the tasting. For me? Two of these tasty treats satisfies my after-dinner craving for something a little sweet. Two, not seven.

On the company's Who are we? page, they state that "We are ever mindful of how our business is connected to the world around us, and in that spirit we weigh our options with our customers, suppliers, the planet and our families in mind.". Something about this just doesn't sit right with me. Setting a serving size at a full (inner) bag makes no sense. I believe there are many people out there who will grab a bag as a serving just because it is packaged that way. What's wrong with one cookie? Two? What's wrong with leaving it to the consumer to decide how cookies really fit into a healthy diet? The statement about weighing options with the planet in mind? A box and 4 bags could be replaced with a single bag, a much smaller waste stream. What are they really thinking?

Will I buy these again? If the packaging is changed, then yes, I would buy them again. But the excessive waste - 4 bags + 1 box - when 1 reasonably sealed bag would do really bothers me. For now these are definitely not on my shopping list.

Pre-emergence

Flowers follow rain

Rainbow doubled

I watched a painted sky as I drove home from work this afternoon. It was full of bright blue patches, moving fluffy white and dark gray clouds, rays of sunlight shimmering. Closer to the ground, bright yellow flowers popped, forsythia glowing.

I wanted to be traveling under my own power, walking or biking, accompanied by my camera. But, I was driving so I had to be content with simple looks.

The closer I got to home, the darker the sky became.

Home, it was time to walk. I headed out, shielded by an umbrella as the wind kicked up and rain started falling. The wind tried (and failed) to steal my umbrella.

Walking, dark gray to my right, wind, rain...

Looking to my left, there was blue sky decorated with white clouds, and look! A brilliant rainbow appeared, a double rainbow. What a fabulous sight.

White flowers, blue sky

Ah, another beautiful day... cool and sunny with a crystal clear sky.