Finally a Sunny Day

Posted on March 18, 2014March 18, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Take full advantage of it, a sunny, blue sky day high 50’s maybe even 60’s. Of course it rained the next day but still it’s a taste of things to come. That was last Tuesday.

I couldn’t waste a day like that so I decided to go exploring. You’d think after all the years I’ve been “exploring” that I’d have found everyplace but not so. Last summer I heard about a place in Wrentham, MA that I just have to find.

It’s not an Audubon Sanctuary and most of my sources just scratch their heads. Maybe they are really just keeping it to themselves?

Anyway I poked around on the internet and finally found a brief reference to Wrentham Conservation. That was it. I dug and poked some more and finally got a street, That was enough. It was supposed to be off RT 140 on the left so I’d just follow RT 140 until I found it. Sounds good right?

I passed through Norton, MA . I stopped in Foxboro because I spotted a pretty , white church steeple. I just love those white New England Church Steeples especially when I can get an angle without tons of utility lines blocking the view.

After my brief photo stop I moved on past the Foxboro office. As I approached the northern side of Foxboro I stopped at a DQ Restaurant for a $5.00 lunch special. A price like that’s better than McDonald’s. Then back on RT 140, still looking.

Finally I found the left turn I was looking for. The road soon split. The right hand fork went to a Quarry and a Sand and Gravel company. The right fork meandered past nice homes on a lake. Of course the lake is still frozen right now but I bet it’s pretty there in summer.

At the end of the road was a DPW building and there was a worker by a truck. I pulled in and started to ask him about the area and he knew right away. I’d just gone a little too far. He was really enthused about the location. He said it was marshy and loaded with beaver and Great Blue Herons.

I turned around and found the cut off. Hard to believe Wrentham still has so much snow. The trail dipped down a little hill but I was in sneakers and the hill was ice and packed snow. I was sliding with every step. Rather than break my neck I decided that it would be better to wait a little longer. Let spring thaw a little more and return with boots and hiking stick because by then it won’t be snow and ice, it will be mud!

Can’t wait to really check it out!

Is Spring Trying to Arrive?

Posted on March 16, 2014March 16, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Monday, March 10 and I awoke to another snow storm. The snow was melting over the weekend and all but the snow piles were gone. Dirt and ground was snow free.

I sighed and went about my morning routine resigned to taking more pictures of snow but then it stopped and a weak sun tried to peak out. A little later I looked out and that new snow was gone! All melted away even if clouds had won out over the sun.

Determined to find something other than snow for my project 365 challenge I grabbed the camera and set off.

Everyone says how pretty spring is but not this early. It’s pretty depressing. the snow banks that are left are dirty. Trash lines the sides of the roads where it’s dropped out of the melting snow.

Trees aren’t green yet and with no sun everything is dull.

Eventually I found myself at the herring run at Oliver Mills in Middleboro. A gaggle of Canada Geese were browsing the hill above the river. Two pairs of ducks were swimming below the fish ladder.

Other than that it was quiet. I was struck by how different it looks when there are not trees to block the view.

I took a small road that runs above the site to try capturing the views that are normally blocked.

As I was snap-snapping away a movement caught my attention. It was a gray kitten and he was running like his life depended on it. Probably does most of the time but not from me.

Then I saw this little black spot. I looked closer and realized there was another kitten, a little black one, and he was staring at me as if to say I dare you to come closer. Of course I had to try. I inched my way a half step at a time. Slowly I got close enough to photograph him. He was still staring at me.

At that point a big delivery truck rumbled past and I looked away to step out of it’s path. After the truck went by I looked back and the kitten was gone.

I went back to the car and sat for a bit to see if either of them would come back. I didn’t see them again but my patience was rewarded by my first sighting of the year of a great blue heron. Spring must be on the way!

Spring is such a tease

Posted on March 9, 2014March 9, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Or maybe I should say Old Man Winter is a tease. Tuesday was a beautiful day. We had blue skies and no wind. I went out dressed in layers expecting to be cold but it wasn’t too bad. According to the weather folks we never broke freezing but the lack of wind and the bright sun made it seem almost like a “day at the beach”.

I made sure to grab my camera as I headed out. I had a long list of errands and then had to go to our Foxboro Office for my annual review. Yes, it was my day off but the alternative was a drive to Somerville on Friday. After that I had to head to Stoughton (20+ miles away) to meet with my Tax Guy and get my taxes filed. Even so I was optimistic that I could squeeze in some quality time with the camera. My goal, some quality shots for the 365 challenge. So far the challenge has been to get any shots, forget about quality!

I hopped in the car and put it in reverse to back out of my parking space and it felt, well, weird. It felt like the emergency brake was on but it wasn’t. I finished backing out and tentatively tried going forward…same thing. Now I thought I knew the problem..must be a flat tire.

I pulled into the next slot over and got out to look. Sure enough, flat as a pancake! I grabbed my cell and called AAA then I called my auto repair shop and made arrangements to bring the tire in. Finally I texted my boss to let him know what happened. It was only 10:30 and my review wasn’t until 1 pm but who knows how long I’d have to wait for AAA and then at the shop for the tire repair. I felt like the Geico commercial.

Sometimes things just fall into place. AAA arrived pretty quickly and changed the tire for me. We couldn’t see any reason for the flat. Valve stem looked fine, no nails or visible punctures, guess it will be up to the repair shop to get to the bottom of it.

The shop I use is about 5 miles down the road from me so even with traffic I was there before noon. Since I’m a regular they know me and took my tire right in. The tires are fairly new so I expected a repair. But noooooo. Randy, the manager, called me in and showed me where the side wall was starting to leak. He said it looked like I may have scraped it on a pot hole or curb. Well I knew I hadn’t hit a curb but there are certainly enough pot holes this year. I hadn’t hit any straight on but maybe in trying to avoid one I might have clipped it just right on the side. There was no saving the tire. 🙁

I told him to put on a new one and get me on the road. He did it right away. Turned out I was only 10 minutes late for my review but after the review it was still back to Stoughton and then all the errands I didn’t get to do in the morning. Needless to say there was no quality photography time.

I got to see several hawks hunting by the highway and a possum waddling out of the woods toward the road but no chance for pictures.

I settled for another cat photo. You may have seen it.

It’s a play on the Dr. Seuss story of Green Eggs and Ham

“Would you eat them
in a box?
Would you eat them
with a fox?”

I offered ” Do you like it in a Box?”

One of these days I’ll get to the fields and sanctuaries where I love to take pictures. Until then, Would you like it with a fox? 🙂

Photo of the Week ~ 9

Posted on March 5, 2014March 5, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The week 9 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Blue Skies and Turrets with a total of 25 points.

To Order Prints click here: http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p161572686/ha971c84#ha971c84

Complaining Again

Posted on March 4, 2014March 4, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I feel like I’m stuck in an existential novel or something…just waiting, waiting, waiting …in this case for spring or warm weather or sun.

Sorry I’m just frustrated. Here we are in March. Spring is less than 3 weeks away and it’s still cold. I mean really cold. March is never “balmy” but we should have left the 20 degree weather behind by now, especially when there’s the wind chill factor involved. There’s more sun but we’re still getting a lot of overcast days too.

You run out to the store dressed like Nanook of the North, hats, scarves, mittens heavy coat and question your sanity but when you get there you see you are not alone. Everyone else is bundled up too.

What’s really getting to me is that I’m burning out my creativity. I started the 365 day project to kind of give my photos a boost but I’m not much of an indoor photographer. I like to be outside for pictures and all of the cold days have kept me trapped inside. I’m running out of inspiration. I don’t know if I would have tackled the project if I’d realized I was going to be either stuck inside or freezing outside.