Category Archives: Massachusetts

The BIG E…not this year

Posted on by

Yes it was on my calendar. It was in the books. It was a plan…but I blew it.

The day dawned overcast and the remnant of a rainstorm was puddled on the deck.

The first problem was that I over slept. The wee early hours of the last 2 days had done me in. Still I figured if I got underway by 9 am I could still be out to Springfield by 11:00 am which is opening time and the Big E didn’t close until 10 pm. Plenty of time to explore.

maxine on waking up in the mornings

I could buy my ticket online but if I stood in line I could get a senior discount, $12.00 instead of $15.00 but I have to remember that parking isn’t free. If I can get into their lot it will be $10.00/ day but if their lot is full I will be at the mercy of the “IO”. (independent operators) .

I was still feeling tired after my “wake up” shower so I ran out for breakfast and a stop at the store. Then I filled the gas tank. Even at $3.17/ gal. it took $32.00 to fill ‘er up. I was a bit surprised about that because I still had almost 1/2 tank according to my gas gauge.

Then I started thinking about the best way to get there. I was going to detour to Bass Pro Shops in Foxboro to see how their Cranberry Bog was doing but now that I had a late start that didn’t seem to be a good use of time.

Anyway, by the time I got through “discussing” this with myself I realized that I just didn’t want to go. I wanted to go to The Big E. I just didn’t want to go today. It was muggy and oppressive and overcast. Just a dreary kind of day.

The BIG E is a huge fair. It’s real name is Eastern States Exposition. It covers 175 acres and represents the New England States. The fair was founded in 1916 when it was primarily agricultural based. That is still the main function but there are also entertainers, horse shows and I imagine a midway. I was hoping to get some great photos to add to my portfolio.

But as I stood there pumping gas I realized that I was still very tired. If I drive all that way out there  I want to enjoy  myself and right then I really only wanted to go back to bed. 🙂 So you know what? That’s what  I did, call me a lazy bum but life is too short.  Sometimes you just need to slow down and kick back a little. The Big E will be there next year. I’ve never been so I guess you could say I’ve missed the last 60 years so what’s one more ?

A Day in the Life

Posted on by

Digital Photography School.com had a challenge this week. Record a “Day in the life.” It could be a friend , a pet, a stranger or in my case, I used me.

Remember the Comic strip Family Circus by Bill Keane? Billy never went from A to B in a straight line.That’s kind of what my day was like.

I normally have Monday off from work but we’re really short-handed these days so I volunteered to work Monday afternoon for a few hours. I set my alarm for 8:30 am since I didn’t have to be at work until 12:30. Seemed like a good chance to grab a little extra  shut-eye.

I should have known better. 7:30 am I am being pawed and pounced on by my 2 furry tormentors. Eventually they settled down (I guess they got the hint) and I dozed back off. But minutes later the alarm went off. I hit the snooze button dislodging Smokey who was camped out on my arm. Rocky was draped over my feet so I managed not to disrupt him.

I tried again but Smokey was sure that the noise from the alarm meant I should get up and like the plant in Little Shop of Horrors demanded  “FEED ME!” There was no getting around it so I gave in.

Cats fed, kitty litter changed, bed made, showered and dressed, I sat down for a quick breakfast and a dose of the news. Following the morning newscast it was time to check my emails, confirm my blog post had linked to my Facebook page and play a little Farmville.  I am slowly selling off the farm as it has become too time consuming. Really it’s out of control. I have other things to do with my time, like write blogs and clean my house now and then! 🙂

About 11 am I headed out the door to go to work. I took the long way and left early because I am on a quest for fall pictures and the extended forecast is for rain so I may not have much chance for outdoor work.

My first stop was at a Farm Stand loaded with pumpkins and gourds, corn stalks, hay bales and fall flowers.

Scarecrows

Attractive displays

Even Halloween

Next stop was the local convenience store. My lottery ticket had won me $2.00! Can’t get far on that so I just turned it in for 2 more tickets. Maybe I’ll get lucky.

Back on the road I stopped at the Herring run.

 Not much going on there today. So I headed on to Plymouth. Maybe I’ll just have time to grab a quick snack before my shift starts at 12:30. I pulled into the Wendy’s drive through at 12:02. While I waited for the line to move I spotted a late blooming flower so I took the picture right out the car window.

Wendy’s is right down the street from work so moments later I was pulling into the parking lot for my office.

By 12:25 I had finished my snack and entered the building.

At 4:30 my shift was over and I hopped back in my car to drive to Marshfield to the Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary. I thought I was prepared. I had my sweatshirt hoodie, my hiking boots, my bug spray and all my camera gear. At Daniel Webster I sprayed myself down with Deep Woods Off and put the 300-500 zoom lens on the camera. I also strapped my tripod to the back pack and headed off to hike the trails. It was the perfect time for the animals to be active. The shadows were starting to get  long as dusk approached.

I did not expect the bugs to be so bad with all the spray I used but the mosquitos were a cloud! I pulled my sweatshirt on and pulled the hood tight to keep them off me and they still they got up my sleeves and behind my glasses… but I wasn’t ready to give up. And I wasn’t disappointed.

My favorite meadow off the trail called  The Secret Path was filled with deer. I love deer. They are such beautiful creatures.

Even though I couldn’t set up the tripod without spooking them I was able to brace myself enough to get a couple of pictures. I am so glad I had already set up with the big lens! But the mosquitos were having a field day with me so as much as I would have liked to stay longer I had to get moving again or be eaten alive..

I saw more deer along the trail and finally made it to the observation platform but the bugs were terrible there too so I turned back right away. I made one last stop in one of the blinds to get some relief from the cloud of insects.

I spent about 45 minutes in the blind hoping the bugs had given up. It was quiet. I saw some reeds moving but I couldn’t see what was causing it. There were no ducks or geese today. As it began to approach evening I stuck my nose out and was rewarded with a beautiful sunset and far fewer bugs. The temperature had dropped a little and that may have been why they gave up.  I snapped the sunset as I headed back to the car.

That pretty  much wraps up my day. It’s a pretty typical day. When I get home I can count on my kitties being at the door to greet me. I feed them and pet them  and fix my dinner.Then I  settle down to process the pictures I’ve collected over the course of the day. Sometimes I prepare a post for this space.

Often I get a call from my friend  JR.  He also enjoys photography and you can check out his work at http://www.jrstjeanphotography.com/

So I’ve completed my assignment from  http://www.digital-photography-school.com and I’ve brought you along with me for the day. I hope you enjoyed the peek into my life.

Irene, The Aftermath

Posted on by

Taunton MA had it easy. A few down trees and some short-lived power outages. My lights, cable, phone, and internet were all up and running most of Sunday even during the height of the storm. No food spoiling in the fridge or defrosting in the freezer.

My gas and hot and cold running water were uninterrupted. I am very, very lucky.

Parts of Massachusetts are still without electricity 3 days after the storm. Some people are even being told that service won’t be restored until possibly the weekend. None of the other utility  services (cable, internet and VOIP phones)  can come back online until the electricity is back on. National Grid says they have crews helping from as far away as Colorado. Funny thing, nobody has seen them. I saw 1 National grid truck today ( Wednesday) and I drove from Taunton to Plymouth then explored the Plymouth waterfront before driving to Hingham. That drive took me through multiple communities.

But I’m sure all the football fans will be relieved that Foxboro Stadium, Home of The New England Patriots has their power back so the game can go on, even if you can’t watch it because your power is off so your TV won’t work.

I drove around a little on Monday too just to see what I could  see. I traveled through Easton, Brockton and Raynham., areas that I know were hard hit and without power.  No National Grid trucks in sight on Monday.

Work was testament to the areas hit hardest. Over and over the technicians went to calls of down wires and out of service customers only to find live electrical lines lying on the ground. There was nothing they could do. We have to wait for the electric company.

Remember the old TV show “Car 54 where are you?”  I think the title of this show is “National Grid , Where are you?” I can’t help wondering what it would be like if the storm had blown in with the power that was originally predicted.

There’s still a few more days for voting in the NH dream Vacation Photo Contest. Remember you can vote once per day. Thank you! 🙂 http://www.nhdreamvacation.com/browse-and-vote/

Seals and more beach, Chatham Ma

Posted on by

We had a great lunch on the patio at the Kreme and Cone in Chatham, MA. Over fish and clams, shrimp and  onion rings we planned the afternoon. It was going on 2:30 pm by then anyway. The kids wanted to go to the Zooquarium in Yarmouth but they also wanted to see the seals. Since we were right there in Chatham we adults made an executive decision to go to the Fish Pier and see the seals.

We had great timing because the fishing boats were coming in with their catch. When we first got there a boat was off-loading lobster. Another boat had dogfish. Alex loved watching the unloading process.

The seagulls were swooping and there were 3- 4 seals that kept diving and swimming around the boats.

The nice thing about the Fish Pier is that a 2nd floor wrap around deck with a railing gives spectators an awesome place to watch the whole process. There’s a takeout seafood restaurant and a couple of picnic tables too as well as a decent restroom. Parking is a challenge. The parking lot is very tiny and always packed. Once you park you walk down to the pier.

The activity here held the kids attention much longer than I expected and we had a great time. When it was time to leave the kids made one last request. They wanted to walk the beach to look for shells. So it was back to the car for their buckets and flip-flops so they could wade in the water.

It was really neat. The little beach combers were very cute. A couple of the seals came around the dock and played in the water just off shore. This is the inner harbor and there hasn’t been any problem with sharks this far into the harbor but even so Nancy & I went on high alert to keep an eye out. Better safe than sorry.

We wrapped up the day by stopping for soft ice cream at the Seafood Shanty in Bourne. While we were eating our ice cream at the Herring Run recreation area across the road a huge barge passed us and traveled under the Sagamore bridge. It was just nearing sundown and it was easy to see why these are considered the golden hours for taking pictures.

The Sagamore bridge seemed to glow a burnished gold. It was the frosting on the cake. I had a great day and I think the kids had fun too. Next time we’ll have to get to the Zooquarium.

 

Don’t forget to vote : http://www.nhdreamvacation.com/browse-and-vote/

Massachusetts Urban “wildlife”

Posted on by

My day trips have been cut a bit short because one of my kitties may be sick. I say “may be” because there are a bunch of subtle signs which may or may not mean anything.  Like me, they are getting older and a bit more “creaky”. Complicating the puzzle is that I don’t know which kitty is having the issues. They are both acting pretty normal so this has prompted a visit to the vet and blood panels. Not cheap.

Editor in Chief

Rocky, our Editor- in- chief, went first. I should have preliminary results in a day or two.

Then it will be Smokey’s turn. Smokey is actually the older of the 2 cats so statistically , he should be having age related issues before Rocky but who knows. We all age differently.

Smokey

So between worrying about the “boys” and finding myself cash poor from the vet bills, I haven’t been able to explore too far from home.

But even with those restrictions I still managed to run across a bit of urban wildlife.  Last year I watched a Ground hog all summer as it nibbled the grass right next to busy route 44.

I saw it a couple of time this summer but not as often as before…until today. I think I know why it hasn’t been quite so prominent. It has a family. Today there were 3 of them. One larger one and 2 smaller ones.

I’d tried to photograph them before but they seemed more skittish this year  than last so I tried something different today. I parked across the road in the Wendy’s parking lot and tried to time the pictures between the passing cars.

The bigger one has a much darker face and head. It’s a big one!

Something scared them off before I got the camera set up but I waiting around and pretty soon 2 of them came back out. Clearly the traffic doesn’t bother them.

 I didn’t see the third one again.