Category Archives: Rhode Island

Natural Wonders of the USA- Part 2

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Natural Wonders

Lets continue with our Natural Wonders List.  Next up

4. North Dakota

And guess what is the Natural Wonder for North Dakota- Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Nice to know I’m on the right track. 

The Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the western part of North Dakota is comprised of three separate badlands which altogether stretches out over 110 square miles. Its  a popular wildlife viewing area which is my interest. So No I haven’t been to North Dakota yet and Theodore Roosevelt National Park is on my list for when I do go. 

Moving on to

5. South Dakota

The Natural Wonder in South Dakota is Custer State Park and yes, I have been there. It’s a really great state park. Not only did we see bison, lots and lots of Bison, we saw mule deer and pronghorn antelope but the most fun were the “Beggin’ Burros”. The burros are wild donkeys that live in a small section of Custer State Park along the road. They are called “begging burros” because they’ve become famous for approaching vehicles and expecting food.

 

Beggin Burro 2011 – Photo credit Deb Neumann

6. Delaware

Number 6 on the list is Delaware and that state’s natural wonder is Brandywine Creek. You may have heard of it because it was a battlefield in the revolutionary war.  We lost that battle but of course we all know that we went on to win the war. Now it’s part of Brandywine Creek State Park. It looks really pretty. 

7. Rhode Island

Rhode Island is another neighboring state, one that I go to often. The Natural Wonder on the list threw me at first. Then I realized it was located on Block Island.. I have been Block Island for a weekend. I was out there to photograph lighthouses. But the Natural Wonder is Mohegan Bluffs. 

Mohegan Bluff- Photo credit Deb Neumann

8. Montana

Another State I’ve yet to visit. The big thing on my list is Going to the Sun Road. Good to know that Going to the Sun Road is part of Glacier National Park so I don’t have to skip one to do the other. Although Glacier is in the name, over the last 12,000 years, the glaciers of Glacier National Park have largely disappeared. While 150 glaciers existed in the mid-19th century, only about 25 exist now. That’s sad but I saw lots of glaciers on my trip to Alaska.

I think that’s enough for this post. 3 states that I need to visit. One done and the Wonder seen. The list will be continued. 

Road trippin’ Rhode Island

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Rhode Island Road Trip

Taking a break from my virtual exploration of Colorado, I took advantage of a sunny, warm spring day in New England by taking a little road trip to Rhode Island.  My friend Joe, a professional photographer from Florida, was visiting for a couple of days so we didn’t want to waste a beautiful day inside. I remembered reading about a field of daffodils in Rhode Island. That would be perfect for a spring day. A google search revealed Blithewold, mansions , gardens and Arboretum. After a quick breakfast at IHOP we piled into the car and headed off to Rhode Island. 

 

 

You wanted Daffodils

Blithewold Mansion is located in Bristol Rhode Island right near Roger Williams University. It was really easy to find and only about a 30 minute drive from my home in Taunton , MA.  Right next to the parking area was a wildflower garden filled with tulips and flowering tress and shrubs. A stone arch completed the tranquil setting. 

Tulip Gardens

Stone Arch

Blithewold Mansion

Just past the Tulip Garden was a white gravel drive that led to the Blithewold Mansion itself. Unfortunately we would learn that it was daffodils or the Mansion. The Mansion is closed in April and May. The daffodils bloom in April. So if you plan to visit you won’t get both daffodils and a mansion tour.  We watched a small wedding take place in a tiny garden next to the mansion with views looking over Narragansett Bay. Beyond the tiny manicured garden were the first of the daffodil fields. You’ll find benches placed at strategic places along all of the trails.

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Daffodils seem to spill between the trees

The Trail by the Bay

After taking a break by a potting shed, we explored a dirt road that just begged us to wander. It made me think of Robert Frost’s The Road Less traveled. It was a lovely walk. There was a stone and water garden that had not been opened for the season yet but Joe took a peak. He said it was very pretty. The path took us along Narragansett Bay. All in all there are 33 acres of gardens and trees to wander and explore. We only spent a couple of hours but it was time well spent. If you like nature and gentle strolls along the ocean, I highly recommend a visit to Blithewold. 

Shore Walk

A Return to Hidden Nook Farm

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I have written about this little place in the past and it is still as cute and quaint as the first time back in 2013.

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Again in 2014 when we met the adorable Thumbelina.

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I had been following their posts on Facebook and knew they had a new addition to their little Alpaca family so I was pleased when I got a call asking if I would be interested in taking some pictures for them.

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They are going to start selling end products from their alpaca wool, scarves, gloves, hats, etc and they wanted photos for a display.

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I jumped at the chance, of course.

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At first I was in the enclosure with the females and the newbies. Fiona is the smallest, just a few days old.

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From there I moved to another enclosure where to my surprise the black alpaca came right up. Usually they are very timid and shy so this one was a bit unusual. I snapped pictures as he approached and then let him sniff the camera. Once he’d checked both me and the camera out he wandered back with the rest.

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It wasn’t a long visit but it was fun. I can’t wait until they have some finished products for me to see and try out!

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So Wassup?

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Wow, Things aren’t letting up at all. Last weekend I stole an hour or two to head out with the camera. Still trying to get the hang of this “Raw” stuff. I got a few practice shots but I just wasn’t feeling inspired.

Museum of Natural History, Providence RI

Museum of Natural History, Providence RI

Just a day on a Swan

Just a day on a Swan

Then Sunday, Mother’s Day I left Taunton early in the morning to drive to upstate NY to take my mother out for lunch. I can’t tell you how old she is. I am sworn to secrecy but if I have her genes I’ll be around for a long time. My sister went with us to the 99 restaurant where we enjoyed a very pleasant lunch. I was back home by 8 pm.

During the week I confirmed my Maine trip in July with the Audubon Society and started doing the preliminary research for the Maui vacation in November. Then Saturday dawned sunny and warm. The first really awesome day we’ve had in forever!

I had an appointment for an oil change at 10 am. From there I planned to go to the Norton Reservoir where I’d spotted a family of Swans to see if I could get some fun pictures of the cygnets.

I picked up my car after the oil change  and headed up RT 44. At the first set of lights the car stalled out! Strange it was running fine when I dropped it off. I started it up and off I went again. A bit farther down the road I got a text message and pulled off into a Dunkin Donuts to reply. Stalled again. What’s going on?

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The last straw was as I pulled up to the reservoir. The engine started shaking and there was a squeeking, clanging kind of sound so I pulled into the parking lot for Norton Liquors and called the service station. They agreed to send a tow truck. While I waited I took a few pictures of the adult swan and the babies.

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Hurry Up.

Once back at the shop we checked the oil and it was clearly fresh and full. After a diagnostic and multiple mechanics looking it over the car was pronounced in dire shape.

It still turned over so they didn’t pronounce it dead but the prognosis was grim.The “lifters” inside the engine were done for. I needed to either replace or rebuild the engine.

It was time to go car shopping.

 

 

Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge

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Good morning everyone. I’ve been up since 6 am in hopes of spotting some of those deer I’ve been hearing about down at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge located in Middletown , RI.

The first time I tried I overslept so missed the dawn, the best time for those shy little critters. Today I was up but it took me longer to get out of the house than I expected so I saw the sun pop over the horizon as I left Fall River. Darn!

Well I figured I might as well check out the trails. On my last visit I didn’t stay long, just made sure I could find it.

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I was surprised to see quite a lot of cars in the parking lot considering it was only about 30 minutes past sunrise, still pretty early. As I pulled out the camera I saw a bird watcher with his big spotting scope but most of the rest were fishermen. I didn’t spot any other photographers so I guess I really did miss my chance. I decided to check out one of the trails anyway.

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The Flint Point trail is a 1.4 mile loop with a couple of observation platforms. Everybody seemed to be going that way so I did too. I didn’t intend to walk the whole trail since this was one of my first jaunts since my back started improving but it was a beautiful morning so as long as it wasn’t hurting I just kept going.

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There are a couple of benches along the way so it was a cool but pleasant trek. I didn’t expect to see any deer. That window of opportunity had closed, or so I thought but as I approached a corner I heard something larger than a bird off to my left in the brush.

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I didn’t see what it was but it made me slow down my pace and I turned the corner cautiously. And there in the path to my right was the tail end of a deer.

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Turns out it was a doe and a a smaller deer. No spots so I don’t think it can still be called a fawn but clearly smaller than the adult. The little one watched me all the time while Mama only paid attention when I moved.

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Thanks to the sun’s angle and the brush playing havoc with the auto focus,  the pictures aren’t going to make it into my portfolio but at least I was rewarded for my trip.

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I don’t know how long those deer and I would have stood eyeballing each other if a jogger hadn’t rounded the bend at that point. The deer just drifted quietly into the bushes.

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I figured I was about half way around the loop so I finished the walk. No other deer but that was two more than I expected to see. I guess I’ll have to try again only leaving at 5:30 am next time!