Category: Scenic Photography

Let Your Joy Burst Forth, Like Flowers in the Spring

Posted on by Markman
I’m always looking to find the beauty in everyday locations

Yard work today but instead lazy loaf in the sun. I did move a bunch of stuff out from the cellar to the shed so it wasn’t just a day of nothing, but I did end up spending a bunch of time in a chair just sitting soaking up some sun and even doing a couple of crossword puzzles. Maybe tomorrow morning I’ll head down to the home improvement store and get going on some things I want to accomplish. In the meantime, enjoy this picture I took of a bench just around the Wellesley Town Hall building, which was also the former home of the doctor who first used ether to lessen pain during procedures!

I put my name into that class action lawsuit that’s going around regarding facebook. Probably will only amount to a couple of dollars when all is said and done, and the lawyers will make out huge, but it’s better than nothing I suppose.

I made some shallot fritters tonight, basically just slice the shallots thin and break them up, cover them up in a concoction of tempura mix and water, and then just fry them up in a pan with a lot of canola oil. Maybe not the healthiest, but pretty tasty.

Sunset Baby Goat Snuggles tomorrow! Stay tuned for updates!

Spring Things with a Little Bun Bun

Posted on by Markman
This bunny was born in one of the pots you see in this photo on the back deck.

Been getting a bunch of spring things done this week. Got my ride’s oil change done yesterday – it was a little overdue, so it was good to get that done. I’ve been slowly moving things out from basement storage over to the shed for the summer and fall to make room for some stuff going on down there. I also need to get ready to replant the yearly tubers this week. Speakimng of that, I think we have to take a ride down to a nursery soon to get some plants that are on order.

I think I want to do a firepit over the next few days or so too, just to get it going for myself right now. Also, I can see that it seems like a switch was pulled this week and now the grass is growing by leaps and bounds all of a sudden. Amazing how that happens after being pretty dormant all winter.

When the Swans Come You Know Spring is Here

Posted on by Markman

It’s that time of year again! The Boston Swan Boats season starts up on Saturday. I remember when I took LD on the swan boats some years back, her first time, and I can still remember the look of joy and happiness on her face. It was her first time even though she had been here for a number of years and literally worked just across the street from the park. As for me, I can remember my mom taking my sister and I a bunch of times when we were little,. It’s funny, it seemed so much bigger back then, maybe because I was smaller? Anyways, it’s iconic and fun and I need to get us down there sometime to experience it again.

So late in the afternoon today after all my work stuff was done I decided to pull out the grill and bring out the patio umbrella as the temps here hit the 80 degree mark for the first time this year, and much earlier than usual, so we have to soak it up, right? I also want to get my sister and mom out here to have a BBQ soon and enjoy the firepit and whatnot. So I’m preparing for that eventuality.

As for my hyperextended thumb, I keep stupidly absentmindedly keep stretching it by reaching for things and whatnot. So annoying. And of course every time I do it, it sort of reinjured it again and I have to start over.

Easter Love in the Catskill Mountains of New York

Posted on by Markman

Back from a lovely Easter weekend in the Catskills of New York. We got to stay in a pretty cool Airbnb , pretty much a log cabin, with a wood stove fireplace and that is attached to an actual goat sanctuary across the way and they had baby goats, which of course we snuggled! We also got to “paint with goats!” Actually we got to do a lot of things there but one of the highlights was probably LD with a sweet baby goat that fell asleep in her arms for two hours. Pretty amazing to experience. Her name is Alora by the way and she is the cutest. Probably my favorite. Click on the pics for full length versions.

Afterwards we took a little drive over to the old Catskill Game Farm, where LD went to visit as a little kid. It’s abandoned now but we visited anyway. We also passed by the largest garden gnome statue in the world (at least up until 2007) on the way.

I might add more to this post later because there really is a lot more. One cool thing about the place that I forgot to mention earlier is that it was fully stacked but also had this somewhat amazing gameroom in the basement, with Poker, darts, air hockey, basketball, foosball, and even a full length ping pong table. I also spent some time in one of the various hammocks around the property. The place was pretty cool, I would definitely go back, and the drive is not bad at all.

Oh, there wasn’t even supposed to be baby goats there. we lucked out on that one. They got some goats in previously and apparently one male somehow slipped through the process and basically ended up impregnating a bunch of the ladies one night. That goat was super busy. But it worked out because baby goats are the best and it ended up being a great surprise and made the experience even better in my opinion.

Currently Reading: Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths and The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World.

There’s Spring in My Steps

Posted on by Markman

Saw all the birds outside this morning. Besides the usual robins and mourning doves, I also saw grackles for the first time this year. Mostly because I heard a crash at the front door. After looking out it appeared to be that one of them might have smashed into the door, but appeared to be alright and took off.

Had a good day today making the rounds, Today was a great day to be outside. Even got to talk with our Big Boss who happened to be out and about! He asked me how things were going, etc. Good dude. He said all the business owners were very pleased with our progress and to be honest, even I can see a big change since when we started. And so far it’s only been five weeks! Oh, and I also found a five dollar bill on the ground, so how often do you get a score like that?

In other news. I reconnected my Google Analytics to the site, so my counts and what not will be starting over – seeing what pages are the most popular, engagement, stuff like that – not that there’s a ton of it. I’ve been meaning to do it for months but I finally got around do it now. So there’s that.

Oh, and in today’s injury report which seems to a be a daily occurrence lately, I seem to have somewhat hyperextended my thumb. Like, wtf?

Currently reading: Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham. Ah yes, one of my celeb crushes. It’s true.

Opening Day 2023

Posted on by Markman

Oh well

Yesterday was a pretty busy day, with me doing my rounds in the morning, my Fitbit recorded I climbed over 75 flights of stairs, a new record for me. There is a lot of walking around involved in this gig! It also happened to be Opening Day at Fenway Park, although the home team lost. Anyways, here’s a pic of when I went a couple of years ago to commemorate opening day.

Spring has finally sprung! Baseball season is underway, Marathon Monday is in 17 days, and swan boats are just around the corner (April 15, to be exact).

Put the Flower to the Power

Posted on by Markman
Flower Power

Just updated the website software to the latest version. Hopefully it should all be good. I’ll be playing around with the new features in posts over the next couple of days.

I like how this picture of a bouquet of flowers I took came out. What do you think? The daffodils outside are starting to bloom, which is nice to see. It will soon be time to visit the gardening supply store and pick up our customary complimentary specimens to adorn the areas. One thing I definitely want to pick up are more Bacopas. They bloomed all last spring, summer, and fall last year so I want to keep that going. I was very impressed with that flower’s output. We had a beautiful blue-based variety that was very attractive. Would love to get that again.

I had some time today to finally get my hair cut. I love going for the high and tight.

Crocus Colors on a Monday Makes Me Happy

Posted on by Markman
Crocus Blue, almost looks like a painting but it’s real.

When crocuses begin to emerge from the ground amid the winter’s dead debris, you know spring has finally arrived!

Currently reading: Quantum Care: A Deep Dive into AI for Health Delivery and Research. I won this one on a Goodreads giveaway so I figured I might as well read it, although I don’t remember applying to try to win this one. No matter, I find the subject matter interesting.

I had to go down to the pet store and get Carson another fountain because his finally died. They only had the smart version of the fountain that he likes so I ended up getting that, even though it’s more money and we really don’t need to smart functionality but I felt he couldn’t wait until I could find a dumb one, so here we are. This one does have a nice stainless steel top though while the dumb version was only plastic. Hopefully he’ll dig this one as much as the last one. Other than the stainless top and smart functionality, this fountain is essentially the same as this last one.

The Elusive Sunday Search for a Sofa Bed

Posted on by Markman
I’ll never get tired of visiting or viewing the Nubble.
Tall, steady beacon 

Guiding ships through stormy seas

Lighthouse, steadfast friend

How did you like my little lighthouse haiku there? Not too shabby. Also this pic I took of the Nubble was from a little while back, but I still love the way it came out.

Today I started out with a trip to Wegman’s to pick up some groceries. Then later on in our travels taking care of some errands and getting out of the house to enjoy the sunny spring weather, we noticed the local school baseball team was doing a car wash so we had the ball players wash the car. The cost was whatever you wanted to donate, so that was cool. The car really needed it!

Most of the afternoon was spent taking a trip over to Jordan’s Furniture to look for a sofa bed and maybe get some other ideas for the office. Really want to find a sofa bed which they didn’t seem to have although there were some cute little loveseats, which may be a possibility. One thing we noticed while there is that apparently there’s now a Montilio’s Bakery and Pizzeria inside! We were a little thrilled to see that because we loved the food from the Quincy location. We were on the verge of buying some food there, but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the wait, so we left and returned home after donating some books to some small local libraries that we had been hoarding for months. a phase of the recent spring cleaning binge.

Instead for lunch we ended up having some shrimp cocktail that we had gotten the other day so we wolfed that down instead, and afterwards I made some Tofu for LD for eating later in the week for lunches.

I guess we maybe thought we would do more today, but we ended up using the rest of the day to relax. It is Sunday after all! For dinner I did bake a three cheese butternut squash lasagna which I think I’m rather proud of!

Found the Bunnies

Posted on by Markman
Follow me to Boston

I had some time this morning to head over to Earth-1 and visit the Trader Joe’s over there, where I was finally able to procure the bunny potted planters that LD had been looking for. I grabbed up three of them. Two for LD and one for my own mom. Then I did head across the street to Union Square Donuts and got some treats over there. Got LD a vegan donut, hope she likes it!

In other news, I think we’ve been doing our job too well, as the Chief now wants us to concentrate on just certain areas and not worry about the others anymore. Fine with me, makes my job a lot easier.

Happy First Day of Spring

Posted on by Markman
Springtime in Boston

Today was spent filing my taxes, which is always enjoyable to do. While I generally finish it by mid-February, this year was probably the latest I’ve ever started. However, I wanted to be sure I had all the necessary paperwork.

Spring Crocuses

I went down to the post office this morning to get some mailing materials. LD plans on shipping out a couple of things so I had to make sure all the required packaging is ready.

Yesterday we tried looking for some of those bunny planters but came up empty at the Trader Joe’s at Gillette Stadium. I plan on going to Somerville toward the end of the week, so if I have time I might try to hit the one down there at Assembly Square and see if they have them in yet. While I’m there I might also try to pick up some Union Square Donuts because the ads they’ve been showing me lately have got me wanting to try some of their more interesting creations.

I’ve started to place some of the plants outside that I’d been trying to keep alive inside during the winter. I think the weather will be warm enough now for them to be out there. I’ll probably head down to the Home Depot later today and pick up some leaf bags because there’s a bunch of leave detritus I want to get rid of and trim some of the foliage in the front of the house. Spring cleaning time.

Speaking of spring cleaning, we did clean out a couple of closets and some of the stuff in the basement, making progress on those tasks. In the evening we made a lot of meatballs.

Currently Reading: Born To Run, by Bruce Springsteen, and The Icepick Surgeon, a book about scientists who did things that weren’t all that ethical. And also The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math from One to Infinity. So I guess you could say I’m on quite a reading tear so far this year.

A Saturday in the Life

Posted on by Markman
Have a seat at the Nubble
  1. First thing this am, went to grab a pickup order over at the local Stop & Shop.
  2. Picked up a hope chest someone was giving away on FB so we went to their apartment and grabbed it. Will probably be used for LD’s future office.
  3. Cleaned out a closet that’s been on the to-do list for a long time
  4. Also got an awesome coffee table for the office off of FB marketplace in Canton this afternoon
  5. Went jewelry shopping today and got the process started for a special creation.
  6. Corned Beef dinner at the old landlords.
  7. Trader Joe’s visit to get a bunny pot but they didn’t have it, maybe try a different location next.
  8. My shoulder is still bothering me, like, wtf? Feels really bad like something is out of whack. Sharp pain at times, wtf??

Confessions of Love from My Younger Self

Posted on by Markman 
I confess I love the clouds in the summer blanketed against an ocean of light blue sky.
I confess I love the ocean and the soft cool sea breezes and the things that live beneath it.
I confess I love the snow softly falling on Christmas Eve masking everything in white.
I confess I love the moonlight lighting up the summer night.
I confess I like the look of innocence in a baby's eyes.
But the only thing I'll ever miss
 is you.

I wrote those words something like over twenty years ago. They were about no-one in particular, just a moment of creativity. Maybe they’re more applicable today than ever. I still like them.

Although I’m not really sure what I did, I seem to have tweaked my back just between the shoulder blades. It’s not too awful, but it bothers me enough to make me aware that it’s there. Joys of joys.

Had some things to get down over in Wellesley this afternoon and after we got that done, LD treated me to some Captain Marden’s for lunch and herself, and she also got an orange tea and some cookies from Tatte. Isn’t she the best?

On some even better news, got some excursions coming up that I’m getting all hyped up about. A visit to the Catskills, a tea party ritual, baby goat cuddles at sunset, a summer trip to the Cape, and more! I’m very excited to see and do these adventures! I’m hoping to take some good pictures on these outings as well, perhaps on par with the one I’ve included in this post from a visit to the Nubble a while back.

Boston Love

Posted on by Markman
Acorn Street (check it! so many comments, likes and shares!)

Looks like the utility guys are out front again this week, digging up the middle of the street and replacing the pipes. Pretty annoying to get around but I suppose it’s a necessary evil. Looks like they might done with it all by the end of the week so all in all, not too bad.

I’ve updated the site to the latest version of PHP and everything appears to working as it should, so that’s good. I always get a little bit anxious when there’s a big underlying thing going on under the hood of the site but I’m not doing anything too crazy and keep all the subroutines up to date, so it’s all good.

I’ve had some love for this Boston photo I took and have been getting quite the likes and purchase interest in my work, so that’s always good to see. I’ve made a couple of sales so far this week, which is great.

Spent some time at Earth-1 yesterday, One of the cats had to get his nails cut and then we needed to get some business done over at City Hall. You know, what’s wild, is that a couple has purchased or will be purchasing a top floor unit on the condo right next door to my mom’s house, but the crazy part is that it’s actually the niece of one of LD’s most trusted and long lasting friends. I mean, what are the odds!? That’s pretty whack, actually. I’m waiting to run into them and introduce myself. So far, only my sister has seen them. Other than that, and all the walking of the beat I did on Tuesday (perhaps I was a bit overzealous but I feel I did a damn good job), it’s been a pretty low key week so far.

There’s a great article in the latest issue of Smithsonian Magazine that talks about how this little island off the coast of Iceland is trying to save baby puffins, which as any readers to this blog must know, is my favorite bird. Worth the read if you can find it and have the time.

Another book came through from my library app, so currently reading: The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology.

Do You Remember Your First Encounter?

Posted on by Markman
First Encounter Beach

I slept much better last night, thank goodness. It was pretty warm out today, you wouldn’t realize it’s supposed to snow tonight and into tomorrow. Hoping it’s not going to be a big deal. We gots things to do!

This picture is from a place called First Encounter Beach. It’s named that because it marks the location of the first encounter between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. While the Mayflower remained in Provincetown, Captain Myles Standish and his party explored along Cape Cod Bay. While camped here they were surprised by a group of Nausets; arrows flew and shots were fired, but no harm resulted. The history made it sound like the Native Americans were the aggressors but you can’t really blame them. Well, you can read all about it here and why they might have wanted to protect themselves. Anyways, this a beach that we don’t visit all that often when we are done there but maybe we should. I’ve always gotten great shots there. This shot was actually from my first time there if you can believe that! Probably won’t be back in the area until late July but one never knows. There’s a trip or two coming up soon which will also be a first encounter experience for me.

Words of Wisdom

Posted on by Markman
Winter on the beach (I think this is one of my best shots ever)
Be present and enjoy the small things, seize every opportunity, and live completely unapologetically authentic to who you are. Life is so short, and we aren't promised tomorrow, so don't wait, but choose to live every single day!

Well, today was my training day, and next week is my start date! I anticipate it will be one of those things that becomes simpler the more I do it. I have to read through a lot of documents and get familiar with basic procedures, but it’s not too terrible. I have my login information and am ready to start. Also, I get to have a portable radio that I may use to call the station if necessary (hopefully it never would be). For communication, such as when one of us has a question or is having an issue, our team has set up a group text for communication. I realize I’m being a little vague here about all this but as of now it’s just an eight week trial. If it’s successful (which it should be) it would continue indefinitely. I just need to figure out how I’m going to go about my shift. Our bosses gave us leeway to pretty much design it however we want to work it, I’m just afraid I might miss something but I don’t think they’re going to be too hard-core about it.

Next week sometime I’m going to upgrade this site to be using PHP v8.1. I hope and do not anticipate any problems but just giving you guys a heads up if something does go wrong and the page disappears. But like I said, it should be ok.

The Kind of Snowstorm I Love

Posted on by Markman
Click to visit store

So we had some snow today. By the way all the news programs we’re describing it you’d think it was going to be something special. It clearly was not. We did a couple of inches of snow, but it was the nice fluffy stuff that is easy to deal with and it was no big deal. Everything got delayed by about an hour and I’d say that was the correct call. It’s snowed more of less throughout the day but it’s really only sticking to grassy surfaces. Tomorrow is our training meeting at HQ to go over the new “beat” as I’ll call it which should keep me busy in the mornings with three other folks on the team all year round as I go about the town center performing a certain required task. I’m a little apprehensive about it, but I applied for the job and got it and it’s pretty good money so I’m hoping I’ll get over it, I’m sure that I will once I get it going. I probably just feel that way because it’s something new to me.

My store is having a sale for the week, so if you ever wanted to pop on something in there, now could be a good time.

Currently reading: Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. A couple of years old by now and I pretty much know most of the stuff in the book already, but it looks like an easy read plus it’s cool to see what tricks social media and games use to suck you in to their platform time-sucks. I’m really on a reading kick so far this month!

Cold Couple of Days on the Cape

Posted on by Markman
On the way to Coast Guard Beach (available for purchase)

We had an opportunity to spend a couple of days out on the Cape and recharge. Although it was partly cloudy for most of the time, the only really sunny day was extremely windy which it made it feel really cold, so I didn’t go crazy getting photos, but I was pleased with I was able to capture of which a small sampling is here on this post.

We had some great food and hot chocolates and spent a bunch of time just hanging out, relaxing and reading. Speaking of which my current read is The Urge: Our History of Addiction. This book is about deeply humane history of addiction–a phenomenon that remains baffling and deeply misunderstood despite having touched countless lives–by an addiction psychiatrist striving to understand his own family and himself. Another find on Libby that was available immediately so I figured I’d give it a shot. We also drove around to a bunch of beaches and breakfast places for early noshes.

Update: I had some interest in some of the cape photos from this trip so I’ve made them available on the store page. Check it out if you like my work.

Nauset Beach (available for purchase!)
Nauset beach
The “new” Capt. Cass
Snow on Rock Harbor
Sunset at Crooks
Nauset winds and waves
Orleans view
Skaket Love

Harborwalk New Bedford

Posted on by Markman
Walking along the Harborwalk

Morning started out making some Pasta Faggioli soup to be delivered to a friend who was feeling under the weather. After dropping it off took a little side trip, first to check out the sights at Round Hill Beach, and then second to check out the Harborwalk in New Bedford. The New Bedford Harbor Walk sits atop the New Bedford Hurricane Barrier on East Rodney French Boulevard. The hurricane barrier is said to be the longest in the world – and now folks enjoy its spectacular panorama while walking, jogging, and biking along this paved, elevated path. I chose a quick walk around a bit to see what the hoopla was. It is a nice little walk with a view, the sun through the clouds hitting just right to light the sparkling waters of Buzzards Bay. On the way back took some take out from Pa Raffas, great pizza and Italian sandwiches – definitely worth the trip.

A Valentine’s Day Message for You

Posted on by Markman

Valentine’s Day. I used to hate Valentines Day or at least be ambivalent towards it growing up. I was like Charlie Brown in that I would never get a valentine from anyone unless it was that thing you used to do as a kid in elementary school, but that wasn’t real. It took a while, but somewhere along the way, after much time, a couple of failed relationships, and a lot of just learning to love myself and maturing, that Valentines Day became something I could enjoy.

It was all about finally finding that right person, and it took a long time, and I mean a really long time, but like they say, the wait really is worth it. When you find someone that “just fits” it’s pretty incredible. Is it always perfection and sunshine? Of course not. But when it’s right, you learn to work with it, compromise at times (most times), and maybe better yourself and your partner in your thoughts , your views and your feelings. Someone who thinks more or less the same way that you do, but in a healthy, conductive and sharable way. At least that’s what I believed happened in my particular case. The heart that is meant to love you finds beauty in all of your flaws.

So whether you like this holiday or not, whether you’re in a healthy relationship or single, just remember your own worth and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We all seek connection and the desire to be loved. Although it is present, it only becomes apparent when you aren’t really looking, as the cliché goes. The truth is, it’s been inside yourself all along. And once you can find it within yourself, then the person looking for the same will find you. I’m living proof.

Currently Reading: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. I’m on a reading binge right now!

Playing with Black and White

Posted on by Markman
Playing with Black and white photography

I was a little out of action this last weekend as I seemed to have some stomach problem that pretty much kept me laying low on Sunday but I feel much better today. Strange gastro things happening I guess. I was able to get some things down today including getting some mail out, reapplying for my parking permit, things like that.

Currently Reading: Empire of Pain, The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. You know, the folks behind Oxycontin. When I saw it was available for borrowing on my Libby app I jumped on it. I didn’t realize it was over 1,000 pages though!

Just Call Me Dryer Repair Guy

Posted on by Markman
Different beach vibes from 2 weeks ago.

The other day, I discovered that the dryer would just continue to run even when the machine was turned off. Unplugging it was the only way to put a stop to it. It was quite frustrating since you could essentially not use the dryer because none of the controls would work; all it would do was continue to spin when you plugged it back in. I therefore did what any decent dude would do and went to YouTube first.

I discovered some videos that demonstrated how to take the panel off and access the motherboard. A relay there seems to frequently become stuck, so you just have to bang it or jiggle it to unstick it. It took me a few tries to get it to stop spinning, but now that it has, we can resume drying our items without having a service call. Yay! We not only saved money there, but I also feel very accomplished for having managed to get it back up and functioning normally. Bravo to me!

The other night we had friends over for a firepit outing and I don’t know what it was but they kind of sucked the life out of me. The last two days I’ve been feeling pretty tired and sleepy. Basically I think I just need a good nap. Maybe this week. We’ve also been doing a lot of cooking, from chicken dishes, to meatballs, to soups and almost everything in between. It feels good to me to use up all the groceries so that none of it ends up going to waste.

I recently finished a pretty amazing book about a cold case detective, and I’ve been sort of addicted to watching Hot Ones, where celebs talk about themselves while munching on wings packed with the spiciest sauces. I recently saw the ones starring Anna Kendrick and Michael Cera, both of whom gave it their all, to varying degrees of success.