I had a great commute in this morning. I went North my 'usual' way, had a short adventure down a dirt road that I'd wondered about this past week. Turns out it gets wet and rough pretty fast, I got to cross a small puddle then a much larger puddle ... twice! (I just finished rinsing off what mud was left after all the rain this evening). I went up by Mousam Lake & took 109 into NH (Sanbornville). I crossed over the Spaulding and continued on 125/153 into Union and saw that they were working on the old train depot. I spun around and grabbed a photo. There is an old snow plow to the right of this that was obstructed by the worker's trucks. In fact, I need to head back up there to capture that plow better (technically I did get a photo, but it sucks, but there is enough detail for me to realize I need a better shot). In all, I took about 2 1/2 hours to put on 100.1 miles into work (I live 17 miles away). Based on early Weather.com predictions, I thought I would be traveling home via Manchester/Concord again, putting on another 100+ miles but that isn't happening. I am sitting here typing this up in a wet shirt as my jacket leaked through for the third time this week.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Jul 29 - Payday Marathon
My wife & son were holding a "Payday Marathon" when I got home. They were actually playing with two different pieces, they wouldn't cooperate with me, so I lined these two unused pieces up for my shot. I am absolutely exhausted, up all night and no idea why (we have the Air Conditioner in during our hot spell).
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Jul 28 - Summer Look
Woo hoo! Summer is now here. Temps were in the high 80's for the ride home, time to put the Stock Screen on the Strom. There is a bit of a reflection of me in there as well.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Jul 27 - Guiding Light
I love Weather.com. I was tracking two very large cells this evening just before leaving work. Had I left and gone the more direct route home, I would have ridden through the worst of it. Instead, I noticed that I could head a little Southwest, then North & ride around the storm. It was worth a try. There was light rain when I left work, it all but stopped as I turned the corner to the airfield (about a mile away). I pulled over to snap a few photos and change out of my rain gloves. The rest of the ride was uneventful and beautiful. I could see where the cells never hit as I rode through miles of dryness, then I could see where they had just passed through as I rode through moist steamy patches of road. The temperature had cooled significantly so I kept riding North & snaked back a couple of towns further than I'd planned. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, I intend to head out early and have an extended commute in ;-)
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Jul 26 - Tracks
So we are out driving (I believe this was on Route 5, South of Fryeburg, Maine) and it is raining on and off, not just piddly rain, but "Great Big Rain". The outside temp is bouncing between 65 degrees and 81 degrees as the rain comes and goes. We pass over these exempt tracks and I see this scene and do that "1-2-3-4-5...I need to turn around" thing.
I pull over, my wife has her nose in a book, I get out and am assaulted by a wave of mosquitoes. No big deal, we are in Maine. As I open the trunk to get the camera gear, the amount of mosquitoes grows exponentially, at this point, I have to control my breathing as I am sucking these guys down. I figure I need to get this shot so I head to the tracks (about 20' away). I'm setting up on the tripod, setting the camera settings and taking a few shots, when I realize that my leg, scratch that, legs, are covered in mosquitoes. This whole time I have been swatting them away, or so I thought. I see about 20 dead mosquitoes, I begin to realize there is more going on here than meets the eye. But I'm not giving up this freakin shot, I mean, I braved it this far, what's a few more shots and bites? While putting the gear back into the trunk (which I left open), I notice a massive swarm inside the trunk. These guys have decided the trunk is pretty cool. I try to stow my gear as best I can (at this point, I could care less if my 40D & 70-200 F4L are nicely padded, I almost dump it into the trunk (I actually do put it somewhat in the Domke bag).
I am still scratching after a few hours and a shower. Oh yeah, about 30 mins later, we stopped at a diner for dinner and I open the back of the trunk to see what's going on back there. A bunch of mosquitoes fly out, I believe I've just helped a small nation of nasty bugs migrate.
I pull over, my wife has her nose in a book, I get out and am assaulted by a wave of mosquitoes. No big deal, we are in Maine. As I open the trunk to get the camera gear, the amount of mosquitoes grows exponentially, at this point, I have to control my breathing as I am sucking these guys down. I figure I need to get this shot so I head to the tracks (about 20' away). I'm setting up on the tripod, setting the camera settings and taking a few shots, when I realize that my leg, scratch that, legs, are covered in mosquitoes. This whole time I have been swatting them away, or so I thought. I see about 20 dead mosquitoes, I begin to realize there is more going on here than meets the eye. But I'm not giving up this freakin shot, I mean, I braved it this far, what's a few more shots and bites? While putting the gear back into the trunk (which I left open), I notice a massive swarm inside the trunk. These guys have decided the trunk is pretty cool. I try to stow my gear as best I can (at this point, I could care less if my 40D & 70-200 F4L are nicely padded, I almost dump it into the trunk (I actually do put it somewhat in the Domke bag).
I am still scratching after a few hours and a shower. Oh yeah, about 30 mins later, we stopped at a diner for dinner and I open the back of the trunk to see what's going on back there. A bunch of mosquitoes fly out, I believe I've just helped a small nation of nasty bugs migrate.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Jul 25 - Nothin but net
So I took a 7 hour, three state motorcycle ride with many stops and have absolutely no photos to show for it. I am however, quite happy. While fretting about this evening for my PaD shot, I happened upon the basketball net. The actual net has been up there for about 3 or 4 years now, it has never come down in the winter. Now that I think about it, it is in pretty good shape for getting abused for this long. The kids will use it in spurts, they are currently traveling in the lull of the basketball biorhythm, perhaps next week it will become top priority again (usually a week to week thing, it really does get used). I believe it is down in its lowest setting to make the older kids look better and to give my son a fighting chance of getting a basket.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Jul 24 - For Joy
I've wanted to do this shot for a few days now. Today was the first day that I found myself wandering around without my cane at work. This was a hard shot to get as I can't jump all that high. I'm not so worried about my bum ankle, it is pretty secure in a brace, it's my good one that I am more worried about. It would be ironic and sad to injure my other foot while taking a photo that is celebrating feeling better. My interval timer remote shutter release has finally died, so this was shot with the 10 second timer on & me timing my jumps just right. I am digging the treatment on this one, the trees in the background look less like trees and more like explosions.
Today also marks the day that I have found the limits to my riding gear's waterproofness. My helmet, jacket, gloves, and boots leaked. My pants didn't leak one bit though. The only reason my boots leaked is because I inadvertently rode through a flooded road, twice. The water shot up my legs then down into the boots. My gloves have been drying since this morning and you'd swear I just took them off, they are waterlogged.
Today also marks the day that I have found the limits to my riding gear's waterproofness. My helmet, jacket, gloves, and boots leaked. My pants didn't leak one bit though. The only reason my boots leaked is because I inadvertently rode through a flooded road, twice. The water shot up my legs then down into the boots. My gloves have been drying since this morning and you'd swear I just took them off, they are waterlogged.
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