In the Garden Today

Hydrangea

Clematis

Sure signs of summer!

Colors of June

Mountain Laurel

June is a beautiful month in New Hampshire. Sunny days, green grass, flowers, trees....so many colors, activities and sensations that I dream of through the long cold winter.

Hay Field

I invite all of you to show us the colors of June wherever you are this month!! Not only are your pictures providing inspiration for creative projects, they're also providing a glimpse into your world.

Foxgloves

Shade Garden

Please add a link to your colorful post in the list below before July 1 to participate!

Roses

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy the fabulousness of June!

Flag Day

Today is Flag Day in the United States. Many other countries celebrate a Flag Day of their own as well.


I'm celebrating Flag Day with this post because as part of a local photography challenge, I received the topic "Flags" for the month of June.


I need to edit these flag photos down to 3 or fewer of my favorites. I shot most of these pictures on a day trip to Salem, MA. I was surprised by the number of flags I noticed. (A few cemetery flag photos are left over from my "Cemeteries" assignment photographed in NH.)


I expected flags on historic buildings, but was surprised by the variety and number of flags around town.


Just like my "Cemeteries" assignment, I stopped shooting flag photos after one day because I didn't want to get carried away with the topic!!


This assignment was a little tricky for me....it was on location, plus I had to dodge cars, pedestrians, telephone wires....Plus, the flags would move around so it was hard to get a good combo of a flag in a good position in good light with an interesting background without elements I didn't want in the photo.




While lunching at FINZ, we couldn't help but notice goings-on aboard "Sugarpants". Since it had a flag flying, I figured it was fair game for the challenge. Unfortunately the boat name doesn't stand out as much as I'd like!


This picture made me laugh because I took about 10 shots of this scene trying to get the flags lined up with the building in the background.

Despite all that work, my favorite shot from the series was when the nose of a bus, complete with a flag decal, nudged its way into the shot unexpectedly.

Hawthorne Hotel

Piscassic Cemetery

India Marine Hall

In the US, Flag Day was established in 1916 to commemorate the adoption of the American Flag on June 14, 1777.

Hamilton Hall

We had Canadian house guests several years ago. They remarked on the number of American flags on display. They viewed it as a bit of nationalism.

View out the window of Hamilton Hall

I do think American flags were more prevalent immediately after September 11, 2001, as a way of expressing grief over events of that day.

House in the Federal Architectural Style

Chestnut Street

I've heard that some towns have Flag Day parades, but could not find any parades in New Hampshire.

There is a a local program to dispose properly of damaged flags. In addition, a local group provides stars from retired flags to service members arriving at Pease Air National Guard Base.

Custom House

You'd be doing me a huge favor if you comment on which photos are your favorites, or if there are any you have a strong reaction to (positive or negative).

Hopefully your thoughts will help me narrow down the photos to the 1-3 that I need for my photography challenge! Thanks!

Horseshoe Crabs: Round 2

Friday, as the sun set, we visited Sandy Point in search of horseshoe crabs.


Horseshoe crabs visit estuaries up and down the east coast of North America to spawn.

Peak spawning activity is during the evening high tide during either a full moon or new moon.


Last year we joined a kayak trip in search of horseshoe crabs.

This year, we decided it would be much simpler to just drive to Sandy Point to look for them on foot.

We saw one crab swimming at the boat ramp.


Two crabs making their way toward a large group of crabs.


And finally, a rather large group of crabs.

Fun facts about horseshoe crabs:

• Their blood is blue
• They're a very primitive creature
• They do not bite or sting
• Their blood is used to test the purity of medicines
  
• Horseshoe crabs are not edible
• The American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) lives on the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to the Yucatan
• Horseshoe crabs are not actually crabs. They are related to scorpions, ticks and spiders.
  

DPS: Cemeteries

For my assignment "Cemeteries" from Digital Photography School, I borrowed an idea from Tina.

My plan was to photograph any cemeteries I saw when I was out and about with my camera.

Winter Street Cemetery, Exeter, NH

I realized there are many cemeteries dotting the New Hampshire landscape.

Family cemetery along the road

I ended up taking pictures for only a few days because I didn't want to be overwhelmed by cemetery photos.

Broad Street Cemetery, Salem, MA
Founded in 1655

I was hoping to stumble across an old, abandoned cemetery in the forest. I know of two of them, but both were too difficult for me to visit during the assignment period.

Piscassic Cemetery, Newfields, NH

And finally, because I was thrilled to capture the tractor gathering hay in the distance behind this cemetery, I'll close with this poem. I promise to return to more lighthearted posts in short order!

Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982).
“New England Weather”
from Collected Poems: 1917-1982 (1985).

Hay-time when the Boston forecast
calls for haying weather, hot and fair,
Conway people stick to garden chores
and nod toward nightfall at the cemetery:

that's where Sumner Boyden's lying now
and Sumner always told the town, if Boston
promised shine you'd better count on showers
'long toward evening with your hay crop lost.

He meant, no man can tell the weather
anywhere but where he's from:
you have to have the whole of it together,
bred in your bones---the way the wind-shifts come,

how dust feels on a hayfork handle
days when there'll be thunder up for sure,
and how the swallows skim, the cattle stand,
when blue stays blue and even clover cures.

He knew the Conway signs and when the Boston
forecast didn't, team went back to stalls
and chances were, by half-past four at most
we'd hear the thunder up toward Shelburne Falls.

It wasn't luck. New England weather
breeds New Englanders: that changing sky
is part of being born and drawing breath
and dying, maybe, where you're meant to die.

Welcome June!

May almost slipped by without time for the Colors of May challenge, but even though I posted it on the last weekend of the month, lots of you found time to post pictures of the beauty of May in your part of the world.

Thanks for participating!! I'm already shooting pictures for the Colors of June, so expect a call to post your colors soon!

Small pink roses

Here are the colors of May, through the eyes (and cameras) of the bloggers who joined in the May challenge:

Lois From Lois' Hands takes a walk in Key West, Florida

Valerie from Fiberewetopia celebrates flowers and graduation in Michigan

Nina from Odette's Obsessions with a great variety of natural colors in Ontario

Sharon from In Stitches with a surprising variety of natural colors in Nevada

Annie from Weaverannie Knits and Spins in the Netherlands with beautiful colors in her garden

Tina from A Blip on the Radar in Washington with beautiful colors from her garden and other adventures

Leisurely Lesley reminds us that in Australia May is the beginning of autumn

Leigh of 5 Acres & A Dream shows the colorful fruits of her labor in her new home in South Carolina

Cally from t'katch in Scotland with a garden mosaic and slideshow

Basically Benita in Indiana with pottery, architecture and flowers

Jenny from Daisy Hill Weaving Studio in Michigan with wildflowers, butterflies and other garden goings-on

Evelyn Oldroyd with photos from her travels throughout British Columbia

Janet from Janet's Thread visited Hong Kong this month

Quite Contrary in England with a beautiful garden

Peony

I hope you're enjoying a beautiful June!!! Thanks for joining in the colors of May challenge!

Related posts:
Colors of April
Colors of March
Colors of February
Colors of January
Colors of December
Colors of November
Colors of late October

DPS: Spices

I haven't taken photos for a Digital Photography School weekly assignment since March, but it's high time I got back in the habit!

This week's assignment is "Spices".

Counted cross-stitch on our kitchen wall

For textile enthusiasts, here is a cross-stitch that I completed 20 years ago. I still love it, plus it was fun to stitch.

Spice rack lowered

While my spice rack isn't especially photogenic, it is very useful. It holds lots of spices and keeps them in position. When it's lowered I can find the spices I need.

Spice rack back in position in cabinet

When the spice rack is raised, it's out of the way and the cabinet door can close.

Spice bins in the West India Goods Store in Salem, MA

At Salem Maritime National Historic Site, several buildings from early Salem are preserved. Salem was a center of trade in the 1600's and 1700's.

The West India Goods Store is representative of early stores that sold valuable and exotic goods including tea, coffee and spices that sea captains brought into Salem.

Spices and sundries in the West India Goods Store

Choosing my favorite photo for this assignment is easy....I saved the best for last!