Winter Fun!!!!!

I had the great opportunity to photograph the 1st Annual Winter Carnival at Riverside Dog Park in Raymond NH for the town committee. I am usually not a fan of cold weather but my family and I dressed warm and we had an absolute bast! It was a great event that got a lot of families outside in nature in the community, including the family dogs. They had so many events for the families to participate in together. It made me think why do we always seem to have so many outdoor events in the summer, and hardly any in the winter? If you dress appropriately (just like in the summer months) you can have as much fun outdoors. Here are some pictures took that day.

Fire pit and my children sledding.

Winter Paridise

Tug-of-War next to the dragon sculpted out of snow.

There off!!!! Snow Shoeing Races!!!

The Beach isnt Just for the Summertime

The weather warmed up for a few days so I went to the beach on my lunch break to see if there was any interesting to photography. It was a clear day and the visibility was great. I was able to take some pictures of the Isle of Shole, and some practice shots of birds in flight. I definitely have Spring Fever now and I am starting to research different places that I to explore with my family and camera this year!

It's Been a While but I am Back to Blogging

Wow, I can't believe I haven't made any posts since October! Life has been busy to say the least. Both my children have been involved in school sports, scouts, and my son has been diagnosed with a learning disability, most likely moderate dyslexia. So most of my time has been spent on the Basketball court side lines, being assistant leader to my son's cub scout den, and researching special education laws and learning strategies for dyslexia. ( I am considering starting another blog about what I have learned, and techniques I am trying with my son for other families that may be going through a similar experience.)

We had some wildlife visitors in our backyard visible through our kitchen window. We think they are after our chickens that we got last spring. Seeing these guys outside my kitchen window reminded me of the title of my blog "Outside Your Window" and made me realize I have been so busy taking care of everyone else I haven't been taking care of myself and the things I enjoy.

So I have made a point to get back outside with my camera (even though winter is in full force here in New England). I have been doing some hiking in the woods behind my house, and my children have joined me for some. They haven't gotten the whole quite in the woods to see the wildlife thing, but we have been able to see lots of tracks that we have identified and it has released some of their built up energy!

So here I am back to photography and blogging!

My son starting out on our hike and tracks we found in the snow.

Weekend Hiking

I decided to make it time to go hiking up in the White Mountains, NH this past weekend. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see the foliage in all it's splendour. I was a little disappointed to see that I had missed the peak, but it was still absolutely beautiful. My children were amazed by the snow cap mountain peaks while they were only in sweaters at the base. We took a small hike at Franconia's Notch Waterfall Trail and then we Walked around at The Basin. My children got a kick out of following the river. My son noticed that part of the river looked like a natural waterslide. It's also funny how when we think of waterfalls we think of warm, exotic places. Until I picked up a NH hiking map, I didn't even know how many waterfalls were in my home state, and they are just as beautiful. I can't wait to explore and photograph more of them!

Fall is Here!

We couldn't have asked for better weather this weekend. We spent a lot of time outdoors enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful fall foliage. We went on a few hikes this weekend, and took some time to look at the color patterns in the leaves. My children even noticed that leaves have some similarities to snowflakes. No two are exactly the same and they too float down to the ground. Hoping the weather holds out for next weekend, we have some more local places that we want to explore. I would love to get up to the White Mountains, especially the Flume or Lost River, but I am not sure if that is going to happen before the foliage peak is over. If my family has weekend that isn't filled with sports activities, you know where we will be going! Until then we will use the smaller amounts of down time to enjoy what is right around us.

Been a While

It has been a pretty busy summer with lots of outside adventures! We have been doing lots of hiking on the trails in our back yard, and going for walks in our neighborhood. The leaves are starting to change and I am starting to get very excited to take some great fall photos.

The other night I was outside and noticed tiny green things glowing in the grass. I picked one up and it was some kind of insect. Of course I got my two children out of bed (at 9:30 on a school night) to show them. When they first got outside there was nothing glowing, and they thought I was loosing my mind. But after staring at the ground for about a minute we started to see them glowing in the grass. The longer we watched the more we saw. It was pretty magical having these green glowing things all around our feet. I was so glad I took the risk of having a very grumpy morning to show my children another amazing thing in nature. We have done a little research and believe that they were female glow worms that are actually a type of beetle. We have been out every night since watching them. (Not so late though)

This is a picture of what one looked like. I didn't take this picture, I found it doing some research from the Portland Bird Observatory and Field Center website.

The picture was taken by Martin Cade.

As you look at this imagine about 20 of them glowing all around you on the ground. It was pretty amazing!

NH Polar Caves

We took a ride up to the White Mountains here in NH to go explore the Polar Caves. We had a blast. We hadn't been there in about 5 years, and I wish we had gone sooner. The sights were amazing and climbing through the caves and learning about the different minerals in the rocks was very interesting. We also visited the Maple Sugar Museum that was on their property. The old tools and machines they used to make maple syrup were amazing. I was nice to not only have a fun family outing, but I also had the opportunity to teach my children about history and geology. We read the signs that described what the minerals were in the rocks and how the caves were formed by glaciers. It was again a place that is in my own state that I had taken for granted and forgotten about. I encourage everyone to explore what is right around you. You will probably be surprised at what you will discover.