Sunset on the Storm

I was at my son's football practice and noticed the sun setting on the storm clouds from earlier. Just before the sun sets is the best time to see dramatic colors in the clouds. I could see people in the bleachers looking at me and then looking in the direction of where I was shooting to trying to fingure out what I was looking at. (Since the practice was in the oppositie direction). They probably thought I was loosing my mind. I am sure I was the topic of converstation for some on the way home, espcially when I started to move around to compose the pictures. Too bad they didn't notice what they were missing!

Morning Visitor

While sitting on my deck I heard something whiz by my head coming very close to hitting me. I discovered that it was one of the humming birds that have been coming to our honeysuckle bush every year for a few years now. My children have named him "Zippy" and he has become a seasonal pet that we look for every spring and feed all summer long. Whether or not it is actually the same humming bird is unknown, but my kids believe it is and get a kick out of watching for Zippy and taking care of him all summer. Zippy has become very accustom to us being on the deck because let's face it, my kids have yet to master the ability to be quiet for long periods of time. When I took these photos my son was playing on the deck and I was only a few feet away with nothing hiding me.

Camping It!

I had a great time volunteering at my son's cub scout camp this week at Camp Carpenter. It was a blast! We were outside from 7:00 am - 6:00 pm every day. Even though there wasn't much down time, I was still able to snap a few pics.

Climbing Mt. Monadnock, NH

Yesterday my family and I climbed to the summit of Mt. Monadnock located in NH. It was an experience that my children will remember for the rest of their lives and so will I. That was our first climb up the mountain and we met some wonderful people. At the summit we met another family who also had their 8 year old boy the was making his first summit climb. When he found out it was also my son's first trip to the summit of a mountain he put his hand out they congratulated each other. It was great to see other families getting outside together. My children came down with such a sense of accomplishment. My son kept saying he couldn't believe he did it. We talked about now that they have climbed a mountain, if they get overwhelmed at school by a test or schoolwork all they have to do is take a breath and say "I can do this, I climbed a mountain." I think this especially hit home for my son because he is very intelligent but struggles with severe dyslexia and gets overwhelmed quickly. This was just the kind of confidence booster he needed even though that wasn't part of the original plan. Doing something together that is a first for the whole family (it was my first time up Mt. Monadock too) really bonded us together. And I had a blast adding to some beautiful landscape pictures to my photography portfolio!

Some hiking side notes:

Please be prepared! My son is a cub scout so we used planning this as a way for him to earn a belt loop, but plan and pack appropriately. There were a lot of people going up without the proper gear if they were to get in trouble.

We researched the trails ahead of time, packed a lot of water in each of our backpacks, I had rope, compass, whistle, extra food, blanket, first aid kit, ace bandages, and bug spray in mine to name a few things. We also talked about hiker safety and ethic. We stayed on the trails, payed attention to what trail we were following (encouraging our children to find the next trail marker), we stayed together, and followed "Leave No Trace" by cub scouts.

Mt. Monadnock- is aprox 3200 in elevation. We followed the white dot trail up (little over 2 miles to summit) and the white cross trail down. Both trails have some pretty tough terrain where we had to use 3 points of contact to maneuver. It took us about 2 hours up and 1.5 coming down.

Dramatic Waterfalls are Not Just for Exotic Places

My family and I recently took a day trip to Crawford Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I had researched the location of some waterfalls in the area and decided to hike one of the trails to one of the waterfalls. The hike to the falls was very family friendly. My 8 yr old and 12 yr old had no problem hiking the 1.5 miles. They enjoyed going over the railroad tracks and then discovering all kinds of native plants and trees. We came across a few smaller waterfalls on the way too. We had never been here before and you could imagine our surprise as we turned the corner of the trail and came to this beautiful and enormous waterfall. My children were awe struck and my 8 yr old even said to me "I thought there were only waterfalls like that in Hawaii!". He wanted to make sure I took lots of pictures (of course) so that he could show his classmates at school. I encourage you to research what natural elements are in your area and take some time to go enjoy one!

Backyard Paradise

I am always encouraging my children stop and take notice of what is around them. I hope that I will be able to inspire others to do the same. Here are some pictures I took from my own back yard in Southern New Hampshire. As busy as we all are (believe me I have two children in 2 sports and each in other extra curricula activities all going on at the same time, plus working full time- I know what busy is) take some time this weekend to grab a cup of coffee and sit outside on your porch, steps, deck, etc and just observe your surroundings. You will be amazed at what you see that you had no idea was around you.

Have a great weekend and get outside!!!

Hazey Day at the Beach

I wanted to show that you don't need a fancy camera or gear to catch some interesting photos at the beach. I left my Nikon at home took a very small point and shoot that only had 3 settings to the beach. I want to encourage people to get out and explore, and take some pictures to remember what you saw. You many even see things in your photo that you didn't notice when you were looking at it in person. Take time to really look, not just scan your surroundings, you will be amazed at what you see!