This photo shows an almost-180-degree view of the western sky at sunrise, August 11, 2022. More photos of the sky will follow, but first birds, insects, flowers, and other things. All photos here were taken between August 10 and September 2.
Birds
As for the previous blog, I spent some time watching Ruby-throated Hummingbirds visit our flowers.
Nasturtium seemed to be favored, but they also visited zinneas.
Here is a hummingbird sequence at a nasturtium.
And another at a zinnea.
Finally, five more hummers.
There were many Great Blue Herons around this summer. Here is a sequence of one standing on a dock and then departing.
From a kayak, I was able to approach a GBH very closely.
Along the rail trail in Lebanon, juvenile birds seem to abound.
I believe this is an adult Gray Catbird.
Above the plazas in West Lebanon, I photographed a large kettle of Turkey Vultures. George Clark once suggested two postuates for them favoring this site: thermal updraft from all the pavement or the smell of greasy food.
In Georges Mills, five Common Mergaser swam very close to me on shore. That was fortunate as I only had time to use a short lens. Notice how the look of the photo changes when they swam into colorful reflections only a few yards from the rocks.
We visited the Concord Community Garden after dropping our daughter at the airport. We only stayed for a short time. But I was able to photograph a male and a female House Sparrow.
I saw a pair of Mallards preparing to swim under a small bridge in Newbury. I waited for them to emerge. When they saw me directly overhead, they flushed, but only flew a short distance.
Insects
In my previous blog post, I showed some Hummingbird Moths from New London. Tthis time I found them at the Concord Community Garden.
I believe this white moth is a Corn Earworm Moth. What a terrible name.
A white butterfly from Lakeside Park in Enfield is a Cabbage White.
There were more Monarch Butteflies around than previous years. Here is one from George Pond in Enfield.
Below are two photos of White Admirals, a subspecies of Red-spotted Admirals.
And an American Lady butterfly.
Below are photos of a Great Spangled Frittilary.
Finally, I found some Clouded Sulpur buttefies at the Concord Community Garden.
In Lebanon, I photographed a Widow Jellowjacket on Queen-Anne’s-Lace.
Plants
Here is another Queen-Anne’s-Lace from the same spot. This one is still quite closed.
Also at the base of Ice House Road in Lebanon were some of my favorite “weeds”, Chicory.
Working our way east, here is a cattail from Lakeside Park in Enfield.
Also in Enfield, a water lily at George Pond in Enfield.
There were Purple Coneflowers in downtown Springfield.
In Sunapee, an interesting, though not very colorful, American Spikenard.
Also in Sunapee, a more colorful Day Lily.
We found some beautiful Princess Flowers along Main Street in New London.
And at the garden at Colby-Sawyer, a bright red zinnea.
In Warner we hiked along the Warner River and found a Jerusalem Artichoke, a member of the sunflower family.
Various Animals
A pair of deer in Sunapee.
And a fawn in our Etna yard, photographed by Jann. Note both young deer still had spots in August.
Jann and I hiked in the Esther Currier WMA in New London but did not see much. We did find a very small Garter Snake. I had my “bird lens” with me so I could get a close-up.
We stopped for the delicious ice cream at Sanctuary Dairy Farm in Sunapee. Some of the flavors are adults only. While there I photographed two goats. One had a friendly bird that stayed nearby, often right under it, between its legs.
Mount Kearsarge
Because of covid and distance, we hadn’t seen our daughters, Jennifer (New Zealand) and Heather (Hawaii) for a number of years. They both visited in August. I hiked Kearsarge twice, once with Heather and once with son-in-law Steve.
Both times we hiked up the steep “Roots and Rocks Trail”, aka, the Winslow Trail, and down the longer Barlow Trail.
Here are a few photos from my hike with Heather.
It was foggy in the valley but sunny near the summit when I hiked with Steve. From the summit I photographed Cardigan and Firecrew, two favorite mountains. Here are some photos from that hike.
Musterfield Farm
Jann and I like to visit the farmstand at Musterfield Farm in Sutton and tour the interesting building there. The buildings are almost always open and are worth exploring. You might be able spot the straps to hold the horses for shoeing in one of the blacksmith shop photos below. Along the road are nice views of Mounts Kearsarge and Black.
Sky
In my photography classes I give the hint, “eliminate the sky”. Many photo are weakened by the inclusion of a blank, boring sky. Framing closer to the real subject is ofter very beneficial. But sometimes the sky or the objects in it are the main subject.
Here is the Sturgen Supermoon, the last supermoon of the year.
And the next morning.
I began this blog post with a sunrise over the western sky — not something that is often seen. Here are two more photos from that event.
Here are some nice sunsets.
Sometimes clouds are almost the subject by themselves. Here is the tilting Herrick’s Cove Light with Mount Sunapee in the background. Ice damaged the structure of the crib. It is anticipated the Herrick crib replacement will be completed next year.
Another view of Herrick’s Cove Light shows Mounts Kearsarge and Black in the background.
Crepescular rays can be dramatic.
And, of course there is the Milky Way.
In and over the water
There are many ways to travel in and over the water.
I photographed one of the races of the Western Hemisphere Championships, a Star class regatta on Lake Sunapee. The day had beautiful clouds.
A few scenes
A few scenes from Springfield, Sunapee, New London, Newbury, and Warner follow.
A few more weeks of summer ahead. But here comes fall.