Sunday, July 24, 2016

mountains of massachusetts

I got back recently from a week in northampton, massachusetts ("Where the coffee is strong and so are the women," according to the downtown parking garage sign (and where parking is 50 cents/hour)).  Did several short, but steep, hikes - one on Pine Cobble Mountain in Williamstown, near the northwest corner of the state; and another on Mount Norwottuck in Amherst.

The days were warm but the nights cooled off quite comfortably.  


View from Pine Cobble, in the Clarksburg State Forest: 





Hiking back down the Pine Cobble trail:




Hiking up the Robert Frost trail in the Mount Holyoke Range:



View of valley from atop Mount Norwottuck:


And heading back along the Metacomet Monadnock Trail:



Monday, July 4, 2016

Cool July day at Kenilworth

Yesterday the temperatures were about 20 degrees cooler than usual for an early July day when I headed out to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Anacostia, DC.  As a result, my friends and I were able to sleep in and enjoy the peak lotus bloom between noon and 2!  I've been so many times, I tried to challenge myself this year with some new and different photos.  It was beautiful, as usual.   Naomi had us all modeling with the flowers, Hiromi and Mary Kay wandered, and Mary Kay helped me spot the dragonfly who was kind enough to pose.