Summer Symmetry
Symmetry of Temptation
Dog and Boy
Mother and Daughter
Kayak Symmetry
Fishing Symmetry
Big girls, little girls
Girl and dog
Speed and joy
Immortal
Boat and rain
Summer Friendship
The ultimate symmetry
Symmetry of legs
Another symmetry of legs
Symmetry of hands
Farm Symmetry
Watermelon on Watermelon
Insect Symmetry

After our odysseys in and around Burlington, Vermont, we met up with my parents and my sister and her family and headed off to the waterfront to catch a boat to "The island". This must be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Here are some of the highlights:
My dog Sam getting some air
The cousins getting some air
All of the girls
The restored lighthouse keeper's house
The view from the lighthouse
The parking lot
My sister "borrowing" one of my lenses
I dare you!
Huge air
Light, water, and kids
Done
Mothers and daughters
Heading home - the end of a perfect day

Once again we made our annual pilgrimage to our camp on Lake Champlain in Vermont, but this year we flew the kids up early to visit their grandparents so the wife and I could enjoy a few days in downtown Burlington.

For those of you unfamiliar with Vermont, it's pretty magical. Technically there are no cities, although Burlington does swell to over 50,000 residents when college is in session. So, checking in to the Wyndham, the ONLY downtown hotel, we were treated to this standard city view from our room window. (!)

The next morning we awoke to  rush hour (this street was totally gridlocked),  
 
so we decided to walk.

The place to go in Burlington is Church street. The entertainment can't be beat, although you need to watch who you talk to.  Slackwire Sam was a class act. For a street performer, he was top notch.

Most of the  locals were more interested about who was looking at them, but not all of them. One of this things that amazed me (coming from Northern Virginia, the holy land of franchises), was the vibrant  local  business scene. Vermonters are still as independent as they were 230 years ago.  

The wife and I enjoyed the local food as well as the color (This was one of our favorites) , but there's nothing that can compare to the joy of publicly reading Foreign Policy Magazine 600 miles from Washington!!

So I'm out at the grill tonight and feel hungry eyes
 on me. Now typically, once I see a perfect photo op, the subjects take flight the minute I move for my camera. Well, not tonight! I got to set up my rig and snap pictures for an hour while mom and dad Martin fed their little ones.. I love the choreography of baby birds, and the high-speed drops by the parents. And this was a great lesson in parenting.. I DON'T CARE IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT!
This is what's for dinner tonight!. So then we had our dinner and the Martins flew away. But, since I still had my equipment set up on the deck, I was able to catch this scene... those birds weren't very happy with that hawk!

Then the Martins reappeared on the neighbors gutter... I attached my 1.4x multiplier and was back in action. Now some of the birds were taking off and meeting mom in mid-air to beat their siblings to the meal. But mom still made sure that everyone got their dinner, although how they remember who's turn it was is a mystery to me.
This is one of my favorites.. what a beautiful approach.

A hug from mom

The end

1. Hairy Injured Beatle
   
2. Strange Bug
   
3. Classic Ladybug

Hope your not sick of these... more from the garden (which is really just a 2' x 3' patch of Tulips and Peonies in my front yard):

• Aphid Party - REALLY little guys but they hold still for pictures well :-)
  
• Baby Bumblebee I love the pollen all over his head
  
• Baby Mantis This guy is about a 1/2" long.. he's lost in the moat between two cinder blocks
  
• Dead Plant This facinated me, although the aperature is so small you can see how dirty my sensor is (ugh)
  
• Color Explosion - I could take pictures of this all day
  
• Ladybug Emerging - Talk about a red cast...

After seemingly endless stressful weeks at work, I went and sat in the garden with my camera for twenty minutes tonight. It took a few minutes to calibrate on the life around me, but it finally happened... I need to sit in the garden more often.

• Drunk Fly
  
• Little Bitty Bugs
  
• Glowing Pollen
  
• Hard at Work

||+-+-+-+||

As I reflect back on last summer's vacation, a few pictures come to mind...
Reflections of the past as seen through a shipwreck
Reflections of heaven on the Maine-Canada border
Reflections of reality as it's time to go back to work
and
Reflections of trust as we return to our Golden who loves us

I know this really doesn't qualify as a true "Still Life", but this is the stillest life around our house. Taken on the deck in a bright sunbeam yesterday afternoon...
Pad | Light | Restraint | Really Close | Patience | Gradient | The Subject

..What did you see? I saw:
A Turkey Buzzard
A Peregrine Falcon
A Morning Dove
A Grey Squirrel
A Canadian Goose
A Seagull
and
Another Peregrine Falcon

...looking at me!

A perfect Sunday past here in Virginia:

Waking Up To A Foot Of Snow
A Huge Breakfast
Snowball Fight With The Dog
Snowball Fight With The Daughter
Classic Post-Snowstorm Face...
...an  accumulation of snowball fight wounds, sledding accidents, and general 8 year-oldness.

Note the remains of hot chocolate around the mouth :-)

Here are a few pictures from last year. The depth of field in this Praying Mantis shot makes it looks large enough to battle Godzilla. This was shot at 50mm with f5.6.

This Ground Squirrel was shot at 300mm and f4.0 so the focus was really tight.

I have my photo library from this year rotating randomly as my screensaver and everytime this picture comes up it really catches me. I thought I would share it with you (from a friend's wedding in November)

I took these a few weeks ago but didn't think about them until I saw Paulamouse's post below. This is Monty, who is actually a very 'appy cat, unless you disturb his nap :-)

Evil 1
Evil 2
Evil 3