Muddy River

Houghton's Pond

Every day I drive by this pond in the Blue Hills on the way to work. Finally got up a bit earlier so that I could stop off and get some photos of it in the early morning.

evening fog

Took this photo after work the other day. It had been raining all day, melting what little snow was left on the ground. I walked out of the building, and saw this fog rising from the marsh next to our parking lot.

ruffled feathers

A surprised seagull gets caught in the spray from humpback whale.

Taken during a whale watch trip off the coast of Cape Cod this past week. Click on the photo to see a larger version of it.

Wheaton College

fence

more Misery

An odd array of stone pillars on Great Misery.

One thing that caught my eye on the island was the vivid orange and yellow lichen I found on many of the stone walls on the island.

Misery

Not my state of mind, but a pair of islands off of Salem. Earning their name when an early settler was stranded there for three unfortunate days in a winter storm, the Miseries can nevertheless be quite a pleasant place to spend a summer afternoon.

This first picture is a view from the hill on Great Misery, looking out over Little Misery. The island in the background might be Bakers Island.

Over the years Great Misery has housed cottages and a resort, leaving ruins scattered around the island.

Shelburne Falls

Just beneath a dam on the Deerfield River, Shelburne Falls use to be a popular swimming spot. Glacial potholes, carved out and smoothed by the force of the water, made for a series of little pools, ideal for cooling off on a hot summer day in Western Mass.

Unfortunately, the area has been fenced off to visitors in recent years. You can view the potholes from the road above, but you can no longer climb down among the rocks, or go swimming in the river.

storm clouds

over the curiosly named Little Pea Porridge Pond in Conway, New Hampshire.

Tuckerman's Ravine

Keeping with the hiking theme, here's a view of Tuckerman's Ravine, taken from the Boot Spur trail up Mt Washington.

Here's a small cascade at the headwall of the ravine.