Week 39

Picture 268:  Green sea anemones at the New England Aquarium in Boston.  These creatures are just so relaxing.  What a fun day to be had in the big city.   

Picture 269:  Northern Fur Seals were having a good time too at the aquarium. They were swimming, flopping and generally looking cute.   

Picture 270:  Owen was getting up close and personal with a little blue penguin.  He was just so interested in everything at the aquarium.  

Picture 271:  This year we got more squash than ever.  Here are two examples--a pumpkin and some other unknown variety.  The unknown was 7 lbs. and the pumpkin was 15 lbs! I didn't harvest them until after the first frost.

Picture 272:  The clock at Eagle Square, Concord, is just so cool.  I don't think I can take too many pictures of this clock.  Day or night, it really does impress.  

Picture 273:  Rocky thinks that every time we decorate for Christmas, we are really decorating to highlight his good looks.  Yeah, that is what we are doing.  

Picture 274:  Something about red keeps grabbing my attention.  This is a pipe of some sort outside the Federal Building at the corner of Pleasant & South streets in town. 

And, as always, for the photos that didn't make the top 7 this week, check out my flicker stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonyacarlson/ 

Week 38

Picture 261:  This is just one of the statues decorating the outside of Abraham Lincoln's tomb.   Very dignified and refined.  I am guessing it wasn't so refined in real life.    

Picture 262:  Owen is one happy kid.  He is happy when running, when eating and when sliding.  Who wouldn't be?  This is a DOUBLE slide.  That way you can have your friend come down at the same time.  

Picture 263:  Texture of a sign at a restaurant of some sort in Downers Grove.  The food was good, but I can't remember the name at all.  Nice sign though.  

Picture 264:  I didn't eat there this trip.  BUMMER.  That doesn't negate the fact that they make the best ever Italian Beef.  If only they had that same beefy goodness here in New England.  

Picture 265:  While I wouldn't want neon lights around my house, I do like looking at them every so often.  This sign makes that glass of wine look really, really appealing.    

Picture 266:  Here is a swing without Owen in it.  If I think too hard, this can be a really depressing photo.  I am not going to think very hard.    

Picture 267:  I keep thinking I have already taken the cutest picture ever of Owen.  Then I take another one.  Here is the latest example, with a good picture of a happy Papa too. 

And, as always, for the photos that didn't make the top 7 this week, check out my flicker stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonyacarlson/ 

Week 37

Picture 254:  I love walking past this door on our trips downtown.  It is just so BLUE.  How could I pass it by and NOT take a picture?

Picture 255:  My sweet little boy does eat food other than chocolate.  In fact, sometimes he even eats broccoli.  He has even asked for it by name. 

Picture 256:  We went to Riverview Farm, Plainfield, and did the corn maze.  This year's theme was puns and beautiful renditions of famous artwork.  Owen is not screaming in this one though.   

Picture 257:  A fall landscape from Riverview Farm.  This looks so farmy and fally and outdoorsy.  I can't handle it!   

Picture 258:  This is Mr. Bities.  He supposedly lives up to his name at Riverview Farm.  And now that apple picking season is over, he is stalking chipmunks full time again and not avoiding the public.

Picture 259:  An up close and personal view of an evergreen in the park.  The textures just get me.  I love this macro lens.    

Picture 260:  Action shot of Papa running a 5K.  He improved by 3 minutes or so.  What a dedicated athlete.  

And, as always, for the photos that didn't make the top 7 this week, check out my flicker stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonyacarlson/ 

Week 36

Picture 247:  Owen is playing the paper towel tube.  It is a woodwind I think.  Well, maybe a paperwind would be more accurate.   

Picture 248:  Going down the slide is very fun.  Action shots are hard on a cloudy day with a zoom lens.     

Picture 249:  Owen still loves swinging.  Now he has added eating grapes while swinging.  That adds extra flavor.     

Picture 250:  This is my worst parenting decision yet.  I bought  a KitKat bar at work to support a co-worker's kid doing some sport.  It was one of the HUGE ones.  I ate half and wanted to see what Owen would think of the candy.  He kept sticking his little hand up and going "Eh, eh, eh".  I couldn't NOT give him more.   

Picture 251:   A slightly arty photo of Owen and Grandma Camille at a fancy wedding in Freeport, Maine.  We all had a wonderful time. Still, make sure you take 111, not 11, out of Sanford, Maine.  TRUST ME on this one.

Picture 252:  Run, run, run Owen!  You can't stand still when you have a pirate ducky in your hand at the Bath Maritime Museum.  

Picture 253:  Owen is telling his troops to storm that hill.  Okay, not really, he is waving Hiram Randall's memorial flag outside the Randall Cemetery in Freeport, Maine.  The parking lot for Shaw's is what he is really pointing at.  

And, as always, for the photos that didn't make the top 7 this week, check out my flicker stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonyacarlson/ 

Week 35

Picture 240:  This Greenwing Macaw was strikingly beautiful at the 2012 Nature Fest.  The Bird is from Wildlife Encounters. It was a pretty cool bunch of animals this year.  What will we see next year?    

Picture 241:  Owen is petting a giant snake.  He was quite intrigued.  Grandma was visiting but she wasn't as into the snake as Owen  was.      

Picture 242:  A ram at Beech Hill Farm giving me the stink eye.  He didn't need to worry.  I am not silly.  I know better than to get too close to something with horns that big.      

Picture 243:  Feeding a goat at Hackleboro Orchards.  This is a pick your own apple farm with a GORGEOUS view.  Their apples are AWESOME this year--no hail damage like Meadow Ledge--although the apples do taste great, they just look funky.  Mother Nature can be soooo localized.  These two places are only 6.9 miles apart as the crow flies.  

Picture 244:  This is what the apples look like at Hackleboro Orchards.  You need to go there to pick apples.  I am not just telling you, I am ORDERING you to do this.  Trust me on this one.   

Picture 245:  The view from the tower at Hackleboro Orchards.  Maybe a little redundant about the location, but look at the amazing difference in pictures.  Variety is cool.    

Picture 246:  A car seen in Concord.  How very meta--not only does the bumper sticker say "BUMPERSTICKER", the license plate says "LICENS".  Yeah, way too meta for me.      

And, as always, for the photos that didn't make the top 7 this week, check out my flicker stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonyacarlson/ 

Week 34

Picture 233:  Owen directs the progress of Mama & Papa getting to the top of Mt. Kearsarge.   We had a BEAUTIFUL day to hike up the trail in Rollins State Park.  Now we have taken Owen up two fire towers.  Only three more and he gets a patch!     

Picture 234:  On the way up to the top of the mountain, I spotted this cute little frog in a mountain pond.  It was a tiny pond for a tiny frog.  

Picture 235:  Some pretty elaborate graffiti seen on the path up to Mt. Kearsarge.  Maybe they were practicing their carving?  Whatever the reason, very cool looking numbers.    

Picture 236:  Not too exciting a picture until I made it all dark and shadowy.  This is from the Warner side of the mountain.     

Picture 237:  On the way up, this is the way it looked away from the trail.  We could really see a lot of mountains.  I am not sure exactly which one this is.  Maybe Pack Monadnock?    

Picture 238:  Owen is always so cute, with or without the pacifier.  With or without the hat.  He is so cute, but he is growing really fast and loves to shriek right now.  I am sure that will get boring for him soon, right?  RIGHT?   

Picture 239:  Tractors are always fun to play on, but only if they are not running and making noise.  A big tractor with moving parts is best.    

And, as always, for the photos that didn't make the top 7 this week, check out my flicker stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonyacarlson/ 

Week 33

Picture 226:  Nice pumpkins at Meadow Ledge Farm.  Our favorite place for apple cider doughnuts, apple picking, meeting people, and going on tractor rides.  

Picture 227:  A goat at Beech Hill Farm.  This is another one of our favorite places to visit. Here we get farm atmosphere, toys trucks in a sand pile, and, of course, ice cream!  

Picture 228:  The chickens at Beech Hill Farm are quite serious.  Owen likes them anyway.  

Picture 229:  A very proud peacock at Beech Hill Farm.  Just don't think you can ask him for directions or help or anything else.  He won't tell you.  I know.  I tried. 

Picture 230:  A rhubarb pie the Papa made for Owen.  Again, this was made FOR the Owen, not made WITH the Owen.  

Picture 231:  A very tasty birthday cake for the Papa that was made for us by Bread and Chocolate in downtown Concord.  It was delicious and a small amount was still around for seconds the next morning.   

Picture 232:  A project in progress.  I am so glad I was able to get this fabric for a very reasonable price from a garage sale at our neighbor's house.  Garage sales are doing us really well this summer.  So far: a wagon, a jig saw, a belt sander, and a wooden quilting frame.  Not bad!  What will we find this weekend?   

And, as always, for the photos that didn't make the top 7 this week, check out my flicker stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonyacarlson/ 

Week 32

Picture 219: This spider web was still intact at 11 am in the morning.  Quite an amazing feat.  Of course, it was off the beaten path. 

Picture 220: A monarch butterfly on a purple butterfly bush.  Could anything be better named?  Other than Owen, of course!

Picture 221: A really amazing set of clouds at dusk.  I wish I could be in the clouds sometimes, not in a plane, just in them.  I know they wouldn't really be soft and cuddly, but I can imagine they would be.

Picture 222: Just after the clouds were looking soft and comfy, the moon was out and looking very appealing.  

Picture 223: This flower looked like a perfect specimen with the cool coloring.  Some amazing flowers are out there in our neighborhood.  Not in our yard at the moment, but a few blocks away.

Picture 224: More awesome looking flowers.  I just have to take picture after picture after picture.  These white flowers were at Beech Hill Farm.  

Picture 225: Black Eyed Susans, also at Beech Hill Farm.  Some day, I will be taking many more pictures at Hidden Farms because the flowers will not all be taken over by weeds. 

And, as always, for the photos that didn't make the top 7 this week, check out my flicker stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonyacarlson/