


Leaves found while walking along along The Causeway in Steventon, Oxfordshire. You can read more about The Causeway here: http://www.steventon.info/Causeway.html
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged autumn, colors, Inspiration, leaves, nature, nature photography, Oxfordshire, Photography, Steventon, The Causeway, walking, water on November 13, 2013| 13 Comments »



Leaves found while walking along along The Causeway in Steventon, Oxfordshire. You can read more about The Causeway here: http://www.steventon.info/Causeway.html
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged autumn, Branches, colors, dublin, Inspiration, ireland, landscape, nature, Photography, travel, trees, University College of Dublin, walking on November 8, 2013| 12 Comments »

There are many beautiful trees making up the woodland walks of the University College of Dublin – Belfield Campus. There are actually 5 walks that were formed through the purchase of old estates with woodland areas dating back to the 1800s, and the subsequent planting of many new trees. According to the campus website, there are now over 50,000 trees in place representing over 75 species. More information can be found here. I am still sorting through pictures from my campus meanderings, but I think this tree is one of my favorites — new growth against an old estate wall, bright leaves and bark on a cloudy afternoon.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged autumn, beauty, colors, Inspiration, leaves, nature, Photography, Somerville, Somerville Avenue, trees, urban landscape, walking on October 24, 2013| 9 Comments »

A recent festival in Union Square closed off Somerville Avenue. For the most part, I kept my hands in my pockets as I walked along enjoying the sights. But after a while, those leaves!

Good thing there were no cars as I meandered along with my head in the clouds and eyes on the ground.

I even took some leaves home.

Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged deserts, imagination, Inspiration, movies, musings, Photography, random, sand, travel, walking on October 20, 2013| 5 Comments »
After smelling an open jar of wild mint (that’s all it was, I swear) I once had a waking dream of setting up camp in the desert, my feet sinking into the hot sands, the air filled with the sounds of horses snorting and the jingle of their bells. I was perhaps influenced by a conversation with a man from Morocco. Even before that dream I had been planning to visit the Sahara, as well as deserts within the U.S.

Some of my favorite movies have depicted vast dunes of sand in shades of sparkling white to dusky cream and even dark gold. Lawrence of Arabia. The English Patient. Dune. There’s that opening scene in the 1979 movie, The Black Stallion. And, of course, Star Wars. 😉 I love the depiction of man or beast making their way across the shifting landscape. I have been lucky to visit many different landscapes and to photograph them.

But no deserts yet. Not really. This morning, as I lay in bed, photographing the hills and valleys of the cotton sheets, I wondered anew if I ever will see such sandy sights firsthand.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged autumn, colors, flowers, Inspiration, leaves, nature, neighborhood, Photography, Somerville, transportation, walking on September 24, 2013| 5 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Boston, Charles River, colors, feathers, Inspiration, nature, Photography, rivers, walking, water, white on June 23, 2013| 6 Comments »
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged childhood, Inspiration, nature, outdoors, Photography, shadows, sunlight, urban landscape, walking on June 17, 2013| 3 Comments »

In the heart of the city, adults don’t tend to say anything. They’ll pass me by and pretend not to notice me as I lean precariously over fences into private property or kneel at the base of trees.

It is the children who ask, even as their parents are sometimes trying to shush them, “What are you doing, lady?”

When I tell them that I am photographing sunlight, they ask, “Well, how do you do that?” And I say with great drama, “Well, the way I choose to photograph sunlight is as it pours over the branches of the trees and creates shadows on the ground.”

The older kids raise eyebrows in disbelief but the younger children, they sometimes nod with great understanding.

Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged colors, Inspiration, landscape, maps, nature, nonprofits, pedestrian, Photography, spring, transportation, WalkBoston, walking on April 28, 2013| 6 Comments »

A few folks have asked about the “donate to charities” section on this blog. I’ll start with WalkBoston. As a card carrying pedestrian living in a part of the U.S. that is fairly well networked with buses, trains, etc, I thought I knew all I needed to know about transportation. But after becoming involved with this Massachusetts nonprofit I have come to learn a great deal more about the benefits of pedestrian access for individuals of all physical abilities, and of the necessity to understand and advocate for certain transportation infrastructures.

As someone with no sense of direction (my mother used to say I could get lost in a paper bag), I have also come to rely upon the organization’s lovely timed walking maps that are freely accessible online: timed walking maps. With map in hand, I’ve gotten into conversations with strangers on the streets of Boston, and its helped me (a shy person, honest) say to someone, let’s go for a walk and investigate these sights. These images are the sights I “investigated” in Boston’s Back Bay this past Friday.


The older I get, for reasons as varied as terrorism to back pain, I recognize that walking beneath the quiet of tree branches in a city or on a mountain top is a gift. I hope I never take walking in Boston, or in any other area, for granted again.

If you’re in the Massachusetts area and you’d like to learn more about WalkBoston, you can visit the website here. Meanwhile, enjoy the day. 😉
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged colors, flower market, flowers, gardens, herbs, Inspiration, nature, Photography, plants, Ricky's Flower Market, Somerville, walking on April 20, 2013| 12 Comments »

Ricky’s Flower Market is a lovely shop in the heart of Union Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. When his door opens April-ish, then you know spring has arrived even if there’s still snow on the ground. When I need a visual respite, I like to wander through his indoor/outdoor space that’s filled with annuals, perennials, herbs, clay pots and everything and anything else needed for gardening. When the sun finally popped out this morning, I decided to make my way over there, and I am glad I did.






Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged beach, colors, Inspiration, landscape, Massachusetts, nature, outdoors, Photography, Revere Beach, sealife, shells, walking on March 4, 2013| 4 Comments »