Porch Session with Rose and John

It was a quiet summer, music-wise, with my right-hand man, Colin, having been over in Ireland all summer, and we will all be the beneficiaries of all that he's learned, I'm sure. I've enjoyed a spattering of smaller sessions, and have had many evenings of solitary playing on the porch, which I've actually rather enjoyed - taking the opportunity to learn some new tunes and listening to myself for a change. On the last Sunday in August my friends Rose Clancy and John Alden came over from the Cape and paid me a visit. We had a lovely day together - one of those clear and dry August Vineyard days - did a little Edgartown secret back-woods tour, played some afternoon pre-session warm-up music on the porch, and managed to scare up a few musicians for a porch session that night, all in all a wonderful late-summer treat. Thanks for coming out, everybody - and Colin: we miss you!


A walk to town, the secret back-woods way.


Lunch at the Wharf


Ready!


The pre-session warm-up session.














Moi, by Rose.





A few local fans and dinner guests: Janet, Orion, and Maria.


Matthew, showing his stuff.


Violet - lovely.


Violet, Mary, Irene, John, and Rose.


Mary and Irene.

The Last Day of Winter 2017

A Sunday afternoon drive with the eldest of my progeny yielded these results (not shown: interesting conversation and lots of laughs).



Atlantic fury at Stonewall Beach, shot from Squibnocket


Moshup Trail with Philbin and Zack's in the distance


Edgartown Harbor; desolate, save for Munchkin 4.

Squibnocket, Chilmark from Edgartown's South Beach. Twenty miles as the seagull flies, compressed by the magic of my 600mm lens.

Full Moon After Snow

After 24 hours of mayhem caused by power outages and fried circuitry and no heat - let's call it the Niko Effect - I made a break for it around 4:00 and took a drive up-island. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time when I realized the rising of the full moon was imminent - in clear skies with plenty of ambient light, conditions I've been on the lookout for - but I headed eastward, and home, just in case. This is the reward for my efforts. Better late than never.

Thursday Morning, Waiting for the Snow

By the time I walked down the stairs and grabbed my camera and tripod and walked back up the stairs and set it up in front of my kitchen window the actual fire had subsided, but the remnants were worth the effort. My morning view, give or take the ever-changing sky and seasons, 365 days/year.

I love a snow day.





Adding at 1PM:

January Doldrums

With the holidays passed, all that can be said now is, "Welcome to January."
Bleak midwinter? January doldrums?
All is quiet here - a state I once dreaded but now savor.
Quiet, with an underlying pulse; life in the slow lane.





A lone quahogger forages the shore line of Sengekontacket.


Flocks of grackles dominate the January bird scene.

Four-wheeling with Adam

My son called and said, "Want to take a ride on the beach?" Being Sunday, a day that I set aside to do whatever I want, or nothing, and after having put in a fulfilling morning at Sunday school and the old folks home, and ready to throw in the towel for the day,  I said, "Sure, pick me up." I was even smart enough to grab my camera - the long lens, just in case - maybe we'll see a snowy owl - the tripod, and a couple of other go-to lenses. 



Footsteps of hand-holding lovers punctuate the sand.


It seemed we could see forever. We even saw Nantucket, a rare sight, only visible during super low tides and certain light, exactly like today's tide and long sideways light.





My chauffeur and tour guide


Adam saw it first, off to the left, perched next to the pond. It was patient enough to allow me to set up the tripod and get closer than I thought I might. I loved seeing its eyes fixed on me.


Okay, close enough. Buh-bye.

Ice Moon

The landing on The Boulevard. Old stomping grounds from long ago. January thaw. Low tide at Anthiers with an abundance of clams to be had - "three or four to a hole." Too dark for the kind of moon shot I was after, should have been there the day before but this one works, in another way.






The moors and marshes of Anthiers with the barrier beach and a lone shellfisherman in the distance



January's ice moon