It’s been a busy summer in the city - with our jobs, with settling into our new home, and with planning for another upcoming year. We’re trying to make good use of our limited time, exploring some beautiful natural places we haven’t seen so far in our new home state.
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August 14, 2021: A brief sunrise shoot in the Harold Parker State Forest. I’ve had my eye on this location for some time, a small parking turnoff where several walking trails meet between two ponds. It turns out to be a fruitful spot; the rising sun coats the nearby pine-covered shores and curving peninsulas in a beautiful golden light. We will plan to return in the winter for snoeshowing.
August 28, 2021: A pre-dawn hike in North Andover, along the shores of Lake Cochichewick. I photograph sunrise over the lake and some of the open southward views from the top of Weir Hill. Afterward, we drive to nearby Smolak Farm for some amazing breakfast sandwiches, apple cider and cider donuts (it’s never too early; if they’re on sale, I’m buying them), and a nice walk around the grounds, spending time with the domesticated deer (watching one buck get its antlers rather stuck in the chicken wire), the resident peacock, and a potbellied big.
