Cranberries, Manomet, Plymouth, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

This is one of those images that you might have to stare at for a few seconds to figure out what it is. It is a juice glass that belonged to my grandmother with a handful of cranberries dropped in. Morning low sunlight is slanting in from the right creating shadows of the etched glass on the left. The cranberries provided a splash of bright color.

Speaking of cranberries, knowing that they come from places like this makes them even prettier and tastier. Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and New Jersey (in that order) are the top-producing cranberry states in the United States.

These two similar images were made a few minutes apart at the Duxbury Bogs Conservation Area in Duxbury, Massachusetts. By the way, cranberries don't grow in water - the bogs are flooded to facilitate harvesting.

A Snowy Owl at Duxbury Beach, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

Plymouth Light, also known as Gurnet Light, is at the Plymouth end of Duxbury Beach and was home of America’s first woman lighthouse keeper. It is now the  home of the country’s oldest freestanding wood lighthouse. It is less than 4 miles northeast of Plymouth Rock.

The narrow peninsula of Duxbury Beach stretches toward the horizon.

The sighting of a Snowy Owl along this narrow spit of land on the bay side attracted birders and nature photographers from far and wide. The white speck in the middle is the Snowy Owl.

The salt marsh grasses glow with their fall colors.

The channels widen on the incoming tide.

And this is what the Snowy Owl could have looked like if I had a "fancy" camera instead of a "point-and-shoot."  Above photo courtesy of:  Amy Davies, founder and leader of Plymouth Digital Photographers Club.

Myles Standish State Park, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

What is it about walking in a pine forest that seems to soothe the soul?.......

.....the spongy, soft carpet of needles underfoot........

......the wind whispering through the branches, the aromatic scent, and the remembrance of pine sap all over your hands when climbing trees as a child.

But the forest is not a static place - the next generation has already gained a foothold.

And for you English major geeks, as Chaucer said in the 14th century, "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow."  Maybe so - if it can win the battle with the pine seedlings for enough sunlight.

Soon, the hushed silence of snow will blanket and protect this world as the cycle of nature continues without pause or end.