Water, Water, Everywhere, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

I am not much of a swimmer but, I still find myself drawn to water environments. Whether the downtown Plymouth waterfront.....



......or an inland pond, Fresh Pond in Manomet.....



...or a coastal ocean beach, White Horse Beach in Manomet.......



.....also White Horse Beach. Water, water, everywhere nearby is somehow comforting. 

Lots of places don't enjoy that luxury:

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC. Used by Permission.

Out and About, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

In the famous words of the wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movie, "You shall not pass." This was the police line to keep any pedestrians on Park Street away from the Massachusetts State capitol last Sunday in the lead up to the national presidential inauguration this week. 

Same view looking over the barricade with a zoom.

Farther away from the pedestrian barricade, the road was closed with both a police cruiser and wooden sawhorses.

There were Massachusetts State Police, Boston City Police, and Boston Transit Authority Police deployed around the area. Above, a group of State Police hanging out near the capitol building.



Here, a group of Boston City Police also nearby.



More officers at the ready.

Many folks, like this bicyclist, live inside the perimeter and had to come and go through the barricades with police assistance and clearance.

This group of officers was outside the perimeter standing by.

These groups of officers were on side streets also standing by.

Their riot gear was also standing by. Turns out it wasn't needed.

Everyone I saw today remained calm - both the civilians and the police. For my part, I moved slowly, kept my hands out of my pockets, away from my body, with my camera clearly visible. I didn't want it to be mistaken for a weapon or, me mistaken for a threat when I was standing up against the barricades making pictures. With a hat, a mask, and a bulky winter coat on, I didn't exactly look like a harmless old man wandering about like I usually do.

Some of Boston's priciest real estate is right there in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

This group is inside the secure perimeter in front of the capitol building.



The capitol building was completed in 1798 though enlarged since then.



Meanwhile, from what I could observe, life went on pretty much as normal away from the secured perimeter area. I always enjoy this view of historical juxtaposed with modern.

The bronze ducklings in the Public Garden stayed warm on this winter day.

And dogs along Marlborough Street in the Back Bay neighborhood took their people for a walk.

And life on the Commonwealth Avenue mall seemed normal, too.

As always, it was a nice day to be out and about in Boston though very windy and wintry. I put another 11,000 steps on my step counter. Thanks to all the law enforcement officers on duty today ready to protect our property and institutions. I am glad they weren't needed and that people behaved themselves. Massachusetts is mostly a "blue" state though we do have a penchant for electing "red" governors - go figure.

Cape Cod Canal, Sagamore, Bourne, Massachusetts, USA

When I first arrived after the cold frontal passage, the sky was mostly clear but, the wind was howling.



The clouds developed quickly.



I wasn't the only one out enjoying this crisp day in early winter.



There were hundreds, maybe thousands of ducks hanging out along the edge of the water - and no boats transiting the canal while I was there.



The ducks seemed to be practicing various precision formations.



Perhaps they have a secret marching band that requires such arrangements.



I stopped at the beach on the way home, the strong onshore wind gave this gull a nice upslope condition to soar along the dune face effortlessly. It may be winter but, it's still spectacularly beautiful around here.

Some Favorites, Black & White, Calendar Year 2020

 

I make many photos over the course of a year. I thought it would be fun to look back and pick out a few from among my favorites. No particular rhyme nor reason - I just like them.

July. Boston, Massachusetts.  I like the musculature along the rower's spine, the glow of the bow and the ripples in the water perpendicular to the distorted ripples from the boat, the splash of the oar.

December. Boston, Massachusetts. I like the general overall harshness and the length of the shadows of the walkers, the low sun streaming through the trees, the glow of the light post and the lines and angles of the walkways. 



February. St. Petersburg, Florida. I like the solitary woman standing on the court, the fading daylight and the multiple lights turned on to overcome the darkness, the suggestion of a sport whose time has come and gone, the leading lines of the benches and light poles that reach into the distance.



July. Scituate, Massachusetts. I like the storm clouds over the trees, the lone sail boat returning to safe harbor as the lone paddleboarder heads out, the rain spattered water surface pummeled by the storm.



August. Plymouth, Massachusetts.  I like that so much is happening and not happening in such a simple scene: the picnicking family, the empty benches, the tall ship "Mayflower" at her home berth, the multitude of boats at anchor, the stormy clouds and the enveloping shade of the tree branch.

August. Sagamore, Massachusetts.  I like the few starkly white clouds, the line of moving, pedaling bicycles stretching off into the distance, the sliver of canal water parallel to the pathway, the silhouette of the lead cyclist with her wisps of hair visible.

September. Berkshires, Massachusetts. I like the two almost parallel trees at the right which converge somewhere above with the almost parallel legs of the human, the jacket that suggests a chill in the air, the web of shadows on the ground.



December. Sagamore, Massachusetts.  I like that the snow shapes are virtually indistinguishable from the cloud shapes, the multitude of birds floating on the canal water surface, the sun distorted and broadened into the cloud-sized shape.

I like that freezing all these moments in time to ponder is part of the magic of the photographic art.

Flurries and Sunshine, White Horse Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

It was another of those spectacular cold and windy days at the beach in winter when the sky was alternately spitting snow flurries swirled on the wind and bursts of sunshine.

Not many folks out and about.

That's Manomet Point in the distance. Winter days make me appreciate the summer warmth even more - and it'll be here soon - soon being relative.

Cold and Windy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Yes, it was cold. About 20 degrees F with the wind chill. I only lasted about 9,000 steps out and about in it for a couple hours. (But a great result of the outing was this image - one of my favorites ever!) It's not that I wasn't prepared........



......clearly I was.......

.....as were these folks on the bridge in the Public Garden.



And this outfit in Downtown Crossing looked effective.



The Paramount Theatre in Downtown Crossing/Theatre District is still dark due to the pandemic but, they light it up anyway. I like that optimism.



Old world architecture on the Boston Opera House.



Imagine winters here in the 1600's - no thank you - I am too much a wimp.

Cold and empty office buildings - but great lines and angles and light and reflections.



A well-placed advertisement says it all. 

Apology to my Loyal Readers

I have wondered why I didn't receive any comments to my blog posts during the last few years. 

It turns out that I do receive comments - I have hundreds and hundreds of them languishing in internet purgatory!  Apparently, a few years back I either failed to turn something on or failed to turn something off in the blog template formatting and as a result, I have not been aware that comments had been received.

So, I did not intend to appear to be rude or dismissive by not publishing or acknowledging your kind comments.  My apology to you. Hopefully, from this point forward, the problem is fixed.  

I appreciate each and every comment you send to me. (Except the spam).

Joe

Low Tide, Plymouth Harbor, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Red and green - seasonal colors - tied up at the Plymouth Wharf downtown.

A very low tide. It is not uncommon for 10 feet of difference between low and high tide in Plymouth. (Canada's Bay of Fundy has a 40-50 feet variation).

And a very low sun at the nearby Town Hall.