Mohawk Trail Creatures

Shortly before graduating school, I was traveling along the Mohawk Trail in Western Massachusetts when a lady ran down the street flagging me down. I didn't know what was happening so I pulled over. Just as I did two mules came over the top of a hill running down the Mohawk Trail. I was able to catch a photo of the lady blocking traffic in the westbound lane and State Police blocking the eastbound lane as one of the mules cut between them. That was the first photo I ever had published back in 2001. I finally made it back to visit the area and to my surprise I found more creatures strolling down the road. I came around one of the many curves in the Mohawk Trail to find three cows casually strolling down the middle of the street. I was disappointed I couldn't make it to Brattleboro in time for the Strolling of the Heifers celebration and it turns out I was treated to my on personal "strolling of the Heifers".

Lobster at last!

I lived in Massachusetts for 3-years and nobody there could believe I never had lobster. Of course being born and raised in Ohio it was rare that lobster was ever an option. They told me not to have the imported thing in Ohio that I need to have it Fresh from a Massachusetts or Maine lobster shack. I moved back to Ohio in 2004 and I vowed that one day I'd be back and I'd finally have me a lobster. It took 6-years but this past week I found myself on the Vineyard . I found an awesome little place called Larsen's Fish Market located in Menemsha where I enjoyed my first lobster while sitting on the docks near the lobster and fish boats. It was quite a treat. If you ever find yourself on Martha's Vineyard you HAVE to make a stop at Larsen's. I have also included a few other photos seen near the docks during my visit.

10 Lucky Stones and a 4-Leaf Clover

I took the dog to the beach the other weekend for a little swim. Of course I always keep an eye out for lucky stones. Lucky stones are actually the ivory colored ear bone found in Sheephead fish. After a the fish dies and the body decays these white "stones" wash ashore. The unique thing about them is that every single one of them has an impression of the letter L. Lucky stones have been found at ancient archaeological sites, where they are thought to have been used as good luck charms to ward off illness. I first learned about these a few years ago and I began my search. I think it took about 7-months before I found my first one. Some days I might find one or two and then I might go a period of time before I find another. I was fortunate enough to find ten of them in an hour and a half this past weekend. A personal record! Add on top of that the four-leaf clover I found over the weekend as well. Now maybe I can channel some of this luck to use towards my favor.

Silly Puppies and Crazy Cats

I make a weekly visit to the Humane Society in Ottawa County to get photos of the various pets that are available for adoption. While some are easy to get photos of other can take a bit of work. Every once in a while a photo just does not come out right at all which can make for an interesting photo. Here is a look at just a couple from the past two weeks.

Jungle Gym

I headed to Fremont bright and early on Friday morning. My plan was to get a jump on next weeks assignments by shooting Camp Endurance at the Fremont Rec Center. It was a running camp that I thought would have worked great for a youth sports page. I guess they decided that they would let the kids spend the last day of camp swimming. I wasn't about to leave without shooting something. Thats when I found kids playing in the park at a nearby elementary school. I took this picture of three of the kids playing on the jungle gym. So here it is Monday and I'm stil looking for a youth sports page for Thursday.

Wacky Pants II

Another day of golf, another pair of wacky pants

Mayflies

The Mayflies have returned! You can't walk down the street or take your dog out in the yard without getting swarmed. They say these things live in the water for a year and then when they hatch they live anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. They can be really annoying but supposedly they are a big part of the food chain for the walleye and other fish here in Lake Erie. There's 630 different species of mayflies in North America and over 2500 worldwide. I think I'll try to get out and get some other photos of the mass gatherings and I'll post a link.