October's end is upon us; the oak and maple leaves that once adorned the trees now lie upon the ground in an often lovely graphic composition of light, shadow and tone. All the huckleberry leaves have come full circle from the bright lime green of spring to the deep crimson color of the Fall...Ralph and I walk though the deep leaves for our daily treks wandering for miles sometimes; I am in awe of the morning light this month...the sun peeking from under a cloud cover, just catching the tops of the trees is truly a joy to behold and to try to photograph...although I carry a small pocket camera with me on our walks, there are been occasional images rivaling those of my Canon SLR... it dawns on me that it's not the camera, but the eye of the photographer that is the real lens, not the one screwed onto the camera body.

The image of the barn was taken at sunset a couple of weeks ago...I've been past this barn or stopped to photograph it for 35 years; but last Sunday, when I was driving past, it had been razed; nothing but a pile of rubble strewn in a field...

Ralph and Squeaky

This, of course, is Ralph...the guy on the right needs an introduction: it's Squeaky...if you're wondering what this is about, it's important to know that Ralph isn't really Ralph without his Squeaky toy...

When he was a puppy he carried this toy everywhere, and still does now, even though he'll be three years old in January...he has been known to take Squeaky into bed with him, softly chewing until he falls asleep; we always hope the squeak mechanism inside breaks quickly because that high-pitched sound can be very annoying late at night...sometimes Ralph cannot go outside to the bathroom without Squeaky, holding it in his mouth the entire time...or discreetly placing it at a little distance, then picking it up when he's finished...

Ralph loves to toss Squeaky down the cellar stairs, then moans until we bring it upstairs again...if a long period of time passes, he'll gaze longingly down into the cellar until it is retrieved.

If you take it away when he goes to sleep, he'll just keep staring at wherever Squeaky happens to be placed, moaning until it's back with him.

I think that Squeaky is part of his personality now...and it's weird, but there are days when he doesn't even bother with it...but should a cat go near Squeaky ,( Ralph is adamant about them not touching his toy), he will retrieve it and take it away from the cat...

Ralph's favorite game with Squeaky is to push it with his nose under a low piece of furniture so that my husband and I have to fish it out...this drives my husband crazy...

How many days has Ralph made me laugh with his antics! Those are times I'll never forget; days of pure joy, when the everyday struggles of life are forgotten and I'm a kid again.

Night and the ocean

There is something magical about the sea after sunset; an eerie almost mystical quality changes the light and with a long exposure on my camera, the sea takes on a foggy almost insubstantial appearance as the water rushes over the rocks; they appear and then disappear beneath the waves. The colors just after sunset can be cool forbidding blues, giving even a warm summer evening the feel of winter...
This lighthouse sits in an incredible location, facing bravely out to sea...it draws me back again and again to make images of this rocky coastline.

Ralph, in the sun

Ralph taking his morning nap in the sun.

Summer's end

Drove to the coast the other day to view the sunset after a series of storms. There is a sadness about the month of August; it is the beginning of the end of summer...the beautiful weather coming to a close, as the evenings become just a bit cooler and the mornings a bit chillier...the Big Dipper is a higher over the horizon after dark. As I grow older, the winters become a little harder to tolerate, the cold seems more pervasive and my body a lot sorer after cleaning the barn in freezing weather...but there is one important fact I cannot forget...no matter what the temperature, there is always such beauty around me...even in the middle of winter.

I'll miss the colors of summer, my photography in winter is pared down to the basics: black and white images are perfect...there is a sparse graphic element to photography when snow is on the ground...

Ralph, the dog

This is my Jack Russell Terrier, Ralph, otherwise known as Ralph the Brain ..he has been my best friend for almost 3 years...many people would laugh at that statement...but those people don't know anything about Ralph...when he was six months old, I was feeling sick with a virus and fainted in the woods while walking him; that little puppy stayed with me: licking my face, crying, and whining until I woke up and was able to make my way home...

He loves the ocean and will leap into the waves to chase his little soccer ball; but mostly, it is his undying devotion to me that is the clincher in our relationship...whatever I say or whatever I do, it's ok with him; if I choose to walk for three or four miles into the woods, he's up for it...take a nap in the afternoon, it's ok with him...sometimes I think he's my alter ego, but the better part of me.

The aging dilemma

Although this is meant to be a photo site, it appears that I will also inflict a little of my philosophy upon anyone who happens to wander into my blog...as I am now moving gradually into old age, it is important that some of my observations are written down...first thing, the dilemma of life will always escape my understanding; perhaps that is why I love photography at this stage of my life: it gives me glimpses of such beauty in the world if only briefly and for a moment. To try to capture these moments on digital film is like creating a painting in a few minutes. When I was much younger, painting in oil or acrylic was a passion; now I feel time is finite and with photography a lot more can be accomplished holding a camera than a paintbrush... our mortality escapes us in youth; it takes age to appreciate the brevity of life.

Jamestown, Rhode Island

Here are a few images taken during a recent trip to the coast of RI. I've been doing serious photography for about 5 years; it has been a lot of fun and an interesting learning journey.