Author: barryhassphoto

A spray of lilies decorates the entrance to a covered bridge in Sheffield, Mass.

The searing heat and drought in the western US continue.

Average Boston rainfall for first 10 days of July – 0.83 inches.

Boston rainfall for first ten days of July, 2021 – 7.5 inches.

In the spring 0f 2015, on our way to visit relatives in Michigan, we stopped for a brief visit to Niagra Falls. Looking straight down from the Canadian side, we could see an ant-like crowd of people in yellow ponchos, waiting for a tour boat to take them to the base of the falls. A rainbow created by the sun shining through the mist from the river framed the scene.

The winter had been unusually cold and snowy. Even in early May, much of the river bank was rimmed in white, and giant boulders of ice still sat at the base of the falls.

Taken at the Ipswich River Audubon sanctuary in Topsfield, Mass.

Going way back for this one – June of 1980. Probably my favorite day of hiking ever, from one of my favorite vacations. After climbing for several hours through towering forests, we came over a ridge and suddenly found ourselves in a lush alpine valley, dotted with wildflowers, surrounded by snow capped peaks, and cut through by a rushing glacial stream. We felt like we had stumbled into Shangri-La.

If you zoom in on some parts of this frame, you might think it’s a street map of Boston.

From the summer of ??? Take a guess.

I am certainly grateful that life around here is returning to normal. But I’m longing to travel again, which still seems like a distant dream.

I shot this picture in Hawaii in 2013.