Author: barryhassphoto

Plum Island, in Newburyport, Massachusetts, has long been one of my favorite day trip getaways.

Fall biking is one of the highlights of my year. It feels like a reward for pushing through the sweat soaked rides of summer, the time when the weather and I are both at our best.
November starts out fall-like. But as the weeks pass, I add one layer of clothing after another until the point, usually around the end of the month, when a bitter north wind convinces me it’s time to put my bike away for the winter.

The world is still just as messed up as last week, in most of the same ways. But this week I’m feeling just a little more hopeful.

About six inches of snow fell here the day before Halloween – unusually early for this part of the world.

I took this shot last week at Dolan Pond, a pocket conservation area in our neighborhood. The resident duck was not the least bit shy about standing next to us on the dock and posing for a series of portraits – probably because he is used to being fed by visitors. The way the duck was contorting himself, exposing a disorienting array of shapes, textures and colors on his body, reminds me of a cubist painting.

Taken at Purgatory Cove in Waltham, Mass.

In the 80s and 90s, we were frequent visitors to the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Cardigan Lodge in New Hampshire. From there, we climbed Cardigan Mountain, as well as its two closest neighbors, Mount Gilman and Firescrew, countless times. This area is south of the White Mountains, and very family friendly. All our kids had climbed Cardigan by the time they were about 7. I took this shot on a perfect fall day in 1992, looking up at the summit of Cardigan from the trail to Firescrew.

“…each of us had to be content to live only for the day, alone under the vast indifference of the sky.” -from The Plague by Albert Camus.

Dell Creek tumbles through Big Hatch Canyon on its way to Salt Lake City.

This was taken in late afternoon sun at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Mass.