"The last spring," New Jersey, April 2011

Spring, finally, originally uploaded by DC Products.

I took this photo in the spring on my walk to the train. The tree in full bloom with the cloud-dusted sky and the church steeple -- not to mention the late-afternoon light -- just caught my eye. It was a beautiful sight, a wonderful opening to spring and the promise of the weather to come.

On my walk today, I neared the church and felt something was amiss ... and then I saw it. Or, rather, didn't see it. The tree; it's gone. It's the second tree from in front of the church that has disappeared since we moved to the block, the first one cut down after half of it was damaged in a wind storm. I hadn't noticed any recent problems with this one, so I hope it was some sort of hidden disease or another problem not noticeable to casual passers-by and not simply because someone didn't want it there anymore.

"Juniper light at Arches," Utah, March 2010

Juniper light

This became one of my favorite photos from out weeklong trip through northern Arizona and southeastern Utah. It was the end of a long day of hiking at Arches and we hoped to get one more loop in, out at the end of the park road near the big campground, hiking to Broken Arch and back to the car. But as we made our way along the path, we found ourselves alternating between dense sand and snow drifts up to our shins, even our knees. We grew tired quickly and decided to double back to the car, rather than finish the circuit.

But at least it got me this shot of the late-afternoon sunlight on the arches in the distance and the top of the tree in the foreground. If only I could drop everything now and go back out there ...

"To go into solitude," Colorado, May 2006

To go into solitude

To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nature"

"Shed in the snow," New Jersey, February 2010

Snow shed

Yeah, so we're having a little weather here today. I took these photos this afternoon, when my wife and I went out to shovel the 5-6 inches we had. I usually prefer to wait until the snow stops falling, but because that's projected to be tomorrow morning -- giving us pretty much 24 hours' worth of snowfall -- I figured our muscles and backs would be better off tomorrow if we tackled some of it today. In the five hours since then, we've had about another 4-5 inches. And there's more to come.

Day 365 of 365

Snow on The Fens

It wouldn't be New Year's Eve in Boston without snow. It's happened to us the last several years we've come up here to party with my college roommate, our parents, and dozens of friends. Thankfully, this year's burst was compressed to about a three-hour window from the late morning to mid-afternoon, and hopefully we'll have nothing more the rest of the day.

Day 355 of 365

Tree rings

I've always been a bigger fan of multi-colored lights than white ones, particularly for photographs, so I changed this one up by going black and white.

Day 348 of 365

A little color in a black-and-white night

No adjustments made; that's the way it looked atop a West Village apartment building.

"Abandoned autumn," New Jersey, October 2009

Beautiful tree by the abandoned home

Back in October, I took a drive along Old Mine Road, an historic trail-turned-road that's been around since the 1600s. It features several abandoned homes and camps that were left behind when plans were made to dam the Delaware at Tocks Island. It was a beautiful autumn day, a perfect afternoon for a drive with a few stops to hike along the way. I only explored about half the road and can't wait to get back.

Day 332 of 365

Dusk in the trees

The sun sets in Monmouth County on the last Saturday of November.

Day 296 of 365

Parkway autumn

I often forget how pretty the trees along the Garden State Parkway can be in autumn. Luckily I found myself down that way this week and could see the turning leaves again.

Day 295 of 365

Farview Trail off the Old Mine Road

On my third day of autumn road tripping, I explored the southern stretch of the Old Mine Road along the Delaware River for the first time. Looking for the remains of an old camp resort, I parked at the Farview trailhead on the east side of the road and walked an hour up the hill -- crossing the Appalachian Trail -- and back down. Only then did I finally figure out that the poorly written account I'd printed out from the internet was talking about the trails on the western side of the road -- which go no more than a few hundred feet before they reach the Delaware. And sure enough, there were concrete steps and sheds and other remnants of a long-gone riverside resort.

Day 288 of 365

Soggy autumn day

I was hoping to spend one of my days off this week on another drive through northern New Jersey's rural highlands to take in the foliage, but the weather didn't cooperate. But I didn't want to miss the peak days of my favorite tree in the yard, so I opened the window next to it and shot from the dining room -- staying dry the whole time.

Day 266 of 365

First colors of fall

Just 100 days to go! On the first day of autumn -- and Bruce Springsteen's birthday -- I went up to Garret Mountain for a 3-mile run on the loop road and the path around Barbour Pond. As I drove in, I caught a glimpse of this tree just starting to sprout its colors for fall. After my run, I drove the one-way loop again to stop for this shot.

Day 236 of 365

Empire from Hudson

Day 230 of 365

Summer sunrise with the Moon and Venus

Coming home at 5:30 a.m., I got to gaze up at the pairing of the Moon and Venus in the lightening dawn sky, but didn't get to an open (and dark) enough space to spot the International Space Station as it moved across the sky.

"Nepenthe patio, Big Sur, California," September 2005

Nepenthe patio, Big Sur, California

I can't look at any of my photos from this evening at Nepenthe in Big Sur without immediately going back there. I feel the same enlightenment in my chest, the same peace in my soul, the same joy in my mind as we sat on the deck in the early evening just killing time. As the sun sank into the Pacific, the light only got better, growing more golden, drawing the sky in a deeper blue and turning the trees more and more into shadows and producing some great images.

"The walk around Jordan Pond," Maine, May 2008

Wiggly wood

I've just been going through the motions with this blog the last few weeks. Been busy, what with the weather improving and the out-of-doors frequency increasing, and I merely would post a bunch of daily photos in a batch to get them up.

That's probably not going to change in the next 10 days. We begin a long-awaited and well-earned vacation on Friday, and though I'll have my laptop with me to upload photos each night, I'm not sure how much posting I'll do. Depends on the weather, the hotels' internet connection, my mood.

But I'm looking forward to getting back to Maine, back among the trees, the coastline, the lighthouses.

It'll be nice to get away.

Day 140 of 365

Beware of coyotes that will eat your cats

Don't mess with those suburban coyotes.

Day 109 of 365

Open table

The patio is open for al fresco dining at the Maritime Hotel -- except when it's 45 degrees at night.

Day 93 of 365

Cobblestones to the past

Yet another new route to work from the PATH -- Washington St. Along the way, Greenwich Village becomes the Meatpacking District, and only the West Side Highway is west of it. This little cobblestoned lane leads west into the highway, the Hudson and the setting sun of late afternoon.