Curiouser and Curiouser

Lily 1
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie.

This photo that I posted on Flickr last night is shown as having been viewed 115 times already (as of 6:45 this morning).

That's well off the scale of "views" for most of my photos. Only one has more views over time.

I can't see any obvious reason for this. I'm proud of the shot but didn't think it was that special. No one has commented on this shot on Flickr and I don't see that anyone has tagged it as a "favorite."

I'm going to have to look into this....

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

I spent a week with Karen and the girls at The Tyler Place, at Highgate Springs, Vermont. The Tyler Place is about two miles south of the Canadian Border, on Missisquoi Bay in Lake Champlain.


One can spend much of the week by the pool, sitting in the shade or floating in the sun. We also love to swim in the Lake.

The Tyler Place is set up as a combination of summer camp and family resort. The kids have organized activities, by age group and with very talented counselors. They are with their groups from breakfast through lunch. There is family time in the afternoon and they go back into their groups for dinner and evening activities.

The adults have activities too. For Karen and I there are freelance volleyball (Karen) and golfing (me). We also took part in a bike ride around Isle La Motte and a kayak float down the Missisquoi River.

We did a few things on our own, too. Karen took advantage of a chance for a facial and joined in a tennis round-robin. I indulged in some massage therapy and a hike up a mountain.

The mountain hike is a personal favorite. It's a moderately difficult walk up Burnt Mountain. I spent part of the walk up chatting with an older gentleman who had worked at the Tyler Place in the 1960's and met his wife there. They named their eldest son Tyler. Two of their kids have worked there too; one also met his wife on staff at the Tyler Place. The hike ends at Window Rock, featuring this view.

The descent is followed by a plunge into The Three Holes at Montgomery, Vermont.


The Three Holes is a town Natural Area; it's a favorite swimming hole and a lovely site. Vermonters love their swimming holes; they should, they are great.

There's also plenty to do at the waterfront. We slid down the lake-slide. We bounced on the lake-tramp. We went for a Banana Boat ride. We took rank-beginner water-skiing lessons one afternoon.


The waterfront staff were most helpful. We all four managed to get up on the skis and ride for at least a short way. We all also took some spectacular face-plants.

That's just a few of the things we did on vacation. We had fine food, and fine friends. We saw mountains, rivers and lakes. We had sunshine, and sunsets.

Tyler Place Photoset

I have selected 51 photos from some 250 or so that I took at the Tyler Place and around Vermont last week and created a Tyler Place Photoset on Flickr. I've annotated a few of them with notes and comments.

Over the next few days I will pull some into more detailed blog entries on our time up north.

I have a few others from our flying visit to Smuggler's Notch on the way home to pull off the camera and post.

...And, We're Back

Lake Champlain II
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie.

We're just back from our week at the northern end of Vermont. We had a great time. More pictures, and details, over the next few days. For now, the car's unpacked and I'm off to bed.

Heading North

Skytop Compass
Originally uploaded by bikeracer.

We're heading out again. This time to Vermont. We'll spend a week on the shores of Lake Champlain.

When we vacation, I like to go "luddite." So, no blogging for the next week-and-a-day-or-so.

But I'll be taking pictures.

Water: Beautiful

grandfolks bird bubbler
Originally uploaded by shwa.

Once in a while in my wanderings through Flickr, I find perfect moments of beauty.

Is It Still a "Blue Crab?"

Molly Murray has a story in the News Journal today that a commercial crabber has pulled an Albino blue crab out of Delaware waters. This is reportedly rare, but not unheard-of. I was intrigued to read that the fellow is thinking he might introduce the white crab -- a male -- "to some of the females in the shedding tank as an experiment to see whether they might breed more white crabs."

I hope Molly checks back on this story.

Meet Nick

Nick
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie.

Nick is the alpha male among the many cats at the Milton Equestrian Center. He's a stocky, tough-looking cat. By all accounts he's a good mouser. But he's a sweet cat, too. Likes people. Likes hanging out with horses.

Truer Words Were Never Posted

Truer Words Were Never...
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie.

This actually refers to fundraiser held by one of the offices in my building, but it struck me as I first got on the elevator this morning as a wonderful koan-like thought.

This is indeed today. I hope to see you there too.

Sixth Golf Game of 2005

On Bethany Bay Golf Course
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie.

Andy Southmayd and I played 18 holes at Bethany Bay Golf Course this morning. We wanted a tune-up prior to our two families' joint trip to northern Vermont where we like to play the mountainous courses.

I'd never played Bethany Bay before. It's an executive length, 9-hole course with eight par-3 holes and one par-4. A pleasant little course with some nice challenges.

Things got a bit crowded on our second time around the 9 holes, so we teamed up for the last few with two gents -- Jerry and Ahmet -- who have vacation homes at Bethany Bay. We were visited a Deer and by a Great Blue Heron.

I'm proud to say I carded an 88 for 18 holes. It is a short course, of course. Still, I cut strokes from the first 9 to the second 9 and Andy, who is a much better golfer than I , only beat me by two strokes.

Another round of golf in 2005.