Another week & another attempt at capturing the mundane & then trying to make it look more intriguing. The majority of the pictures in this album took place either as I was heading to work in the early AM or late in the day as I rushed out unleashing the shutter as fleets of clouds had their daily summit(s).

Slideshow(Flash)

View with PicLens(Cooliris)

An American Indian Chief called King Quabbin lived in this area centuries ago. The word Quabbin means “Many Waters”.

Located in New Salem, Massachusetts,Quabbin Reservoir is one of the largest man made public water supplies in the United States. It was flooded in the late 1930s after 4 towns in the valley of the river were relocated and their infrastructure dismantled, it is fed by three branches of the Swift River & seasonally by the Ware River. Now it is mainly used to supply public water to Boston and many towns and offers a limited range of recreational activities.

We headed there today with New England Oddities meetup group and saw a few turtles, a baby snake and a bear!

Slideshow(Flash)

View with PicLens(Cooliris)

123►

Finally it is spring… As seen in my town!

Slideshow(Flash)

View with PicLens(Cooliris)

12►

This was a hike with New Haven Hikers. We walked around the state park and enjoyed the views from the Ridge before descending towards Lake Wintergreen and heading back.

Slideshow(Flash)

View with PicLens(Cooliris)

The Hartford Area Hiking meetup group took it to Kent Falls yesterday with Larry leading. This was one of the easy hikes with many scenic views of Kent Falls State Park. We made a few stops along the red trail and Larry shared his information on the plants and history of the area(can be seen in video clip 2 in the playlist below).

Slideshow(Flash)

View with PicLens(Cooliris)

12►

Carl Testa Trio did such a stellar job Saturday at Never Ending Books in New Haven that the crowd forgot about the wind and rain blowing outside and immersed in an hour of music indulgence as the trio played a set of 5 pieces of their original compositions.

Cark Testa trio is:
Carl Testa, String Bass
Mike McGinnis, Clarinet
Aaron Siegel, Percussion

The set played included the following pieces:

Intent
Improvisation
Trio (2009)
17 (melodic) and Improvisation(2 clips)
Ballad

All six pieces can be watched in the same order they were played on the following YouTube playlist:

The Farmington Canal was built in the 1800s to facilitate trade between the towns of Connecticut, it was what some say a reaction to Errie’s canal in NY state. It was originally meant for boats to move merchandise but later railroads proved cheaper and faster and the canal was ditched and a rail road covered the same tracks. It remained in business till 1980s when floods damaged the rail lines and by that time, trucks were taking place of railroads in shipping.

Today, the canal is mainly a pedestrian trail for walking, jogging, biking & more. It stretches between New Haven, CT all the way to Northampton, MA for a total of 84 miles some of which are paved(such as the section you see in the footage)!

I wonder what would happen to the I95 200 years from now!

P.S: The pictures are for a timber wolf(pet wolf) owned by a meetup member of the group I was with on this walk. The name is Kane.Beautiful, eh?

Slideshow(Flash)

View with PicLens(Cooliris)

On Saturday, I joined New England Oddities in their voyage towards Northampton, MA to visit The Botanic Garden at Smith College. I managed to capture some still photos inside and to film the surroundings around the garden. Outside, it was cold, cloudy and Black & White seemed the right choice to go for the video. However, inside the houses it was humid and warm and hence the photos got to keep their colors!

The video series starts on College lane right by Paradise pond’s dam, then follows the trails towards the Japanese garden & Tea Hut area.

And finally, I head back towards the Botanic garden and wander around the streets of Northampton, MA

Slideshow(Flash)

View with PicLens(Cooliris)

1234...678►

I first heard about this sanctuary from a co-worker. Connecticut river has a bunch of places like this one. They are not as visible to the clueless eye as they’re intertwined with the private properties surrounding them.

Ice Racing is quite popular in the North East. You can see ATVs, Dirt bikes & Sidehacks virtually wherever there is a frozen pond.

This was a day on the track of Hamilton Rod & Gun Club in Sturbridge, MA. Warren from Mid-CT photography meetup group had posted the event on the message board and a few members showed up.

Slideshow(Flash)

View with PicLens(Cooliris)

1234...171819►