Debra LaValley's Blog

Sometimes – A Bad Shot is a Good Shot

I noticed there was only a sliver of a moon and decided to take a few shots without a tripod. I moved too much on this shot; however, I like it. Sometimes mistakes can be a good thing!

It was another warm and humid day. I drove around in my air conditioned car looking for photo ops close to home. This little pond across from the large Long Pond aka Penacook Lake always catches my eye. You would think that I was up in northern New Hampshire somewhere. At least that is what comes to my mind. My iPhone 12s did a great job! I had my Nikon with me too; however, I liked the iPhone shots of this pond better.

I drove over West Parish Road. There is a great area at the high point with a lovely view of Mount Kearsarge in the background. The little garden with the “scarecrow ghosts” added to the scene. Another iPhone shot. I took a shot with my Nikon as well but figured I would stick with the iPhone shot for this shot too. 🙂

I hope everyone is well. Have a great day!

Hot! Hot! Hot! Today! Yuck! Feels like July!

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since it is almost July! I am sitting in a darkened living room with the AC cranking and fans going. Outside is humid and currently 90, and it is only 1:15 ish. Luckily, tomorrow the heat will break! I am having a very lazy day. I am going to head to the drug store to pick up some prescriptions, etc. Other than that – probably not doing much else at all! Have a great day and Stay Cool and Hydrated!

Eaglet at the local nest is now 9 weeks old. He is practicing to flap his wings and in a few weeks or so should be fledging. I missed the dad flying in with lunch because a car drove by me, and I looked away for a few seconds. I love watching the nest activity! They are such regal birds!

OMG, what happened to April and most of May?

Time certainly seemed to fly by! April 1st was my last post. I could have sworn that I posted since then! So, what has been happening all these weeks? The weather has been strange, which is pretty typical for New Hampshire. We freeze then we have very warm days! Today is supposed to hit 90. It is very humid. I don’t know if we will hit 90. It will be close. It was foggy this morning and it took a while to burn off. We didn’t have bright sun until about 1:00. Tomorrow is supposed to be very hazy, hot, and humid! I do not like that at all! I recently had a week’s vacation and managed to capture a photo of a lovely Green Heron. I do not see one of these little guys very often.

The local eagle’s nest and family are doing well. It appears there is only one eaglet, and it is about 8 weeks old today. I was able to snap some shots of it today. The tree below the nest has grown a lot and is obscuring the nest. The eaglet likes the back of the nest. I got luckily today and it moved to the front of the nest.

It is almost Memorial Day Weekend! Take care and Hope everyone is Well!

No April Fool’s jokes to offer for the day. It may have been different, if I was still working on site. I have been working remotely for 2 years. It is feeling second nature. At first, I missed going in to the office. I do miss the daily live interaction with coworkers – but am now used to interacting virtually. It is really nice to stay at home during the cold winter months. Today, has been cloudy off and on with rain showers. Maisey came over to my work area to check out the view from the window. I don’t know what captured her attention. It was raining at the time. I couldn’t see any birds around. She looked so cute standing. Luckily, I had my iPhone on my desk, and I was able to get some shots. There were a lot of water droplets on the top window, perhaps she was intrigued by them. I love being able to capture her antics during the day. She is such a character. Toward the end of the year, I may return on site a day or two a week depending on how the COVID situation is – if for no other reason than to slowly start cleaning out my stuff in my work area. In June, it will be 37 years working for NEDD. It is my plan to retire – effective January 1, 2023 🙂 I am looking forward to the new chapter. Many of my friends are already retired and love it! I am envious! I am planning on being more active on my blog as well. Happy Spring!

We Soldiered on Through a Very Cold Month

I am not sorry to see January come to an end. It has been a very frigid and windy month! This past weekend, we had a nasty nor’easter. Cold is one thing but high winds driving the temps subzero is not fun. (Still better than 90 degrees and humid LOL!) It has been too cold to do too much outside of the house, so I have taken to playing with my food. I saw Arthur (above) on line and had to buy him. I have always wanted to try a soft boiled egg in an egg cup and dip toast soldiers into the runny yolk. It was quite fun! I love to play with my food – especially after being cooped up. Between the Omicron variant of Covid everywhere and the cold, I don’t get out much. I have been creating my own entertainment.

Another treat is to dip toast soldiers into hot cocoa. This is an old favorite that we used to have growing up – especially after playing outside on a cold winter’s day. I limit myself to a couple pieces of toast. I could go through quite a few more pieces. There is something about toast with lots of butter dipped into hot cocoa. Try it! (FYI – I have put on a few pounds . . . I am back on the exercycle!)

Today, I decided to make myself some homemade Vegetarian Vegetable soup. It was a perfect lunch for another freezing day. The Nessie ladle was a present from my niece Sydney a few years ago. It was a set of two. She knows her aunt well. It was delicious, and I have enough for a couple more meals.

It is always nice to have a snuggly cat too during these cold days. Maisey is such a sweet kitty! Cats surely have a knack for getting comfy.

I hope this finds you happy and well. Stay warm!

A new year is here. The local eagle pair is back. I was thrilled to see the female (right) sitting in the tree. She called out and the male flew from out of the blue to be by her side. She scooted down the branch to make room for him. They perched there for a couple minutes and then headed off together. It will be interesting to see if they use last year’s nest. There is a lot of construction in the area. They may not care. They may use the nest from a few years ago or build another. I wish they would build one in this tree; but that would be too much to ask for! I have to take a spin by last year’s nest and see if they are fixing it up.

I hope you all have a great January! Take care out there! It is still a crazy world!

… And the Snow Came!

The snow started falling yesterday and enveloped the land in white through the night. I am sure that there will be many a snowman/woman/puppies, etc. made in yards today. The snow is sticky and the sun is now shining. New Hampshire is definitely aglow! It is also the week before Christmas. It will be a busy week for sure. I only have a few more things to wrap. (I do not enjoy wrapping. I know, I could use gift bags; however, I don’t want the receiver to cheat and look inside before Christmas – LOL). That brings to mind a story my mom told me. Christmas 1958, was my first Christmas. There were many gifts given to her for me that were put in a closet (or somewhere). She was so excited to see what I got, she unwrapped all of them before Christmas and then rewrapped them! Hahahaha! I always was amused that she did that. Christmas certainly brings up a lot of memories. I hope you all focus on all the Happy Christmas Memories and try to watch less news broadcasts, that are far from uplifting – especially of late. I am trying to limit my self to one news broadcast a day. Please be safe and take care!

A very Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy New Year – to all!