Macro shot of wasp on flower.

"The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be awakened from sleep.' - Chanakya

I caught this wasp enjoying food and the sun's warmth in between rain showers.  

Humor of the day - Eye-examination charts vary according to the manufacturer, but one thing they have in common is that they don't spell anything.
One day a patient came into my office for an ophthalmological exam. I asked him to read the 20/40 line of the eye chart, but obviously the letters FZBDE were mostly a blur to him. Finally he ventured a guess.
"I can't pronounce his name," the man said, "but I think he played football for Notre Dame."

Spring Flowers

"When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the shoe leather has passed into the fiber of your body. I measure your health by the number of shoes and hats and clothes you have worn out." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Spring was just hitting as we entered Atkins, VA. The green leaves and fresh blooms were a welcomed surprise as we left the high country and entered the lower elevations and milder climates.

Descent on Mt. Moosilauke in New Hampshire

In my previous entry I described the 1.6 miles down Mt. Moosilauke. I wanted to include a few photos of the cascades. For most of the way the trail ran parallel to the cascades, often with water splashing onto the trail making it slippery. This is the first part of the descent where the brook first joined the trail.

I had also mentioned steps to help make the path traversable, well this will give you an idea of the steps we encountered. I believe the design was to drill holes in the rock, epoxy rebar into the holes and then epoxy the timber onto the rebar. You would run into stretches of bare rock and most of the long and steep sections would have this system. There were a few places that did not have this system and it was easier to just slide down the rock on your read end.


This is one of the final cascades we encountered on the trail. I would love the opportunity to go back with my SLR camera and a photograph the waterfalls with a filter to allow more motion blur.

I had also mentioned earlier that someones parents had invited us to dinner. I recall ordering 8 wings and a large pan pizza. I believe I ate all but one piece which I had given away to someone that wanted to try a Hawaiian Pizza. The family was from North Carolina, so I asked them if they had driven to North Carolina and the daughter replied "No, that would have been crazy, it would have taken forever". My reply way, yeah, imagine trying to walk it.

Signs along the Appalachian Trail

I wanted to share a few signs I saw on the trail that were worthy of their own blog. Some signs are humorous, while others offer warnings of just how tough some sections of the trail can be.

If you ever get a trivia question that ask "What town did (blank) take place in during (either the Civil War or the American Revolution) and you do not know the answer, just say Harpers Ferry and you have a good chance of being right. It is probably best known for the abolitionist John Brown and his raid on the armory and arsenal to capture weapons to be used in free the slave in 1959. It seemed every building had some kind of sign or plaque stating something that at that point at some point in history. This sign was located on the balcony at the outfitter.



The Trail club used a little humor with this photo posted at an overlook offering views of Mt. Moosilauke. You can almost tell that this section of the trail is maintained by a college by the humor in the sign. I loved it.

You follow a series of cascades/waterfalls for the last 1.6 miles down Mt. Moosilauke. In order to try and make the trail navigable, there are a series of rebar, steps, and handholds to allow for traversing the step and hazardous terrain. Having already gone about 17 miles, including summitting Mt. Moosilauke, we were pretty tired and looking forward to camping at the shelter just before this 1.6 mile section. When we got to the shelter we learned that the others had moved on and that one of our friends had family in town and they had offered to take us to dinner. Sota called them and told them we would meet them at the parking area in about 30 minutes. When he told me 30 minutes, I asked him what part of step and treacherous did he not understand. So anyway we took of. It did take me about 55 minutes to reach the parking area, but I felt like I was flying. It did keep the adrenaline up, but it was very unnerving at the same time. I did stop a few times to snap a quick photo of the cascades.

Macro Photography, Flowers

“We say we love flowers, yet we pluck them. We say we love trees, yet we cut them down. And people still wonder why some are afraid when told they are loved.” - Unknown

I am going to miss taking photos of flowers this winter. I have started practicing indoor photography with a little DIY light box so I am guessing I will have to visit the florist this winter a few times at least.

I am not exactly sure what these flowers are. I do know that they only bloom during the day.