To close out 2025, a bunch of Conner Clan (and Rhodes!) rented a house out in Becket Massachusetts. For 5 nights we ate, laughed, played games, read, and I managed to squeeze in a couple of bike rides in the hills of the Berkshires.
We saw a little snowstorm on our last night which left a seasonable blanket of snow to end the trip. Looking forward to next year already!
In July, Emily and I left the house on bikes and traveled up to Maine. For Christmas, Emily pre-planned the entire bike-packing trip plotting Komoot routes, scheduling hotel stays, and scouting dining spots.
We pedaled to the Providence train station, trained to Portland, then pedaled up to Brunswick and back before training home. All told, just over 100 miles of cycling over the weekend.
This was the first trek for Emily’s new e-bike. It worked great riding together. I’m super grateful that she’s such a good sport about traveling by bike. I had a ton of fun on the trip and really enjoyed accomplishing the journey without relying on a car at any point.
We went to Portugal in August! We visited 2 cities. First stop: Porto. We had a couple of days to visit with Dani who took a bus from Spain to join us.
On our third day, we drove to Ericeira to visit Lori, Luis, and Bea. We had a lot of fun chilling in the oceanside town ~40 minutes outside of Lisbon. Great food, excellent beach, and a relaxing resort-style hotel made it easy to catch up with family.
It’s been a minute… since my last post in January, I’ve sold my business and been kinda crazy running around the country in my new role. More on that later (maybe).
One of my trips for work took me to Alaska. A bucket-list location that I doubt I’ll see again, but fantastic to see once. I was supposed to board a ship in Vancouver BC and then sail to Juneau AK. Flight delays led to missing the ship, so I hunkered down in Vancouver for a few days and then flew to Juneau. Actually, a nice turn of events. Vancouver was delightful and probably better than a cruise (though that would have been stellar scenery).
Here’s some shots from the trip:
For Christmas this year, we continued our not-quite-annual tradition of renting a house somewhere off the beaten path and share a week with family. This year Emily picked a beautiful spot in the Berkshires — a cozy cabin beside a lake. The new snow and single-digit temperatures made it beautifully chilly. The frozen lake and a blanket of snow were picturesque.
Disclaimer: houses shown above were not where we stayed, lol. Just pretty to photograph
We played loads of board games (Quirkle, Scrabble, and even Conquest of the Empire), shot pool, and played air hockey.
And of course, opened lots of gifts…
Lounged around chatting…
Nightfall on the lake was particularly pretty. Clear skies and the cold weather made for brilliant stargazing.
On our last full day, the weather warmed up a bit and we tromped along the Keystone Arch Bridges trail.
And, of course, I took pics of birds…
We finally did it! After years of being subverted by nasty COVID illnesses and precisely the wrong time, this year we managed to celebrate with Gwen, Chris, and family in Boston.
After our cycling trip in Ireland, we’ve been a bit more inspired to get out on our bikes around here! We took a short ride into Seekonk to visit the Caratunk Wildlife Refuge. Good to remember the glorious cycling we have nearby.
…and here’s some random pics of Sprocket and backyard flowers.
Our big summer vacation this year was a biking trip in Ireland. In late July, we packed our bike shorts and flew to Shannon, then a quick-ish bus trip took us to Galway. We meandered around the city for a bleary day before meeting with our bike trip coordinator.
Seeing Ireland from a bike saddle was pretty fantastic. The first day we pedaled from Galway to the tiny town of Kinvara (pop. 721). Along the way we stopped for some tea, and to snap a few photos of the sights. The end of the day bumped into Dunguaire Castle. We had a great lunch, and then a grocery-store dinner before crashing at our B&B.
Our second day of riding took us across the Burren. With ~1800ft of elevation, it had some rewarding climbs. Emily smartly opted for an e-bike, and was able to gleefully cruise up the hills. Big V and I ground it out, but we all had a ton of fun. We stopped at the Burren Perfumery for tasty bites and sampling of pleasant fragrances (we bought a sampler, then ordered more shipped home).
We stopped at Carran Church (pics below), Caherconnel Stone Fort, and Poulanbrone dolmen (no pics, they didn’t turn out) before arriving in Doolin (pop. 300). It took most of the day to reach Doolin, but it felt like an adventure! It was great to pedal around, detour to see some sights, stop whenever we wanted to take in the sights, and genuinely explore the countryside. We were all struck by how gracious the Irish drivers were on cramped roads.
Our last day of cycling was an out-and-back to the Cliffs of Moher. The cycling was a little more stressful because of the traffic around the cliffs, but the views did not disappoint. After soaking up the vista, we had a little lunch and parted ways. V & E headed back to Doolin to tour the caves and I went on to Moher Tower mostly to get a little more time cycling. The weather throughout our trip was blissfully cool, sometimes rainy, but always gorgeous views. I figured I might as well get as much time on the bike as possible before heading home.
The next morning we shared a cab. I jumped out at Shannon airport to fly home (princess class), and the girls continued on to Limerick to catch a train to Dublin for a few more days in the green. I laid my cycling shoes to rest in the motherland. They had deteriorated rather rapidly over the trip. “Odd, I can’t believe these didn’t last longer.” Then counting up the years… omg, they are nearly 20y old. Time flies…
I got out on the kayak in July and took a couple of snaps of more seabirds. Not quite as successful as my last outing, but I did grab a decent image of a Cormorant.
I also tried to shoot some photos of birds from shore. That did not work out. But I got some bugs…
And, the backyard still proves pretty useful for getting close to songbirds. Snapped these of a hummingbird in the rain.
Wowza. It’s been a minute since I posted anything. The spring has been incredibly hectic with a big-for-us project for Cirque Du Soleil. As a result, not a ton of time for photos, and apparently even less for posting them.
Let’s catch up. Here’s some photos from the Kent Street Pond that I took in March.
I’m in my usual New Year’s should-I-buy-a-new-camera conundrum (the answer is ‘no’). I went looking for some of my best bird shots from this summer when I went out on my kayak to get closer to the birds. After so many disappointing shots with poor sharpness, I was determined to get closer so I could crop less. The result was predictably great. Proving that more than a new camera or lens, the best bang-for-buck is working on getting closer to the subject. Having more usable pixels in the shot is the best way to improve the quality.
For some reason I forgot to publish these photos over the summer, so I’m dropping them here now so I can find them in the future.
Not every year, but with an irregular frequency, we’ll all rent a house at Christmas to gather the families and friends. Lots of food, great conversations, plenty of games, and daily outings make it a ton of fun.
This year Emily found a great house just north of North Conway, NH. It stood on the side of Mt Stanton, with easy access to hiking trails. Well… not so easy that we could find our way through the woods. Emily & Izzy had no problems navigating, but the rest of us got lost at least once. Navigation issues aside, we all had fun hiking up the minor mountain.
On my way back down from the summit hike on day #2, I bumped into a bunch of birds feasting in the woods by the house. It was pretty dim, so most of the shots weren’t keepers, but I did nab this one of a wood pecker:
On Christmas Eve we had a Yankee Swap, which has taken the place of years’ past Secret Santa exchanges. The swap is fun and low-key — a great time to sit together and enjoy some really thoughtful gifts. I made off with 2 games which we’ve already played a bunch of times. Good stuff!
Gwenda got a lackluster clementine 🤣
Christmas morning we exchanged intra-family gifts.
Fog rolled in on Christmas and hung around for the next few days. Up on the mountain, we were above the blanket, but venturing around town was soupy. Vic got some great shots from the front yard.
On our last full day, we drove to Diana’s Falls. A short hike led to a picturesque scene. Vic got some close up shots (very nice!) and I concentrated on wide angle views.
With food scarce, and trees bare, it’s a lot easier to get some bird pics….
The day was very overcast, so I tried playing with over exposure to blow out the background. I like the result, better than a bunch of muddy gray shots.
After Turkey Day, we drove down to New Jersey to see Lori, Luis, and their adorable baby. The baby is just starting to walk, which is super-fun to see. And, she is unusually easygoing around new faces. Happy to grab the fingers of any willing big-headed walking support agent.
We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in Newark. The parking garage abutted an old building that had been half-demolished to make room. Leaving some of the building was probably more economical than tearing it all down. Doesn’t add to the vibrancy of the area, but does make for a cool picture.
And here's a bird & a bird house, totally unrelated but from the same weeks.
I went back to the river on Sunday with a better sense of what compositions I wanted to capture. I think the results were pretty good. I also got a few more shots of robins.
A little disappointed after missing peak fall colors, I decided to try a sunrise photo session. It paid off. The colors at sunrise were bonkers. And after the sunrise, the robins were in a frenzy so I got a few fun shots.
I missed the best weekend for colors, but there are still a few pretty leaves out there.
Went for a walk with my trusty Fuji X-T4. Took 238 photos. Only 1 keeper. Here it is…
Big V is enjoying her new high school. Fall is Homecoming season and she had a great time!
In September I traveled to London for a conference. The business aspect was a bust, but I took a couple of photos.
I continue to be oddly fascinated taking pictures of birds. Here’s some snaps from the backyard of finches, chickadees, and a tufted titmous.
For our 25th anniversary, Emily and I took a trip to New Orleans. It was on Emily’s bucket list, and I haven’t been since 1997, so it seemed like an excellent destination. Flew down on a Friday night, and returned home on Monday. We spent most of our time in the French Quarter enjoying the architecture, museums, beignets, cocktails, and good meals.
With an air temp of 95-ish and a heat index well above 100, it was hot. But, there’s an oddly comforting camaraderie in the South in the summer. Everyone is swimming in the soup together and makes the best of it.
Plenty of breaks from the heat inside lovely bars and restaurants.
On Sunday, we walked 3 miles from the French Quarter to City Park to see the sculpture garden. There’s a scenic bike trail that makes the walk both convenient and pleasant. We soaked in the neighborhoods as we wound our way along the Lafitte Greenway.
