2014 Sand Sculpture Competition at Hampton Beach N.H.–Overview

Posted on July 26, 2014 by kcaptain77

Great job but a long day in the sun.

Hit the road early to ride the 99 miles from home to Hampton Beach. I wanted to take pictures of the Sand Sculptures before the afternoon downpours alter the art perfection. Already some wind though hot hazy and sunny as I tucked my self behind the Cycles shield for gusts. Route 4 to Route 93 to Route 101 all a good motorcycle cruise to my destination. The beach culture was just getting started with various groups and couples heading to the sand, some starting volleyball games, some swimming and exploring the shore. The Sand Sculpture is a joy which I am drawn to each year. Enjoy!

Working on the tan

The strip with so much to do see and buy.

Side detail

Bathing beauty

Vollyball

: Gray Matter of the Modern Brain overloaded on technology

Wait for me!

Family excursion

Hampton Beach N.H.
Sand Sculpture Competition 2014[/caption]

Wistful for Wisteria

Posted on May 4, 2014 by kcaptain77

Wistful for Wisteria

Peeper frogs choir symphony at night
Birds singing in the crisp morning air

Loons cruising on the pond in synchronized natural movements
A collidascope of motion as cutting winds make designs on the surface

Pen’s potential energy released if only for a line a day
Spring comes slower in my new northern home

Surrounded by forest, hills and mountains
Ice out on the shallow pond April 24th the last pushed under by a day of gusts

In mind’s eye a clear view of the prospects as buds grow and change in color
I find myself Wistful for Wisteria which grew in beauty each year at my old abode

Pictures now memories
A scent I will never forget

As a polar vortex winter fades
and nature comes alive

Here April comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb
and May showers bring late May and June flowers

All the more wonder after a first spent northern winter
Hope and Faith have brought me here

where I belong

[click on any image for a sharper view]

Soundboard–A Sound check of all things music

Posted on February 25, 2014 by kcaptain77

Soundboard–A Sound check of all things music.

The Touch of Winter

Posted on January 17, 2014 by kcaptain77

A paintbrush of white dusts the landscape in crystal celebration of the season.

The Touch of winter
A Crystal water caress of snow
The sunny silence of a cold winter day shines in a new coat
Icy wind crystallizes dreams of warmth
A dusting that covers the ice surface
A country skating rink marks a spot where the shore kisses a hill
Near a lake inlet which drains from frosted wetland
A wondrous place in natural flux of seasonal changes
A sacred place where giant granite boulders hold sway against manmade hand and the storms of nature
Mark the passing of glaciers past
The tick of a wall clocks seconds break the silence
The only reminder that this perfect land at waters’ edge has been touched by human
Dreams of ownership
Nothing but a single frozen vaporous breath or a seconds tick
In this lands grand timelessness
Yet winters icy grip cannot stop a heartfelt spirit or dissipate
The crystal dream of touching the infinite

A winter blanket

Winter blanket makes an XTerra a snow cave

Pawtuckaway Wetland Beavers

Posted on January 8, 2014 by kcaptain77

All pictures taken with a NIKON D50 digital camera

Pawtuckaway Wetland Beavers

I am aware of our mortality and strive to make the most of each day. We can’t take it with us so we must walk our paths with love, hope and understanding.

The paths taken on walks in differing season give me pause to take in the lives of some of my natural neighbors. The Beaver population in the wetland system of Pawtuckaway State Park has fascinated me for the years lived in its midst.

Enjoy the simple things and you can feel the grand connection to it all. The old stone walls seen all thru New Hampshire and New England were put in place slowly, stone by stone walls were made day by day.

They framed old forest and field, stream river and lake shores.

The stone walls were made with great effort and persistence. They held the makers hopes and framed their dreams. The walls are not unlike the beavers den and winter food supply, it was all part of survival.

We can’t take it with us, but just as the ancestors we can leave our focus.

Whether framed in stone or words or decisions it remains after us,

Weathered by wind, water and time

With stones added and landscape shaped by those who cross this path.

This den is downlake from where I live. The branches you see sticking up are the tips of a winter food supply that is reached underwater, OUCH!

A one foot radius tree that the beaver is working on in an attempt to get at the rest of the tree. If only they could climb it would be easier.

Closeup of the tooth marks and work that goes into downing a tree with your teeth. I get tired of chewing downing a large meal!

The beaver has cut all of these sections in an attempt to down one tree which is still hung up in another tree. This shows the persistence and determination to survive which is inate in nature.

A closeup of the beaver den and the nights snack material.

I leave you on this path with the stream that fills the pond. This beaver has built a house with running water! Peace to all!

Sandcastles at Sunrise 2013 part one

Posted on July 25, 2013 by kcaptain77

href=”https://kcaptain77.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/dscn0915.jpg”> Sunrise on the first full day of summer

It was just one of those days when I felt that I had caught up to where I should be. Up just after the birds at 4:50, on the road to Hampton Beach at 5AM. The lake was draped in mist as warm water touched the overnight cooler air. Awaken to another day in early summer paradise. So much is missed as we rest during the early lit hours. Turkeys were crossing the road, other birds were chirping to the new day and some deer were seen in hay fields. Everything felt new and fresh. On arrival at the shore I easily found a spot to park close to my photo focus of the day. The beach had been groomed and the symmetric lines had hardly a footprint. A small group had gathered to watch the sun rise on the first full day of summer. It was also the start of the third day of working on the Sand Sculptures with the moments of judgment coming in the afternoon. One man was focused on finding treasure in the sand with a metal detector and seemed oblivious to all else around him.

href=”https://kcaptain77.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/dscn0925.jpg”> Some tools of the trade

Pictures and comments from the brochure

The Wizard, ‘Gandalf’

Attending early on the third of three days of work by the artists allowed pictures of art in the creation stage. The tools and some of the box frames and the hard plastic sheets used for designing round rough material to work were left where they had been used the days before. Buckets trowels brushes, shovels and other tools are used to shape the packed sand. Each contestant gets 10 tons of sand to work with over three days. They must work alone. The sand is kept moist with sprays of water and a solution of 1 gallon of Elmers Glue to 5 gallons of water is used to seal the sculpture from wind and other damage.

<img

It is interesting to guess how the finished work will look. Later I will publish a before and after with some surprises. I was fascinated by the creation in sand of a Giant coming out of the sand and holding a replica which holds a replica which holds a replica smaller with each reproduction.

The Sand Giant and close ups of the replicas