An early morning walk at Rockwood Hall

I’ve posted about Rockwood Hall before (See links below). It’s the former home of William Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller’s brother although little now remains except the foundations (see last picture).

Sunset at Rockwood Hall
Hudson View from Rockwood Hall
Sycamore Tree at Rockwood Hall
Tree at Rockwood Hall
Approaching Rockwood Hall
Rockwood Hall Foundation and Trees
Rockwood Hall – Evening
A Walk to Rockwood Hall
Winding Path – Rockwood Hall
Rockwood Hall – July 6, 2011 – early evening
Sunset at Rockwood Hall





Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

A Spider

Anyone who reads this blog will know about my fascination with bugs, particularly spiders, and especially jumping spiders. However, I’ve had difficulties both finding jumping spiders and taking pictures of them (they tend to…well…jump away before I can catch them).

So I was elated when I saw this tiny (no more than 1/8inch long) spider in my kitchen. Although I wasn’t entirely sure I suspected it was a jumping spider and prepared to take a picture (luckily I’d left a camera with a macro lens in the kitchen). I’ve taken close up pictures of spiders from above, usually as they’re moving quickly away from me. So I haven’t managed to get a picture of them head on. This time I determined to do just that.

Strangely the spider didn’t seem inclined to run/jump away. It just stood there looking at me. Jumping spider have incredible eyesight and if you move say to the left they will reorient their body to follow you. The only other bug I’ve come across that does that is the Praying Mantis. The mantis doesn’t even move it’s body. It just turns it’s articulated head towards you – quite spooky. Anyway spiders don’t have articulated heads, so just turn their entire body. Still rather unnerving though.

It’s not the best picture I’ve ever taken, but I’m pleased that I finally managed to get a picture of a jumping spider, my all time favorite bug.

Taken with a Sony A77II and Minolta 50mm f2.8 Macro lens

Before there was photography there was music

I didn’t get interested in photography until around 1978 when my wife gave me a camera. I’m not sure why. I don’t recall every saying that I wanted one. But that was what started my passion for all things photographic: taking pictures; collecting photobooks; collecting vintage cameras etc.

However, long before that I had another passion…music. From about age 14-18 I loved to listen to music, but mostly I liked to play. I never thought of myself as particularly good, but I was good enough that I refer to myself as “semi professional”. What I mean by that is that I got paid, but not very much.

Around age 18 I went off to University and almost immediately afterwards to the US, got married and somehow even though I continue to listen to music my interest in playing receded.

A few months ago I sold one of my two houses and moved much of the contents down to the other house. It’s taken me ages to empty all of the moving boxes (I still haven’t emptied all of them). Recently I was emptying one of the boxes and I came across the instrument above. I haven’t touched it for over 40 years and I think starting to play again would be an insurmountable obstacle.

But who knows?

Taken with an Apple Iphone SE model 2.

Update on Stone Tablets

Back in May 2022 I posted some pictures of stone tablets on a nearby church (See: Stone Tablets). I also posted them to Facebook and it’s that post that prompted this one. The thing is that I found them interesting, but apparently nobody else did. No likes, no comments no nothing. Now I don’t have that many Facebook friends so I don’t expect much in the way of likes and comments but I’ve been on Facebook for many years and this is the first time that a post has produced no reaction at all.

I wonder why.