hillsborough balloon fest

Abigail Parnell, 8, of Northbridge, Mass., goofs off with her dad, Jason Parnell, at the Hillsborough Balloon Festival and Fair on Saturday, July 9, 2011.

Talia Merrill, left, 6 of Dearing, and her sister Amana Merrill, 7, hang out at the Hillsborough Balloon Festival and Fair on Saturday, July 9, 2011.

i scream you scream, we all scream for ice cream

Chris Estes, of Northfield, smiles as her daughter Ashleigh Estes, 5, tips her head back to get the last of her orange sherbet while at Jordan's Ice Creamery in Belmont, Saturday, July 2, 2011. Chris and her husband, Craig, took Ashleigh and Tucker, 3, to the circus in Laconia and went to Jordan's after to cool off.


Tucker Estes, 3, makes the most of a bite of cookies and cream at Jordan's Ice Creamery in Belmont, Saturday, July 2, 2011.

there's beauty everywhere

..just get close and look.

dimond hill

...was a fantastic place to stumble across on a feature hunt.

Gladys Jaworski gives llama Mike a pat between pulling handfuls of weeds from around blueberry bushes at Dimond Hill Farm; Thursday, June 30, 2011. "(I have) been a weeder all my life," said Jaworski, who was born and raised on a 100-acre farm. "I'm very fortunate to be still weeding at my age. I'm working on 84." It is her second summer working at Dimond Hill, and she said she likes that weeding keeps her outside.


D.J. Grandmaison walks down the line toward Tyler Guilmette, 18, left, Nate Hunt, center, 16, and Ned Metcalf, also 16, to hill potatoes at Dimond Hill Farm; Thursday, June 30, 2011. Nate and Ned are both entering their junior year at Hopkinton in the fall, while Tyler will be attending Maine College of Art in Portland. It is Grandmaison's eleventh season working at Dimond Hill, and he handles the planting of corn, squash, zucchini, pumpkins, gourds, carrots, peas, beans, and more.


Ned Metcalf and Nate Hunt, both 16, kick back for lunch at Dimond Hill Farm; Thursday, June 30, 2011. The boys, who will be juniors at Hopkinton this fall, enjoyed farm-provided ice cream before returning to hilling potatoes.

hello, pretty

I love this gorgeous state.

reptiles on the move

Fun fact: snakes, and scaly things in general, unnerve me. Lots. But I'm fascinated by the texture of their skins and was amped about the moment possibilities of this assignment. Tried to work the situation.

I was shadowing a woman holding a snake high above a crowd of children in the hopes of getting a cool overall shot, absorbed in the lens of my camera, and I suddenly realized the woman was backing toward me and the snake was about a foot from my face.

I booked it. It was ildly mortifying, but I thought it was pretty funny. So did the roomful of families who watched me flying away from a critter about two and a half feet long.

Oh, the everyday joys of photojournalism. It's comedy like this that keeps me coming back for more.


Luca, a 12-year-old albino Burmese python, lays quietly on the floor as childrens' hands explore his skin; Wednesday, June 29, 2011. Luca is 11 feet long now but could grow to 20 feet.


Rylie Winward, 7, grazes her finger against a blood ghost red corn snake; Wednesday, June 29, 2011. Rylie attended the reptile show with her mother, Kira Winward, and little sister Lilly Winward, 4.


Pam Stone holds her son, Kian Stone, 2, as he squeals, coming face to face with a sulcata tortoise at Weare Town Hall on Wednesday, June 29, 2011. Uromastyx lizards, a Mexican Black Kingsnake, several turtles, an American alligator, and an iguana were also present through Concord-based organization Reptiles On The Move as part of the Weare Public Library's summer reading program.

at the roots

oh green world

habitat for humanity

park, puddle

weeks estate

wood, flora, water

also, there was a fox.

"over the misty mountains"

I've been re-reading The Hobbit. And there above is a dwarf song quote.

crashin' concord's prom

..was really fun.

bike week: hill climb drag races

bow high school graduation

Alex Foley and Ali Garcia, both 18, kiss amidst the chaos after graduation at Bow High School; Saturday, June 10, 2011. Alex and Ali have been together for three years, getting to know one another through track and beginning their relationship as sophomores. "There was a time period where I didn't even know what to say to her," recalled Alex, who began crushing on Ali as a freshman. "I was trying to get him to ask me out, but it took him forever!" Ali said with a laugh. 45 minutes of distance will separate them in the fall when Ali attends Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and Alex goes to the University of New Hampshire in Durham, but they are considering braving the distance and staying together in college.

Dylan Erickson eyes the room during commencement at Bow High School; Saturday, June 10, 2011.


Sarah Lennon whispers across the aisle to Jon Lefebvre after they received diplomas at Bow High School; Saturday, June 10, 2011.

softball overload?

My first two weeks in Concord were full of sports.

black and white: boys' lacrosse

I really love this sport.