Crossing Baltimore’s Key Bridge

Kris and I went northwest of Baltimore – a part of the state we don’t get to very often – to do some exploring over the weekend.  We found a lovely hiking spot (Gunpowder Falls State Park) and a photogenic pre-Revolutionary War historic village (Jerusalem).  The pristine weather and the free time gave me the chance to try some photographic techniques that I have wanted to try for awhile…

This kind of shot is called HDR – High Dynamic Range.  I had seen hundreds of HDR shots on Flickr, and recently Kris and I decided to give it a try.  (His first HDR photographs were done in Alaska – and they are stunning.  See his shot of the Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls, and his other shot of the Treadwell Mines on Sandy Beach).  The process is relatively simple; for the photograph, I used my tripod and our 5D Mark II camera.  You shoot three shots at the exact same spot – one at a lower light, one at standard, and then a higher light exposure.  Using PhotoMatix software (specifically designed for HDR shots), you layer the three photos on top of each other and the result is this multi-tonal image – the highlights and the lowlights.

It has an otherworldly look to it because it picks up on all of the colors – unique and “hyper-real”.  For that reason, there are several critics who say it is too much processing. Of course, like anything, there is a *right* time for HDR, and a *wrong* time.  I figured that Jerusalem Village was a nice chance to try it out.

Kris’s family goes to the Maryland and Delaware beaches each summer and we always join them for a long weekend.  It’s a tradition-filled excursion; we tend to visit the same places and do the same activities each year.  It’s quite fun to have these same activities and compare them year to year.  One of the longstanding traditions is a trip to Assateague Island and the Assateague Island National Seashore, a barrier island off the coast of Maryland.  The island, as you may recall from previous posts on the subject, is home to dozens of wild ponies, descendants of the horses from a shipwreck centuries ago (date is unknown, but figured to be in the eighteenth or nineteenth century).

These animals have adapted to their environment and can drink the brackish waters of the marshlands and can eat and survive on the limited vegetation.  Because of this, their growth has been stunted over the generations – which makes them “ponies” rather than “horses” because they are not as tall as the regular horse breeds.

This year, we saw more ponies than ever before – between 20 and 25.  (Every other year we saw about 5 or less)  Luckily, we also had our new camera and some lenses to play around with as we photographed the lovely animals.  It was a highlight year!

We came across this large band of ponies – lead by an alpha male.  When another male came towards the group, the alpha chased him off with hoof stomping and neighing.  The last picture shows a foal, only a week old according to the ranger.  Baby’s hair was wavy ~ so sweet!

The ponies have free reign over the island, but there are still areas for sightseers and campers to park their cars.  It was quite a funny juxtaposition to see the ponies lined up in between the cars in the campground parking lot:

…and even ponies like to hear the sound of the waves…

“One day, I will stop by… have a look around…” Sitting at the traffic light, with my blinker on to turn left.  Looking directly ahead at the historic grounds and the small gravestones peeking above the grass.

“Why not today?”

Blinker off. Drove straight ahead into the small lot.  Exploration time.

…

I pass the historic landmark road plaque nearly everyday.  The plaque refers to the grounds of Christ Episcopal Church, established in 1711, and the church that was constructed a century later.  “Old Brick” is nestled right alongside several busy roads – tucked back behind some large poplar and oak trees.  You pass by it on the way to the market… the post office… the library.

After a lovely day with my mom (we spent it searching for a few key pieces at local thrift/consignment shops), we also stopped by “Old Brick” to walk the grounds of the old church, and the adjacent cemetery. Luckily, I had my new camera with me to capture the moments.

I felt like I discovered a little gem – so close.  I had every intention of stopping *some day* but having lived in this area for nearly nine years, I still hadn’t done it.  What places are on your “someday” list?  Do you think you could find a moment to explore and document that place within the next few days?

Larriland Farm days are back!  And this time, we went to the wonderful pick-your-own farm with the nieces.  It was all about the strawberries~

About 90 pounds of strawberries!  We had three rows (about 20 feet long) that were assigned to us – a group of 6.  They say it is the best picking that they have had in recent memory – I guess Snowmageddon was good for something!  Each plant had about 15 strawberries each, and they were like rubies under the dark green leaves.  So beautiful.

Since we had a clear plan for our berries, Kris and I took the most of them.  We split it 60/30.  It was an afternoon of washing, hulling, and freezer preparation.   The ripest and most delicate berries were taken out, cleaned and then sent through the juicer.  The juice is then frozen in popsicle holders and consolidated into plastic baggies in the freezer.  These little juice pops are used throughout the year for punches and sangria.  The majority of the berries were frozen whole – laid out on wax paper in the freezer shelf (so that they wouldn’t freeze together in one giant block after washing) and then consolidated into baggies.

…and with the others… we made some jam

My sister Sarah was in town for the long weekend, and she expressed an interest in learning how to can.  I picked up some jelly jars and pectin beforehand, so once she made it over, we were ready to go.

We made two batches of jam – the first was strawberry lime jam.  For this one, I used the Ball No-Sugar-Needed Pectin.  It called for apple or white grape juice for sweetener, but also gave instructions for adding some sugar.  Since I did not have the juice on hand, I did in fact add a bit of sugar to the recipe ~4 cups according to the recipe.  I found the recipe and adaptation on Ravelry’s Canny Crafters group page.  The original recipe was adapted from this one - just subbing lime juice and zest for the lemon.

The second batch used the same recipe as a guide, but a different flavor.  This was strawberry vanilla jam using Pomona’s Universal Pectin.  I saw several recipes for vanilla varieties and nearly all of them used a vanilla bean – but since I didn’t have one, I subbed 2 Tablespoons of vanilla extract.  I used the guidelines for sugars from Pomona’s box.  We had approximately 10 cups of strawberries, and I used a mixture of cane sugar and agave nectar for the batch.  And, it came out perfectly!  Such a nice gel and quite yummy too!

13 jars in all – 8 of vanilla and 5 of lime.  It was a great day.  Sarah, Kris and I had a lot of fun doing it all!  Now we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor over the whole year.  Planning to make more preserves, jellies, and canned goods this year – it’s fun to do!

Why is it that vacation time is at least double the speed of regular time?  Anyone figured out that little quandary of quantum physics yet?  it just goes by too darn fast.

… I slept in… read three books from cover to cover…  made some progress on my knitting… ate way too much candy…  went to an arboretum… walked on the beach with my nieces… took many photographs…  went on a boat ride…  stayed up late…  my vacation in a nutshell 

The Adkins Arboretum is a privately owned sanctuary on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, near the Delaware state line.  They are dedicated to the native plants and trees of Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic states.  Kris and I so enjoyed strolling around the trails and looking at all of the flowers, trees, and mushrooms.  [Full Photoset Here]

Since I got back earlier in the week, my knitting progress has been so slow… this is why I hesitated to blog, honestly… truth is, I have spent a lot more time with my nose in books,  in the garden,  in the kitchen, or in the yoga studio rather than knitting right now.  So, at least for a little while, I will be sharing blog posts of book reviews, recipes, and gardening shots – hope this is agreeable!  I won’t be such a stranger…