Week 38-Royal Arch

This week I traveled to Boulder, Colorado to visit my brother, his wife and my 11 month old nephew, Cade. Cade was in one of my first handstand photos balanced precariously on my feet. Yesterday, we enjoyed a misty, then rainy hike in the Flat Irons which is in Rocky Mountain National Park. Cade was breaking in his very plush Kelty backpack. Luckily, we purchased the one with the miniature pup tent which serves as rain and sun protector. It attaches to the top of the backpack. Cade was pretty unhappy with the weather conditions and finally cried himself to sleep while crusing down the mountain on his pop's back.

This hike was 3.6 miles round trip and led us to some flat irons which are rock formations that look like the old irons your great grandmother may have heated on the wood stove. The trail then lead to this beautiful arch on a mountain top that overlooked Boulder Valley. Although the weather was not ideal we still had a great view of the valley.

None of my handstands were that great so I am posting one that shows how I get into the handstand. I come up with my legs separated and then try to bring them together. This photo is really about the impressive Royal Arch anyway. You get an idea of it's massiveness by how small I am and the people behind the arch are. Can you see the rain drops on the camera lens? Jeez, I just can't seem to get away from those rain drops! Today, though, it is sunny and on it's way to warm here in Boulder, CO. Perhaps another hike?

Location: Rocky Mountain National Park, Royal Arch Trail

Photographer: Evan Little

Week 37-Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Feet

There has been record rainfall here in MA so it only seems appropriate to capture a handstand in the rain. One weekend in mid-March we had over 10 inches of rain! That is the equivalent of 70 inches of snow! Many people have had to deal with flooded basements, fowl swimming in their front yards, rivers over flowing and even cars stranded in a sea of water! Mother Nature is carrying on with her deluge of rain this month too. This photo was taken on Friday, April 9th.

Location: Fiske Street

Photographer: Dan Donovan

Week 36-ANGLES

This week is a photo taken in Cambridge, MA near the Harvard Business School at Harvard University. I have posted 2, one with my friend Kendra and the other on my own. I have a thing for geometry and symmetry. In my mind, I get very irritated when things don't line up, but I take that irritation as a challenge to overcome my little neurosis of the slightly disorganized! Think of all I have had to overcome with these not quite linear handstands week after week! I was pysched when Amy got out her camera to capture a handstand in front of these buildings. The vastness of the base of the triangle up against the circular building and the depth of field is quite specatcular. The other thing that also makes this photo interesting is the circular sewer cap and the half circular mound of the tree base. In the one with Kendra and I like the fact that it looks even more disorganized and as if we are falling--oh...wait a minute...maybe we are.

Spectacular photos are taken by Amy Ross professional photographer

Location Cambridge MA

week 35 March 28 -New England Masters ChampionshipsM @ Harvard

Apologies, apologies on my delayed posts! This weekend was our New England Masters Championship Meet. It is a four day meet with distance events like the 1650 and the 1000 that take place the weekend prior to this weekend and this weekend with 3 days of event. Events form 50 fly to the 100 IM to the 200 fly to the 500 free and everything in between! The ABC Gray Sharks of which I am the head coach and Dave Baxter and Illka Suvanto are also coaches came in 3rd place overall. We were up against 80 teams with a total of 1064 swimmers in attendance. We broke some records, got plenty of LTB's (life time bests), qualified for nationals and had a heck of a lot of fun! Here I am doing a handstand in the stadium as my swimmers participate in the 200 medley relay. Under the "G" in "diving" is ABC Gray Sharks swimmer, Steve Smith, preparing for his breaststroke leg of the relay! I am in the stands under the Harvard banner gettin' upside down! My handstand coach, TBird, is looking making sure I don't kill myself:)

Photographer (and Swimmer): Amy Ross

Location: Blodgett Pool Harvard University

Week 34-The pup in BLACK has arrived!

Ok, I know I am a few days late posting this photo but it was taken on Sunday of last week so I am within the proper time frame for my goals. That little black blob is our new lab puppy, Cash, after Johnny Cash. We have had her for a week. As you can see she is way more interested in that little twig she is chewing than me balancing precariously near her precious little puppy body. Thankfully, I didn't come crashing down on her! She likes to chew things, like Gypsy's ear. Gypsy is our other lab. She likes to pee 100 times a day and has absolutley no preference for location, a rug or grass will do just fine! She likes to sleep on the floor and not in your arms and she has the cutest little face you have ever seen!

This week I hope to get a photo in the POURING RAIN! That's the biggest news here in MA after the signing of the Presidents Health Care Reform Act!

Photographer: Jack Donovan

Puppy Handler: Arley Donovan

week 33-In the Common with Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack

The slope is killing my need to post the most perfect handstand but the ducks looked great so I had to go with this one! These are the famous Make Way for the Ducklings ducks who have had it living on the busy corner near the Charles with bicycles whizzing by endangering the lives of the little ones. The Mallards, with the help of Officer Mike decide to take their family to the pond in the Common. If you haven't read this children's story book, you should! It's a classic and every child should have a copy. Tracey and I spent the day in Boston this week enjoying the first signs of SPRING!

Photographer: Tracey Bird

Location: The Boston Common

Week 32- A ghostly handstand March 7, 2010

.....And I thought my followers had abandoned me! Happy to see I can't pull the wool over your eyes A.B./H.A./BENWA and K.G. I was invisible last week but my son was able to capture this photo while practicing in the doorway! This week's photo will follow shortly! It was taken today with some quackers.

Photographer: Jack Donovan

Location: Jack's room