I’ve been trying to write this post for several days, waiting for inspiration as I browsed my photo library. Usually when I’m thinking of a blog post, it starts with a photo, and the words start swirling together in my mind. Occasionally a theme emerges, sometimes not. As I began adding photos to this post, the theme for my favorites of the year has become apparent: unexpected. I realized that every photo I am featuring here was not planned; they just happened.
In March, my friend and I took a late winter/early spring walk at one of my regular haunts, Conant Brook Dam, and he claimed I was so desperate to see some wildlife that I was trying to manifest it, hence the name of that post Manifesting Wildlife. He said I was just seeing a stick, but it in fact turned out to be, in my words at the moment, a “big ass turtle.” This photo isn’t anything technically spectacular, but it brought me joy.
On our trip to Tennessee in April, I had a moment of awe as a bald eagle soared right in front of me. I was unprepared for the moment and the shot I got is far from technically good, but it brings back that good memory.
My vacation in Maine this year had its ups and downs. The downs would definitely be my visit to the ER and my big screw up on ISO for my attempted Milky Way photography. But, unexpectedly, I learned that my iPhone does a pretty nice job of night photography if you hold very still, and I got this photo:
July brought a morning of contentment that I spent biking, then walking at Quabbin Reservoir. My favorite picture of that day was this one, with a hummingbird that appeared at the last second:
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I have a special love of hummingbirds – so much so that I have one tattooed above my hip.
A camping trip in August allowed me to photograph a “bucket list bird”, one that I have wanted to see in person. I had the lucky experience of a common loon swimming not too far from my kayak:
In late summer, Jane, Nicole and I took a couple of dinner picnic hikes, an idea that I hope we will do some more of in 2026. At the summit of Mt. Holyoke, we were met with the unexpected view of a hot air balloon drifting along the Connecticut River:
Labor Day weekend was another camping trip, that was unfortunately disrupted by some very inconsiderate camping neighbors. We made the best of our time in Vermont however. A picture I took kind of “offhand” just looking out at the night sky and trying to tune out the rudeness of people, turned out to be one of my favorites from that trip:
Some of the best experiences turn out to be the unplanned ones. I spent a lot of time at the beach this summer, but one of the best days was a very unexpected one in October. Very out of character for New England, it was forecast to be 80 degrees and my companion and I headed to York Beach in Maine. I took lots of pictures this day and it became my contribution to Walktober, hosted this year by Dawn at Change is Hard. After a wonderful day, we decided not to drive home and stayed in a beachfront hotel for the night. The following morning I enjoyed a gorgeous beach sunrise and another walk. This photo, after the sunrise colors had begun to fade but the sun still creating some beautiful light, was my favorite from the bunch:
In an attempt to capture some foliage before it fell from the trees, I returned to Goat Rock in Hampden. But it wasn’t the view from the peak that produced my favorite shot, it was one from the hike up where I was taken aback by beautiful red and pink trees and bushes:
On an evening that I had no idea was the night before the full moon, beautiful light glimpsed from my bedroom window drew me outside, which led to me being able to get this shot of November’s Beaver Moon:
A very happy new year to you. I hope that you will find unexpected joys and beauty in 2026.
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