A Christmas blog, one with family and friends.  I know, I know, it's about time I did something besides birds.  There is also a  picture  taken at a horse farm in Salem, Conn. in a fund-raising concert for the Sandy Hook School, an ensemble of euphoniums and tubas put together by Gary Buttery. It was nice to feel you were doing something in response to such a tragedy.
Pictures of Christmas at Ken and Erin's with Trish and Russ Dutoit, Erin's mother and step father from Winnepeg, Scott, Cheryl, Alex (2) and Carter (5 mos), and Ken and Erin's Jackson (9) and Oliver (7).


Alex opening the Helicopter!!

Jackson, Ken, Erin and Oliver with the hats painted by Ms. Schlager at Oak Point

Ah, the car can go inside!!

Cool guys wearing cool shades

the chess set from China

Trish, Ken, Erin, Oliver

Scott and Carter (5 months)

Cheryl, Scott, Carter

Cheryl, Scott, Trish, Russ, Carter, Ken, Erin

Finding "Bob the Builder"

Everybody, including Arthur

the concert for Sandy Hook, everyone sitting on bales of hay; the temperature about 35 degrees 

Susan at Lunch on sunday, Granite Links

How do I delete this, anyone?

Common Redpoll (in the rain)

Hooded Merganser

American Widgeon

Northern Harrier (formerly known as a Marsh Hawk)

Carolina Wren

Some recent photos taken at Duxbury Beach.  I've bought a permit, since I was chased off the last time I was there by the Harbor Patrol  The Redpoll photo is just adequate, I have to go back and try again.  There is a large flock in residence.  The Hooded was a huge distance away, but that 400 MM lens still does a nice job of defining him. And the same with the Widgeon.  The Harrier is a series of shots taken in one burst,  and altho not the shot I took at the Daniel Webster farm , are still nice to look at.  What a wonderful predator!  And a few Carolina Wren shots on my suet feeder, just because I love hin so.

What a wonderful time I have had with celebrating my birthday (for about three months!). The family is probably sick of it, but the final celebrating, Sunday Nov. 11th. was a party at the club house at Oak Point, where we had food (catered by Pat Riddle, just fabulous), and drink (Mucky's Liquors), and I got to show all of my Alaska, Niagara Falls, and Philadelphia pictures.  The one thing I have discovered is that Susan seems to be almost as proud of my photography as I am.  And one of the great things was having her sister Gigi, and brother Marshall and his wife Marilyn from Newport News, to assist Susan in all the prep.  And, Elaine Soulia, thank you very much.
And one wonderful event was visiting the Boston Masonic Grand Lodge as a guest of John Hyland, who knew that Marshall was a Mason.  What a magnificent building, and collection of halls.  There are evidently five (!) pipe organs in residence, none functioning, sadly.

The Boston Grand Lodge

Marshall Young, Mason

One of the five non-functioning pipe organs

Spectacular Gothic Revival Hall, hand painted, not wall paper

Marshall in the tiny hall of reflection, all marble

The most magnificent of all the halls

At Ken's celebrating Scott's birthday

Marshall, Marilyn, Susan, Gigi, Pratt Farm hike

Marilyn eating her promised lobster, Isaac's in Plymouth

Tthe family gathering in Philadelphia was absolutely wonderful.  Our trip was traumatic, because we travelled through Princeton, NJ, and encountered a vast area without power.  We were below empty, the gas guage advising us we had 32 miles left, and we passed gas stations all closed, unable to pump gas or no gas left.  We passed several that were operating, and there were hundreds of cars lined up, and even more frightening, hundreds of people in long lines, waiting with gas cans.  We travelled in fear, wondering if we were spending the night in the car, and finally found a station with just a few cars waiting.
Included in the gathering were the twins, Doug and Susan Wauchope (Middleboro, MA), Don and Mary Wauchope (Pisgah Forest, NC),  Barbara Wauchope, the youngest sibling, with her husband, Bill Humm (Lee, NH), Bruce Wauchope, younger brother, and his youngest son David (Halifax, NS), and cousin Sally Hogsett (Atlanta, GA) who often visits these gatherings, bringing all of the charm of the Hayes women with her.
The focus of the trip was to visit the Barnes Foundation Museum, with all of its controversy (see the movie "The Art of the Steal"!!), and I found the museum beautiful, but the galleries, copies of the Barnes Museum in Merion's exhibit space "ensembles" to be pretty claustrophobic. The collection is overwhelming, with a huge emphasis or Renoir, Matisse, Cezanne and Picasso.  Valued at 30 billion dollars (yes that's right, billions), it is a collection that must be seen  I particularly liked all of the Rousseau, disliked most of the Soutines, and was fascinated by all of the iron work (keys, locks, etc) that framed the art.
Thursday was spent picking people up at the airport (Bruce and David arrived at the door of the rented townhouse on 24th. street, having taken train and bus from the airport!).  Friday was spent at the Barnes, Saturday most of us went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Sunday traveling back home.
Here are many images from the trip.  Enjoy!

Susan outside the townhouse

This is (L to R) Don, Barbara, Bill, Sally, Bruce, Mary, David, Susan

At the Barnes, Barbara, David and Bruce

A photo showing one of the gallery "Ensembles"

Mary, Don, Sally, Bill, Barbara at "Whole Foods" for Lunch

David, Bruce and Susan

Curtis Institute of Music, my Alma Mater, 1962-66

My apartment for 4 years, 114 S. 20th. (left door);my landlord was Anton Gorodetsky, who live in the first three floors, and had an antique shop on the first floor.  I had the very top floor.

In the organ loft, Wanamaker's, with Sally, Don, Bruce, Rudolfo Lucenti, the organist, and David.  The last time I visited Wanamaker's the organist that day was a very snippy and unwelcoming.. Rudolf couldn't have been kinder, demonstrating the largest instrument in the world.

A Photo of Marcel Dupre at the Wanamaker organ console

Rudolf Lucenti at the console

The Wanamaker facade.  the organ goes all the way up to the ceiling, another 4 floors

Turner's "Burning of Parliament", PMA

Klee's "the Prestidigitater"

Another period room at the PMA, this with "Grotesques"

Penn Landing early Sunday AM

This photo is for David

The magnificent and over-the-top City Hall

The Kimbell Center, home of the Philadelphia Orchestra

The Academy of Music, the former home of the Philly Orchestra, and where I played many an opera with the Lyric and Grand Opers companies.

For Barbara, the Penitentiary