Photos from my trip to Quebec, July - August 2012
We have all seen roadsigns that read, "Falling Rocks," but who has ever seen falling rocks? On the stretch of Route 3 north of Pittsburg, New Hampshire, before the crossing into Chartierville, Quebec, there are plenty of signs warning of moose and deer. Those signs are quite serious. I spotted this deer in the road from about three hundred yards away, and it did not move until a few seconds after I stopped, quite close. This shot was taken through the windshield. 
This moose was grazing by the road. As I slowed to a standstill, it moved a few yards and then stood still, seeming nonplussed by car and me, about thirty feet away. It stared directly at me and the camera in the open car window. 
I stayed in a summer cottage on the eastern shore of Lac Megantic, about forty road miles from the border. 
I like this shot because it caught the red of the setting sun on the geese's bellies. 
There were plenty of geese, loons, hawks, seagulls, crows, and smaller birds. 
Whenever I have heard or seen a loon, I have been in a very good place for me to be. 
I had never seen so many toads. 
There was no shortage of chipmunks either. 
I kept thinking what a peaceful place this is, until I saw a dragonfly fly into a spider web. I was reminded that life is quite often very violent. My companion for a brief part of my generally eremitic trip took these shots. 
I spent many hours sitting beside this beaver pond, usually with camera ready. Now, Lac Megantic is 1,300 feet above sea level, and the mean low temperature for both January and February is three degrees Fahrenheit. I know that tropical jungles are full of life, but... As I sat and stared, I was awestruck by how explosive with life our planet really is, where unpaved by humans. Except for occasional rocks, every square inch was covered with flora and crawling or swimming with fauna, with things flying above. 
This shot allowed for the positive identification of these ducks as mallards, according to naturalist Bill Amidon. 
These next three are obviously really poor shots, but I like the way that they show something of a duck's flight configuration. 
The only thing I know about photography is that I am supposed to know about things like aperture, ISO, depth of field, and such. There were so many photo ops beside Lac Megantic that maybe next time I will bring a manual or two. 
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