When I’m traveling on my own, I don’t really go out and see the sights until 9 or 10. I was relieved when Mrs. Holstein assured me that they didn’t intend to leave the hotel and start seeing the sights until late in the day.

Of course, dopey me: the Holsteins are very early risers. For me, 6 AM is "wakeup time minus three hours." Whereas Mr. and Mrs. H were already awake, bathed, and had spent two hours catching up on email and other dairy business.

But I won’t complain. During these trips I’m working for them. Plus, I can’t deny that early sunrise really does wonders for an otherwise common tourist photo.

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FMaGuF

Artists Who Like To Draw Wherever The Mood Strikes Them: adding visual interest to tourist photos since 1902.

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/G4nMyR

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FDfgqN

The Gardner Museum has many true international art treasures. And yet, I think I took as many photos of the courtyard as I did of the artwork.

Can you believe that this used to be somebody’s house?! Sure, of course, Ms. Gardner designed and built it to be an "art museum with an apartment up top." But…I mean, imagine every morning, in your socks and flannel pajama bottoms, bowl of Rice Krispies in hand, yawning and padding across this to get to the TV room to watch last night’s Colbert show on the DVR.

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FWzuQe

The bad news is that after walking a distance that seemed extreme even for cattle who are used to long drives, Mrs. Holstein is now reasonably convinced that this is not the way back to the dairy.

The good news is that technically, they have succeeded in claiming Mars for the bovines.

(There was no flag available but if a future NASA mission lands a rover there, soil samples will defnitively prove that the Holsteins planted…something.)

No, no. The Holsteins are well aware that they didn’t walk all the way to Mars. They just wandered a bit too far during a tour of NASA and, after passing through a door that was supposed to be locked, found themselves on the soundstage where they were faking all of the footage from the so-called "Mars rovers."

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FW6YoS

This photo is almost four years old. I shot it from the window of my Amtrak train home one June day in 2012.

I spotted it again when I was doing some housecleaning on an old drive. I just dragged it into Aurora HDR to see what I could do with it.

Digital photography is endlessly interesting because it’s not just the cameras that keep getting better. I probably took this photo as far as I could back in 2012, but a 2016 app let me take it farther.

Sometimes I think about photographers who threw out boxes and boxes of old slides upon pulling them out of storage discovering that the colors had shifted. In 1983 it was unrecoverable damage, but today, even the free app that comes with your phone can fix it.

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FtrYq1

This is the time of year when the lawn dinosaurs return, to keep the neighborhood free from international communism and lawn grubs.

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FRdwy1

"The Sound of Music" was a terrific show with a fab cast. But it was also special because it was my first time inside the Boston Opera House.

When I was growing up, it was only famous for its shameful state of disrepair. Once a jewel, it was considered by many to be unsalvageable, and generally assumed to be demolished as soon as that became a part of the street that anybody had any interest in developing, or if one of the possums living in the shell finally chewed through a critical piece of structural carpeting.

So it was amazing to check out this fully restored palace. It’s the prettiest Boston performance space I’ve ever been in.

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FGgnZS

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FiVYTu

Mr. Holstein was flattered to be invited to sound the ceremonial opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. He was slightly less-flattered when he learned that their regular bell was on the fritz and they just assumed that he would be bringing one of his own, from home, because he’s, you know, a cow.

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/EM7L3Y

Shot with the Nexus 5X — through a window! — and cropped way down. Lighting via Lume Cube.

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FBzAN5

It’s impossible to come home from Yosemite and not instinctively try to make all of your landscapes look like an Ansel Adams print.

Alas, the beard is just the first of many things the master had that I don’t. :)

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FBdRBA

We got what was likely to be our last snowfall of the season this morning. It’s a nice little joke at the expense of all of the flowers and tree buds that took note of all of the warm weather this month and made the logical conclusion.

Today was also the day of another Apple media event, though it was a rather small one. It sure didn’t justify the expense and the hassle of travel. Still, I was miffed when the livestream cut out for me just ten seconds into the thing.

Fifteen minutes later, I gave up and decided that I was going to grab my camera and create something instead of Fixing something.

See it here: http://flic.kr/p/FwhusJ