Best Pictures of 2013

The end of the year is a great time to reflect on all that we've captured in photographs during the past 12 months. It's hard to believe that only a year ago we were in Tasmania celebrating the holidays, then sailed through the Bass Strait to Adelaide, South Australia ... and then spent the rest of the year in the States. Though we were somewhat confined in our travels, we still managed some short, but interesting trips in America. Here are our picks for the best photos from 2013 … not in any special order. We'd like your input, too. Any favorite pix or blogs?  

dolphin ballet

 

Dolphin Ballet – On the passage between Deal Island and King Island in the Bass Strait, we had an escort of dolphins for hours.

 

kelp and cows

 

Kelp and Cows – Just a fun shot of cows munching on kelp at Stokes Point on King Island, Bass Strait, Tasmania

 

colorado view

 

Colorado view from the top of Berthoud Pass at the Continental Divide

 

motif 1 cape ann

 

Motif #1 at Rockport Harbor, Cape Ann, Massachusetts

 

old and new

 

Old and New – reflection of Boston's Trinity Church (1870s) in the mirrored windows of the John Hancock Tower (1970s) in downtown Boston.

 

painted cliffes

 

Painted Cliffs on Maria Island, Tasmania

 

windblown maria

 

Which way does the wind blow? An abandoned cottage with windblown trees at Darlington, Maria Island, Tasmania.

 

dahlia with bug

 

Dahlia with seed bug – one of the 13,000 dahlias planted annually at the Portland Botanic Garden, Portland, Victoria, Australia

 

sunrise over the breakwater

 

Sunrise over the breakwater – from our vantage point on Nine of Cups anchored in Portland Harbor, Portland, Victoria

 

super lin

 

Super Lin – Can't believe I talked my sister into flight training on my mom's front lawn

 

colors

 

Colors – a pinto grazes in a field on a backroad in Vermont during foliage season

See How the Wind Blows - Interesting Weather Vanes

stork in cape ann  

I'm a collector … we've already established that along the way. One of my many photo collections is of weather vanes. We found that weather vanes are very popular in some areas and not in others. Barns out West and in the Midwest usually have a weather vane on their rooftops. In New England, barns certainly do, but so do many houses. A small cupola is erected on the top of the roof expressly to sport a weather vane. I doubt these people really care about which way the wind is blowing.

I did a post and a web page on weather vanes quite awhile ago, but the collection has expanded, so I thought I'd share my new additions, plus show you (once again) my all time favorite.

 

whale in cape ann

 

tourist at cape ann

 

sulky driver

 

grasshopper cape cod

 

christmas tree sled foxboro

 

cat and mouse

 

golden lobster boston

 

friendly icecream norwood

 

carpenter walpole woodworkers

 

And my favorite...

 

flying pig

 

 

Artful Icons...the cow parade

horse parade  

It seems wherever we go, there's a particular icon that's significant to the city or the area. The local marketeers, with a goal of inspiring artists and raising money for a town's pet project, provide thematic, plain, fiberglass sculptures and the local artists work hard to create a distinctive masterpiece from the singular design they've been provided. The results are colorful, imaginative and fun. Local businesses usually bid for their favorites at auction and then display them throughout the town.

With a little research, I discovered this concept was the original brainchild of Walter Knapp in Zurich, Switzerland in 1998, then spread around the world. They used lions in Zurich, the city's symbol, but the themes change to reflect the area. Since the original theme in the US was cows, they refer to the event as a Cow Parade, though we've seen buffaloes, mermaids, cowboy boots and more.

Take a look...

 

lobster parade

 

Lobsters – Rockland, Maine

 

mermaid parade

 

Mermaids – Norfolk, VA

 

cow parade

 

Steers – Buenos Aires

 

cowboy boot parade

 

Cowboy Boots – Cheyenne, WY

 

buffalo parade

 

Buffalo - Yellowstone

 

catamount parade

 

Catamounts – Vermont

 

moose parade

 

Moose- Bennington