Lady Eaton Drumlin in late Summer

I had been busy this past week working on my thesis revisions, so I didn't really take any photos during the week.  It had also been relatively uneventful this week, aside from the fact that another graduate student in my lab successfully defended his Master research and we went out for lunch at a popular BBQ place in Keene, and then last night we had a post-defense party at my supervisor's place.  Weather-wise, it definitely feels that autumn is approaching (although it was really hot on Wednesday) with the evenings getting colder now.

On a somewhat unimportant note (to most people), Olympus announced the release of a new camera called E-M1 on Tuesday (news here).  As my Olympus E-620 DSLR is getting older, I am thinking about upgrading the equipment to improve my photography skills.  However, this new camera is very very expensive and I need to buy an addition adapter for my current lenses (which kind of defeats the purpose of using a small and lightweight system like Olympus).  So eventually I will be in a dilemma of continuing with the Olympus brand or switching to a new system (e.g., Nikon) that is more well-supported by the company and its customers. 

In the mean time, I will continue to enjoy my E-620 and the photos that I can get with it.  Today, I hiked around the Lady Eaton Drumlin before going to school to do some work, because I seriously needed to be outside and enjoyed nature a bit.

First wildlife I saw was a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens).

Lady Eaton Drumlin in the Spring

The weather was so nice (and warm) today that I decided to check out Lady Eaton Drumlin before I went to my office.  It was during mid-day so the highlights of some of these photos are quite bright.  One thing I didn't prepare for was the mosquitoes and so they annoyed me quite a bit today.  This is my first being on the drumlin during the month of May.  I was here last year in April and the trees were still leafless and only hepatica was flowering, but that was not the case in May.

Star-flowered Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum stellatum)

Exploring Lady Eaton Drumlin

Passing by the nest again this morning. I brought my DSLR but no bird was on the nest.

Birding at school on a Sunday

Before working another long day in the lab, I decided to go to the feeders again and see what I can photograph.

Unknown tracks.