Mark Stoneman Profile Photo

Mark R. Stoneman

Historian, editor, and translator for hire (German to English). Longtime resident of Washington, DC, now in Conway, NH, as a caregiver (he/him).

  My Photos

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    More fall colors

    Leaves on trees that are beginning to turn. The colors are green, yellow, orange, and red.
    Very red section of a maple tree viewed from below. Bits of green are still visible on the edges.
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    Fall colors in the White Mountains include the light blue and light lavender of wild asters.

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    There is a lot of red pine in this area. The tree bark is fairly distinctive. (4/4)

    Going back down, there is only indirect sunlight left. The camera focus on the trunks of two red pines that have grown together at the base. Other trees and plant life is visible, including green moss on the bases of the pines. There are long brown pine needles on the ground.
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    Heading back down, so no more sun on the ground. (3/4)

    Here I am looking up again, enjoying bits of blue sky and sunlight on the leaves, needles, and tree trunks before the sun disappears. A lot of the tree trunks are red pine.
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    From the same walk. More sun is visible because I gained elevation (2/4)

    Further up the hill, the sun reaches the trees and even parts of the ground. The foliage is still green, the tree trunks brown, white, and gray. On the ground: small leafy plants, moss, dried leaves and pine needles.
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    Seen on my walk late this afternoon. (1/4)

    Looking up at fairly young, still leafy trees with splotches of sunlight on them, taken just before the sun disappears behind the mountains. Colors: blue sky, some green leaves, but also a large spot of yellow foliage partially lit from behind, as well as other small bits of yellow and orange.
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    Boulder Loop Trail

    Large granite boulder in the woods
    Here is one of countless granite boulders that I saw in the woods while on the Boulder Loop Trail two days ago. I’ve posted twelve snapshots of this granite to Pixelfed.

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    water and plant life a short distance from the pond, a kind of marsh that looks like beaver territory, late in the day, and hints of fall coming

    A few more impressions from my walk in the Pudding Pond area on the 19th

    moving closer to the pond, brush and tree trunks in the foreground that recall a marsh or swamp, water behind them trees in regular earth in foreground, the pond and marshy bits partly visible through the dark trees
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    A German hashtag phenomenon I ran across on Mastodon and Bluesky recently is #FotoVorschlag (photo suggestion). The idea is to post one’s own photo based on the day’s keyword from @[email protected] or @fotovorschlag.bsky.social. Today’s was “Bach,” which is not only the name of a composer but also German for “brook” or “stream.” I took the first photo here near Diana’s Baths in North Conway and Bartlett, NH, on May 22, 2023. It shows a trail that had been turned into a stream by the rains, which cleared the earth, leaves, and pine needles from the granite.

    Granite path through the woods, parts of the granite still wet, and some water visible in bottom right. The focus is on the granite, bounded by hints of tree trunks, underbrush, and moss.
    Bottom part of a tree next to a dirt path. The base is covered in moss, as many are, and it shows the handiwork of beavers, who chewed maybe a quarter way through before they moved on to other projects.
    I took the second photo this afternoon near Pudding Pond in North Conway. The marshy areas near this spot are apparently beaver stomping grounds, as you can see from all the gnawing they did on this tree.
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    View looking down railroad tracks. Trees on each side, mountains in distance.

    Here are a couple pictures from my walk on the 17th.

    Large stump with my water bottle on it for size comparison.
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    I haven't been walking enough lately, but today I managed to get out. Instant mental health boost.

    View throw woods of a small pond with hills behind it. The trees in the foreground are dark. The background is light. White clouds sit on the hills like another layer of mountains Another view of the pond, this one less obstructed by trees.
    Watery spot in woods, as seen from bridge close to sundown. A sign nearby talked about beavers, though I could see no evidence of a beaver house.

    Pudding Pond Conservation Area, Conway, New Hampshire

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    Here’s another bit of decor that I added to the car last week.

    <img src=“https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/166262/2024/img-0244.jpeg" width=“600” height=“310” alt=“Bumper sticker with Ukrainian flag colors and an overlay text telling Putin to go fuck himself: “Путін іди нахуй”">

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    I decorated the car today. 🏳️‍⚧️

    'Harris Walz' bumper sticker with letters in a variety of inclusive patterns, including the US flag, the Pride flag, and the Trans Pride flag.
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    Grey sky, cold water, sand, a few black specks (humans in wet suits) in the distance.

    From a walk on the beach with pleasant cloud cover this afternoon: Nauset Light Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore. This is the colder side of the Cape. Sometimes there are seals, we were told. When that happens, avoid the water because great white sharks might be hunting.

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    View as detailed in long caption The clouds were changing shape and color, getting very dark in one part of the sky while the sun was playing with white clouds and a blue sky in other parts. The photo only hints at the dynamism, but my eyes were on the road, and I only had a brief moment without any cars near mine.

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    Another Trip to Scarborough

    Blue sky over a brick and glass building with a roof jutting out to offer some shade to the wall of glass windows and the people sitting outside.

    It's a beautiful day over here in Down East Maine, where my mother is undergoing a two-part procedure while I wait outside. The picture here is of the waiting area wing of the surgery center on Maine Med's Scarborough campus.

    (Photo by author)

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    Sign of Life

    My last post was of snow and now August is almost over? Yikes!

    After commuting thousands of miles between DC and New Hampshire since my father’s passing, I’ve spent the summer in New Hampshire. The marathon driving sessions wear on me, so I’ve been avoiding them.

    The driving was because I haven’t found a good way to have my mother live alone for more than a few weeks at a time. I haven’t worked out a strategy for getting her help while preserving as much of her independence as possible. So I’ve been the help.

    Maybe that’s a good thing, even if it often feels like I’m treading water. During my father’s final months, everything had to be about him. Now I’m able to take the time to work out my mother’s specific needs, even as she works out the business of living as a widow after more than sixty-five years of marriage.

    Besides, a health issue has come up that we have to deal with.

    a farm stand selling young plants at the beginning of spring in Maine A view of the water and granite at Diana’s Baths.
    giant labs of granite in the New Hampshire woods Sand dunes in Barnstable, MA
    1. My mother enjoying flowers and the arrival of spring at Weston’s Farm in Freyburg, Maine.
    2. Slabs of granite in the woods next to the upper section of Diana’s Baths.
    3. A view of the water and granite at Diana’s Baths.
    4. Sand dunes in Barnstable, MA. Was taking a break after driving to Cape Cod to see my wife, my son, and my son’s family.

    (All photos by author)

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    Snow-covered trees with a moon behind them

    Snow-covered trees with a moon behind them in Center Conway, NH, on the evening of January 6, 2023. The slightly visible lines in the sky are a light wintry mix of precipitation. (Photo by author)

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    New Hampshire Winter

    In-home and residential care options for octogenarians have become extremely limited in these trying times, so I’ve been spending the last quarter of 2021 at my parents' in the White Mountains. This will continue into 2022. I miss DC, but it’s not like I can take advantage of the city’s rich research and cultural resources during this never-ending pandemic.

    Echo Lake, newly frozen over, with Cathedral Ledge in the background
    The last 6 or 8 inches of corn stalks left after the summer's corn crop was harvested. They poke through a layer of snow and ice. It is dusk, and the sun just disappeared behind a mountain.

    Photos taken in North Conway, New Hampshire, by author.

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    Springtime in Glover Park, Washington, DC

    Photograph of a tree with vibrant blossoms

    (Photo by author)

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    Quarantine Life

    Cold-brewing some tea, two hibiscus and one lemon balm

    three glass beer mugs, each one liter, on the window sill

    (Photo by author)

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    Saco River

    white birch on the left, snow visible on the far bank, water quite still, with reflections of bare and needle trees

    Saco River in Conway, NH, just upstream from the covered bridges on the afternoon of December 25, 2019. Photo by author.

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    Mt. Washington

    Mount Washington is covered in snow, the valley stretched out before it.

    Mt. Washington from Intervale, NH, on January 31, 2020. Photo by author.

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    Astoria, Oregon

    early morning foliage from a farm house

    sun about to rise from behind the mountain

    cows grazing in the morning sun

    a view of the river separating Oregon from Washinton, with two merchant ships headed upstream

    a dramatic landscape from the top of a local patriotic attraction: trees, river, hill, clouds, light

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