With a hiss of steam and smoke, Strasburg Rail Road’s train passed into the night like a metaphor on steel wheels.
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Into the night
Category Archives: Tips and Technique
Dusk
Saturday was a quiet time for reflection.
Sometimes when the future presents itself the sensation seems surreal.
We spent the daylight decorating for the holidays. This was something that Kris and her mom always enjoyed.
As evening encroached, we decided to go for drive. There’s comfort in the familiar. So, I navigated our way to Blackhorse Road where we have often watched the Strasburg Rail Road.
The sun had set, but the blue glow of dusk hung in the western sky, reminding us of days gone by.
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RIP Sharon A. Sabbatino (1951-2024)
Last night we received the sad news that my mother-in-law, Sharon A. Sabbatino had taken her final train ride.
I met Sharon at the North Conway Station, where she worked in the gift shop and I in marketing. Years earlier, Sharon had shared her love for photography with Kris. And because of this shared passion, I had the good fortune to meet Kris at a Mass-Bay ‘Steam in the Snow’ event at the Conway Scenic Railroad.
Over the last few weeks, Kris and I had several opportunities to spend time with Sharon, including a visit on Cape Cod earlier this month.
I’ve included a couple of photos from visits with Sharon in 2023, including a favorite image exposed on film, ‘for posterity’, at the Norfolk, Massachusetts railroad station.
Sharon loved to read Tracking the Light and followed it daily on the Facebook feed.
RIP Sharon and thank you!
On the Roll at Willow Road
Since relocating to Lancaster, Pa., I’ve made at least 30 photographic forays along Norfolk Southern’s New Holland Branch. However, owing to the timing of my trips, most of these adventures have coincided with eastward trains. As a result, I have fewer photos of Norfolk Southern’s local on its westward run.
As a result, when Kris and I saw the westward local freight departing Leola, I opted to take advantage of it, and I had a few choice locations in mind.
Our first stop was at Willow Road, where in recent months I’ve made many photos of the eastward run. A year ago, I’d eyed up an ideal place to catch a westward train and I’ve just been waiting for the opportunity to work this angle on the line.
Once in postion, with my Fuji XT1 in hand, I didn’t have long to wait before the train ambled into view. I made these photos using a 18-55mm Fujinon zoom. After the train passed we zipped ahead to my next pre-selected spot. Stay tuned!
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Lucky Moment at Leola
Some weeks back, Kris and I had enjoyed lunch at the Fox Meadows Creamery in Leola, Pa., and were on our way to our next errand. As we drove west on Horseshoe Road, I spied Norfolk Southern’s New Holland Branch local near the Leola station. We pulled in just as the engineer released the brakes. The train was all put together and on its way west back toward the junction with Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line on its return run to Dillerville Yard.
Instead of my Nikons, I’d brought with me my FujiFilm XT1 fitted with a 16-55mm Fujinon zoom lens. This camera had been my primary digital picture making machine until autumn 2020, but in recent years has only seen occasional use. Not that there’s anything wrong with the Fuji!
Ten years ago, I adopted the Fuji X-series because of its excellent color and ability to present a deep black right out of the camera.
With only a few moment to spare, I fired up the old XT1 and exposed this sequence of photos. The freight was on the move, so without delay the chase was on!
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RIP George C. Corey 1924-2024
Yesterday, I learned the sad news that my friend and fellow photographer George C. Corey passed away a few weeks shy of his centenery.
George was a life-long railroad photographer with more than eight decades of work under his belt. Among his memorable images was a photo of a Boston & Maine freight led by a modern Mountain type exposed on December 7th, 1941.
He learned of the events of that day after his photograph, but they would change his life as well as that of many nations. In 1944, George was involved in the Allied landing at Normandy where he was shot by a sniper. He spent many months recovering from his adventure. He told me about this once when I’d mention one my recent trips to Europe.
“Europe. I was there once. No sooner than I arrived and some bastard shot me through the lung.”
George was an avid follower of the American steam locomotive with encyclopedic knowledge of different locomotive types. Over the years, he and I would engage in detailed discussions about locomotive valve gear, locomotive performance, and railroad photography.
I’d met George in the early 1980s and maintained correspondence over the years. Although he took an old-school approach in his photographs, he embraced technological change. He was among the first in my circle to digitize his photographs and make complex changes to his images using computer software.
The last time I met him in person, he was delighted to show me his latest digital camera. Our meeting was cut short when a Pan-Am freight rolled by and he said to me, ‘Sorry about this, but I’m going after that!’. He was in his mid-90s at the time.
He often contributed to my books, sending me magnificent images of steam and diesel locomotives from around the continent. In 2022, when I was working on my latest book on Union Pacific, I asked if he had any images to contribute, and he replied with an apology, ‘I do, but I haven’t photographed UP since 1951.’ He sent me a selection of stunning images, many of which I included in the final selection.
The photograph is an image that he sent me for Steam by the Numbers of a Delaware & Hudson 4-6-6-4 Challenger at work south of Schenectady, New York in November 1949.
George was my hero and he’ll be greatly missed.
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Friendly Wave at the Curve
The crew of Norfolk Southern six-motor GE diesels received a friendly wave from a young observer at the Horseshoe Curve park (west of Altoona, Pa.).
This westward empty coal train was making steady slow progress as it ascended the famous Horseshoe Curve on its way toward Allegheny Summit.
I made this image with my Nikon Z7-II and cropped the NEF RAW file using Lightroom to better emphasize the wave.
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West Oakland-1992
I made this view of Southern Pacific’s West Oakland yards looking toward San Francisco in 1992. I was standing on the Adeline overpass.
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One Wicked Westbound With a Wild Selection of Cars.
We had heard this freight climbing the grade on ascent of Horseshoe Curve as we were walking the steps up from the visitors center.
This Norfolk Southern carload train crawled into view just a few minutes after we reached the plateau where the park is perched.
Two modern GE diesels labored in full-throttle as the heavy train squealed through the curves offering pure entertainment to the host of visitors.
Immediately behind the locomotives was an unusual load riding on a rare 12-axle flatcar. This extremely heavy cylindrical body was described to me as powerplant generator rotor. I photographed a myriad selection of other cars on the train, including a selection of lime green Amtrak balast hoppers. At the back of the train were more multi-axle flats and an very unusual large blue caboose.
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The World Famous Horseshoe Curve
In the world of railways there are many horseshoe curves. I’ve visited many of these over the years: Utah’s Gilluly Loops; California’s Caliente Horseshoe in the Tehachapis; the famous Stanford Curve on Donner; and Oregon’s Leonard horseshoe among others.
While impressive, none compare to the World Famous Curve on the former Pennsylvania Railroad near Altoona, Pa.
This is more than just a horseshoe curve. It is among the great cosmic settings for American railroading and icon of 19th century railroad building. I don’t know if there’s much I can write about the Curve that hasn’t been written before. My friend Dan Cupper wrote a book on the subject (years ago my copy fell apart from over use).
I paid my first visit to Horseshoe Curve with my family back in August 1981. In the mid 1980s, my pal TSH and I made myriad trips to this Mecca of Pennsylvania railroading. Kris and I traveled here together for the first time three years ago.
In October, Kris treated me to a 58th Birthday visit to Altoona, including a pilgrimage to the Curve.
My curve ears started ringing about 1/3 the way up the stairs from the visitor’s center to the park at center of the great curve. ‘Westbound. GE’s in the lead. . . . No helper.’
As we climbed the steps, I recalled the first time I ascended these steps: We had just arrived at the parking lot in our 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. In the distance I heard the rhythmic drumming of a 20-cylinder SD45. My brother Sean and I ran as fast as we could to reach trackside (near the old K4s Pacific on display) before the train passed. It was one of the few times that I witnessed a Conrail SD45 in full run-8.
More than 43 years later, Kris and I reached trackside in time to a position trackside to take in the action. (A PRR GP9 had replaced the K4s in the mid-1980s.) Before the westward freight passed, a light helper consiting of a pair of Norfolk Southern SD70ACU’s worked west.
The real show was not far behind . . .
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Fog, Glint and a Detoured Boeing
Sometimes a photo captures a moment in time.
This image does it for me.
In August 1991, I lived on Haight Street in San Francisco. For a few days that month, the SF Muni was performing work on the Muni Metro subway beneath Market Street between Castro and Church Streets. As a result, cars that would normally use the subway were detoured via 17th and Church Streets and rejoined the subway at Duboce.
I made this view one evening as Pacific fog climbed the hills to the west. Evening sun, tinted by the fog, glinted off a detouring Boeing-Vertol LRV as it navigated the trackage on 17th Street. In the distance, another set of Boeing cars can be seen entering the subway from rarely used portals at Castro and Market.
I exposed this Kodachrome 25 slide using my Nikon F3T and f1.8 105mm Nikkor lens. It is one of hundreds of photographs I made of the San Francisco Muni in the 1990s.
Sometimes I dream of the fog coming over the hills, changing the quality of light as it envelopes the city.
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Working the Light at Tamaqua
Just passing through . . .
On our way north on Highway 309, we made short detour on West Spruce Street in Tamaqua, Pa.
A pause at the yard office at the north end of the old Reading Company yard, found us a selection of Reading & Northern’s EMD diesels idling in lovely late-afternoon light.
Soft sun was streaming through autumn leaves in a dream-like setting.
I made these photos with my Nikon Z7-II, but I also exposed a couple of Ektachrome slides. I’ll be curious to see those images, since this type of light is difficult to capture effectively on slide film.
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Trash Train Downgrade!
We were navigating the streets of Lilly on our way toward Cresson, Pa., when we spotted the headlight of a train on Track 2,
I pulled in near the tracks at SIP 254.3 with just enough time to jump out and grab some cameras to expose photos of what turned out to be westward loaded trash train.
I know some of my readers will be quick to say; ‘that’s a load of garbage.’
Tis true!
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Foliage at Tyrone
In mid-October, Kris and I intercepted the Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society’s excursion on the Nittany & Bald Eagle. This paused at Tyrone, Pennsylvania, where I made photos of Lycoming Valley 2011 (a former Southern Pacific GP35) surrounded by backlit brightly colored leaves of trees along the line.
In an earlier time I might have refrained from making these images because of the chain link fence between me and the tracks. In this instance, I accepted the fence as a feature of the location. The leaves more than made up for it.
A week later we returned to Tyrone. It was late in the day and the sunlight was low and foliage was brilliant. But during that brief visit, not a wheel turned, neither on the Main Line nor the Bald Eagle Branch, so I photographed the tracks with trees.
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135mm at West Barnstable
On our first full day visiting Cape Cod, Kris and I paused at the old New Haven Railroad station in West Barnstable.
I’d set up my Nikon Z6 with an FTZ adaptor that allows me to use my older Nikon lenses with the modern mirrorless camera.
One of the more unusual lenses in my arsenal is a 1990s-era f2.0 135mm telephoto with Defocus Image Control. I rarely use the defocus feature, but have found that this lens offers a wonderful visual perspective, especially when used at its widest apertures, which is how I employeed it for this study.
I’m a proponent of selective focus, and this is a great tool for experimenting.
There were no trains on the horizon during our brief visit, so I selectively focused on the historic rolling stock that has been stored at West Barnstable for many years. I’ve previously feature these old railroad cars on Tracking the Light. On each visit the trials of time seem more evident.
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FedEx by Rail
About ten years ago I was photographing at Washington, Mass., near the summit of CSX’s Boston Line —the former Boston & Albany—and saw my first ever FedEx trailer rolling west on an intermodal train.
I’m sufficiently antique that I remember sending a package when the company was called ‘Federal Express.’
At the end of October, Kris and I caught an eastward Norfolk Southern intermodal train at Lilly, Pa., that was largely hauling FedEx boxes. We were both impressed—especially by the BNSF stack wells.
I made these images using my Nikon Z-series mirrorless cameras.
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972—Why Rye?
In the 1970s and early 1980s, my brother and I would routinely travel on Amtrak from Springfield or Hartford (with a change at New Haven ) to Rye, New York.
Why Rye?
To the average passenger, Rye was a fairly ordinary suburban station on the former New Haven Railroad electrified mainline. For my brother and I, it was the designated station for my grandparents to collect us for the short drive to their Co-op City apartment in The Bronx.
I didn’t know it at the time, but Rye was also a residence of Roger Lewis, Amtrak’s first president.
Upon alighting from an Amfleet coach on the westbound platform, we met my grandfather who was waiting for us. He understood my desire to rush up to the head-end to make a photo of the train before we headed away.
I made this view of our engineer at the throttle of E60 972 as he was looking back waiting for the signal from the conductor to depart Rye for New York’s Pennsylvania Station.
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Frosty Morning at Lilly, Pa.
October had been pleasantly warm in Pennsylvania, so it was a bit of shock when we arrived at Lilly near the summit of the Alleghenies to find it was a raw 27F! Luckily we’d packed some long sleeves.
Crisp cool air carries the sound well, and long before the headlight came into view, Kris and I could hear this heavy eastward Norfolk Southern freight laboring up the ‘West Slope’.
Years ago, I would have used my telephoto lenses to frame an eastward train beneath the classic PRR signal bridge that once stood at Lilly, but this was removed a few years ago when NS resignaled the line.
Notwithstanding, this is still a neat place to watch a train clawing its way upgrade. This was a monster. In addition to locomotives at the headend, there was a mid-train ‘DPU’ (radio remote control distributed power unit), and a helper at the back.
I made these photos using my Nikon Z cameras. This was the first of several trains we caught that cool morning. Soon the sun was over the ridgeline and we continued a wonderful day of photography!
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Fish & Chips and Serendipity.
In the evening, as we were leaving Seafood Sam’s in Sandwich, Massachusetts, a horn blast announced the passage of Mass Coastal’s ‘Energy Train’.
This short freight carries garbage from a loading point near Yarmouth Port to an off-Cape incinerator near Rochester.
We jumped in the car and Kris navigated our way to the old New Haven station in Buzzards Bay near the west end of the massive Cape Cod Canal lift bridge. The ghostly presence of the mighty span loomed beyond in the gloom.
I set up my Z7-II on my mini Gitzo tripod as the headlights of the freight illuminated the girders of the lift span. With my camera set to ISO 6400 and 12,800 for better low-light capture, I made this series of the train passing.
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Cape Cod
Our visit to Cape Cod focused on the shore, the ocean and elements of natural beauty. This was Seamus-the-Dog’s first visit to the ocean and he loved the sights and scents and atmosphere of this new environment.
This is a selection of images from my Nikon Z mirrorless cameras.
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Hyannis Yard Revisited
Autumn afternoon light offers photographic potential at Mass Coastal’s Hyannis, Massachusetts yard.
Last week, we paid a brief visit to this repository of railroad antiques where I made a few photosgraphs with my Nikon Z cameras.
The yard is largely fenced, and rather than disguise this condition, I’ve included the fencing in some of my compositions.
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Sandwich Station
The other day, Kris directed us to Cape Cod Central’s Sandwich (Massachusetts) station where we made a selection of photos.
Here we found some classic old buildings along the line, plus beautiful autumn foliage and rich morning light—that made for some excellent photographic conditions.
Late autumn operations can be be sparse on Cape Cod. No trains were expected during our visit to Sandwich, and as it happened, none passed.
Perhaps someday we’ll catch a train here.
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Imagining Orleans
Kris and I are on our annual visit to Cape Cod.
Every morning, we’ve stopped for breakfast and coffee at the Hot Chocolate Sparrow in Orleans, Massachusetts. This is located near the site of the former Old Colony Railroad Station (a component of the New Haven System).
The railroad has been gone for more than half a century. Today little remains of the Old Colony at Orleans except the right of way, a mural, and a few signs.
The Cape Cod Rail Trail represents an adaptive re-use of the track bed.
I try to imagine the sound of a 4-4-0 approaching the town with a short passenger train in tow.
It’s just not there for me. The ghosts of the Old Colony are ephemeral. I need some stronger coffee.
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Norfolk Southern Classic
In a gentle curve, under an azure dome and against a backdrop of rusty autumn leaves, an intermodal train races west on Norfolk Southern’s ‘three main track’ —former Pennsylvania Railroad mainline at Cassandra, Pa.
The sun was over my right shoulder at an angle low enough to capture truck detail, but high enough to allow for a full-daylight exposure.
The zoom on my Nikon was set to 46mm, which nearly matches the field of vision of the avarage human eye.
This is nearly a perfect of image of modern freight railroading today. There were no complications caused by wayward clouds, rampaging graffiti artists, or unsightly shadows from random wires.
It was all good and preserved for posterity.
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Everett Mogul Under Steam
In October we paid a brief visit to the Everett Railroad at Hollidaysburg, Pa. Here we found the railroad’s 2-6-0 No. 11, under steam having recently returned with an excursion.
It was the first time I’d ever seen this Alco gem in person, let alone under steam. According to Everett’s website, No. 11 served Rhode Island’s Narragansett Pier Railroad for many years before being sold to New York’s Bath & Hammondsport. It is a handsome machine that had drawn a small crowd of admirers.
We were running short on time, so I made a few quick photos, before we headed off to our next destination.
Someday, we will need to give the Everett a more extensive study.
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October morning; ISO 4000, Foliage and an ACS-64
My birthday has been a great opportunity to get great photos.
This year, I was up early and drove to Gap, Pa., where I hoped to find peak foliage. My enthusiasm was high, but the sun was still below the horizon.
Amtrak Keystone 605 was due, and I needed to get a bit creative. So I set my Nikon’s Z7-II’s ISO to 4000 in order to use a fast enough shutter speed to stop the train rolling by a bright red-orange tree in the early morning light.
Back in my Kodachrome days I would have settled for a blur of the train and tree.
On this October birthday morning, I used a shutter speed of 1/800th of a second, which stopped the action nicely. The tree and train made for some nice colors.
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A Distant Roar.
In the quiet bucolic setting of the Railroad Overlook at Cassandra, Pa., anticipation is part of the joy of witnessing the passage of freights over the former Pennsylvania Railroad ‘Broad Way’.
The aural sensation of an approaching eastward freight on its ascent of Alleghenies begins with a distant roar. Kris tells me that I often don’t hear what she says, “…but you can hear a freight train five miles away!” I had a hearing test this summer and the doctor informed me that I have the hearing of a twenty year old.
“There’s GE’s in the lead, but it sounds like there might be EMD helpers too.”
After a little while a headlight appeared at the west end of the long tangent looking toward Portage. Oddly the sound initially fades when the train comes into view, only to return in a swell as it grows closer. This train is a monster and it was down to a crawl.
The other photographers standing on the bridge were engrossed in conversation and seemed oblivious. So I said, “There’s an eastbound close.”
“How close?”
I pointed.
“Oh!” And with that positions were taken.
Working with two cameras, I made this sequence of photos, paying special attention to catch the helpers working at the back.
As my late friend Bob Buck would say, “It was a good show!” And it was.
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Poised and Ready on the West Slope!
In Conrail days, I made many memorable visits to the West Slope of Alleghenies. The former PRR mainline was always alive with freight.
It had been almost three years since our last visit to this hallowed ground. Last Saturday we made an overdue pilgrimage.
We arrived at the Railroad Overlook at Cassandra, Pa. just before 1pm. There were a fair few photographers already in position, plus an extended Mennonite family enjoying a PRR-themed picnic.
It was quiet for the first half hour.
Light clouds crossed the sky, and a set of light helpers went West toward Cresson. I made photos to capture the aura of the place. And then a distant roar, just barely audible above the rustle of leaves.
Shhhh. A westbound cometh, and its very heavy.
It won’t be long now . . .
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Red Leaves at Hoover Road
This season has seen some glorious sunny weather and brilliant foliage.
I’ve been aiming to make the most of it!
Last week, I exposed these views of Amtrak Keystone 643 at Hoover Road west of Gap, Pa., The flaming red sumac leaves in the foreground are key part of my compositions.
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Bald Eagle on Washington Avenue
This is not about a bird.
The former Pennsylvania Bald Eagle Branch diverges from the Main Line at Tyrone, Pa.
Our quest was to intercept an excursion operated by the Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society in conjunction with the Nittany & Bald Eagle—one of several short lines part of the North Shore group.
Last year, Kris and I had caught the Bellefonte’s restored Budd RDC on the move. I anticipated this year’s trip to also operate with the RDC.
Following the directions to Washington Avenue (kindly provided by a fellow photographer on the Amtrak platform at Tyrone) we turned the corner and were surprised to see an EMD diesel in Erie Lackawanna style paint ambling down the street.
The excursion from Bellefonte included the aforementioned RDC, but this was hauled by North Shore 2012 along with three other passenger cars. At the back was Lycoming Valley 2011 (LV is another of the North Shore group shortlines) wearing a retro Reading Company scheme.
Although we had done a lot of driving, and made a few significant detours (including a failed mission to intercept Amtrak 42 at Newton Hamilton, Pa.), in the end we arrived at Washington Avenue just in time to catch this rare move.
My previous photography at this location was with photographer Mike Gardner in March 2001, when we caught a Norfolk Southern coal train bound Strawberry Ridge coming up the street.
Photos exposed with my Nikon Z-series cameras.
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Main Line at Tyrone
Between Huntingdon and Tyrone, Pa., the old Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division follows a path carved by the Little Juniata River.
By contrast, we took a more direct route by driving west via Routes 22 and 453. This allowed us to get well ahead of the westward Norfolk Southern freight that we rolled by at Huntingdon.
On arrival at Tyrone, an eastward NS intermodal was approaching, Kris photographed this from the window of the car with her Fuji X-T4.
With time to spare, I set up for a dynamic view of the westward train, exposed from a postion on the Amtrak platform using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm zoom.
I’ve included two versions of the photo that exhibit varying degrees of post processing to make the most of the image.
I’m on the fence on this photo. I also exposed a color slide using my F3 with an f2.0 135mm telephoto. I’ll be curious to see how this came out.
Getting to Tyrone was on the day’s agenda, and here we had a more elusive quarry to capture. The NS trains were just a bonus.
Stay tuned . . .
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Huntingdon—revisited
After departing the East Broad Top we drove north to Mount Union and followed the old Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division west to Huntingdon.
In the 1980s and 1990s, I often visited Huntingdon, Pa., where my old pal TSH had family.
We had a few minutes, so we drove around town. I remarked on how little the town had changed in thirty years.
As we approached the grade crossing by the Amtrak station, the crossing lights flashed and the gates came down. We pulled into the small Amtrak lot just in time to make some grab shots of the passing Norfolk Southern freight. I also photographed the old PRR station that sits well back from the present day mainline. reflecting a line relocation from more than a century ago.
Although, my photo of the westward freight is non-standard, I like this type of photo because it captures greater environment which includes the crossing signals and the colored trees in the distance.
After the train cleared the crossing we headed west toward Tyrone, where we aimed to catch the freight again.
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EBT’s Return
The East Broad Top excursion we had photographed (see yesterday’s post) wandered up to Colgate Grove and was turned on the wye.
In the interval, we went for pizza, which we consumed trackside. Soon smoke on the horizon and a distant whistle announced the returning train.
I took up a lineside position and focused both my film and digital cameras in anticipation of the locomotive coming into view.
It was exciting to see old number 16 up close and under steam. I had seen this locomotive back in the 1990s. In those days it resided in the gloom of the roundhouse at Rockhill Furnace where it had been for decades.
Now this old Baldwin narrow gauge 2-8-2 has steam in its belly again and was performing as the star of the show. No.16 looks and sounds great!
I made these photos with my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Nikkor Z-series zoom lens.
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Broad Top and the Barn or No. 16 Under Steam
Last Saturday, we visited the fabled East Broad Top in passing.
This was one stop in our quick pass through central Pennsylvania.
We waited along highway 522 for the northward EBT passenger train
In the 15 years since, I last made photographs along the line (, EBT has undergone tranformations.
This was my first opportunity to catch recently restored EBT Mikado No. 16 under steam.
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At Milepost 58
I thought some vaguely themed photos were appropriate for today.
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Molino—60 Years Ago and Today
In October 1964, my father photographed Reading Company T-1 No. 2100 crossing a field at a rural gradecrossing near Molino, Pennsylvania. This was on one of his many chases of Reading’s Iron Horse Rambles.
Sixty years later—plus or minus a few of days—I brought Kris and Seamus-the-dog to this very same crossing.
“Pop made a photo here.”
We parked our Honda and walked Seamus, while waiting for the returning Reading & Northern Fall Foliage Excursion to pass with the F7s leading.
I was thinking that this location really hadn’t changed much, although the railroad has. Reading Company was melded into Conrail in 1976, and then 23 years later Conrail was divided between Norfolk Southern and CSX. In the meantime, Andy Muller carved out his Reading & Northern empire from lines cast away by Conrail during its retrenchment years.
Before the train came into view, we found an enormous praying mantis sitting on the front tire of the Honda. My first attempt to shoo the wee critter into safety failed when it scurried around the backside of the tire.
Then we heard the horn of the approaching excursion. We made our photos. However rather than jump into the car for spirited chase, I needed to persuade the mantis to relocate. Ultimately, I coaxed it to cling on to my pen. Kris found this amusing and made a few photos. I found a nice spot in the grass for the big bug and we were on our way again.
Yesterday, I sent Pop a preview of today’s post. He has hundreds of Reading photos.
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