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A Maine native, Max now lives in New Hampshire with his wife, who is an editor at National Review, and their three cats in a c. 1790 house built by an American Revolution war veteran. Max was pretty liberal in college, but then moved to New York City, which, though it's the most liberal city in the world, ironically made him into a conservative. Max does a number of things for Ricochet, including maintenance, project management, customer service, and some writing from time to time.
In his Impromptus column at National Review today, Jay Nordlinger closes with a photo, taken by my wife, of the bee balm and daylilies in our front yard.
I saw a photo the other day and thought — and said — “Magazine-worthy.” It was snapped by our Molly Powell — National Review’s Molly Powell — who lives in New Hampshire. With her permission, I share it with you. A bit of New Hampshire on a late afternoon, with bee balm and daylilies gracing the stage:Afternoon in New Hampshire (beebalm and daylilies), by Molly Powell
I can’t take too much credit for the flowers, that’s outside my purview, to quote the God-Mueller. I just dig holes where I’m told to so that Molly can plant the flowers. (It’s the granite state, after all, so there’s a fair amount of rock-removal required when digging holes.)
However, I do claim credit for the backyard and the table in the photo below.
Afternoon in New Hampshire (light refreshments), by Max Ledoux
I cut the grass, and I made the table. Oh, and I took the picture. It’s not the best table ever made, but it’s the best table I’ve made. I used leftover boards from our barn, which we recently renovated. The barn is what you might call “George Washington’s Barn.” It was originally built around the same time as our house, the original cape part of which was built in 1791. (That’s when George Washington was president, in fact!) The barn’s been rebuilt so many times over the years, it would be hard to say whether there are many original pieces left. (As the saying goes: this is George Washington’s ax; the handle’s been replaced, and so has the head, but it’s his original ax.)
Show us your one most magazine-worthy photo in the comments below. Make sure to display them in the “large” size so that we can all enjoy them without peering.
I’ll cheat a little bit, as this is the shot I’ve been using on my user page for a while.
(Click to embiggen.)
Palo Alto, California. This is the top of a hill a block from my house, looking east, on an especially nice day. The trees, mostly redwoods, are in front of and hiding much of Silicon Valley.
The mountain range is on the east side of the bay. The townhouses on the right are part of Stanford. Behind them is San Jose.
The seasons are backwards here; there’s no rain during the summer so the wild grass turns brown. And the winter is quite temperate and the rainy season hits, so the hills get all lush and green then. This was probably taken in February.
My son is the wildlife photographer in the family, but sometimes when he catches something, I help take the picture while he holds it. Not sure any of my shots are magazine worthy but . . .
This is a diamondback terrapin. My son caught it in the water while it swam by. I wish I had the video of him splashing around trying to catch it. I had no idea what he was doing and he actually circled the poor thing like a shark until he could catch it.
Then there are some others where I tried to play with the colors . . .
Thanks. Like many artists, I have more plans and dreams than finished works and honed skills. One of these days, I keep telling myself, I will get into woodwork, like Max.
I see an untapped niche in woodcarving. If one could become skilled at carving Celtic vines and such patterns onto tables and chairs, one could perhaps make a living transforming people’s ho-hum rote furniture into one-of-a-kind artistic pieces.
You and Molly make a great planting team, Max! And the table is lovely. Your land reminds me of the land we had in Framingham, MA: beautiful grass and trees. That’s when my husband bought our first riding mower–too much work otherwise!
Both of these photos are from a place we like to stay along the North Shore of Lake Superior. The first photo is at the tip of the peninsula seen in the second photo.
Dahlias
Peonies
Begonias
Stones from the beach at Agawa Bay, Ontario.
My youngest snapped these.
Note to self: bring the good tripod and a remote trigger next time for this sort of work. Too much wobble.
Max, this is a wonderful idea!
I’ll cheat a little bit, as this is the shot I’ve been using on my user page for a while.
(Click to embiggen.)
Palo Alto, California. This is the top of a hill a block from my house, looking east, on an especially nice day. The trees, mostly redwoods, are in front of and hiding much of Silicon Valley.
The mountain range is on the east side of the bay. The townhouses on the right are part of Stanford. Behind them is San Jose.
The seasons are backwards here; there’s no rain during the summer so the wild grass turns brown. And the winter is quite temperate and the rainy season hits, so the hills get all lush and green then. This was probably taken in February.
More if you’ve got ’em. They’re great!
I just got back from 2 weeks vacation in Ontario – you know not what you ask…
Skipsul, number 13 should be on your office wall. :-) It would inspire you to last through your hectic work year to your next vacation. :-)
🤣 I said “ONE”! 😘
2 weeks in Ontario, and you expect me to narrow it down that much? You monster…
We need to get @aaronmiller in here.
My son is the wildlife photographer in the family, but sometimes when he catches something, I help take the picture while he holds it. Not sure any of my shots are magazine worthy but . . .
This is a diamondback terrapin. My son caught it in the water while it swam by. I wish I had the video of him splashing around trying to catch it. I had no idea what he was doing and he actually circled the poor thing like a shark until he could catch it.
Then there are some others where I tried to play with the colors . . .
How about one and a link? My other photos at 500px.
Thanks. Like many artists, I have more plans and dreams than finished works and honed skills. One of these days, I keep telling myself, I will get into woodwork, like Max.
I see an untapped niche in woodcarving. If one could become skilled at carving Celtic vines and such patterns onto tables and chairs, one could perhaps make a living transforming people’s ho-hum rote furniture into one-of-a-kind artistic pieces.
wow!
A frosty hillside along the Ohio River, across from Ripley:
A misty winter day at Hillsdale’s Oak Grove Cemetery:
You and Molly make a great planting team, Max! And the table is lovely. Your land reminds me of the land we had in Framingham, MA: beautiful grass and trees. That’s when my husband bought our first riding mower–too much work otherwise!
Both of these photos are from a place we like to stay along the North Shore of Lake Superior. The first photo is at the tip of the peninsula seen in the second photo.