So I will start by stating the obvious that, clearly, I have been a bad photoblogger lately. However, I have been taking pictures constantly! My new job at the paper affords me that awesome-o-city that is my current life. I’ve been spending a lot of time immersing myself into the CT community. It’s not so much personal work I’ve been focused on, but in a way it is personal since it’s become the quotidian. I really love it.

One of our recent stories covered a local, no-kill animal shelter than rescues cats. Their facility is in as great of condition as it gets, but it’s swarming with over a hundred felines. Chris and I having been craving pets since we moved into our new place, so naturally I wanted to adopt everything. The kitty above, or should I say the diva, had the right spunk and ‘tude a cat needs. I was craving.

In light of the tragic story about my 20D dying days before I take on a full-time photography position about a month ago, I was fortunate to be able to upgrade to a Canon 5D Mark II. At the moment, I’ve only got the 24-70mm 2.8 L, but I’ve certainly got my eye on too many others.  Gotta say, I really love it. I’m still getting accustomed to all the features of a full-frame, but it really kicks a little ass. If anyone has any tricks about it that they’d like to spare, I’m all ears!

All of the shots of the shelter were shot with my new bad boy. If you have the time, check out the video that accompanied the story.

Meow.

On a brief weekend strut through the Cove, there were many a feline to be seen. I have a sneaking suspicion they are keen for the lovely weather we had on Sunday.

To celebrate the Fourth of July, what better way than appropriately spending it in an All-American town? Chris and I headed up to Cooperstown, NY to enjoy the fanciful delights of excellent beer, little league, fireworks, rural heritage and, of course, the Baseball Hall of Fame (FEE-FIE-FOE-FRIGGEN-BASEBALL).

Our voyage began with the notion to drink beer, specifically from the Ommegang Brewery. Much to my dismay, the inside of the brewery was nothing to write home about, but that was quickly overlooked due to the complimentary beer tasting at the end of the tour. We were awarded samples of five extraordinary Belgian-style ales, my personal favorite being their cherry lambic, Three Philosophers, with a whopping 9.8% alcohol content. Scrrrumptuous flavors! It was entertaining to learn that they provide to 48 states excluding that of West Virginia and Mississippi who don’t permit beer-a-lcious beverages above 3.2%-ish. Guess where I’m never going to drink beer ever!

WHERE MAH BEA?! A look of slight displeasure based on the time surpassed between one tasting beer pour to the next.

Along the beverage trail, one fine discovery was the independently-owned Cooperstown Brewing Company touting beers suitably dubbed Old Slugger, Benchwarmer and the like. There we encountered friendly faces, a well-informed staff and their fine felines, Barley and Hops. You can find the kitties frolicking through the space, so if you ever find a strand of animal fur in your beverage… Oh, get it over it germiphobe!

Hops, Offical Beer Mascot

We swung by Dreams Park to catch a couple little league games; a sort of blast from the past for me since I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been to one. Boisterous crowds gathered in the stands from all over the country cheering their little hearts out. Pretty sure we saw a Hawaii license plate somewhere in the parking lot. Now that’s dedication.

All in all, a fun, happening little town with an old-fashioned charm. Our motel had the most spectacular view (also the best fireworks seat in the house), a memorable beverage trail we still need to complete, museums, swimming – just a nice place to visit to unwind and do baseball-related things. Cooperstown is not exactly the destination for foodstuffs – most likely why we spent most of it indulging in palatable brewskis – but we came across a couple local charms and markets. There’s only so much you can see in a three-day vacation; perhaps if we had more time? We shall return!

I leave you with a moo cow: