Swimmers Itch USA is my latest blog to interact with a local task force and others to find ways to combat Swimmer's Itch (SI), found in most northern lakes in the USA.

What it is: Swimmers Itch is a human skin irritation that can occur when a swimmer comes in contact with microscopic organisms that cycle between snails and waterfowl.  The organisms in the water may accidentally enter the skin of humans where they will die within 24 hours.  The red spots or rash are an allergic reaction to the organism's proteins.  Some people are not affected while others, especially children, may have a severe case of intense itching and fever which can last a  few days up to a week.

I have taken action by joining the The Swimmer's Itch Task Force. We are starting with Crystal Lake, located in Frankfort, Michigan. Crystal Lake has personal meaning for me because my family has a cottage on the lake. As a result of my severe allergy to Swimmer's Itch, my time swimming at the lake is ruined.  

The blog that has been set up is were I would like to start the conversation about SI. It could be a great resource for individuals and lake associations to notify and inform people of this infection. You can post your comments and information about Swimmer's Itch, on the Swimmer's Itch USA Blog.

Also visit a primary source of information at www.swimmersitch.org

If you would like to find more information about Swimmer's Itch, click on some of the links below.

• Basic Facts: Swimmer's Itch

• Google Health - Schistosomiasis (Swimmer's itch)

• Wikipedia - Swimmer's itch

• CDC - Swimmer's Itch (Cercarial dermatitis) Fact Sheet

Just did a photo shoot with Larry Asam and Peter Larsen, so we could all have new portraits. Larry and Peter did the heavy duty portraits, while I shot the behind the scenes. The weather looked great, until we got to the front porch of the Congregational Church on Winooski. Yes, we had torrential rains and wild winds.

Here is a sneak peak of the portraits.

Find out more about Larry Asam and Peter Larsen:

Larry Asam - www.lasamphoto.com 

Peter Larsen - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The summer cottages designed by architect Nils Luderowski, situated on the many lakes in the Adirondacks, are very special places for me to photograph. 

Between many thundershowers and lots of delays, we finally got onto the water Oct 10, and to our great surprise, the fall foliage was still there to frame this house!

Last Saturday, manned with a crew of children from the Lake Champlain Sailing Center, the Mashnee won the local Regatta for Lake Champlain. The regatta earns money for several non-profit organizations that help to keep Lake Champlain healthy.

Mashnee, winning boat; Captain: Jan Rozendaal and
Crew Member: Mark Naud, President of LC Sailing Center

With great pleasure I had the opportunity to shoot the Mashnee. This winning boat is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful boats I have ever seen.  
The Mashnee is 46' Nathanael Greene Herreshoff designed Buzzard's Bay 30 originally built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol, Rhode Island in 1902. In 2004m her current owner, Jan Rozendaal of South Burlington, Vermont, acquired her. When Jan purchased the Mashnee, it was not a floatable vessel. It took three years at Darling's Boatworks in Charlotte, VT for the Mashnee to be almost completely rebuilt. Look at her now!

Jon and Betsy Anderson hired architect Sandra Vitzthum to design a retirement friendly home on Lake Elmore. Sandra designed an extremely beautiful and comfortable house for the Andersons using fireplaces, porches, decks, floor to ceiling walls of windows, hardwoods, marble, cherry and soapstone. The first floor is  handicap accessible: entryway, living room, dining room, kitchen with a breakfast area,  laundry, mudroom, bedroom and bath. 

Do schools kill creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10