Looking back at the fourth quarter of 2025
Last quarter I’d mentioned how in the grand scheme of things it had been a fairly quiet quarter. And I think the same description holds for this quarter, though there were many times I felt the weight of trying to keep up. All the trips my father and I made were day trips, though we did have some longer ones, such as to Seneca Rocks, West Virginia, and to the Hagerstown Aviation Museum in Maryland, both fantastic trips. We made it back to Blandy Experimental Farm’s ginkgo grove to see those beautifully yellow leaves in late October. And we spent a little time getting a closer look at the Meem’s Bottom Covered Bridge in Mount Jackson, Virginia. All that to say it’s been a pretty good quarter.
Photography
In this final quarter of 2025 I continued sharing photographs and stories from the trip my father and I made to New Hampshire earlier in the year, including featuring six more covered bridges. I also included posts with recent photographs from Virginia and West Virginia, as well as a book review. I’m hopeful there’s something in the mix below that catches your eye either for the first time or from an earlier visit.
Below are the posts I published this quarter. Please take a look back at any you missed or would like to see again.
Covered Bridges
Historic Mechanic Street Covered Bridge (Lancaster, New Hampshire)
Historic Mount Orne Covered Bridge (Lancaster, New Hampshire)
Historic Columbia Covered Bridge (New Hampshire)
Historic Stark Covered Bridge (New Hampshire)
Historic Albany Covered Bridge (New Hampshire)
Historic Jackson Covered Bridge (New Hampshire)
Mostly Photos
A Cloudy Morning at the Edge of the Pilot Range, White Mountains, New Hampshire
Brief Glimpses of Autumn in Fort Valley, Virginia
Looking Back Along the Abandoned Rails
A Bit of Color Over the Holidays
Reviews
National Gallery of Art Master Paintings from the Collection
Trip Report
First Trip to Seneca Rocks, West Virginia
Reading
I love reading a wide range of topics and genres and lately I’ve been trying to include as much as possible. The oldest book I read this quarter was from 1864 and the most recent book was from 2024, covering a 160 year period. There were books translated from Japanese, Russian, and Spanish, with the majority written in English. Genres included horror, mystery, thriller, fantasy, science fiction, artwork, and history. And I consumed the books in multiple formats: paper, ebook, and audiobook. Two books, Carmilla by J. Sheridan Fanu and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, were rereads. It’s been a good reading quarter. Have you read any of the books below? If so what did you think of them? Are there any you’re curious to try?
The books I consumed this quarter (paper, ebook, and audio).
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (2014), National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection by John Oliver Hand (2004), The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming (1962), A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (2023), Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba (2011), Wonderland by Zoje Stage (2020), Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1872), Contact by Carl Sagan (1985), The Man From St. Petersburg by Ken Follett (1982), Blade (Inverted Frontier 4) by Linda Nagata (2024), Appointment with Death (Hercule Poirot) by Agatha Christie (1938), Notes From the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1864), First Principles: What America’s Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country by Thomas E. Ricks (2020), The Door to December by Dean Koontz (under the pen name Richard Paige) (1985), The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925), A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (1993), A Darkness at Sethanon (Riftwar Saga 4) by Raymond E. Feist (1986), More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (2011), Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters by Aimee Ogden (2021), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981) by Gabriel García Márquez, Animal Farm (1945) by George Orwell.
And of those, my favorites were:
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
I grew up a big fan of fantasy and science fiction, subscribing to some of the speculative magazines of the time, and I tried to stay tuned-in to the big names in the field, so I’ve known of Roger Zelazny for quite some time. And yet I waited all this time to read anything of his longer than a short story. I wish I hadn’t waited so long if this book is any indication of what his stories are like. It was, for me, simply perfect. A mix of urban fantasy, horror, mystery, comedy, and a perfect Halloween read (though I read it afterwards). He pays homage to many of the stories and movies that came before by including some very recognizable cameos from creature features of old. And the story is told from the perspective of Snuff, a watchdog. In fact, many of the main characters are intelligent animals, familiars, if you will. And it ended with the greatest final sentence of any book I recall reading. Perfect book!
A Darkness at Sethanon by Raymond E. Feist
This is the final book in the Riftwar Saga, though there are many more within the greater Riftwar Cycle. The various storylines started in Magician: Apprentice, Magician: Master, and Silverthorn, all come together in this book where we have a final encounter with the dark forces that surfaced and have been trying to enter Midkemia. We have all the characters we’ve gotten to know along with lots of battles, magic, dragons, mythic beings, and portals between realms. It’s all here in this fantastic finale.
A story of first contact with species from another world. This was one of the few cases where I watched the movie before reading the book, and though I do wish I’d read the book first I did immensely enjoy both. As is always the case, it was interesting comparing the two, seeing what the movie folks chose to leave out, what they changed, what they added. Given that the book was published in 1985 and the movie released in 1997, I can understand some of the changes. It’s not a huge span of time between them but much did change in the world in that time so I can see adapting the story to the times. It would be interesting to see what the movie would look like if created today.
It’s been a long while since I’ve read a Stephen King story that I enjoyed as much as this one. Almost more of a mystery and thriller than a horror story, it features a cast of interesting characters, something I think King has always been a master at creating. There are some very disturbing and depraved elements to the story, but it worked so well, getting into the minds of each character and seeing their motivations. Once the story got going it didn’t let up, straight through to the very end. And though I’ve read mixed reviews of the other books in this loosely linked trilogy I’m still looking forward to trying them.
The Door to December by Dean Koontz (Writing as Richard Paige)
This is the first book I’ve read by Dean Koontz, though my paperback copy is under an old pen name of Richard Paige. A distraught mother is reunited with her young daughter who’d been kidnapped by her father. But her daughter has changed. And some of those who appeared to keep her captive are dead, brutally killed. How did it happen? What were they doing with her daughter? And what is the Door to December, something her daughter keeps mentioning, something she fears will open. This story and these characters pulled me in and kept me engaged, and the further I read the more difficult it was to put the book down for meals or sleep or work. This won’t be the last Koontz novel I read.
Movies, Shows & Anime
Favorite, or notable, films I watched this quarter.
I started the quarter watching very few movies, and if not for taking some days off around the holidays I might have only watched two movies and a TV series. But I did choose to sit back and watch a few more movies before the quarter and year were out.
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2011) and Beautiful Creatures (2013) were entertaining though I suspect both will end up being forgettable. It was fun rewatching Firefox (1982), starring Clint Eastwood, as I loved this movie as a kid. But I didn’t get into it nearly as much this time around, so it’s more of a nostalgic hit for me. I thoroughly enjoyed rewatching The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) and The Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), both by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers, and Airplane (1980), all three comedies I have fond memories of watching as a kid.
I finished watching the first season of The Expanse from 2015, the science fiction epic series based on the books by the authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, writing under the pen name James S.A. Corey. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything bad about this series, and I can understand why as I’m absolutely loving it. I can’t speak to the adaptation as I’ve not read the books, but the casting, the writing, the special effects, it’s all fantastic. I can’t wait to continue on with season 2.
I’ve also been watching an old anime series I purchased back then called Last Exile from 2003. I had started the series but never finished watching it, so this time I plan watch the entire series. It’s a steampunk sort of science fiction tale about flying ships and battles between nations/factions, with some overlord sort of group watching over and influencing it all. It stars a couple very young protagonists, as so many anime series do, who get caught up in all the action. I love the animation and character design, and it’s interesting how they chose to mix more traditional and digital animation techniques.
Music
This quarter I discovered a new band, or rather a band that was new to me but has been around since 2001. They originated from Tunisia and integrate rock/metal with some of the more traditional sounds and themes of that part of the world, while often adding in progressive elements. It’s a perfect blend for me and because of that I’ve already purchased three of their albums and will likely purchase them all over time. They were apparently the first band from Tunisia to sign to a record label from outside that country, and so they are now based out of France and have a French drummer. The band is Myrath and I’m featuring three of their videos below.
Myrath - Believer
Myrath has some entertaining storytelling music videos. This is the first of at least a three part story and if you’re curious to see the rest it continues in Dance and No Holding Back. It’s like the Arabian Nights put to rock music. To some extent this song has a more popular feel to it while still integrating Tunisian influences into the epic and cinematic sounds they’re so good at creating.
Myrath - Into the Light
This looks like it would have been such a great live show to see. Dancers, with and without fire, a beautiful stage and clothing, and of course the light show. And a magic performance during the brief interlude of the song! Speaking of interludes, I’m often drawn to music that includes them, and that raise the energy level after the pause to finish on a powerful note. And I really enjoy their use of strings and brass, even if only as backing tracks. Symphonic and orchestral instruments can work so well with rock.
Myrath - Child of Prophecy
One of my favorite songs of theirs so far, it has so much of what I love in music. A soft and melodic beginning with keyboard/piano. The progressive rock/metal elements with shifting time signatures and rhythms. There are those rock anthem sort of elements with soaring vocals and harmonies, great guitar riffs. They make beautiful use of pauses, of quiet, and then shift everything up in volume and tone. And of course there are the Tunisian influences that, for me, add so much extra depth to the music because it’s something I’m not as used to. For this concert they returned to Tunisia and performed at the historic Theatre of Carthage.
Life
The fourth quarter of each year is often a busy one with all the holidays, and yet it’s also one when I often take a bit more time off work, which helps slow it down a bit. For Thanksgiving, my father, brother and I chose to do as we did last year, going out to a Thanksgiving meal event. It’s good food, a nice environment, and it eliminates any stress of meal preparation. For Christmas we got together ourselves, but went with a non-traditional meal.
As with the previous quarter, I’ve continued exploring the world of home brewed coffee, trying beans from different parts of the world purchased from different local roasters. In some cases I purchased beans from the same part of the world but from different roasters to see what differences I could taste. Some of the beans I purchased included: Costa Rica Tarrazu F1 “La Hacienda” Natural and Papua New Guinea Natural from Aperture Coffee in Woodstock, VA; Ethiopia Harrar and Sumatra Mandheling from Black Dog Coffee in Shenandoah Junction, WV; Papua New Guinea Eastern Highlands, another batch of Ethiopia Sidama, Kenya Daki Peaberry, and Haitian Blue Zombie Desert from Bluemont Coffee in Bluemont, VA; Brazil Mogiana and Ethiopian Natural Sidamo from Central Coffee in Sperryville, VA. And my brother brought me a bag of Costa Rica Anaerobic Washed (Carlos Morera) from Bush Hill Coffee in Archoale, NC and Ecuador Geisha Natural (Finca El Aguacate) from Monta Coffee in Leesburg, VA, which he picked up at the DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival (what a great combo, right?). I continue to really enjoy light to medium roasts with very noticeable berry, fruit and floral notes, such as some of them from Costa Rica, Ecuador and Ethiopia, and sometimes using a natural and/or anaerobic process, though a nice dark roast brew is also very enjoyable every so often.
It was also fun visiting a couple of bookstores for the first time. There was Bank Books in Martinsburg, WV, that is located in an old bank building and displays their oldest books in the actual bank vault. It’s such a cool store. Another was the Warrenton Book Cellar in Warrenton, Virginia, a store affiliated with the public library and located in the cellar of one of their buildings. It was a similarly maze-like set of rooms as Bank Books, and it had insanely inexpensive prices. Both are great little book stores if you’re ever in those areas.
How was your quarter? Did you do anything new? Did you continue to find comfort and joy in some of the small everyday things we sometimes overlook but that can add that extra bit of spice to our day-to-day lives? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for all your support this year. Have a great New Year’s, and all the best in 2026!
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