Actually, there are two "Thank you" acknowledgements I must make to two important women in my life for the success of the Maine Fall Foliage photography gallery.

My wife, Amy Diamond, an Operations Director at Primedia (magazine publishers), wangled our accumulated airline mileage into a FREE round-trip ticket all the way from Los Angeles, California to Bangor, Maine. That, and her willingness to be the primary household bread winner while I build up this photography business, contributed enormously to the creation of this gallery.

My mother, Jody McCaslin, supported the operation once I arrived in the Pine Tree State. With this new business launch and no "day job" to help defray the cost, my foliage project was run on an extreme shoestring budget. Mom provided lodging (her home), transportation (her station wagon), food and a generous contribution of emotional support administered with a mother's love and pride.

She also joined me on the days when I chose NOT to rise at 4:00 a.m. to beat the sun to a distant destination. Together we topped Acadia National Park's Cadillac Mountain, climbed down the Dyce's Head cliffs in Castine, explored the jeep-road wilderness above Greenville, brunched at Jordan Pond House, and made numerous day trips to my favorite local locations, like Dead River Stream in Orland.

At 82, she's a wonder. With no "egg carton" filled with pills, no operations to discuss incessantly, no regular doctor, no health problems other than normal wear and tear, an eternal sense of adventure, and an unsinkable spirit of optimism, faith and hope, she's easily mistaken for a much younger woman.

My most surprising moment with her during my 10-day stay came when we climbed the wooden stairs up from the Dyce's Head ledges to street level. It's a single flight of stairs that's as long as two or maybe even three regular one-storey flights, and she marched right up it with only a slight increaase in breathing rate as she reached the top!

Thoughout my life, she's provided a safety net for me on my adventures. I left Maine at 21 (1968) and have traveled the U.S. and much of the world, knowing that at any time if I ran into serious trouble, I could always go home to regroup and recover. I've never actually needed to do that, but the knowledge that my safety net was in place helped me muster the courage to explore far beyond my humble beginnings in the rural village of Orland, Maine and achieve some level of success in the world at large.

And so, I dedicate the Maine Fall Foliage Gallery to my mother, Josephine Brewster Hutchins Morey Stover McCaslin, with immeasurable love and gratitude for all she's done for me throughout my life.

Thanks, Mom! I love you, too.