Timothy Loftus

Tim Loftus is a retired environmental chemist with a love of the written word. When he is not at his writing desk (by 6:30 every morning) he is most likely outside, leaving his boot tracks along some woodland or meadow trail. Tim’s recent essays and articles have been published in Yankee Magazine, Boston Magazine, Prescott Living, and Northern Woodlands’ The Outside Story. He resides in Central Massachusetts with his chive plant.

Beyond the Frame

Sometime around 1912, twenty-two-year-old Great Aunt Annie took a photo of Mayme and Beth, two of her younger sisters, standing on opposite sides of an unnamed friend. They were all eating apples at the same time. Annie framed the scene with her camera then snapped the photo, capturing their impish goofiness on black-and-white film. The smiles hidden by the apples show in their eyes.
Ninety years later, in February 2002, I was hiking with my three daughters,