Storm’s coming
I just glanced up to see this fast-moving storm coming from the west. No doubt. We got the rain a few minutes later. No need for a weather warning or a weather report. We got the expected driving rain in sheets. Dramatic! Yes, it was. I’ve been trying to get a night star shot of the passing comet. Not on this night.
IMG_0771
I did a search on the hard drive for a picture. These images all carried the number “IMG_0771.” The image number(s) recycles. It is the nature of digital cameras. Fish in the Red Sea. Cat in Delaware.
I was surprised by the images that had the same number spanning many years. The image of Jules, around 2007, and Colleen 2014. Jules – Maine or Vermont. Colleen NYC.
I was blown away by the mask and the drawn face. It was a bit of shock. I have no recollection of that joke, date and place, unknown. And then, there’s a cerebellar tumor, Jeddah circa 2013? As I recall we successfully removed that tumor and it’s recurrence. IMG_0771, this image, has been an interesting historical journey touching significant things in my life.
Tree
It breaks your heart. We drove by a house. A power backhoe was destroying an evergreen (holly?) tree. It just bashed the major dividing trunks and smashed them to the ground unceremoniously. I have been (my kids) admonished about being green. Destroying things, especially trees, is not in my psyche. I suppose this (cutting) was for good reason. You can’t make an omelet with breaking eggs… it still breaks me up to see destruction of nature.
It’s been done
Mike and Jen took us to the traveling “wall.” It’s ¾ scale to the original wall in Washington DC. All the names are there. the “picture” is the reflection. I’ve done it. I did it. I discovered it on my own. I discovered a lot of people did it before me as they will do it after me. I am of an age where the contemporaries to the Vietnam war are diminishing more rapidly. There’s nothing pithy to say about the memorial but one thinks about how many lives on the wall were never fulfilled. It moves me to think of what might have been and the cost we have paid.
Another sunset
Yes, it is among many others I have posted and among many you may have seen. It’s still makes us pause to see one. Someone, critically, once said to me, “You’ve seen one. Isn’t that enough?” Good point. They are all different. And the argument would go on…. My post, my blog, I disagree. I don’t think I shall never stop taking a sunset image no matter how many and where I am.
I’m workin’ on it
Waves. I am trying to catch the “curl.” We’re not talking Hawaii. I have no lofty surfer goal. But… well, I’ve been pretty hit and miss to catch a good wave shot. It finally dawned on me to pan the camera. As the wave breaks, I pan and I got a much higher number of shots of the waves breaking. It’s work in progress. A movie would probably be challenging too. Hey! I’m working all of this out on my own. It was another “Duh!” moment. How did I never think of panning before? Afterwards, I feel silly for not thinking. If not for an occasional “Aha!” moment photography wouldn’t be so challenging.
Exit plan
This pair lined up perpendicular to the incoming wave and backed their way onto the beach. As you can see they took a tumble. I saw it coming. I got one shot. They both fell out. It seemed that was the plan. I think you could be more elegant. I’m ok. I got a shot. Embarrassed? Not me. Maybe, they will work on better technique?
Urban sunset
I learned there are no rules from a museum photo judge this past spring. A spectacular sunset was in progress as we exited a store. And, the camera battery was dead. There was no view to see the spectacular orange ball gloriously setting. Ok! Bang! The camera had 4 shots in it till the battery finally quit completely. Otherwise, there would be no image and no post. You got wires thanks to that judge. And I made lemons out of lemonade with the pattern of the sky. I like the sky but can appreciate the wires now.
Beach
We saw a beach ad on a billboard. The beach, our beach, was full of umbrellas. Wow! It was crowded. Not really, the picture makes the beach look worse than it is. There’s plenty of space. Really! The umbrellas cover a lot of area. There’s plenty of sand to go around. I kid you not. Now go away!
9/11/18
I’d like to remember 9/11. I got married (the first time) on that date. And now, it’s completely different because of terrorism. The raw pain and anguish has finally subsided this year. Life has moved on. Like other historical horrors, this event has lost its edge. I suppose for an entire generation it will have about the same historical meaning as “Pearl Harbor” which occurred years before my birth. In past years I would post a pic from that fateful day in 2001. Now, it was the beach on that day last year. This year I will be in Scotland. Nothing to note yet, I schedule posts in advance because of my busy schedule. I haven’t forgotten the day…
The mess
Oh! I am reminded that we are not neat. Well, about once a year… for company coming to visit. Ordinary! It’s a state of chaos. Our life. We live it. What you see are ongoing projects. We fiber. At least I do and Colleen does and has for quite some time. I spin now. It’s by default. The only way we could ever convert fleece to yarn is with my help. We simply are overwhelmed with too much raw material. Meanwhile we got company. Things were clean for a moment. If you host five little kids, it’s sure to be a mess, just a different sort. Neat for a day: that’s the motto.
The mess
It got out of hand. We live in the midst of projects. Sometimes things sneak upon us. We have been quietly blissfully buying sheep fleece. The source! It has to be less expensive to start with raw material. A finished skein is costly $$$. It’s often sold by the ounce and the money quickly adds up. Weaving can be expensive. So, we found ourselves with more unwashed fleece than we knew what to do with. Don’t ask! But it meant a lot of fleece needed washing. And it meant a lot of space was needed to dry it after the wash. No, you cannot put it in the dryer. I told you not to ask! It was already crowded. Now, it’s a mess. We don’t actually have two places to sit and eat among two tables and twelve chairs. Don’t ask!
Elle? Yes, she really is hemmed in by the mess. The cats love it. It’s an obstacle course with lots of hiding places.
So long
… as in, they’ve been constructing this building for years… at least two. We’ve lost track. It was initially a building without windows. None! Then they cut in windows, but not in the back of the building. There is a giant two story garage door there. And then they added the balconies. It might be commercial. But it is at the apex of a triangle intersection with busy traffic on both sides. There is no parking lot. So?? We can’t wait to see what this building is used for. At the rate of construction revisions, it might still be a while…
Delaware superbloom
Can you believe? Yup, we got home and driving along the road…our very own Delaware superbloom. It’s clover. Red! I admit that I have never seen red clover blooming. We saw patches along the road… till we came upon this field. No one else was there to appreciate it. There were no other cars stopped. There were no tourists wandering around and trampling the blooms. Nature put on a spectacular show and no one was there to see it. … maybe they are coming later.
Maasi warrior
Culturally, red is said to scare lions. So, red is common to most garments of a Maasai warrior. But I detect a tartan influence. Scottish? This photo was snapped in Delaware. It was chilly. Beneath the cloak was a warm set of western style clothing. How does a well dressed Maasai warrior dress? I don’t know. I was too shy to ask.
Basket case
Third! This is our third. There are defects only the maker can see. Colleen was certain her mistakes stood right out. I failed to see them. But, of course, my mistakes were readily evident – to me. That’s my teacher in the background. I shall remember her as “pack it tighter.” She was always admonishing me – gently – to pack the reed layers tighter. As they dry everything shrinks and loosens. Good advice. I never seemed to be packed tight enough. Maybe I have loose screws too?
Working
How do you pick a photo for posting? No mystery. It just sticks out enough and you want to comment upon it. Sometimes it’s just a scene that you don’t often come across. What? What were five cherry pickers in such a hurry to accomplish? I figure they turned off the power and were in a hurry to finish. It was a lot of trucks. And there were plenty of helpers below just standing around as support staff. One to fix and four to watch. Sounds about right?
Going
My cats are smart. Aren’t they all? They know when we are headed out. In fact, Patch is positively frantic when the suitcase comes out of the closet. I’m told that dogs (maybe cats?) have no sense of time. They sure know when something is about to happen. I whistle and they come to the door in order to go out on the deck. Everyone was gathered. Maybe it was coincidental? I think not. Yes. We miss them when we travel. And they miss us.
Catharsis
“Before the term existed she proclaimed we would marry and had her mother invite me to a “playdate” at age eight. We were in the same classroom 3rd to 6th grade. When I moved we never communicated again. Fifty years later, I was deleting junk emails when Elkins caught my eye in the subject. Another classmate was inviting me to a class reunion, a class I never graduated with. Colleen? Oh, yes, she’s still around, recently widowed. She responded to my email with, “I’m nosy…” Within a month it was true love. Can you say happily ever after?”
I penned this for the New York Times – Tiny Love Stories. They didn’t publish it. Too many other submissions, mine not good enough.
We were classmates in third grade. Yes, many decades ago. Maine called to Colleen. Pemaquid lighthouse was the place, 2014. We returned last fall, the marriage still not complete. You can guess her longing and frustration. It was technical not reluctance on my part. We already live in a home together. Colleen chose our home in a day and I agreed from Saudi. People have said we looked “married.” I suppose we did. “Happily ever after” is not just in fairy tales.
Love is: “never having to worry about the wind in your hair.”
Oops!
I just told you I don’t do motor drive. I did. Well, I shot a sequence – rapidly. I did not just press down and hope for the best. There’s some skill involved even though it was a burst of images. Ha! Whatever! Poor surfer guy. He did a show just for me. It was one and done. He left the water shortly after. It was the only wave he caught. Well, he didn’t catch it as much as it caught him. But he made a great series for me. TY
Florence (Hurricane)
The hurricane effects were felt long before it arrived. The waves, ordinarily barely a ripple, were taller than your head. And, everyone flocked there. Tourists had no choice. Stay at home or enjoy the inclement conditions. You don’t have much choice when you paid for a weekly rental. Go in the water? It’s warm in autumn after the summer heat. What is it they say – the calm before the storm? I went to see waves and the people.
Under water
There ain’t no climate change. Nope nada none. We live in low lying terrain. What happens when it rains is no mystery. Flooding! We get an advisory for flash flood warning frequently. Sometime it does and sometimes it doesn’t. Hey! The weatherman is wrong sometimes. When he is right we have streets under water. It’s fun? to see unless you live there and have to hump your supplies to and fro. The last is a joke. Under water is no fun. The umbrellas are not under water or buried. Right?
Deja vu
We have been going to the beach in the morning. There is a two hour window before paid parking starts. I have a phobia about paying for parking. It’s like the internet. It’s free.
It’s very peaceful early in the morning. The serenity is palpable before the crowds arrive. Ha! Little kids sleep late? Or they eat breakfast. No matter. It’s hard to get kids to the beach early. Good for us. Hey! Someone else has/had the same idea. Two days, and they were to the right and left of us. Brilliant. Does that make me a moderate (middle)?
Scene at the beach
Why? You bring your kids and then protect them from the elements. The hat and the life vest, surely there is sunscreen slathered on. Responsible. An umbrella over your playpen? That’s way better than the man from yesterday’s post. Rent a real umbrella, yup! And be close to the lifeguard. Poor guy, he has to drag his own chair to work. Fortunately, it has not rained. Hey! We don’t go when it rains. Duh!
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