Beauty Passes

It really is hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago I started photographing all the blossoms around the yard and field and even on the way to work and they are almost all gone now. I really do love the apple blossoms, or perhaps any fruit tree will do, but the frailty and short life span of those delicate and tender flowers of color has left me to pause today.


Aging, so many of us become concerned to a fault with the effects of growing older that we often don't take the time to just stop and enjoy where and who we are. Oh, sure, who doesn't want to look younger (16 year olds, for one group) in today's world, especially when age does not always mean respect and maturity, but often suggests slowing down and not being able to accomplish as much as when a younger person. We can overcome those attitudes from others and their prejudices by simply keeping a positive frame of mind and feeling and appreciating who and where we are in our hearts. The strength of your body is increased through systemic use of that body and our minds are no different. Why would I ever consider working in anything but the arts? The arts evoke thoughts, feelings and conceptualizations that cannot be compared to any other discipline. I am such a lucky human being.


On a different note, fruit blossoms are now being replaced by perennials and annuals in the flower beds that David and I built last spring as well as in window boxes around the house, beauty continues. They are in-your-face colors compared to the fruit blossoms, but so intense and gorgeous! The cycle of life and the coming of summer are wonderful times...

The Manic Moon (Tidal Pull)

The "tide" seems to be going my way... things are getting done and there seems to be a flow around me that draws others to help and support. It's very hard to tell whether I am just anticipating the end of the school year or I am moving in a direction that is more focused that the "scattering school" has tended to be this last semester.

I'm watching the crows in the mussel beds with the tide way out on this moon and can hear several loons calling up the bay a bit, I don't see them. This morning was the moon shining through the cracks in the curtains, so I rose shortly after 4 and took a few pictures before I went out on the bike. Riding the roads is so much better than being stuck in the basement on the recumbent, 30 minutes on the road seems to me like 5 now. I really would like to do a couple of longer trips this summer, but maybe camping and such would be out of the question as taking too much time. Even the nearby bays would be good to do in the kayaks. Oh well, here I go rambling and planning (scheming) and not even a thought to circumstances. I guess that's the problem with living in the moment, what do you do when the moment passes?

Bike Ride to the Bridge

Sunday morning and it was a beautiful day! I started riding west and I knew I wanted to get to the Taunton Bridge but thought it might be good to set a time goal... well that fell by the wayside as I had my camera with me and started seeing some things that I wanted to shoot. I got a photo of the old watering trough (19th century) that was uncovered when they redid the section of road east of the bridge a couple of years ago. The trough itself was carved from a single large stone and set into the side of the hill where the spring fed it. So, anyway I started getting some pictures, stopped at the bridge, at the park and a few other places when it occurred to me that I might try doing a movie of being on the bike. Well, I think it came out a little scary and I should rig up some sort of a mount on the bike to get really good footage of the actual riding effect. I'll work on that... here's a video from Long Cove and the photo of the water trough.

Moose in the Morning?

Well, I think from the space between hoof prints that this was a fairly good sized bull moose... but what was he thinking walking right through the middle of the garden? He could have gone around, but one can't complain because he didn't stop to eat anything. Honestly there wasn't much for him to eat, although Jen and I thinned out the radishes (it's been a month since planting) and got enough to put in a salad for dinner tonight. I'm pretty sure he was just passing through, but it would be neat to have one hang around for a while... I'd love to get some pictures of that "critter"!

Plants and Pairs

There's nothing like a broad leaved plant to fill and cover plain old dirt, and they look so good around a building or between plots as separators. I like the way they spread and combine in repetitive pattern, but even more the sameness of the individual leaves is a very endearing quality. There's just something strong and determined in those delicate leaves...

Pairs of things, now there's a good photo assignment all by itself... really would get students to looking and being more in tune to surroundings. There is something about a "pair" that speaks of connections, relationships and of balance. The empty chairs here suggest for me people too busy to sit, to take the time to just be by themselves and to contemplate that which is around them. I would like to see them filled with people who can connect.

Out on Route 1

The daylight is enough at 4:30 to get outside and I am sooo grateful to be able to do that! It has warmed up recently so I don't have to have layers of clothing on to keep from freezing to death. I brought a camera this morning not knowing what to expect and as soon as I got past Asheville Road I looked to my left and there was the sunrise. We get plenty of sunsets here on the bay, but the sunrise is a good way to start the day.

Speaking of which, I knocked over a glass of water on my nightstand by the bed this morning, and after turning the air in the room blue with invective commentary, I realized that life is life and early in the morning is no time to imagine for a moment that your day is set in stone.

Motion, Faces & Figures, and the Top of the Roof

I spent a bit of time developing this abstract series of photos as I was watching a pinwheel in one of the flower gardens and playing with shutter speeds. It had gotten a bit dark so I had to suppress the flash, but the reflective surfaces of the plastic pinwheel really gave me some interesting effects as it spun around its axis. A visual that I have seen repeatedly in the past few days but struck me for some reason tonight.


The sky is always interesting, and some of the wispy formations that were up tonight after supper really contained some spiritual identity. I know I always can find objects in the abstractness of clouds and other textures, but there were a number of somewhat clear faces and figures in some of the clouds I was watching, including the symmetry of a couple holding hands. Most of the faces tend to be benevolent, but once in a while will be a scream or cry in a face that moves me to wonder how/why my imagination was struck in such a way.


So I hadn't been on the roof in a while and I thought it might be fun to climb a ladder. I took the 20 footer out and stood it up against the shop and climbed onto the roof. I got a bunch of pictures from my rooftop vantage point that were better than the one I am posting here, but I liked this one because it gave such a good sample of the expanse of the roof with the bay and Cadillac in the background.

Spring Carnival

Yeah, the Spring Carnival at school was a big success. The kids were great, they picked up well afterwards and they were enthusiastic and participated in everything very nicely. It turned out to be a beautiful day and I got way too much sun on my bare noggin! We need to do a lot more of this kind of thing for our students to gain a sense of place and importance here! The art mural area had more kids during the afternoon than the basketball shooting, cool, huh?

Mind Storm...

Glad to be up is kind of weird... I need sleep as the early 4:30 hour comes quick and stayed up kinda late watching baseball (yeah, typical macho male... that's me!) for most of a game. Anyway, here it is 2 a.m. and my mind is racing, but not about all the things I have to do in the next few days; more about dreams that I woke from.

I was on a long trip. I had camped in the wilderness, traveling through wooded and mountainous terrain, following streams to rivers and down to the ocean. It seemed as though I was back to native roots, living from what the land offered until I got to the sea. There I settled, building a boat (sails, I think) that would take me along the coast, because I hadn't really settled, and knew I couldn't settle, but instead build a place to come back to as each of my adventures finished. I went looking for things, but in the dream I couldn't be sure of what I was looking for... it seemed I just had to explore and search. Some of it seemed so vivid... I awoke somewhat of a stranger to myself, but feeling an old familiarity I hadn't felt for quite a while. Hmmm.... was I born to discover? Is that what an artist truly does? Just a mind storm, not a hurricane...

Goldie

My nephew got a puppy over the winter and she's a Golden Retriever. She is as high strung as the "Goldens" we used to have, and impossible to get to sit still until you have spent a lot of time with her. As I approached her she rolled on her back and as I pat her belly she peed (just like my "Iggy" used to do). They really do need constant attention, and I just went up to visit for a few minutes and had my camera with me, sooo... I "tried" to get a picture of her. I may spend some time with her at some point and see if I can get a real portrait.