Morning light can be so pretty!
Bleeding Heart
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Diffuse Light Just Laying Around Waiting To Be Noticed
Yesterday the sky was cerulean blue with rare, wispy clouds. Today we have dense overcast clouds and ongoing mist. Either one makes for fantastic photos!
Bearded Iris
Flowering Tree
Siberian Iris Nearing Bloom
All that nice, diffuse light just laying around waiting to be noticed! I might have to get out to the Arboretum for a bit this afternoon...
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Waiting For The Fair To Open
There is a small fair being set up at the local shopping mall. I got a photo of the Ferris wheel a couple of days ago as a storm was blowing in, all dark and moody. Today the sun was blazing and I had my circular polarizing filter with me so I stopped for more shots.
The colors were a'poppin' today!
Some shots just seemed to need a quieter touch, so B&W was the way to go. It feels more like a timeless photograph this way.
There are a few more in a SLIDE SHOW so you can view them in larger yumminess.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wisconsin Keeps Up The Fight
Another weekend in Wisconsin under the damping effect of Governor Walker and his cronies calls for ... right! Another rally. We really need to fix this governor. He is morally broken. I have not seen any numbers for this rally yet, but I am estimating the crowd at about 3,500. I am aware that buses came in from Milwaukee, Green Bay, Eau Claire, La Crosse, and a number of other Wisconsin cities (though I am certain that Fox "news" will say they were union thugs bused in from out of state, cleverly using Wisconsin school buses).
Despite substantial evidence to the contrary, the Current Occupant of the Governor's office still insists his draconian budget which slashes funding for public schools, Badgercare, and other social safety net agencies, drastically weakens unions, and eliminates the rights of public workers to negotiate for anything other than salary, is about creating jobs and "fixing the budget". Oh really?
The pay of Wisconsin's top corporate executives rose an average of 27% in 2010, a year when unemployment hovered around 8% and pay to the average worker in the state fell.
and,
So the average Wisconsin public company CEO made about 100 times more than the typical working person in 2010. Nationally, the differential is about twice that big.
Is it any wonder that Wisconsinite are angry and continuing to take to the streets? Not that it matters to the Current Occupant. He is in his own little self-righteous bubble, convinced that he is the Savior of Wisconsin. Fortunately, the grass-roots effort to recall eight Republican Senators (and eventually the Current Occupant) is well under way and the Senate Republicans have started to realize what a hornet's nest of voter anger has been stirred up.
At yesterday's rally I had the privilege of brokering an interview between a visiting Swedish business journalist and local activists Ben and Sarah Manski. As long as the word keeps getting out, this fight is not over.
There are a dozen or so additional photos here in a SLIDE SHOW. The photos go all the way back to Feb. 15th, but the newest images are up front. Read the rest of the post!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Like Gumballs in the Sky
Well, after a 26-hour service interruption, Blogger is back online. I had intended to post this yesterday, but it seems today was meant to be.
On Wednesday, just before the storms broke and drenched us with heavy rain and hail, Reena and I were out near East Town mall and noticed that a carnival was setting up. Nothing was open for business at the moment, and there were not even more than a handful of people around.
The only person who walked past me pretty much ignored me - probably because I was not doing anything destructive, merely standing at the base of this Ferris wheel staring just about straight up. I probably looked like a rube.
What made me stop was the great contrast of the bright colors of the wheel baskets against the dark gray sky as the storm approached. The really dark sky half an hour later would have been better, but I did not have time to linger. I will try to get back out there while the carnival is up and running, and preferably at night.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Andy Goldsworthy Might Like This
I had cut down the stalks from my cinnamon ferns last week and had set them aside. I had wondered to myself if they could be used in a costume sort of way at a large Pagan gathering I will be attending. Taking a cue from my sweetie, I even wondered what they would look like spray painted silver or gold, or dusted with glitter. What I did not notice was just how thickly they were coated with - what is it - pollen? The stack of about twenty cut stalks shed a lot of whatever it is (I will henceforth call it dust) on the gardening table out back. When I moved them yesterday there was a generous pile of dust which was patterned interestingly. Here is a detail shot:
They remained outside and the heavy rains yesterday probably rinsed a lot of the dust off the stalks and obliterated this temporary mandala. I hope so, anyway, as that will make any subsequent embellishment simpler. After that, who knows what I will end up doing with them? At the moment, it is all about enjoying the process of creation and letting it unfold in the fullness of time. As Valentine Michael Smith, the main character in Heinlein's "Stranger In A Strange Land" says, "Waiting is."
[UPDATE: HERE is a link to my earlier Andy Goldsworthy referencing photos. Enjoy!]
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Unfurl Radiant Petals
Sometimes the beauty pours in so fast it is challenging to take it all in. As I look around my yard, there is something new there every single day to capture my attention or imagination and hold me in thrall. Today my first iris bloomed.
Such beauty, and this variety even smells like cotton candy. The details of these blooms are just amazing!
Spring up out of bed!
Shoot to the sky and unfurl
radiant petals.
There are more delights to be found in this SLIDE SHOW of spring. The newest images are up front.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Good Things Come In Threes
Three small landmark events in my yard today:
Nala the cat (who has been a recovering 'fraidy cat since we got her at the Humane Society) learned to chillax' (chill+relax) in the yard. That was a pretty big deal!
While she was hanging around I did some reconstructive surgery on my pump and got the waterfall in the too-long stagnant pond running. It clearly was in need of some aeration.
I got no photos of the third event. A pair of Cooper's Hawks were flirting in the pine tree just across the fence in my neighbor's yard. I had never heard them vocalize before, so it was with delight that I listened to him currrr and whistle to woo her. I don't know where they are nesting but it must be pretty close by because I saw him yesterday too.
Bueno!
Black Trillium
It has been a couple of days since I put up a couple of garden photos, and everything has changed significantly. This time of year is so exciting to my eyes. First, my black trillium has finally bloomed.
Pretty spectacular, yes? It also propagated, a further delight. The white trillium propagated as well. For several years I had three, now there are seven plants. Hopefully that trend will continue. I have been leaving that particular bed as close to "woodsy" as I can: No picking up fallen sticks, lots of things left to decay and make the high clay content soil more loamy.
And for a retina-searing blast of red, I give you The Tulip:
This one is not in my yard, but my mother-in-laws. We were visiting on Sunday and her tulips were at a perfect stage to be photographed.
There are more such photos in a spring SLIDE SHOW. The most recent photos are first.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
With Grass You See Only Grass
Things sure do move fast this time of year! A couple of days ago I had fern fiddle heads just starting to unfurl. Today they are nearly a foot tall and starting to appear thick and hearty.
It is just a tease though, because in another month they will look like a jungle. Our yard has lots of planted areas, in part because I do not really enjoy mowing grass, and in part because it is simply more interesting to meander through my yard each morning with a cup of coffee in hand to see what is new than it is to stare at a blank green expanse of manicured lawn. When you lie down in grass, you see grass. In my yard, only the gods know for certain what you will see on a given day.
Today I noticed the maw of a black trillium!
It has been a tightly closed bud for nearly a week and while the plant itself grows larger (it is in the foreground of the middle photo, above), much larger than a white trillium, the blooms take much longer to open. It really adds a feeling of antici ...
pation! I like that my yard is filled with these little dramas waiting only to be noticed. About a month ago a friend had a major stroke. I hope my morning coffee stroll and investigation is part of a larger regimen to avoid such a thing (knock on wood). While there are certainly no guarantees in life, I believe this helps me shed stress and perhaps hedge my bet against calamity. With grass, I would see only grass and the need to mow it or weed it. With abundant flowers and veggies, I can revel in the grand show and eat some of the participants.
Life is good.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Bubblers Are Blooming!
The bubblers are blooming!
Now it truly is spring.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunshine Daydream
I went to the Arboretum this morning after dropping my sweetie off at work. A photographer pal had tipped me off to the start of flowering trees. It turns out the magnolias are just getting up a full bloom, with the southwest side of the tree full or fading and the northerly facing parts just starting to open. The cooler temps seem to be assisting with a lot of beauty.
I found a dead, dessicated leaf and carried it around for a couple of minutes wondering what to do with it. It seemed so much like fine lace that I hated to just walk away from it. Well there I was admiring and shooting the magnolias, and much of my recent studio work has been boudoir shoots, so I thought I would give the magnolia a chance for an indirect, conceal-reveal portrait shot. I like it!
Spring's a-Poppin'
I had a great weekend. I drove to the Twin Cities on Thursday to do a photo shoot for a family for whom I took some maternity photos for their first pregnancy. On Friday I drove south to a park along the Mississippi and met up with three score friends for an annual spring party. It is a camping event focusing on German bier. Mmmm! Good bier, good music, good food, and good friends.
It was the first time I had been gone from the new kitty for more than an overnight. I was gratified to note when I arrived home that she had clearly missed me. I think we are arriving at a pretty good place together. She wanted out into the yard for a bit so together we went out exploring.
The light was pretty and the temp was cool but not cold, but still not MAY temperatures, and at least it was not snowing as it was when I climbed out of my tent that morning. The plants in the yard had all jumped noticeably in my absence.
Today I will start editing some recent photos, follow up on some potential new business, pay the rent on the studio. In short, back to a normal day with no protest rally, no aerial dance show (but the planning for the next one is already underway!), and no 3-day party. I think the cat will approve.
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