some Feb. 24s

post #420
          Last week's picks from exact years ago was so much fun for me that I am going to do it again. It's actually helpful to review these earlier moments and be reminded that some things stay the same and some things change. And I suspect that's what the rest of my life will do, as each year becomes part of whatever path I'm busy discovering I have been on.
         In any case, here's some of the fun:

2018, February 24 --

This photo is at my gallery house the same day as the next four photos taken by my daughter at what is now her house.

photo by Rebecca

photo by Rebecca

photo by Rebecca

photo by Rebecca

THE YEAR BEFORE, 2017:
 

creek training, while I was photographing near the waterfall

NOW another year earlier, 2016: 
 

I now have a car that has room for bumper stickers. I will try to find this one in my piles somewhere and paste it on. Please, everyone, trust in the wisdom of this proverb.

This barn stood for ages while becaming increasingly wobbly. One day on my drive to town, soon after taking this photo, I found the barn demolished. There is now an empty space. I often see the shadow of its stories when I go by, the years of hay or cattle or horses, and the hard work of farming not occupying the same place in the lives we currently are leading. I love the lines of snow on the roof, like in a poem.

ONE MORE YEAR BEFORE, this time 2015:

These steps make up for all the work they require by being very photogenic....

I remember distinctly being totally taken by the way the shadows of the trees worked with the bare tree trunks, providing there was both sun AND snow at the same moment in time.

sharing the woods with others

         On a personal note, I would like to pay tribute today to my step-sister Haven, on her birthday. She passed away last month after many years with a less common kind of breast cancer that she took to task with every means possible over 8 or 9 years.  She was a tiger, and she had earlier written several books on how to live a saner, healthier life.  And she loved California where she had lived for almost 50 years.  I send my love to her husband, Robert, and to her son, Steve, his wife Piper, and their two very young children whom Haven was grateful to have been with as much as she could.

February 17 now and twice before

post #419
       YEA! Fun with the past!! Two earlier times on February 17, and one shout-out to Nik, who is 23 today, and to Sarah who is also having a birthday!!!! Can't wait to share these photos on this rainy day.

FEBRUARY 17, 2009 
     Location: Frankfort, Kentucky (our state capital)
     Occasion: A demonstration organized by Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) against the destructive practice of getting coal out by mountaintop removal.....  This practice still happens today, but with more scrutiny. Still, residents continue to pay the price of not having reliable clean water, of increased illness from the dust in the air, and from the destruction of the habitat our lives depend on. In 2019 KFTC continues its advocacy for a better Kentucky. Bravo!

I hope these young people I shared a van with haven't given up on participatory democracy!!!

Doug

Randy

In the middle is wonderful Patty Wallace, determined activist from Louisa, KY. We truly miss her.

George Ella  and Kate, singing for the crowd, on the steps of the capital

Ashley Judd also joined us that day, with her usual eloquence and directness. .

NOW on to 2015, when we had a major bit of snow.  In fact, for here, it was a memorable week of winter weather.  However, I have chosen photos only from the 17th,,,,

This photo is to record the temperature....

"mountain range" on the deck

blade behind = a snow removing blade by going backwards

snow covered steps, really!

            And, now for the EVERY YEAR FEBRUARY 17 folks, both Nik and Sarah, you know who you are, and you are in my heart today, wishing you all the best, today and every day.   xoxoxoxox  

moss and more

post #418
             I have been rather extravagant lately with so many photos at a time, so today is a kind of pull back, a balance. It does go along with my increasing awareness that we live in a world that is threatened. That is, its health is in jeopardy. This is not necessarily due to anything the earth has initiated. 
           Instead I am stunned by how many humans, each one here temporarily, are not willing to help it out and recognize the need to take better care. I think that my concern and angst comes when there is widespread denial of even the possibility of the calamity that lies ahead. I don't think denying the documented possibility shows any kind of acknowledgement that each of us possesses a good brain. How come so many, say,  Republicans, for example, chose to ignore what science might tell us? Are they just afraid of not being able to avoid the truth?  What is there to lose by increasing the studies scientists make concerning our climate? our air? our water? I just don't get it about the joy of ignorance.
           Recently I feel I want to figure out how to do my part, better.  I'm not a biologist, but I love noticing what's in the natural world. I'm not any kind of scientist, actually, but I am a photographer. This week, as I thought about all this, it was warm enough outside to take a walk, and I saw these wonderful mosses. I know they have a part in this world, the one we need to be making whole. 
           As I seek to learn what is my particular place in this work all of us humans can do, I'm happy to share these striking greens, just being themselves:

 Then there are always other interesting sights nearby, such as this one:
 

     Sometimes life gives us unexpected treats. With that in mind, I would like to give a shout out to my young friend Isabel who has been working for me a day a week! She is terrific, and her computer skills alone have helped me so much.  In this photo she is cleaning off some old family slides that turned up, with Pec 12 fluid, which smells bad but cleans well.... Thank you, Isabel. I am forever grateful our paths have crossed.

Sunsets during my photography years (part 2 of 2)

post #417
      OK, sunsets always have the potential for beauty, sometimes amazing, often when working alongside or within clouds. Since the sun "goes down" every day, it might be easy to take these displays for granted.  I haven't yet gotten to that point, I must confess. I also want to mention that as far as a photo goes, it's sometimes hard to tell later whether it was a sunset or a sunrise! If this is happening in familiar territory, where the looking west viewpoint differs from the one looking east, then there is a clue. Otherwise not. 

      As far as I know, every single image that follows is taking place during a setting sun.  I do hope everyone is still noticing the steady reliable work the sun does for us.  I happen to think that if we don't take responsibility for reducing the human causes of climate change that the sun will no longer be able to be the friend it has been so far.

ARRIVING BY PLANE, IN DENVER, COLORADO  -- SEE THE PLANET

TWO EVENING VIEWS, A FEW DAYS LATER, IN THE COLORADO ROCKIES

FROM RIGHT AT HOME, IN EASTERN KENTUCKY

WELL, THIS IS A VARIATION OF A SETTING SUN, THOUGH THIS ECLIPSE, FOR US, WAS ACTUALLY MAINLY A PARTIAL SUN.

THREE MORE, FROM RIGHT AT HOME

THE CAMPUS OF EARLHAM COLLEGE, IN RICHMOND, INDIANA WHERE IT'S PRETTY FLAT AND OPEN!

ON THE BAY BEACH NEAR EAST DENNIS, ON CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS

ON THAT BEACH, LOOKING NORTH, FROM THE SAME SPOT

BACK AT HOME, MIRRORED BY THE POND

I have more such photos, but I am going to end with one last one, for now, to draw the two parts of this sunset 'series' together.  I made this photo sitting in a window seat in the plane going north last week, and the only reason the photo was possible was, of course, because the wing was covering the actual setting sun. I like how the design of the wing mirrored the coastline between the land and the water. I didn't know I would see that. But that's one reason why I stay energized by the visual dimension of my life.