book covers, more spring beauty, and Bonnie's passing

           First, finding the right image for a book cover, either a photo or a painting, can be the work of many minds. As an example, I have wanted to show the book cover that was once chosen for a reprint of Wendell Berry's poems,  Farming: a Handbook.  Wendell asked me if I had any photos that might work, and this was one of them.  The cover design, however, is done by the publisher, in this case Counterpoint Press. I thought it might be of interest here to see the original photo along side the cropped version.  The size of the book and its shape are all part of that design work. The photographer gets paid solely for the image and has to accept whatever design it's now part of.        

        The cover design person and I have our names in small print on the bottom of the back cover. I'm not complaining! It's an honor to be there. And I get to think about Wendell and that book the many times when I drive to town.

        

 

more curves in the land

siblings in the daisy field

 

Last Thursday I went to visit my very ill friend, Bonnie, who was at home, being cared for by family and friends.  I have shown the gravel road to her house in two of the recent blog posts.  She died there late this afternoon, with many of them able to be there with her.  I really appreciated the call to let me know.  I thought I would include here a few photos I took recently, although I'm sorry not to have any of the flowers she loved which her sister had been tending these many weeks for her. She was always an extremely hard worker who loved farming and keeping up the home place and more. And telling truths. I'm so grateful to have known her.

   

 

I was having a long quiet visit and conversation with Bonnie's sister while Bonnie rested. The strawberries came from the garden, and they were delicious.  I ate them slowly, one by one, while we talked.This will be a hard week. Bonnie had just turned 64. She's one of nine siblings.

 

some of her cattle: the greeters

 

note:  I have another video to share, but it is too late to add it now, so I will share it next week. I thank everyone who mentioned to me that they enjoyed the one from a week ago.  I will also hope to share some additional photos I've made over the years at Bonnie's.   Ann

not getting over all those daisies

post #495
          This week in the news has been hard. Alarming peaks in the virus cases. Lies and lack of taking responsibility from our so called leaders. More incomprehensible murders by those supposed to protect us. Governors who don't listen to science and who worry instead about "what will he think." Deaths that didn't need to happen. Our citizens not welcome to travel to other countries because we don't even take care of ourselves. 
           This all means also that we are held back from solving the spread of the virus enough to get back to work sooner, and to be able to hug family members, and give essential healthcare workers a break from so much sickness. 
          Through all this, I am still marveling at the daisies this year.  I haven't been able to quit taking photos. I decided to post a lot of the photos today, many whicih you may have already seen. This is both because each one speaks to me in some way but also because these flowers persevere.  Every year.  Not always this abundant, but always there.  We can learn so much from paying attention to plants and to animals. We can even learn from that to care about lives other than just our own.

          And we can try to be ready for the next crop, of black-eyed susans, now blooming where before there were daisies......

         Please be safe, and, if you want reassurance about why masks are worthwhile and very important, seek out the essay by my daughter's friend, Lisa Jensen Thomas.  The title of her well written words is I've Been Sick for 100+ Days, and You're Making Me Sad. It's on Facebook.
         Believe in masks, and help heal our hurtin' world.

an end of May gathering of places from here and there

post #492
       I seem recently to have been gifted with several fine photos from friends, and I thought sharing them in this post would be fun -- especially during such a rough period for our wounded world. I also have a few of ones I thought I had already shared but now I see I haven't -- until now. and a few of the daisy ones I have been unable to resist trying.

      Without further ado:

Melva's PUSH PLOW, seeding the garden in her back yard. I'm so glad she made this photo! She can grow anything, actually. I had never seen this plow in use, however. The one we used to have wasn't as picturesque as this one. Melva's a poet as well, and I think this photo is a proper metaphor for the hard work she does as well with paper and pen....

Here in another back yard photo, this time in Denver, are two Safe at Home kids running into each other over and over and over again, using up endless energy.  I would post the video this came from, but am not skillful with such tasks. Thank you, E, for providing this single image. I sure miss visits with  my family there.

A German friend has this spectacular garden behind their house near Dusseldorf. He says this is the view that he looks at from the backyard deck while using his laptop. Thank you, Juergen, for this loveliness from across "the pond."

Some flower shots, this one is "Down with a Dandelion."

big year for daisies!!

Is this Mrs. Red--Winged Blackbird??? 

still spring, even though my left foot now is healing a bit of broken bone

post #430
        Ten days ago I didn't get to take a "visit family" trip and still today I didn't get to go to a family 8th birthday celebration nearby, but even so I am lucky. I only have one stop-and-pay- attention injury, to my foot, to deal with, for at least a month. I am not contagious. Just slowed down by a crutch. Learning new skills. Grateful to be in one piece. Still wondering about the meaning of life.
         And I am still watching our democracy either implode or grow stronger in reaction to extreme provocation. Any elected person who can't even say the words "CLIMATE CHANGE" out loud gives me the shivers. What price are we paying for such defective magical thinking. No matter how high or how low, it's too heavy a price.
        So here today are some photos "just because," ones I have taken along the way, from the moments that happen as we are living our lives and trying to be good to our one world.

SPRING 2018:

SPRING 2019:

         

SPRING 2017:

SPRING 2016

          I am grateful for all the help I am getting in response to my current (temporary) period of reduction in mobility. It is definitely humbling to have to avoid weight bearing walking as much as possible. However, I will be well enough on May 21 to go vote, even if it is "just" for statewide offices. As ever, we all need now to "Vote as if your rights depend on it." Which they indeed do.

winter remnants, renewal preparations