More, more, more
Saturday, 21 March 2020
More dogwoods in bloom!
More pollen. And evidence we had overnight precip.
More iris.
Musings
Flower tour continues
Friday, 20 March 2020
First blooming dogwood this year…in my little world. Redbuds are still in bloom, but this is evidence that the season is moving along. Also, spring is now with us according to the stars.
Still life. Moss and a dropped yellow jasmine (aka jessamine) trumpet. Or trumpet-let.
That’s some red!
Dramatic iris. Iri? Is that the plural?
Butterfly talk
Thursday, 19 March 2020
Glory days of redbuds.
Redbuds little friends.
Butterfly admonition: stay healthy.
In triplicate. Squared. Over and over.
All over the place
Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Is that code for social distancing? Hmm; now that you mention it…. [Moon is at very center of this photo and difficult to spot…just before sunrise.]
Super hyper-petalled blooms…cherries, I think.
Atlanta’s famous BeltLine is an urban rails-to-trails conversion. Here’s a former RR bridge, now a foot-bridge. Graffiti does not discriminate.
Lingering bulbs.
Opening oakleaf hydrangea cluster, with a centrally located flying seed.
Is it Sunday?
Tuesday, 17 March 2020
The redbuds are opening! Strange and lovely photo, rather by accident.
I found it like an unusual Sunday afternoon: light traffic, considerable dog-walking, people playing with little kids outdoors, older kids playing on their own (shooting hoops, low-energy skateboarding)—much more than I typically see.
This Ford (aka “Dorf”) is moldering in old age; I can sympathize in this time of ‘rona.
Topics of today
Monday, 16 March 2020
Petals aboard.
Topics I spent time/energy on today, in no particular order….
Petals adrift.
Stress…the basic physiology of it…from the what-happens-inside standpoint. This lead me to stress reduction…deep breathing techniques to calm the vagus nerve and reduce heart rate variability (aka HRV). My health tracker reports “stress” and HRV is what it measures. And my HRV numbers could be improved…so the lesson is: breathe differently. Well, how? Nasal breathing…for the inhale (new vocab: aka inspiration [haha; not kidding]), especially nasal diaphragmatic breathing, especially when exercising (expect a learning curve). Point of information: parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems—they work together/offset each other, and both are components of the autonomic nervous system—ANS)—you want to enhance the parasympathetic to reduce HRV. Somehow this also relates to fat-burning*. Man, this is a complex subject. Still learning/processing. Rather confused as the “breathing on the parasympathetic side” means increased HRV…I think. On the other hand, decreased HRV is not good as higher HRV is associated with reduced morbidity and mortality. Arrrrgh! Wait…a clarification: higher HRV with physical activity is fine/expected; it’s too-high HRV during rest/relaxation that is not-good.
Coffee mug, portrait/stage light. #computationalphotography
Ben Macintyre’s “The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War” (2018). True story. Read to learn about the KGB. For example…once KGB, always KGB…also: the KGB has been practicing effective “fake news” for generations. Are you thinking about the mental habits of VPutin? I am. [He joined the KGB in 1975, mind you.]
Fringe tree, also portrait/stage light (iPhone 11 Pro).
Social distancing; life/love in the time of pandemic. Ancillary topic: soap is not detergent. Context: people keep saying wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Common phrase. HOWEVER, if the cleaner you are using is liquid, you may be using a detergent. [First-world whine, I know. Do not get me started on podium/lectern.]
Magdalenian lifeways in the Paris Basin. [You KNEW archaeology would be in this list somehow, didn’t you?]
Darning mushroom. I inherited one from Mom, but I think it’s up north, although I could use it now.
* Topic shelved for another day: fat-burning happens on exhale.
Rampant ’rona
Sunday, 15 March 2020
Closeup of mottled paint on a mailbox.
Sidewalk chalk art.
The crazy, topsy-turvy, chaotic, yea dangerous times…a version of the blues…and blues in the photo selections…somehow these linked in my mind.
Aroma evolution
Friday, 13 March 2020
Focusing on local not global, today’s big news was some branch and tree removal. Not big trees, mind you, but smallish shoots and suckers and whatever. Most important were troublesome branches something like twenty feet up, which is more than a ladder task and a weekend chore.
I took this to illustrate the dots of tree pollen, but it became something else. Which is fine. This is the hood of a Mercedes sports car ($$$$)…behind an historic apartment building.
The name of this shrub is unknown to me. On this stretch of street, its scent obscured the fragrant Malus, and some Malus trees offered a scent that had a fungal backnote I didn’t detect yesterday.
And so it goes
Thursday, 12 March 2020
As the unknowns mount, mostly beyond my control, I decided that as I walked I would focus on what I knew in the moment, and make that my stability.
I strolled and opened my awareness of my senses. Sniff. [Sounds hokey…but but but.] Sniff. I discovered I was bathed in wafts of the scent of blooming Malus. Substantial trees and high branches loaded with flowers emitted fragrance that permeated the air.
Lovely. Real.
I found rosemary blooming. I had to be close to get the scent.
Periwinkle aka good ol’ Vinca. Did not kneel down to nose these.
And this azalea was too far for my neck to stretch.
Many pop-culch associations with that phrase. I’m just thinking of the meaning, strictly speaking, and not the myriad ways it has been used. Kinda like focusing on scent while perambulating through a turbulent world.