Monday, 13 April 2020
Iris, supported by the fence post after last night’s storm.
Flower unknown to me; white on white.
My hypothesis: tree awarded white ribbon for excellence in lichen nurturing.
Red, red car with ribbon reflection from rear-view mirror, and pollen sprinkles.
Thursday, 26 March 2020
Gutter penny! In these days of heightened awareness of germs, I let it lay.
I think of this as a tulip poplar petal, but that is not probably the proper name for the plant part to a botanist. Which I am not.
I wasn’t only looking down today (so as not to trip). Perfect backlighting on this plastic US flag. It appears to be an all-weather flag, despite that proper flag code/protocol, as I was instructed anyway, means that when the sun goes down, a flag must be lit if outdoors….
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.
Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Old Fourth Ward Park: still no leaves.
Also revisited the Gold Ford. Front right tire is getting soft, BTW.
Friday, 6 March 2020
You see the frog-baby, and you know we visited the ATL Bot Garden. And: note clear sky and sunshine. [We won’t discuss the accompanying windy conditions.]
Found women (volunteers?) weeding and tidying, and this guy, the only guy outdoors, tree-climbing. We saw three ropes in the area, but only one man, so did one guy (this guy) wrangle three ropes, or did this fellow’s buddies desert him for a late lunch break?
Bulbs are champs.
Hothouse foreigner.
Spines! …in the expanded cactus garden.
Temporary architecture. In Spanish (or the Spanish that I learned in rural México), this is: toldo con sombra.
Sunday, 23 February 2020
Thought the morning was going to be murky. Wrong. Look: buds!
One last look at salt water. Cold wind. Look: unruffled gull!
Special public art: airport version. Look: I think this mix includes at least one duodenum!??
Lights rule here. Look: Earth!
Nice view of the new awning/cover from the train platform. Great trip; good to be home—these feelings can coexist.
The two movies were “The Current War” and “Parasite.” Enjoyed both.
Friday, 21 February 2020
Overgrown carriageway, now a footpath. In hilltop park.
Beach framed by the Olympics. Different park.
Oops. Not in a park. Too gorgeous not to include….
Thursday, 20 February 2020
We felt the pull of the countryside, of getting out of the city…which also meant getting close to salt water in various locations. Wanna buy a yacht? These are for sale.
Went in a free museum in La Conner, the Museum of Northwest Art, and found two things of particular interest. This mural, William Cummings’s Skagit Valley Mural, 1941, was lost for decades and believed to have been destroyed. Cummings painted it for the local high school to promote vo-ed subjects that would keep students in the community, like operating a dairy. The canvas ended up rolled up in a farmer’s barn, with it forgotten that it was a painting and not a tarp. Recently, it was rediscovered and saved, and the Museum raised the money to get it restored. They put it on display just two weeks ago. Lucky us!
The second lovely story is that the main exhibit was of the collection of Betty Black, born in Scotland, but long-time area resident who died in 2018. For decades, she lived in a house that artist/sculptor Tony Smith (1912–1980) designed…for his father-in-law, Lawrence Langham Brotherton (1889–1969), aka my grandmother’s brother. I suspect I slept on the deck of that house as a youth (that is, back in the Middle Ages 🤣). Small, small world.
This shot is of one of the peaks of Mount Erie, but not the highest, although within perhaps two meters of the highest. Instead, it is perhaps the roundest of the summits. Interestingly/confusingly, we discovered no other nearby peaks with a HOMES lake name.
Stupendous view from Mount Erie. We’re having excellent weather for our visit this week. Lucky us!
Sea level. This view is to the south-southwest from Libbey Beach Park. Those organic “snakes” are bull kelp remains…very interesting texture…flexible but not soft.
Ferry ride! To the left, that’s the ferry going to opposite direction. Two vehicle decks on our ship, which wasn’t quite full headed toward the mainland. We met quite a lineup of vehicles backed up waiting to get onto Whidbey Island “after work,” or whatever. We had to wait perhaps 10 minutes to drive aboard. Lucky us!
Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Not frosty cold, but we had frost, one of those temperature magic things. This leaf was in a meadow in deep shade at 10:30am. Whew. Still: pretty out.
Here’s trail maintenance by park visitors.
First stop and, for us, the first time: Dick’s for burgers. Mmm. This local chain dates back to the 50s and you order just what’s on the menu, no extra lettuce or animal style.
Then, off to a computer museum that specializes in artifacts, that is old machines that are kept operational.
The Guru calls this 200 MEGAbyte storage unit a chocolate cake. Cost, hmm was it? thousands? Hideously expensive.
