In Remembrance
It is the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11, and it still hurts to look at the images from that day. I continue to wish peace and healing to all those who suffered and who continue to suffer pain and loss as a result of the horrific events on that day.
Three Dancing Tomatoes
O.k., technically, tomatoes are a fruit. Nevertheless, I am reaching for the Zen of dancing produce as a remedy for the frenetic, seemingly never-ending political season. Who knows whether I’ll be weeping and gnashing my teeth come November. For now, let the vegetables dance……
In A Dog’s Ear
Sophie is always listening.
Live A Great Story
Recently, Joe and I visited the Salton Sea in southern CA. It’s a place I’ve been wanting to see and photograph, having seen others’ photos and having read about the place. While it’s true that the Salton Sea in July with 115 degree temps making the annual fish kill stench even more potent (it took several margaritas to get the smell out of my nose, my mouth, my lungs), may not be the optimal time to visit that place, but I still found many of the abandoned houses and structures in small villages around the lake provided compelling images. The door to one of these houses sported this sign, making me wonder about the story surrounding this particular structure.
Broken
Solitary Candle
In the wake of the massacre in Orlando, it’s hard to find words to express the profound sorrow, the shock, the incredulity, the anger……
Old Spines
I was inspired by some of the work of photographer Kenneth Josephson after seeing one of his images in Harper’s Magazine. His book The Light of Coincidence is a terrific collection of his work, and while browsing through its pages, I find we have similar aesthetic sensibilities.
Paper Bags
Raven Tool
This morning I watched as a raven went to great pains to remove this twig from the mulberry tree in our back yard. Why was he so intent on this task, even while being bombarded by an irate mockingbird? When he finally freed the twig from the branch, he held it in his beak for a moment before letting it drop to the patio below him. After a moment or two, he simply flew off. Was he going to use this twig as a tool, but decided to find a better one? After he left, I went outside and picked it up. It didn’t seem suitable for a nest-building project. Bit of a mystery here……
In a neurotic, tumultuous, sometimes violent election cycle that dominates the news, in the midst of the bombardment of robo calls invading our home every single day, it’s a relief to ponder simpler mysteries (simple from my point of view…..I can’t speak for the raven). I keep this twig next to my laptop as a reminder that most of life occurs outside any given news cycle.
Bee
Recently, Joe and I were sitting in a golf cart in the middle of a fairway when we saw a cloud of something approaching us. It was a swarm of honeybees. It was almost as if they passed through us because not one bee ran into us or our golf cart though for one, brief moment we were surrounded by them. Both Joe and I had goosebumps after they passed.
Mama Bird, Baby Bird
Today, I held a fledgling finch I found sitting alone on the backyard patio, looking a bit stunned. At first, I thought he had flown into the glass back doors. His beak opened and closed and his little chest was heaving. He had been sitting in the sun, so perhaps he was overheated. I gently scooped him up in my hands and sat with him in the shade. When he looked like he was perking up a bit, I opened my hands and he hopped onto my knee, looking at me quizzically. I could see some baby feathers still poking out of his chest. Eventually, he flew off into the thick vines that cover the fence along our driveway, a place where finches and sparrows often nest. Later in the day, he and his mom were back out there, the little guy doing his little guy bird dance, begging for his mom to feed him.
It’s always a gift, this rare, intimate connection with the backyard wildlife.
Redzenradish Photography 