Category: Uncategorized

It seems I timed my visit to the Good Night Inn property just right. The cleanup crew has just arrived. I think this one speaks for itself.

Today’s quote is from Michel Foucault:

…a work of art opens a void, a moment of silence, a question without an answer, provokes a breach without reconciliation where the world is forced to question itself.

Happy Easter! I spotted this orange tulip in one of my neighbor’s gardens while walking the dog and knew I had to lose the dog and come back with a camera. I shot this at a variety of apertures and ended up liking the soft focus on the background but wanting more depth of field on the main flower. So I blended two images in Photoshop to get the look I was after. I started to put a texture on it but decided I liked it just the way it was. I also realized I had posted two day 18’s so I made the correction and now I’m one day closer to the end.

Today’s quote is from Lin Yu-T’ang from Roderick McIver’s book Art as a Way of Life.  I couldn’t agree more:

The proper use of imagination is to give beauty to the world… The gift of imagination is used to cast over the commonplace workaday world a veil of beauty and make it throb with our esthetic enjoyment.

Sorry I have been absent for awhile. 2020 was wearing on me but it’s time to get back to putting more beauty in the world. It has become my tradition for the first image of the week each year to be my favorite from the previous year. I had less than half as many images to choose from this year but this one came to mind as a favorite and though it could have been taken anywhere, it has the added significance of having been shot in front of a house on Suncrest in the Autumn Ridge neighborhood that did not survive the fire. Gives a whole new meaning to the dandelions in our yards doesn’t it.

I’ve decided it’s time to start a new project. On Tuesday, September 8, 2020 my little town of Talent, Oregon and the neighboring town of Phoenix were devastated by wildfire. By some miracle my neighborhood and home came through without a scratch. It is going to be a long time, though before life returns to normal as most of the neighborhoods near me were at least partially destroyed as were many other neighborhoods, and businesses in the community. 

I’m starting this out as a 100 days project because I want to give myself an out but I hope I have the stamina to turn it into a 365 days project  to document the stories of hope and positive rebuilding. I can’t promise all the pictures will be beautiful as I also want to show what it is we are recovering from.

This first image was taken on September 6 and was still on my camera when I downloaded some flower pictures I took around my Mom’s house where I am currently sheltering during evacuation. Consider it the before picture. I hope my flowers will still be there when I get home but they aren’t getting any water so that may be too much to hope for. Still it is a small loss compared to what others are suffering right now

I didn’t have time to set up the big lens when I saw the moon coming over the horizon last night. So, I ran up the stairs for the little camera and did what I could with the short telephoto. Some cropping and Photoshop work made it passable but, unfortunately it’s not good enough to print.  Tonight I will try to be better prepared.

Today’s quote from John O’Donohue seems fitting:

The senses become soothed and the clay part of the heart is stirred by ancient beauty.

The daffodils are beginning to fade but the tulips are coming on. So grateful I have so many neighbors who are better gardeners than me.

Today’s wisdom from John O’Donohue:

When your mind becomes more acquainted with reverence, the light, grace, and elegance of beauty finds you more frequently.