The artist gives equal attention to the bugs, the flowers, the bird - a quiet acknowledgement of interdependence, of the harmony required for our existence.

It was raining in Alabama this Thanksgiving weekend, and so I took a nature walk indoors. The corridors of the retirement community where my father lives has many marvelous works of art, some by naturalists of the past who sketched and painted images of the trees, birds, insects, and plants they came upon. It was a fascinating tour around the world without leaving the building.

The subjects held still for the camera, but reflections in the glass of the frames were a challenge. I could not find the artists' names for the details above.

I like this photo now that I've turned it upside down. The reflected world is magical and inviting.

These are details from a couple of photos I took in Johnson City.

Rain came down today,
a drum beat against parched earth.
It soaked my shoes,
the wet wind brushing my ankles.
Trees squinted upward,
dazed by love from a dark sky.

I did a search for Car Mechanic's Day, thinking to honor the special spatial and manual genius that car mechanics have. I didn't find a day set aside to celebrate auto mechanics, but did come out with a wiki quote:

'With the rapid advancement in technology, the mechanic's job has evolved from purely mechanical, to include electronic technology. Because vehicles today possess complex computer and electronic systems, mechanics need to have a broader base of knowledge than in the past. Lately, the term "auto mechanic" is being used less and less frequently and is being replaced by the euphemistic title “automotive technician”. Fading quickly is the day of the 'backyard mechanic', who needs little knowledge of today's computerized systems.

'Due to the increasingly labyrinthine nature of the technology that is now incorporated into automobiles, most automobile dealerships and independent workshops now provide sophisticated diagnostic computers to each technician, without which they would be unable to diagnose or repair a vehicle.'

Austin, November, 2011

I took this photo last night in Austin, the moon approaching full.

I've been asked if I use Photo Shop, or other software to manipulate images. I don't have Photo Shop, and only use the tools provided with Windows Photo Gallery. Most of my pictures have slight adjustments of contrast and brightness to achieve optimal clarity. I also occasionally crop a photo and, with perhaps one out of a hundred photos, I may increase or decrease the color saturation.

In other words, with the image above, the features produced by the clouds drifting across the face of the moon were a matter of lucky timing.

I drove from Austin, Texas to Johnson City today.
Every creek I crossed was dry.
There was no water in the Pedernales River.

Austin, Texas

Even caged birds
know something of the sky.
Fish in bowls
dream of the sea.

The rest of the Hitchcock series:












This quote in Wiki keeps drawing my attention:

Sentimentality originally indicated the reliance on feelings as a guide to truth, but current usage defines it as an appeal to shallow, uncomplicated emotions at the expense of reason.

S. R. Serafin/A. Bendixen, The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature (2005) p. 1014


The older meaning appeals to me.