Hurry Up and Stop

Install the attic fan
Take out the garbage cans
Set up the garden beds
Adjust the doors on the garden sheds
Fix the leak
By end of week
Remake cabinet doors
Finish out kitchen floors
Paint the baseboard trim
Fix the light so dim

STOP!

How ’bout maybe just make some simple photos.
That’ll do.

Two more weeks and I’m officially “retired.”
Pretty sure I will stil have plenty to do!

A few more:

Hooded Oriole

There now. Much better.

The Rest

Sometimes Real

She waited with nary a flinch
Though, I could read her disappointment
“I think I’m back” I said
“We’ll see” she quipped
“We’ll see”

Stealing time….doing something selfishly regenerative is sometimes an absolute.
So with camera in hand, I got back to a concerted session. Hoping the clouds busted up to reveal the moon…and who knows what can happen?!
It was nice. All that light reading put me in a state.

A spin cycle set:

Here’s the full set:

Ramona, California – Barnett Ranch Reserve



C/2022E3 Stuff

I have a name that is meaningless to most
I am mostly invisible and can only be seen by those who are diligently searching
Once found, I can be disappointing
In order to see me fully you must freeze and perform a tedious, deductive search
To know me fully you must look at me over and over again in the same context
Then process what you see to reveal any detail

My poor wife
I am a comet

Photography can be about self exploration sometimes. This frame was a bit of a cold night effort, +50 frames made to render this mediocre result. It was just too cold for these old bones.

A Short Walk

Trails are open
Flowers are closed
Clouds weep gently
As I supposed

The day was closing when I decided to enjoy a short walk. The distant clouds were threatening so time was short.
Hurrying along the trail, fenced-in dogs warned me off…just doing their job.
I arrived at the spot that motivated the walk. A large area of flowers. Likely planted from years past, the colorful spot had grown to a considerable size (for around here). Without full sun and a cool/breezy 58F the flowers were closed up. No matter, they are still very colorful!
I made a few frames and then ambled back up the mountain. I was hoping the sun would break the clouds in the west for a sunset frame. It just never happened. The light to the east however made for some interesting work.
One, two, ten drops fell on my head.
Packing my camera under my coat, I scurried down the steep mountainside, through the property gate, navigated the descent of retaining wall pathways and into the warmth of the house.
Just in time for the full release of rain.

Looking to the east

Goodnight Ramona

Even as retirement looms
Tension unabates
Everything is important
Costly
One mistake
Can ruin everything

Detail and compliance
Rule my life
A sense of hurtling
Through space
Its friction
Burning
Tearing through my space suit

This new place.
A walk behind the house
Up the side of the mountain
Signs
Reading “Property Boundary –
National Forest Behind This Sign”

It’s quiet here.
A bark in the distance
Children’s voices bounce endlessly
Across the vale

Ten weeks
And I hit the wall
Or
Fall off the cliff
Either way
It will be an adventure

In 1984 I started my glazing apprenticeship. The last 32+ years with the same company.
We have grown to a sizable concern, glazing many hospitals, universities and such.
April 1, 2023 will start a new chapter.
https://www.towerglass.com/

(Photograph -a sunset in Ramona CA)