For all that we have about three feet of snow on the ground (it was more, but it’s settled over the past few days), it’s not particularly sticky stuff. I really wanted to make a snowman today, so I had to wing it.
First I made a huge mound for the body. Then I got lucky and found a very compacted chunk for the head. Jan and Sylvia helped with the decorations: an old scarf, gloves from the 2002 NYC Marathon (no, I wasn’t in it, but I was there to watch my brother-in-law race, and Nike reps handed these gloves out to spectators), a wool hat that was made in Afghanistan but bought in Oregon twelve years ago, gumball buttons, and an acorn smile. They raided the recycling bin in the garage for the eyes and nose.
I like to imagine that he’s standing in our front yard yelling, “I’m number one! I’m number one!” to all passersby.
(Project 365 | 2010: 14 February)
Yesterday morning around 8:30 a.m., I had just finished breakfast and was thinking about suiting up to go outside to shovel the six inches of snow that had fallen since I’d last shoveled, and Sylvia said, “I think someone is here.” I looked outside the window and sure enough, my friend Beth was here. She also happens to live in my neighborhood and enjoys a good walk, so she was here on foot.
And not empty-handed. Look what she brought:
I’d posted the pattern last month, and Beth then took it upon herself to knit one for me. And see that little button on the top? She handpainted a little bee on it! (My family has a thing for bees. And hedgehogs. And cheetahs.)
I love it. I can’t wait to get a new sewing project going so I can use it!
(Project 365 | 2010: 12 February)
I have long known that I cannot draw a straight line with a ruler. In recent years I’ve learned that whenever I mow my lawn, it looks like I went on a bender with my lawnmower. Today I discovered that I cannot shovel in a straight line, either.
(Project 365 | 2010: 11 February)
I mentioned last month that I was participating in a Photo 365 project organized by a friend (whom I know only from blogland and have yet to meet in person. So far it’s going well–I haven’t missed a day yet. The group rules state that a posted picture has to be taken that day (no raiding the photo library for good shots!), and I am really enjoying the reminder to try to “see” the world around me more mindfully every day.
My Flickr account is here, here’s my Project 365 project, and here’s a mosaic of the first thirty-six photos I’ve done. (There are actually forty pictures in my set so far, but the mosaic maker can handle only thirty-six at a time.)
1. Paperwhites, 2. Hello, 2010!, 3. Out with the old, 4. Anticipation, 5. Twelfth Night, 6. Ch-ch-ch-CHIA!, 7. Scooting, 8. Morning view, 9. How to save your sanity, 10. Simpsons on parade, 11. More paperwhites, 12. My friend Jim, 13. Hoot!, 14. Self-portrait, 15. Frolic, 16. No photos, please!, 17. Stylin’, 18. Possibilities, 19. Conversation, 20. Annual polar bear swim, 21. Close up, 22. Cactus, 23. Still life, 24. Dragon ‘do, 25. Posing, 26. Sideburns, 27. Snow on pavers, 28. Something fishy, 29. Totoro and the Catbus, 30. Snow falling on dogwoods, 31. Snowy day, 32. I beg to disagree, 33. End stage, 34. Snowmaggedon: the aftermath, 35. One of our customers, 36. I do, too
Most of these are nowhere near “art” photography, but I am enjoying focusing more documenting every day stuff than setting up an “ideal” shot. I’ve also been relying heavily on my new POS camera–it takes great pictures, and its size lets me have it with me at all times (and having a camera handy is 95% of getting a good shot!).
I’m going to start posting some of my Project 365 shots here–partly to share them with more people, and partly to give myself a space to write fuller commentary where warranted (the photo description section on Flickr can handle only so much before it looks unwieldy).
I’m still working on my photography. Although I enjoy using my DSLR, sometimes I do miss my Pentax K-1000 days. That camera was fully manual, and the pictures it produced were based more on what I did before releasing the shutter than on anything that happened afterward. These days, so much of the discourse surrounding photography focuses on gear and post-processing. I expect those conversations among professionals, but among amateurs it seems just a bit too much for me.
So as you can imagine, I do have a fairly limited gear setup. I built my own soft-light box last winter (it comes apart and stores flat, too!) and have been experimenting with it whenever I have the time and space to set it up.
Right before Christmas, Sylvia helped me take some pictures with it. This was her first experience using a tripod and a remote shutter release–how exciting!
One of my Christmas gifts was a Canon PowerShot camera. My old POS, a Kodak EasyShare, was given to Sylvia last year, and I’ve been on the lookout for a replacement ever since. It’s hard to find a POS camera that takes bad pictures these days, so with that being a given my top priority was size. I wanted a POS that was small enough that I would have no excuse not to have it with me at all times. And this one fits the bill perfectly. It actually fits in my pocket.
True, this camera isn’t ideal for photography when you want a lot of control over the image it produces. But it’s just right for those spur-of-the-moment and I-don’t-want-to-schlep-the-DSLR-around times.
Here’s the icing on the cake: my friend JD organized a Photo 365 | 2010 group on Flickr and invited me to join it. Perfect timing, too, because I had already been planning to do this sort of project on my own; playing along with others is making it lots more fun.
If you’re interested, you can see my Photo 365 | 2010 pictures here. This is one that I took the other day, after Sylvia had arranged the pieces of our Simpsons chess set (yes, we have a Simpsons chess set–doesn’t everybody?) into a “parade” on the coffee table in the living room.
Last fall we participated in the butterfly tag-and-release day at one of our county parks (which just happens to be a 300+-year-old working farm). We had a great time then and were thrilled to be able to go to this year’s event, which was held last weekend. This time, I even managed to get a photo of Sylvia “letting a butterfly go.”
We left Vermont nearly two weeks ago, and I’m just now starting to get caught up here.
wading and boulder hopping in the Winooski River
.
picking wild berries
.
the jewel greens of mosses and ferns in the forest
.
chasing and (rarely) catching frogs and snakes
.
the susurration of wind in the trees
.
swimming in a cold lake on a hot sunny day
.
eating lots of maple ice cream
.
a campfire on the beach
.
carpets of pine needles on forest floors
.
seeing the amazing night sky*, including the Milky Way and shooting stars during the Perseids
.
walking along the top of Vermont
.
spotting hummingbirds and herons
.
kayaking and canoeing on the lake
.
Queen Anne’s lace everywhere
.
eating a picnic lunch at the bottom of a cliff bordering Lake Champlain
.
the beaver lake and dam down the dirt road from our cabin
.
visiting the place where we got married
.
We built a lot of great memories this year. We are already looking forward to next year’s trip.
*”The stars were so many there, they seemed to overlap.”–”The Painted Desert,” 10,000 Maniacs
I see you shiver with antici…
…pation.
I just can’t help myself: suddenly, gobs of flowers are appearing everywhere, and I must photograph them.
I spent Mother’s Day with Jan and Sylvia (and two of our friends) at Winterthur. We visited the fairy garden first (of course), then strolled though most of the other gardens. Weather-wise, the day couldn’t have been better. And our timing was impeccable: the blossoms in Azalea Woods traditionally reach their peak on Mother’s Day, and this year was no exception.
Azaleas don’t do much for me during the fifty weeks when they’re simple shrubs. But when they’re festooned with brilliantly colored flowers for two weeks each spring—wow.
