Thing of Purpose

I was told this was always the first tree in the valley to come into blossom. In the recent high winds, some species kept their leaves better than others. Cottonwoods were the worst affected. As we passed by earlier, my driver muttered "Bittersweet", which may just have been a comment on life in general… …or possibly a plant identification for  Solanum dulcamara or even  Celastrus cadens —pick any one of the three. As shadows lengthened and darkness fell under the trees, evil stalked the land. No prizes for realizing that tonight is Hallowe'en. Arachnophobes should look away now. This horrible apparition with a stake growing out of its head appeared at our door demanding candy as Danegeld —don't let the half smile fool you! It was carrying a double-edged weapon much like Eric ' Bloodaxe ' Haraldsson would have used to perform a Blood Eagle execution on his enemies. Once word got around that we had capitulated and were giving out candy, they ...

Earlier in the week, a dull, cold day followed the inclement weekend weather. There was some light rain and a cool breeze, so all the desert weenies hereabouts donned Ugg boots, cable-knit sweaters, and layered fleeces. The blue sky and puffy white clouds returned over the hill around the middle of the day. The previous day was so cold that I had to roll down my shirt sleeves, although shorts & sandals are still comfortable for walkers. Today was short-sleeve weather as I strode purposefully out to take the air. There was no mistaking the changing season, and as a lover of the Autumn found myself singing snatches from 'My Favorite Things', the song Julie Andrews sang in 'The Sound of Music' just prior to the Anschluss Österreichs, when the Germans invaded the country where the movie was set. As an anthem to sentimentality, I have always found the lists in the Rogers & Hammerstein song  to be less effete than the lists in the Lindsay & Smith song 'All...

Forsooth, alas and alack, the high winds a couple of nights past decimated the leaves on this fine stand of trees.  One good, hard nip of frost and it will all be over bar the tears.   --------------------oOo-------------------- The blog author almost never checks emails or comments.

Almost, but not quite, a once-in-a-lifetime sunset. The " no cigar " phrase first appeared in the 1935 movie 'Annie Oakley'.   --------------------oOo-------------------- The blog author almost never checks emails or comments.

  --------------------oOo-------------------- The blog author almost never checks emails or comments.

It has come to my attention that my enemies are putting it about that I can only take a halfway decent picture if it is a sunset and that anybody can take pictures of clouds. So, I arose early in the morning to take these pictures. It does at least demonstrate that my enemies are only half correct in their attempts to defame me. However, that is not what is turning me grey. I saw these first pictures displayed on a different computing platform to the one I use—I would fain call it an alternative—and the color balance was badly adrift. There are many factors in this equation, not least the quality of the viewing software and hardware. Porbably the most important factor is the user settings: do you know how to set the color rendering of your monitor? When did you last do that basic task? The software used to assemble these blog posts does not even render these three images—which should not be a variable if you knew the conditions and the production workflow—although I suppose assembly...

This is builders' rubble, but a few growing sprigs and some low sunlight makes a fetching tableau. These are my neighbor's magnificent weeds. We live in a very tolerant community, given that there is a religious hegemony and many people assume church membership unless explicitly disabused of the notion. There have been no complaints about us howling at the moon, dancing without panties under the garden sprinklers at sunset, openly consuming alcohol, feeding the local feral cat population, and not attending the block Hallowe'en party to gorge on the body parts of dead animals. However, publicly shaming a neighbor who has been unable to attend to his weeds because of family sickness & bereavement may be pushing the envelope too far. When caught in the act of taking this picture, I did try to defend my position by 'fessing that our own weeds were much worse—demonstrably true—but I don't think I will get much mileage out of using our feckless behavior as a yardst...

I have no idea what the value of a Claude Monet (1840–1926) painting might be, although I do know they are worth millions of dollars. Monet painted about 250 canvases in the  Nymphéas (Water Lilies) series: in mid 2010 the 1906 Nymphéas was estimated at £30m to £40m ($48.360m to $64.48m) and was bid to £29millions ($46.75m) without selling. This passeth all understanding for ordinary folk, but at least we can understand the artist's obsession. First of all the subjects were close to hand; they were visually attractive; they were always changing in the light and weather at Monet's garden in Giverny, Normandy, France. The second Wikipedia link has over thirty examples of the lily paintings available to view. I take photographs of the same subjects over and over: many of them appear here, but there are many, many more that do not. They are not art, but they give me much pleasure. I would be interested to know if Monet painted for himself or to please his buyers. His range was ...

Late in the year and there are still cattle feed-crops being harvested. Yet another new crop just beginning to show! On the opposite side of the road the leaves continue to fall. On waste land these weeds maintain glorious display. A pair of properties with huge vehicle parking spaces and a bit added on for the drivers to lay their weary heads. "They are springing up faster than weeds!" remarked a fellow stroller. Even the sky blushed. " …it is useless to recall the day once more. "   --------------------oOo-------------------- The blog author almost never checks emails or comments.