The nature of art...

When we moved into our house a little over ten years ago, there were two barn shaped sheds on the property.  I thought they were charming little buildings but they were no longer useful to store anything as there were holes in their roofs and their doors wouldn’t close properly.  We hung onto them anyway mostly because there was no real reason to take them down.  But one of them did go about five years ago when we had some much needed landscaping done and now, I am sorry to say, the other is gone, too. 

Greg asked Jim, handyman extraordinaire, who does work for us now and then to remove it.  Last winter was its ruin.  The huge amount of snow we got in January and February caused the roof to collapse and after that, we knew it had to go.  Still, it made me sad to watch Jim dismantling that little building piece by piece.  I had often used it as a photographic subject.  I knew I would miss it, but it really had to be removed before it deteriorated further.

 

It made me think about the usefulness of things.  We would never have thought about using that old shed in the way it was intended to be used.  But ever since we took possession of this house, there was a bit of comfort for me to look out the kitchen window and see that little shock of red especially in the winter.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that some things can be useful if they only add beauty to the world and make us feel happy.  And I suppose that is part of the nature of art.

The old worn out phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” comes into play here though.  Would our neighbors have considered our little dilapidated barn a piece of art?  Probably not.  I’m pretty sure they were glad to see the old thing go.  But I think it will take me some time to get used to looking out my kitchen window and seeing plain old woods where I used to see that little shock of red. 

The shed in the winter of 2009.

Little by little and piece by piece...

Something's missing.

A haphazard combination…

Here is a definition of miscellaneous: 

1. Made up of a variety of parts or ingredients.
2. Having a variety of characteristics, abilities, or appearances.
3. Concerned with diverse subjects or aspects.

The definition goes on to say that Miscellaneous implies a varied, often haphazard combination.   That’s exactly what I am posting today.  A little of this and a little of that. 

We heard that the local rod and gun club released pheasants during pheasant season for people to hunt.  One brave soul managed to escape the carnage and has been hanging out in our area.  Now and then he moseys up the driveway and checks out what we have to eat in our yard.  I am glad he’s around.  

One day not long ago I was driving by Quaboag Pond in Brookfield, Massachusetts.  I drive by there a lot and take a lot of pictures of the pond, but this day was so bright that I couldn’t help but notice the way the sun was reflecting on the pond.  I was glad I had sunglasses.  

Greg surprised me this Christmas by buying me a Nikon 1.  I have long wanted what I call a “stealth” camera to take into restaurants and other places where a big camera is just kind of obnoxious.  And this is a stellar example of one.  Well, there is a caveat.  He got me this one so he can take it on a motorcycle trip he is going on to Texas later this year.  I’m not big on loaning my camera stuff out, but I guess I will have to make an exception in this case.

 

It’s a pretty neat little camera.  One of the features it has that I think I will enjoy is the Motion Snapshot Mode.  This feature allows the camera to record a still image and then about a second of movie footage.  I took a few on Christmas day when the light was not so great but I like this one of Olive, the pug.  

Well, that’s all folks!  Have a great weekend!


Sorry about the video.  I am not sure why it isn't playing.  I will try to remedy the situation and repost.  

Honoring "Snowflake" Bentley...

Last night at the Massasoit Art Guild meeting (Photography branch), our chair Dayle brought a cool DVD for us to watch.  (Thanks, Dayle!)  I say “cool” for a couple of reason.  The DVD was about Wilson Bentley or “Snowflake”Bentley as he became to be known.  He is the reason we know that no two snowflakes are alike.  Around the turn of the 20^th Century, he began photographing individual snowflakes, a difficult and painstaking task that he stuck to like a tongue on a frozen pole.  His photography alone is amazing but his tenacity is even more amazing.  He loved snow and he wanted to share his love of snow.

 

I have mixed feelings toward snow myself.  I mostly love it.  I love the way it muffles the sound and brightens up a dull winter landscape.  I think it is beautiful on bright winter days.  But as I get older, I do fear the treachery of ice, which, of course, can be a byproduct of snow.  I don’t want to slip and fall.  I don’t want to skid my car into a tree.  Still, I think ice has its place in nature’s warehouse of beauty.  And I like looking at it.  It's like the art glass of nature.  I’m no Snowflake Bentley when it comes to photography.  The kind of work he did is beyond my wildest abilities.  But I am going to share a few photos I’ve taken of ice in the last few years. 

While today our weather is in the deep freeze, it really is the first winter snap we’ve had (not counting our freak Halloween snowstorm) so I don’t have too many current ice pictures.  I’m sure they’ll come though.  We do live in New England after all.  

The newest restaurant in town is for the birds…

If you’ve been following this blog for the last month or so, you know that I have had a little battle going with the squirrels in our yard.  For years they have been keeping me from feeding the birds around here because they are relentless in getting into the feeders and wiping out the seed supply before any bird can get near them…cheeky little devils.

But I seem to have been successful in my latest attempt to hang a birdfeeder where the squirrels can’t get to it.  And I have been rewarded by getting to watch the beautiful little birds flitting around and taking advantage of the new “restaurant” in town.  I will say, however, I am not happy that the blue jays have found the feeder.  They can wipe out the seed supply almost as quickly as the squirrels and the little birds seem to be afraid of them and their raucous ways.  But I don’t think there is anything I can do about that except to tell them to go find somewhere else to eat when I see them hanging around.

So I am going to post a few pics I’ve taken of the birds at our birdfeeder.  These pics are taken through the window with my long lens so the angles aren’t the best but I have had fun with them nonetheless.

The Chickadee waits on the windchime.

This is a male Downy Woodpecker.  They are similar to the much larger Hairy Woodpecker.

A Titmouse comes in for a landing while the Nuthatch just minds his own business.

This female Cardinal waits her turn on the rosebush.

Another glimpse of the Nuthatch.

Wave good bye to 2011...

So here's the rest of my year...

July was pretty standard issue for me with all my complaining about the heat.  The exception was that I attended my 40^th high school reunion with another trip to Ohio.  I had fun and was pleased to see that most of us are still in pretty good shape.  As a matter of fact, most of us have held up better than this

 Lexington _OT_L Greg and I came across in the Catskills earlier that month.

August came in like a lamb but left like a lion with Hurricane Irene wreaking a fair amount of havoc around here.  Once again we lucked out and had no real property damage while north of us in Vermont, the flooding was devastating. 

The calm before the storm...this is Walker Pond on the night before Irene.

I had a nice few days with my sister Susan in September while she was in New England on business.  We spent a night in Rockport, Massachusetts, home of Motif #1 and here it is.

October started out normally enough but on the 31^st, we were whacked with a snowstorm that simply blew us away.  Being out of electricity, heat and water for six days took its toll.  Our mighty oaks lost many branches and the evidence is in a huge pile in our front yard.  But since then, our weather has been pleasant and mild.  Whaddup with that?

After we regained our electricity, November was a serene and mild month.  Not much going on and that’s a good thing.

So here we are in December and looking at another year drawing to a close.  I am pleased to announce that I have outsmarted the squirrels.  Our feeders have been squirrel-free for a month at least.  High five!  Still, I always have to wonder where the time goes and why it goes soooo fast.  I am looking forward to 2012…especially since I’ve been signing 2012 on my checks for most of this year anyhow.

  I think I just like the way it looks.

Here's Mr. Cheeky sitting on the wall in front of our house looking longingly at the bird feeders.

Happy New Year to all of you out in the Cloud!  See you in 2012.

Say what? 2011 is almost over???

Must be the time to start looking back at 2011.  Here’s the way it was in my world. 

In January, here in Central Massachusetts, we had record snowfalls.  I couldn’t believe how much it snowed.  We learned a valuable lesson though.  And that is that if you own a gazebo with a canvas roof, be sure you take the canvas off before getting three feet of snow or the results will be a bit disastrous.

I called this collage "Our Own Private Metrodome"

In February, Greg decided he had had too much and we high tailed it down to Key West for a few days to waste away a little in Margaritaville and enjoy a little while of snowless bliss…a benefit of being retired.  That was nice, but while we were gone, we had someone scrape the snow off of the roof at home and when we returned, we couldn’t see the first story of our house.  We managed to get in but it wasn’t pretty.

It had stopped snowing by March but we decided to gift our son Evan a trip to Baseball’s Spring Training in Arizona for his spring break.  At the Cincinnati Red’s park, it was a thrill to get to meet one of the idols of my youth.  There was George Foster of the Big Red Machine signing autographs.  Woohoo!!

He has held up much better than I have.

By April, the snow was gone except for traces here and there.  Greg and I went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston not once but twice to see the Chilhuly exhibit there.  The first trip was a bust because, unbeknownst to me, I bought tickets for school vacation week.  We had a good time anyhow but it was so nice on the second trip to see all those Chihulys up close and personal.

In May, Greg and I got together with our good friends Dona and Bob and took a trip of a lifetime.  We sailed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Amsterdam, The Netherlands with stops in the Azores, Lisbon, Portugal, Cherbourg and Le Havre, France  and Dover, England.  After leaving Dona and Bob in Amsterdam, Greg and I spent three days in Paris.  It was relaxing, fun, interesting, beautiful, and tiring all at the same time.  What a great trip!  We went to Versailles the day before we left for home.  Wow!

Our June began with a rude awakening when tornados ripped through our area.  The devastation was heartbreaking.  Much of it is still visible today and will be for many years.  Personally, our property was unaffected so we were very grateful.  We spent a bit of time in Ohio in June attending a family reunion and my mother’s 83^rd birthday party.  Our trips to Ohio usually include a stop at Grandpa’s Cheese Barn in Ashland, Ohio.  Highly recommended…at least two thumbs up and maybe more.

To be continued when I get my act together...

Reflecting on normality…

Okay.  Now it’s time to return to normal…whatever that means.  Christmas is over and at least a third of the mess is cleaned up.  We had a nice, quiet time this year, which is normal for us at Christmastime.  Now that that’s over, it is time to start to reflect back on the year that is quickly coming to an end, which is what we normally do this time of year.

 

With that in mind and as a sort of metaphor of the human tendency to reflect on the past year, I am going to post a few pics I took last week of reflections in Walker Pond on an afternoon when it was pretty darn flat and mirror-like, which is unusual for Walker Pond in the afternoon for reasons I’ve never known.  Does anyone know why it is normal that it is windier in the afternoon?  Well, I don’t.

I might as well face it, though, the true reason I’m posting these pictures when it comes right down to it is that I am a sucker for reflections pictures.