Posts Tagged ‘photography’
Conditions Soften
The winter months this season have been about as soft as I’ve experienced in this region compared to all the years my somewhat feeble memory has retained while living in what is described as the upper midwestern United States. The previous week has been the only period of dramatic cold temperatures and that bone-chilling Arctic blast has already begun to release its stinging grip.
The relaxing of the horses’ energy is palpable. They are stoic beasts in the face of the worst weather that nature manages to conjure up. They may display a bit of shortened patience while we stumble around to complete our tasks in minus thirty-degree (F) wind chill, but they stand firm and resolute against the oppressive pressures of extreme cold.
When the temperature climbs back to positive numbers, we can feel the release of tension their bodies have been holding in defense against the elements. That’s when I noticed the same thing was happening to me this morning.
I can breathe without frost forming on my whiskers, bolstered by the knowledge a January thaw is on tap in the days ahead. The only catch with the arrival of above-freezing temps is that any precipitation that might show up at the same time could fall as rain, my absolute least favorite winter condition.
Winter rain just leads to winter ice. Yuck. And the horses agree with me on that assessment.
I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying fancy winter lighting in the sky recently.
Always remember to look straight up in the sky to capture some great views.
I don’t know how to find a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow, but it was a treat watching the light play in the wisps of clouds in the sky.
A day or two later, an unexplained streak of cloud (remains of a contrail?) caught my eye because of the fiery refraction of sunlight at the end.
Something tells me the warmer air moving in won’t offer daytime light shows like the icy skies just did.
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Just Before
The proverbial expression “it’s always darkest before the dawn” is commonly heard in reference to tough times but what about when you are standing out in the woods all night long? Well, since dawn is the first appearance of light before sunrise then it makes sense that it would be darkest at that point.
Maybe there deserves to be a phrase for the moment just before the sun becomes visible on the horizon. It’s well after dawn but not yet sunrise. That is when we get some truly spectacular sky views around here.
From one color extreme to the next, these two images were captured just days apart.
It’s always frequently occasionally the most interesting or colorful just before the sun rises above the horizon.
Thank goodness for a wide-open view to the east every morning.
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What Again
It’s back again! A fresh new edition of everyone’s favorite image-guessing game. It’s simple to play. All you need to do is guess what is depicted in the image below.
Do you trust your first impression, or ponder the possibilities? Can you hold off long enough to wait for the answer to come to you, or will you look for the solution right away?
You are in charge, but it is strongly recommended you come up with some kind of guess for yourself before clicking on the image to find out what this could possibly be. Guess your best, and enjoy the mental exercise! What are you looking at?
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Lyrical Meander
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on the edge of a shadow
walking briskly to avoid stagnation
nothing is obvious in the thoughts that meander
one thing I will always miss
is the number of your expressions
that formed on your face
as you looked toward my eyes
in the middle of stories
we told ourselves
returning often
to themes both intimate
and benign
successfully avoiding to cross
boundaries that might matter
to each other
and everyone within earshot
clickbait for the souls
yearning for something they can’t perceive
oblivious to the bold sensibility
of simply listening to themselves
with a divine authenticity
we surfed the enlightened feeling
connecting brings
taking intellectual flight
for time-defying hours
allowing ancient history
to flow into the future in a blink
elemental impossibilities that echo
as if the wars of every civilization
are different from the ones being waged
every single day
like a dog returning to passionately dig
through tangles of grass
where a nest of rabbits once existed
just in case they might still be there
our breath exchanging fabricated truths
about wants and needs
solving mostly nothing that tomorrow brings
beyond the rendering of titillation
that fed our hearts
fueling love
which serves to fuel love
perfectly well
fearlessly healing untold emotional wounds
without knowing
we were even trying
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Looking Close
I woke early yesterday and snuck out the door in the dark while Asher was still in his overnight crate. My destination was the Subaru Dealership in the Cities where I bought my 2019 Crosstrek. It’s headed for the 80K mile mark soon and still had the original tires, or what was left of ‘em, anyway.
Today it has fresh tires, brakes, oil, and an air filter. It’s almost like a brand-new car.
Cyndie called in one of our pet sitters to take care of the dog and horses in my absence. It was like having a day off for me. Well, half a day. Upon my arrival home, Asher instantly wanted to rough-house and battle for his squeaky ball. Eventually, we headed out to feed the horses.
The barn was in perfect order. The only difference between the way I do things in the morning and the way our helper left it was a closed door where we usually leave the top half open during the day.
I found myself taking close-up photos while waiting for the horses to eat everything in their feed pans.
The wind was whipping up some ripples on the surface of the waterer.
Close inspection of some of the hay that was delivered to us last season reveals a lot of woody stems and a very bleached coloring. We’ve been mixing it with partial flakes from 30 bales we received from a different supplier. I’m guessing the difference is first-cut versus second or third-cut.
The horses are very skilled at not eating any hay they don’t like.
It’s a lot more like straw than hay. The horses just let it drop to the ground.
This morning, Asher gets a car ride to Hudson for a day of play with other canines. It’ll almost be like another day off for me, except I’ll be picking up Cyndie’s grocery order and hauling it into the house.
The latest update on Cyndie’s convalescence is all good one week after surgery. Maybe even ahead of schedule for what she was originally expecting. The swelling is under control and she is already moving around using only one crutch while controlling pain with nothing but over-the-counter acetaminophen.
She is doing well to keep herself at rest and icing and elevating her ankle regularly.
I’m hoping she will be able to get back in the action by the playoffs. Whoops. I mixed her surgery up with all the injuries happening in the NFL. Between concussions and ruptured Achilles, it seems like there is a risk of teams not being able to field enough backup players.
Here’s hoping Asher doesn’t pull a muscle racing around with other dogs on his play date today.
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Cyndie’s Views
Rarely a day passes when I don’t receive a photo in a text from Cyndie. Many times, it ends up being the only image available to complement the tales I post. Occasionally, it is the main point of my post. Today, the backlog of images she recently sent me are featured in this post.
Like, “A Man and His Wife’s Dog.”
Okay, he’s our dog. Until he runs away. Then he’s her dog. Or when he chews up something valuable like my glasses. Or plows into me from behind. Or… well, you get the picture.
Cyndie gets the pictures, too. Here are five more to give you a glimpse of Cyndie’s view of this October at Wintervale…
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Dramatic Glow
Getting up in the morning to feed horses this time of year provides more opportunities to see the spectacle of dawn’s early light when there are clouds around to be illuminated. Yesterday was a fun one.
During much of the summer, the sun is already above the horizon by the time we pop out of the woods near the back pasture on the way to the barn.
More than once, I neglected to grab my sunglasses on the way out the door and regretted it when finishing horse chores with the sun glaring.
It’s both a treasure and a curse to need to be outside every day regardless of the weather conditions. Builds character I suppose. Whatever “character” means in that context.
Sometimes, I feel more like it’s a caricature of myself that is created by my antics. If Relative Something was a cartoon animation, what would my voice sound like? I can’t say. I don’t know what the self-talk that plays inside my brain sounds like.
If I tried to pick a voice actor to play me, it would become an exercise in deciding what famous voice I’d want to sound like. Samuel L. Jackson. Um, yeah, no.
Okay, I admit recently rewatching the final scene in the diner in the movie, “Pulp Fiction,” when I stumbled upon it while channel surfing. I’ve also been watching the limited documentary series, “Beckham” but I don’t hear his voice fitting for me.
The documentary about me will need to be animated because nobody with a camera has followed me around recording all the poignant scenes of our lives at Wintervale. It’s too bad because the morning routines outside as the sun is coming up would look beautiful.
Especially when Mix reaches her head out toward me in her greeting and we exchange breath.
Can you imagine hearing me lightly calling from a distance to let them know it’s us coming?
“Good morning, horses.”
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Relative Something 