"Seventy-Four Degrees and Happy Holidays"

At about 6:00 PM yesterday... December 22... the temperature had dropped from an afternoon high of 80ºF. A high of 82ºF is predicted for Christmas day. It looks like a white Christmas is pretty well out of the question!

"Baby... It's Cold Outside"

Taken at a bus stop along a Tucson street yesterday (December 15). The temperature had dropped to near 60° F. Around here... if it drops below 80°... it's time to get out the jackets!

"Just Short of a Dollar"

Do you ever have days when you feel like your just short of a dollar?

"Where Rain Has Been"

For after all

The best thing

One can do

When it is raining

Is to let it rain.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There Is A Time...

The old dies... the new blossoms. There is a time... for everything.

Distracted

Being distracted is a normal human attribute. And it's not always a bad thing. Behind every distraction could be a new discovery... or an enjoyable moment.

"No Cure" (PXITE Entry: Party)

"There is still no cure for the common birthday!" (Senator John Glenn)

Every time I'm at a birthday party... I keep asking myself... "Why is a birthday cake the only food you can blow on and spit on and everyone still rushes to get a piece?"

"Star of Wonder"

"O star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright." (John Hopkins ca. 1857)

Last night the lights were placed so they would be balanced throughout the Christmas tree... the garlands were hung so they would be evenly distributed... the decorations were carefully located so there would be no empty spots. A lot of effort was made so that the tree would be just perfect.

I am reminded of what American author Charles Barnard once said... "The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!"

Resubmitted for Moody Monday 19 March 2007: "Celebratory"

"Problem Statement" (Photo Friday:Experimental)

"I am doing this experiment because I think it will be fun..." This is from my granddaughter's 5th grade science project last year. The actual project was to bake a series of cupcakes but leaving a single ingredient out of each batch... and observing and recording the results.

"My World... For A Moment"

According to the language of flowers... the amaryllis conveys beauty and pride. English poet William Morris (1834-1896) wrote... "When I take the flower in my hand and really look at it, it becomes my world, for a moment."

A Single Step

This was my first complete photograph taken more years ago than I care to remember. Complete because it was the first time I had ever taken a photograph... developed the film... and printed and processed the final picture. It was my sophomore year in high school... I had just joined the yearbook staff... and was sent to cover a track meet. My first attempt at photography with other than a "point and shoot" snapshot camera was a disaster. I attempted to capture a shot-put competitor just after the shot was released.

The photo was underexposed... blurred... and poorly composed. In making the print... I had the photo-paper in the enlarger easel crooked... and even managed to fog the border. Obviously... it was destined for the trash... but my darkroom mentor recommended that I keep it. He said not only would it be a reminder of how not to do something... but later I could look back on this photograph and remember fondly of how it all began.

Confucius is reported to have said... "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." For me in photography it was more like a stumble. But photography has remained an important part of my life since that first single step.

(Resubmitted for ShutterDay 19 February 2007: "First")