Nature's Catherdal - 1/31/2015 - Image-a-day

I've been behind in my hiking/walking/running miles this month. My goal this year is eight hundred miles, so I need to average about sixty-seven miles a month. Today I got out for a big hike, thirteen miles, which brought my total for the month to fifty-seven miles, so ten miles behind.

It was a cold, crisp day, perfect for a long hike, so I started from my house in Chick's Beach and headed to the Virginia Beach oceanfront via First Landing State Park. I took the "Long Creek Trail" which runs the length of the park, much of it along the water. One of my favorite sections wanders through a stand of Spanish Moss covered trees. There is a scared atmosphere to this area. The grey, shroud-like moss gently moving with the breeze suggests a living cathedral. I wonder if the native American Indians who lived here before the Europeans came, considered it holy ground?

OK HW

Bulls' Eye - 1/30/15 - Image-a-day

I was very happy to find real, steel-tip dart boards in Pleasure House Brewing tonight. Too bad I didn't have my darts with me, but next I will. The electronic boards have become the standard these days I think mostly because they require quarters to use, but the steel-tip boards are the one and only true dart game in my book.

OK HW

Farewell Mike Larsen - 1/29/15 - Image-a-day

This is a wood sculpture by Michael Larsen. Mike was a friend and brother-artist and he died this week at the much too young age of forty-four. I knew Mike from working with him at Virginia Scenic where we both carved theatrical set pieces. We always had a friendly competition and would trash talk each other's work, but when the rubber-met-the-road, Mike always was generous of spirit and a supportive colleague.

I don't know why he left us too soon, but the world is a better place for the lovely art he created while he was with us.

Rest in peace my friend.

OK HW

Shadows on the Wall - 1/28/15 - Image-a-day

Never doubt that you are always surrounded by art. You just need the right eyes to see it.

OK HW

First Snow - 1/27/2015 - Image-a-day

Woke-up this morning to find our area was brushed by the big winter storm. I love snow, so was happy to see the white stuff, but I know for many folks in the Northeast, it's a different story. There were dire predictions that New York City would get two to three feet and the Governor of Connecticut shut the whole state down last night around nine. I was hoping for a full on snow day, but alas, all we got was a two hour delay.

OK HW

Jeff Maisey - 1-26-15 - Image-a-day

I hung out with a very old friend tonight and it was good. We reminisced about some old adventures and mused about all the possibilities for journeys to come. A true friend is a rare thing in this life. Jeff and I have had some ups and downs, but we're still amigos and I am glad for that.

Zahdah,

OK HW

What Attracts Me - 1-25-15 - Image-a-day

The sun was out today, though winter's chill is still in the air. I got a seven-mile hike in today, starting on the beach with my wife along for the first mile or so. She turned back down the beach and I continued on for the longer route, cutting back into a neighborhood heading south. On one of the side streets, I passed a tree with peeling bark and had to stop and get a photo. I love textures like that, peeling paint on an old building, weathered stone on some ancient ruin, anything that catches the light and weaves a pattern that shows the hand of life and time passing.

OK HW