Showing posts with label photo-a-day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photo-a-day. Show all posts

Friday, March 06, 2015

The Game of Art - 3/5/15 - Image-a-day

Where do ideas come from? Sometimes they are a lightening bolt out-of-the-blue. Sometimes you got to work hard for them. Other times, you just play the game. Turn off that critical part of your brain that shits on everything and just have some fun. It's a lovely puzzle to play at changing the world. Artists create something from nothing. Given the choice between being an artist and being a billionaire, I'd gladly pick artist because that well is infinite and can never be taken away, while money, no matter the amount, can be lost in a second. Any day I can play the game is a good day indeed.

OK HW

Friday, January 02, 2015

Mr Hobbs by the heater - 1/2/15



On these cold, winter mornings, our cat Mr Hobbs loved to lie near the space heater.

OK HW

Thursday, January 01, 2015

Happy Cthulhu Holidays! - 1/1/15 - Image-a-day-2015



Happy 2015! I am going to post an image everyday this year. I've done it once before and find it to be an effective way to keep the creative juices flowing. Knowing I need to find or create an image will sharpen my antenna and keep me alert to the wonders that always surround us. 

Today's image is of a Cthulhu Xmas ornament that my friend Dave me. 

OK HW

Saturday, October 06, 2012

Hiking Pleasure House Point...

It was a gorgeous Indian Summer day today and I took full advantage of it with a nice, long hike. My persistence has paid off this year and I am closing in on my mileage goal for 2012 of 750 miles. With three months left to go, I have less then 180 miles left. Today I tried a new route by adding in a new nature trail that has been added to Pleasure House Point, some land that was bought by the city of Virginia Beach and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. For a while there was a contractor trying to "develop it" by cramming 1600 condo units there, but lucky for all of us, wiser heads prevailed for a change and now we have this wonderful natural sanctuary.
There were roads and houses back in there at one time, but for whatever reason, they have gone to seed, but you can still find crumbling asphalt back in the sand trails and see dock pilings along the shore. Walking back through such a peaceful and beautiful wetland, makes me proud to be a contributor to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Hiking from my home, I wound up with a decent 8-mile route today, which you can check out here.

OK HW

Monday, September 24, 2012

Tater Harvesting Time Y'all!

This weekend I decided to see what bounty my potato growing efforts may have yielded. The above ground plants have died and dried up, so from what I have read, it was time. Eagerly, I dug into the mound of dirt hoping to come across some firm, round forms, but my efforts at first were futile. I pressed on and was rewarded with the handful pictured here. Not much of a meal I admit, but considering that I started with one sprouting tater (here's the post from the spring), I'm pleased enough to get anything. These humble results encourage me to aim higher next year, so I'll plant more and a wider variety of potatoes and take the process more seriously and do stuff like fertilize and such. The Roma tomato plants are still producing fruit so the garden isn't totally done yet. Time to plant some winter crops!

OK HW

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Nothing Like a Fresh Tomato From Your Own Garden

It's been a tough summer for our tomato plants. We tried four roma tomato plants this year, planted in big pots because we have sand for a yard. We water and fertilized and the plants grew big and fast. Then the little, yellow flowers came and after that some little baby tomatos. Hooray! But as they got bigger, they got black on the bottoms and rotted. A quick spin through the net educated me to a condition called "blossom rot" that is caused by a lack of calcium.

The remedy is to dissolve some Tums and water the plant, the result being healthy tomatoes. I tried this cure a couple of times and it finally took on one of the plants. Today I got to pick the first good tomato this year. We've also been successfully growing some leaf lettuce and I can't wait to make a garden fresh salad with my very fresh ingredients.

OK HW


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

New Growth...

We've been having an unusually rainy and chilly spring, which has helped our humble garden get off to a good start. Last year I tried my hand at growing potatoes in a bag and after spending ten dollars on gardening soil and pea gravel, I wound up with exactly zero potatoes. The bag disintegrated and I left the soil in a pile. Fast forward to this year when I find a few sprouting potatoes under the sink and decide to throw them in that same pile and see what would happen. Despite the lack of effort, the little buggers are making me proud! I might be eating some homegrown taters yet!

This year's garden consists of the taters, a few tomato plants, basil, rosemary, oregano and a leaf lettuce mix grown from seed. It's a modest showing for sure, nothing that will sustain us if the grid goes down, but it's something. Watching those growing plants makes me happy, gives me hope and veg from your own garden always tastes the best.

In other growth news, this blog was included in the AltDaily Blog Roll, a fine honor and welcomed connection to one of the alternative culture voices in this area.

OK HW

Monday, May 21, 2012

Image for May 20, 2012 - Once You're Wet, You're Wet...

I am a little behind in my hiking right now. Last weekend I was in Mississippi visiting my Dad and so did no walking. Weekend's are prime time for me to stack-up some big miles. Typically I'll accumulate anywhere from ten to eighteen miles from Friday to Sunday, so losing last weekend has put me slightly behind. No matter, this last week I have been hitting it hard to close the gap. Yesterday I managed a seven miler and committed to the same today. I woke to gray skies. A light, misty rain settled over the Sunday morning, for me, perfect hiking weather. Less than perfect weather calms things down. People stay indoors. The causal joggers, the knuckleheads with the super loud stereos in their cars, the families on bicycle blocking the path are all home on their sofas watching whatever those people watch. The secret to hiking in the rain is understanding that once you get wet, you are wet, so get over it. I've hiked in some fierce storms in Scotland and Ireland and enjoyed the extra challenge. The whipping winds and pelting rain puts a lot of energy in the air that creates a sense of urgency. Once the clouds finally do part and the sun returns, it alls seems sweeter.

OK HW

Friday, May 18, 2012

I'd Buy That for a Dollar!

I stopped off at the Dollar Store tonight on my way home from work and stumbled on this little gem, a green plastic tiki mug! It's been a while since I've come across a tiki mug that I don't have already. There was a variety of colors, but I settled on just one, a green one because it is my favorite color. I figure I can also use it next St. Patrick's Day!

OK HW

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Image for March 19, 2012 - Monday Sunset

I got out for a walk after work with my old friend Colin. Our friendship goes back over thirty years. There was a stretch of many years where we lost touch, but we reconnected a few years back and I marvel at how we've managed to find a new level as friends. This does not always happen. Sometimes the drift sets in and there's no pulling it back. Friendships are tricky and mysterious things. It's hard to guess which ones will last and which ones will fade away.  There's no sense in worrying about it, better to appreciate the moment and hope you get more of them in the future. Friendships are like a sunset. Brief, beautiful and easy to take for granted. As I get older I realize how lucky I've been to have had so many sweet friends.

OK HW

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Image for February 12, 2012 - SNOW!


Last night we had our first snow for this winter and for 2012. It didn't last long, but the front that brought the snow also brought the cold, so when we got up this morning, some snow was still there. This winter has been very mild so far, with too many days in the 50s and 60s, hell even some days in 70s in January, so this blast of "real" winter is most welcome by me at least. I like the snow and the cold. It transforms any environment, bringing clarity and stillness (the cold keeps the lightweights shivering in their snuggies inside) and sets the stage for perfect hiking. The groundhog saw his shadow recently, signaling six more weeks of winter. Maybe he was right this year.

OK HW

Monday, January 16, 2012

Image for January 15, 2012 - A Mysterious Visitor


We had an interesting visitor in our front yard this morning. It wasn't the first time we have seen a big, bird of prey hanging out in the yard. It seems we opened a free buffet for such predators when we hung up a bird feeder. Occasionally I'll find a  swirling collection of random feathers under the feeder and wonder what drama went down.
My wife once saw a hawk take down a young Blue Jay; ripped the unaware lad right off the bird feeder and then he became someone's lunch. Maybe we have our suspect. I've posted these images on the Virginia Society of Ornithology's Facebook page, so I'm hoping to get a positive identification, which I'll share on here when/if I find out.

I spent a long time study this beauty through binoculars. Nature sometimes gives us a rare gift of a momentary encounter with something wild and today I didn't waste it. 

OK HW

Monday, January 09, 2012

Image for January 8, 2012 - The Dismal Swamp

It was a beautiful day in the fifties and the sun was shining. I got out for a fine nine mile hike with my friend David Simpson. He had always wanted to hike in the Dismal Swamp, but until today, had never been out there. We hit the Washington Ditch Trail at noon and made Lake Drummond before two o'clock. The trail is a dirt road that follows a canal straight into the swamp. It's flat and straight, so not very exciting terrain. The best you can hope for is a chance wildlife encounter and today we hit the jackpot with an all too brief glimpse (gone before I could get the camera out) of a pair of young black bears climbing down a tree and disappearing into the brush.

I was glad to point out the bears to David before they were gone. It's the second time I've seen black bear in the Dismal Swamp. Considering the healthy traffic on the trail today, we were especially luckily for our sighting.

Dave's not a regular hiker (not yet!), but he was  gung-ho for going the four and a half miles out to Lake Drummond, for a nine mile roundtrip. We stopped there for a lunch break and to enjoy the afternoon winter light playing across the glassy water. It was a good day.

OK HW


Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Image for January 3, 2012 - Here Comes the Sun!

Sharp Arctic winds ripped through the area today finally bringing the full bite of winter for the first time this season. I don't mind it, actually prefer to bundle up and have the heavy leather jacket on; hat and gloves deployed. For those that don't care for the cold, here's one of my "vintage" Kan-Ken Studios post cards from way back in April of 1993. This card was mailed off to my pal Gary Garbett (evidence of just how long we've known each other) and was returned because of an unknown address. Dig that Bambi stamp and only nineteen cents to mail a post card. This Sun sculpture was a limited edition, I think I cast fifty copies (maybe one hundred?) and painted them all differently. It was a popular piece costing only about $50. If any one reading this bought one and still has it, I'd love to see a picture of where you have it hanging. Sometimes I miss those days of the outdoor art shows, but mostly I'm glad for having moved on. I stepped off when the fun had drained out of it for me. Doesn't mean I won't ever step back on that crazy ride, but for now, I am happy.

OK HW

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Image for January 2, 2012 - Farewell Christmas, Hello 2012!

...and so, the Holiday season has once more come to an end, unless you're one of those "twelve days of Christmas" people, then you're only halfway there. Our un-decorating event is as sad and joyless as the decorating part was festive and fun. I got the ladder out and took down the few strings of outside lights while Janet cleaned up the inside. After all the ornaments were removed from the tree, it was time to bring it to it's finally resting place. Lucky for us, we live right across from the beach, so it's an easy enough job to carry it down and find a dune. Note, the photo is staged, that's not where I actually left the tree. It wound up with three other trees grouped in a cavity carved out by Hurricane Irene and so the cycle continues. Better that the trees lives on helping to grow the dune, then grow some landfill.  Weirdly enough, I felt most of my Xmas spirit after the 25th this time. The holiday season came up way too fast for me.

Nothing says, "Happy New Year" to me then a living room empty of the tree. I am still thinking on my goals for 2012. I find it more helpful to make concrete goals, rather then "resolutions", which may be splitting hairs, but whatever works right? One goal I have committed too is increasing my hiking goal from 700 miles as I did in 2011 (actually finished with 717 miles) to add another fifty miles on for 750 miles. That's sixty-two and a half miles a month. No moss will be gathering on this stone. It's day two in 2012 and I already have fourteen miles, just 736 to go...

OK HW

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Image for December 28, 2011 - AKAN!!!!


I'm trying to finish off a little sketchbook that I've been carrying around for way too long. It's filled with mini-portraits of surrealist artists and African masks. Recently while catching up on the ever-growing pile of New Yorker magazines on the bed stand, I read a wonderfully enthusiastic review by Peter Schjeldahl of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of African masks. One of the mask images accompanying the article caught my eye and I had to add him to my sketchbook. This drawing is rough three inches high. I included an extra enlarged image because I love looking at the texture of the pen marks.

OK HW

Monday, December 26, 2011

Image for December 26, 2011 - 700 Miles and Counting...

This photo is actually from yesterday, but no matter, I'll be hiking again today too. I took this just at the moment when I completed my seven hundredth mile for 2011 thus accomplishing my hiking goal. I pulled a seven mile walk yesterday that left my total at seven hundred and three miles and will add a bit more to it before this year is done. I am pondering now whether to increase my goal from seven hundred to say, seven fifty, but we will see.

This has been a good year of hiking. I had the opportunity to hike in several different states including Virginia, North Carolina, New York, Wisconsin and Florida, not to mention one overseas excursion to Scotland. I've had the chance to walk with a lot of my friends, some of whom aren't regular hikers, but I'm always trying to convert folks to the walking life so I'll always have companions for the trail. No point taking a journey if you don't have a friend or two to share it with.

OK HW