• flowers,  insects

    They All Showed Up

    Milkweed Bugs - It's a Party
    Milkweed Bugs – It’s a Party

    This bush seemed to be moving when I walked by it. Upon a closer look I discovered it was covered in milkweed bugs. There may have been a hundred scattered throughout the bush and just his bush. I looked closer and what do my eyes see? They are all mating. It’s an orgy! Disgusting! So, I watched for a while. Had to chuckle as I imagined one of them sending out a text message earlier. “Hey we’re all meeting at the sixth bush from the lookout on the Cathy Fromme trailhead at 6:00 pm. Be there or be square.” Looks like they all showed up. 🙂

  • landscape,  natural areas,  People/Portraits,  Plants

    City Noise

    Walking the Dogs

    Paul had a recent post about the constant noise he experienced in New York City. I relate. In my area its riding lawn mowers, leaf blowers, grass trimmers, trash truck, train whistle ( a mile away), sirens, loud stereos, Harley’s, etc. Some people seem to enjoy making the noise and for others it’s a way to make a living. For me I have enough noise in my head without all the external noise. Yesterday was an extremely noisy day as they are tearing up the parking lot across the ponds so machinery have been in operation all day. Tearing up asphalt makes a lot of noise! Maybe I need to move to the country.

    My escape are trips to local nature areas, the mountains or some dirt road on the eastern plains. Basically out of town. This past weekend I took a drive to the Riverbend Nature area. This area is on the edge of the city limits so I can still hear some of noise, but it is the reprieve I needed. The clouds were putting on a beautiful show and helped cool things down while the setting sun make for some nice light and shadows. As I worked my way back to the truck a few rain drops added to my enjoyment. And, I was not the only one who needed to get out to the nature areas.

  • Art,  People/Portraits,  photographers

    Let Me Introduce John Strong

    John and his tile prints
    John and his Aspens in Autumn Tiles

    I noticed the other day that John Strong had mentioned he was going to be displaying his Aspens in Autumn tiles at the Larkspur Art Show. After reading about it I decided to make the trip down, meet him and check out his booth. So, Saturday morning I awoke to 34 degrees and our first frost of Fall 2014. This may be a cold day for the show but after checking the weather I grabbed my backpack and headed down. It’s only about a two hour drive to Larkspur and turned into a nice drive. Some traffic in Denver on the way back but it was worth it. John has a nice setup and he’s done a good job printing and mounting his images.

    Like many of us in the blogging world, John and I had never met. I found his booth right away and introduced myself. It took him a few seconds to register who I was since he was not expecting me. I any conversation would be interrupted as customers came in and out, and I was correct. Since I had my camera I wandered around and let John greet his prospective customers. Working shows like this requires the interaction and a positive part of doing it. I like the idea of handcrafted items since so many things we purchase are mass produced in some factory. Yes, that includes the material we make our crafts out of. 🙂 And, there was some nice handcrafted merchandise for sale. Some were working on their craft while at their booths so you got to watch them. Plenty of food was available. There was booth with these jars of apple/maple syrup for toast or pancakes and offering samples. I could just eat it right out the jar. They had a slide setup for the kids with several of us adults attempting to sneak on. Sorry, John we did not get as much talk time as would have liked but we do have the opportunity to setup a meeting. I think you have good work and liked how your booth looked. Hope the day went well for you.

    photocrati gallery

  • Black and White,  Documentary/Street,  street photography

    Sunday Morning

    20140914_DSCF4383-Edit.jpg
    Street Clock

    It’s Sunday morning in Fort Collins. Start the day with meditation. Make and enjoy my latte. Watch sunrise from my window. Take a refreshing walk in Old Town. It’s 8:40. Temperature is 46 degrees. Streets are empty. My coat keeps me warm. Hands are in my coat pockets. Camera is around my neck. I breathe and stay present, accepting whatever image is given.

  • architecture,  Documentary/Street,  window

    Early Morning Light

    The alley in Old Town Fort Collins
    The alley in Old Town Fort Collins

    “The camera only facilitates the taking. The photographer must do the giving in order to transform and transcend ordinary reality. The problem is to transform without deforming. He must gain intensity in form and content by bringing a subjective order into an objective chaos.” -Ernst Haas