How cold is it?

It is so cold the sun can't cut through.

I am ready for some Spring.

(Actual temperature: 6º F, -25º wind chill)

Ripped-off

Maybe it is difficult to know what this is. It is an art piece. A sculpture. A decorator's hip accessory.

Obviously it started out as a log. But through some strange unknown process foreign slabs of wood are mysteriously integrated into the stump. And the wood has been aged, or distressed, to a curious texture.

It is a masterful and primitive looking work of art.

Taking a photo like this feels a bit like a rip off to me. Sure I have made creative decisions about angle, framing and cropping, but I have captured something that is only a refection of the creation of someone else.

But maybe that is OK. To quote filmmaker Jim Jarmusch:

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination".

Pink clouds

Late in the day, as the sun dips below the horizon, I love the way the clouds turn pink... especially against a blue sky. It only lasts a minute or two, but I can be magical.

How it looks in winter

And how it looks in summer.

No, the pine tree did not grow to that size in one season... it is just a slightly different angle.

When a bad picture is a good picture

This picture has been a fixture on my various work desks over the last twelve years. What is curious, however, is that no one has ever asked my why I have a photo of a water tower on display.

It was shot on September 25, 2002, with my first digital camera, a Canon Powershot S100 (the first one made back in 2001... there is another camera of the same name and model made in 2011!). The little camera was capable of two-megabytes of jpeg quality, and to make matters even more challenging, this is a small crop of the original exposure. The photo was ratty enough that I have now run it though a Topaz plug-in to mask the limitations of the low quality image. The resulting photo has a retro, almost postcard quality that I enjoy... but I don't think anyone would ever claim it is a technically good picture (click the picture to see it bigger and badder).

So why do I keep this picture on my desk?

It is to me a reminder that good things can happen even when you become convinced that they will not.

I had lost my job of almost 30 years due to a company reduction-in-force... a layoff. Being fifty years old and having only worked for one company for almost all of my career, I did not have much luck finding new employment. In fact after searching for almost seven months I became convinced that no respectable employment would ever be offered to me.

But in time a good opportunity did materialize. This photo was shot across the parking lot of the new office during my first week on the job. I was really lucky.

My new job lasted for ten years, and then though another twist of fate, I was again out of work before I was ready to retire. Once again luck smiled on me and I found another great job which I have been at for almost two years now.

So this little picture has been a totem for me, reminding me that good opportunities are always possible, with a bit of luck, and sufficient persistence.

Candles in the windows

Sure they are electric and flameless, but the candles provide a warm glow that makes the home inviting none the less.

Shadows on snow

Do not enter

High piles of snow and 15º F... even with a bit of late day sun.