Oh where have you been my blue eyed son..

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajn_photography/15444860019/ 

 

OK I stole a line from Dylan (Bob not Thomas)

It's been a couple of weeks since I wrote in my 'weekly' blog. I guess it's that time of year as the Guelph Studio Tour took up all of last weekend from Friday evening until Sunday evening.

It's exhausting work standing around talking to people!

Another downside is there was no time to relax and unwind before the workweek began again.

Add to that we have a new 'puppy' I put that in quotes as she is almost a year old, 40 lbs of crazy puppy-ness.

Winter, (that's her name) is a Siberian Husky, pure white with ice blue eyes, she can melt your heart with a glance.

We have hired Emily, the dog whisperer, to help and slowly she is learning what is 'civilized doggy behaviour' when meeting people or other dogs. 

If you see me walking down the street (sorry Ms Warwick, another stolen line) don't be offended if I cross over or make a sudden exit left, we are under orders from Emily....

Anyone who has or has had a dog will understand today's quotation:

“I talk to him when I'm lonesome like; and I'm sure he understands.

When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands;

then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat.

For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that”. ~W. Dayton Wedgefarth

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajn_photography/15515157255/

If I said “autumn Day” what springs to mind?

For me it conjures up a day like yesterday (and today for that matter)..

Brilliant blue skies to offset the golds and reds of the woodland tree's with an added chill in the air as an early frost paints the ground with silver.

Geese honking their way across the skies, heading South.

The frantic scamperings of small animals gathering in the harvest of nuts to tide them over the winter that is fast approaching.

And the long shadows thrown by the weakening sun that probes ever deeper into the woodland as the canopy of leaves turns and falls.

Breathe deep and drink in the smells, sounds and colours of the most wonderous of seasons, autumn in the woods ….

“October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came,—
The Ashes, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The sunshine spread a carpet,
And every thing was grand;
Miss Weather led the dancing;
Professor Wind, the band....
The sight was like a rainbow
New-fallen from the sky....”

~George Cooper, "October’s Party"

Along the Lane Towards Tews Falls

There is something about Haiku that totally relaxes the mind. 

Maybe it's the simplicity of structure or the lack thereof...

All I know is when I read it there is a mental sigh and everything seems, for that moment anyway, perfect.

Haiku and Autumn in the woods seem to go together so well, so this weeks "Photo of the week" blends very nicely with this weeks choice of words...

So sit back, read and re-read this the most simple form of poetry and let it wash over you..

falling leaves
hide the path
so quietly
~John Bailey, "Autumn," a haiku year, 2001,

Three

These last few weeks I have had to put my D300 away.

The Doc said 'tennis elbow and golfers elbow plus tendinitis in my forearm” for good measure... "but, but, I don't play either of those"! said I...

No matter what it really means is the D300 is just too damn heavy to lift !

So I have been relying on my trusty Nikon P7100.

Not that it is a problem I love that little camera but yesterday I bumped into it's limitations.

Blurry images from way too low a shutter speed and unresponsive auto-focus due to the low contrast scenery in fog and mist and pushing the ISO way too high meant a morning of frustration.

As the light improved and we moved out of the deep dark woodland along the river things came back to normal quite quickly and I ended up with a few 'keepers'

Such is the lot of the photographer. We have to rely on technology (to varying degrees) in pursuit of our 'art'. If the technology fails what are we to do?

The pens and pencils I have never fail from a dead battery ;-D

So when technology prevents me from pursuing my photographic 'Art' the pen and pencil take over because ..

“Art is not a thing; it is a way.” ~Elbert Hubbard

A Quiet Corner

Yesterday our regular Saturday morning outing was delayed by the heavy rains.

Still, “delayed” is not “canceled” ..

We arranged to meet at 9:30 at the usual spot and headed for the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory.

One of us (me) was expecting a half empty space where we could photograph, draw and or paint in relative peace and quiet, after all school was back in, right?

Wrong!

By 10:30 the place was packed with Mom's and Dads chasing gaggles of kids, chasing the butterflies..

Finding a little place of refuge for a little piece of peace was a challenge but it was possible and there we sat, sweating.

You see the building is for tropical flora and fauna so it is very warm and very humid, much like the weather that we had been trying to avoid all summer!

Oh the irony, we paid for hot and humid while outside it was cool and not so humid!

But the “three amigos” rode again so it was all worth it.

By 11:30 we were all getting a little overwhelmed so we retreated to the cafeteria for tea and munchies and a overdue get together.

The conversation, banter and laughter flowed as easily as ever. Sketchbooks were shared (which is a relatively new addition to our get-togethers) and plans were hatched for next weekends outing. (watch this space)

We probably overstayed our welcome but no-one told us to leave and we were in no hurry because we were in the company of friends.

A good day despite the slow, wet start and of course the artificial weather 'inside'.

“A friend accepts us as we are yet helps us to be what we should”. ~Author Unknown

Why ??

This last week I had a conversation, a conversation about why do we release our creations to the world?

Why expose our inner self, our feelings, our very souls. Taking the chance that we will be humiliated, scorned, laughed at or a thousand other ways to be demeaned?

Do we do it for accolades? Approval? Acceptance? “attaboys”? Money? Fame?

Well maybe .. but I think there is a deeper reason.

We have a burning need, a deep desire to create and having created the desire to create becomes the need to share.

That need overpowers the possibility of criticism and rejection so that we may release our creations into the world, to share it with others and in so doing risk 'baring our souls'.

A scary though that, putting it all on the line for the chance that someone somewhere may simply say “I like that”...

So I ask again, Why expose our inner self, our feelings, our very souls....?

Affirmation.

This is why, this is what I ( we? ) seek

Time is such a precious thing.

The moments that were are gone.

The moments to come race toward us at a frightening speed then they too are gone.

And in the moment of here and now we create and having done so we need affirmation of time well spent.

For as that moment passes and we look at what we created we can say “that was not here a moment ago but now it is” it is real, it becomes a proof of our existence.

It is our statement: “look I was here” !!

  

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

― Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays

p.s Thanks to Patrick for opening this door

Sometimes you have to step out of your box and leave the comfort zone.

Yesterday was one such a time.

I and a few others had been invited over to a friends house to sit outside in the gathering dusk to feed ourselves and the ever present mosquitoes.

Having had quite enough of the little buzzing, biting creatures this last week I was leaning towards an evening indoors with the AC on and a good book.

Well the persistence of friends overcame the reluctance and I spent more than a few hours in quiet enjoyment and awe while DEET took care of the the distractions.

A Conjunction between Mars and Saturn is happening right now above your heads, all you have to do is look up, just a little, to the South East. No other equipment other than your eyes is necessary.

There they are hanging like jewels amongst a million million other jewels.

But for us the real magic was yet to be revealed, there were three telescopes set up all pointed in the same piece of sky.

Saturn was the target.

Saturn with her rings filled the viewfinders.

Everyone who looked through those long tubes gasped in amazement.

Everyone from the absolute 'newbie' to the seasoned 'pro' stood and bowed their heads to peer into the optics and all were moved.

Discussions ranged from the obvious 'wow did you see the rings' ? to 'what does it all mean'?

Saturn held the show and held us in her magic.

Saturn, to Holst was the bringer of old age, to us 

she was the bringer of childhood …

“There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million”.. ~Walt Streightiff