The Tilted Silo, Again

What a difference eight years make...  None!  I first posted a photograph of this leaning silo in Catatonk, NY on Route 96, when there was snow on the ground.  Today I drove by it again, and stopped to take a picture of it.  I was curious to see what has changed.  I can't see any difference, except my point of view.  It is astounding to me that this silo is still standing.  It seems so well built, I am puzzled why it tilted in the first place.

Palm Sunday

Today is Palm Sunday, and the usual order of the Mass changes.  The Priest and Deacon and the Eucharistic ministers  begin by walking from the rear of the church down to the altar in the front, as parishioners, who have been given palms, wave them as the procession proceeds.  The people near us had time to take some of their palms and fold them into crosses before the service began.  I thought the picture would be better if everyone was waving the full length palms.  Oh well.

Astronomy Night

Three friends and I went to a grammar school last night for an astronomy program for some bright young students.  We each brought a different kind of telescope and the first part of the evening was about us explaining how our telescopes worked.  One member of the group spoke about binoculars.  Then, with great luck, the cloudy skies dissipated and we were able to view the moon and Juipter and its moons.  The kids were thrilled, and asked lots of great questions.  It was a very rewarding evening.

Jonquils on a Gray Day

This is a "deck shot."  That means the camera was on the deck, or the ground.  A very easy thing to do, by the way, with my little SONY RX100 II camera.  The new camera has an articulating LCD screen on the back that can be tilted flat so that I can look down at the top of the camera and see what the lens is seeing.  Very cool.  Oh, about the "Jonquils."  I was on a fashion shoot years ago at Old Westbury Gardens with Edie Smith, my all time favorite fashion producer and writer.  She suggested I put one of the models "over by the Jonquils."  "Jonquils?" I asked.  "Where are they?"  She pointed over at the Daffodils!  Every time I see Daffodils, I think of Jonquils and think of Edie, which recalls so many wonderful projects that we worked on together.

Staircase

I love this photograph!  Back in August I mentioned that I had volunteered to do some photographs of the William Cullen Bryant home, Cedarmere, for a brochure that my friend Bob was writing the text for.  It was really great to spend a day in this famous house, dragging all my big electronic flash units around to light everything that I wanted to photograph.  The secret, of course is to make the photograph look as if it was not lit.  I love this picture for its design, but also for the four light sources that can be seen in the image.  Can you find them all?  They are not accidental.

The Smallest Buds

This was a test.  By the time I went out looking for a photograph, there were clouds, so the light was very flat - no sparkle from direct sunlight.  So I went looking for buds.  There were no obvious ones immediately visible.  I went over to my favorite tree, and was surprised to see these very tiny red buds on the tips of branches.  Each of these buds is only 1/8th of an inch long!  I still wish I had some sunlight to make the photograph a bit more interesting.

Mano a Mano

OK, so I thought that "mano a mano" meant "man to man."  How dumb am I!  It means "hand to hand" as in combat, as in a fight to the death.  Well, that's not what is happening here.  Outside the door is Grace's brother, the tabby cat.  Inside the door is Sam, who was nursed with her in New Jersey.  So this is two guys face to face.  The tabby cat is a beautiful cat, and the least afraid of all the feral cats.  Part of me wants to bring him in and add him to the collection, but that is out of the question.  So we feed him and his mother and sister when they come by which is not that often.  What makes my head spin is wondering what's in the minds of these two cats.  Sam has never been outside, and the tabby cat has never been indoors.  Such different lives.