A beach on the Mediterranean Sea, in Barcelona. From our 2009 trip to Spain. Our visit to the beach was fleeting, as John had a conference call shortly after, and there were storm clouds on the horizon. But Phoebe and Theo had a chance to meet the Mediterranean.
This week’s friday foto finder theme is “sea.”
This week’s theme for friday foto finder is “sky.”
These photos are from 2004, taken during a visit to see my mother back when she lived in Colorado. I took these from the highway that runs from Pueblo to Beulah. (Don’t worry, I wasn’t the one driving!)
Montana may be the state nicknamed “big sky country,” but Colorado has pretty big skies, too. Out on the plains, especially, where there are no tall buildings and few buildings or trees of any size, the sky seems somehow more immense than in other parts of the world I’ve seen.
When summer storms come, the sky can look particularly dramatic.
A particularly ominous mass of clouds.
Look up!
I love the way rain in the distance can look like a bit like clouds hanging down in curtains. (Or like the sky is falling.)
I am partial to this photo for the way it captured a very s-like shape in the side road. But the sky looks pretty cool, too.
These photos were from June, which, up in that part of Colorado, is Spring. The bright green grasses you can see in these photos are mostly brown by July.
To see what the sky looks like in other people’s worlds, drop by the friday foto finder blog.
Once again, Archie has kindly hit on a theme that is very well represented in my photo library. This week calls for “rock.” Continuing down my path-filled path of the last few weeks, I felt this was a good opportunity to show another path. This was a section of a path I went on during my wonderful hike with YTSL of Webs of Significance–now shockingly over a year ago!
Most of the trails we went on during our hike were not paved, but there were a few stretches that were. The rocks¹ in the path below were quite interesting. Many looked like they had patterns, which looked to me a lot like the fossils of ferns. However, I’m not convinced they are. In the 3rd photo you can see very linear cracks in the rocks with the dark fern-like patterns appearing to be growing out from the lines. I’m intrigued, and would love to learn more about what might have caused this. Anyone more versed in geology² than I am?
A stretch of path paved with flat stones somewhere on the Sai Kung Peninsula of Hong Kong.
Don’t these patterns look like ferns?
But look at the very straight-lined cracks, and how the dark fern-like patterns seem to grow from them.
¹Really, I’d be more inclined to call them stones, but you know. Theme.
² Geology rocks. It had to be said.³
³ Actually, I do really like learning about rocks. We collect lots of rocks in this house.
Back in March, I attended a conference in New York City. It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip, and I managed to fit in visits with several dear friends in addition to the time spent at the conference.
I had a poster to present the evening of the first day of the conference, and after a morning of watching talks, I realized that my brain would be completely full if I sat through talks through the whole day. I decided that even if I missed out on some good material in the afternoon, I’d be better off if I had sufficient brain function remaining to allow me the power of speech by the time I was to present my poster.
In other words, I opted to play hooky. For totally legitimate and not at all irresponsible reasons that had nothing to do with the beautiful spring weather.
I started by meeting up with Magpie for a lovely bit of lunch and conversation. I told her that I didn’t have plans to rush back to the conference, but she still had to get back to work. She suggested that I check out the High Line. Actually, upon hearing that I’d never been there, she told me in no uncertain terms that I was required to visit the High Line. And that she expected to see photo documentation.
The High Line, in case you haven’t heard of it (and I hadn’t) is a stretch of elevated railway, a former freight line, that has been converted into a park on Manhattan’s West Side. It stretches for many blocks, with the former tracks converted to a combination of path and landscaping. There are many interesting sights to see along the way, provided by views of the river and skyline, interesting buildings and architectural details and the occasional sculptural installation.
As is my way, I have been slow to share photos. But take photos I did. It was a perfect day for a walk, and I enjoyed the scene and the scenery immensely. There were lots of people out enjoying the surprisingly sunny and warm March day, and the views from the elevated path were intriguing. I took many, many photos. Below are a handful of them.
It was also a great way to spend the day refreshing myself, with fresh air and a bit of exercise, before presenting my poster.
So, Magpie, I don’t remember whether I ever thanked you for your most excellent suggestion. So, thank you!
Lots of people out for a stroll, enjoying a nice long walk above the traffic. (It was so great to be able to walk for blocks in Manhattan without having to go through a single intersection!)
Bits of the old tracks were left here and there as part of the landscaping.
It was very early spring when I visited (technically not actually even spring yet), but there were already some signs of fresh growth among the well tended plantings. (Of course, this was the winter that wasn’t.) I’d love to go back at other times of year to see how things look.
This meandering post was inspired by this week’s friday foto finder theme of “tracks.” It seemed a fine follow-up to my previous paths, too.
This week’s friday foto finder theme is “street.” This is a tough one for me in that I have taken many, many photos of streets over the years. After selecting a half-dozen or so of my various favorites that I had taken over the year, I instead chose this set of three photos that I had forgotten about. These were from our 2007 trip to Paris. Here is a scene that caught my attention while wondering some of the older streets of Paris, on the Ile de la Cité:
It just didn’t look like this car could possibly fit into this narrow street.
And in fact, here is about when the cars tires got jammed between the curbs, complete with much noise of squeaking rubber and revving engine.
Amazingly (to me, at least), the car did make it around that corner and down and out the street.
If you look closely, you can see from the street signs that this was Rue des Ursins. If you find it on Google maps and zoom in on the satellite view, this particular part of the street is too narrow to be seen between the buildings.
I have to say, looking at my street photos gave me some pleasant trips down memory lane. Mostly involving trips. Also, I found myself getting a medley of songs with streets in them stuck in my head. (I feel a list coming on.)
To see what other streets have been wandered for this theme, go check out Archie‘s friday foto finder blog.
I went to a conference last week in Portland, and while there is plenty to say about that trip, for now I will just share this moment from the start of my trip.
I flew out last Sunday evening, and I arrived at the airport a good 2 hours before my 7 p.m. flight. Boston Logan is, as major city airports go, a fairly moderate and manageable size. Airport security typically goes pretty fast (at least compared to some airports (Denver, I’m looking at you)), and I expected to have a good chunk of time before boarding. For whatever reason, though, things went really slowly in security that evening. I watched my cushion of extra time dwindle away such that it looked like I’d be getting to my gate only a few minutes before boarding. Having finally passed through security and reassembled myself and my luggage, I wasted no time heading to the gate, which naturally was as far from security as possible in that terminal wing.
With my gate just in view, I looked out the window. It had been raining earlier, and the clouds had parted a bit to provide a spectacular sunset.
What’s more, there was a rainbow.
Rainbows are big in our household. Phoebe and Theo both love color, and rainbows are a frequent subject of artwork. For that matter, rainbows are a frequent subject of conversation.
I confess that this love of rainbows in my children has been encouraged by me. I loved rainbows as a kid. I mean I *loved* rainbows as a kid. I had what might be considered a “rainbow phase.” And for someone who mostly wears gray and black, I still love color. I love that my children love color.
So imagine my excitement at seeing a rainbow. At an airport. (Because I also love airports.) My inner child was giddy.
My flight was scheduled to board in about 5 minutes, but I didn’t hesitate to stop to walk over to the window. I had my iPhone handy, and snapped a few shots. But they absolutely didn’t do it justice. I parked myself at some conveniently open seats at the gate closest to me (a gate which happily didn’t have a flight scheduled imminently). I unloaded my backpack, and dug out my camera with my telephoto lens.
What I found sort of hard to understand was that the vast majority of the people waiting around in the airport seemed to be completely indifferent to the stunning view. I say “vast majority” because I did overhear one guy on his phone nearby saying something about the rainbow and pretty sunset, but that may well have been in reaction to seeing me whip out my camera. (I think I made him look.) Nobody else appeared to be looking. I wanted to just stand at the window and stare.
But I also wanted to share, especially with my rainbow-loving children. I headed over to my gate, and found a seat. They hadn’t started the boarding process yet, so I figured I had time. I got out my laptop, and loaded the photos from my camera onto it. I sent an email to John with a photo, and posted it to Facebook as well. I may well have posted it here on my blog as well, but my row was called for boarding, so I had to pack up my laptop in a hurry.
I realized that if I hadn’t gotten stuck in security, I would likely have missed the rainbow. (I’d likely have settled down at my gate and buried my head in my electronics until called to board.) I wouldn’t have heard a peep about the rainbow from anyone around me.
Are most adults really so blasé about rainbows?
A photo taken with my iPhone. You can find the rainbow only if you know where to look. (It’s near the white rectangular structure near the horizon, about a third of the way from the left.)
Taken with the telephoto.
Rainbow and plane.
The scenery was beautiful even without the rainbow. This scene is to the left of the rainbow. The views of the sunset from the windows near my gate were also striking, but the crowds were too thick for me to get close enough to take pictures.
One last zoom of the windmills and big tanks just beyond the runways.
—
These were the photos I was considering for the friday foto finder theme of “right.” To see a rainbow, conditions have to be just right. You have to be at the right place at the right time, with the weather conditions and the lighting just right such that the water droplets are in the right direction from the sun.
A week from tomorrow,¹ I need to set the alarm for 3:00 a.m. when I go to bed. Historically, I’ve been more likely to see 3 am from the other side of the clock. What on earth could possess me to get up so damn early? I have to catch a 7 a.m. flight to Newark. What on earth would possess me to fly to Newark at 7 a.m.? My 10:50 a.m. flight to Shanghai. Because I am going to Shanghai.
And also briefly to Beijing so that I can see the Great Wall. (Not that Shanghai and Beijing are all that close together. But closer than Boston and Beijing.)
I can hardly contain my excitement.
However, my excitement must share mental space with my soberingly intimidating to-do list, which keeps rudely poking its elbows into my excitement.
Here are some of the tasks weighing on my mind:
Work & School stuff:
Trip prep stuff:
Home stuff:
Stuff I want to do before my trip.:
All of my plans are being further irritated by a new cold or spate of allergies, which is leaving me wanting to sleep. A lot. Or curl up in a ball and groan. (You’ll note that curling up in a ball and groaning is not on my to-do list.) And other typical daily things like laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, kid shuttling as well as other family and social obligations, plus occasional attempts at personal hygiene, are also vying for my time and mental energy. (What, I have to brush my hair again? And find another pair of clean socks?)
Yes, I am seriously flying back to Asia less than a year after my trip to Hong Kong last August. I was hoping this conference wouldn’t end up in Shanghai, because I didn’t imagine that I’d be able to swing two trips of this magnitude in less than a year. But end up in Shanghai the conference did. Seriously, if the deadline for the conference submissions had been even in October, I would have said “no way.” But by the end of November, I was already thinking, “well, maybe I can do it.” And then my paper got accepted for a talk, and then I thought, “Hell yeah, I’m going.”
¹ I don’t remember when I started this post, but I’m pretty sure that this once said “in just over 2 weeks,” then various shrinking amounts of time since then. Here’s hoping that I manage to post this before I have to say “a few weeks ago…”
collecting tokens 