down the stream, or up the creek (friday foto finder: stream)

Given that yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the US, I find myself being nostalgic for the many Thanksgivings I had at my grandmother’s house growing up. Unpacking various pieces of china and serving ware to put away in our new house, assorted family heirlooms that I remember from my childhood, and using the buffet that was from my grandmother’s house has filled me with a steady stream of memories. It is no surprise, then, that seeing this week’s friday foto finder theme of “stream” brought to mind one body of water: the one in the town where my grandmother had lived.

These photos are from May of 2005, the last time I visited that town. The creek that runs through Beulah, Colorado ranges from a tiny trickle in times of drought (which Beulah sees quite often) to a rushing torrent in the spring, gushing with the runoff from the snowmelt up in the higher mountains. During that visit, the creek (pronounced “crick” by many locals) was quite high.

My mother and I walked down to see the place where the creek crosses Central Avenue. At this junction, the creek calmly flows under the road through some pipes for much of the year. But in the spring, the creek insists on crossing the road. Cars and trucks typically drive right through the creek, but happily there is a little bridge for pedestrians who aren’t wearing their waders.

To see what other streams are flowing, merrily row yourself over to the fff blog.

put on a happy face

Sometimes when life is overwhelming, it helps to put on a happy face. Apparently some choose to put their happy faces on other surfaces.

Here are some happy faces that people have put on in various places I’ve been over the last few years.


Alley wall face in Beijing, China.


Rock face in rural Massachusetts.


Cement ball faces in a park in Barcelona, Spain.


Snowy rock smiley face in rural Massachusetts.


Parking lot smiley face in Boston.

So remember, if you can’t manage to bring yourself to smile, you can still put on a happy face. On something.

stumped (again)

This week’s friday foto finder theme was “parcel,” and it turned out to be a theme that left me stumped. Since I can’t seem to come up with any photos of parcels tonight, instead I’ll offer photos of stumps.


A stump in Nara, Japan, 2004. (Yes, I know where I saw this stump.)


A stump in Beulah, Colorado in 2005 (I had help from my metadata to remember this stump.)


This one’s from 2011, according to my photo library metadata. I believe it is in New York state.


This stump is from Oakland, California from 2012. (Again, I remembered the location of this stump, if not the date.) (Also, if I had more images like it, I could make another post along the lines of these two.)


This one was from Massachusetts, later in 2012. It reminds me a bit of a volcano.


This one was from New York state as well, at a sculpture garden. (I confess I did not remember where I saw this stump, at least without checking back for other photos taken that day. Maybe there is some hope left for me.)


This one’s really more of a gnarled root than a stump. (From the Marin Highlands, in Sausalito, CA, 2014).

So there are a whole bunch of stumps. Indeed, one could say that I have presented a parcel of stumps. (If one were so inclined…) To see a parcel of potentially more parcel-like parcels, pay a visit to the fff blog.

5 unrelated photos

Here a bunch of photos that I took at different times, in different places. (Do you see what I see?)


A road in rural Colorado. 2004.


Rusty rebar in some cement barriers, Massachusetts. 2010.


Stick shadows on some logs, Massachusetts. 2013.


A path in Nara, Japan. 2004.


Waterways as seen from above when approaching San Francisco airport, California. 2014.

(And in case you don’t see what I see, yesterday’s post is a hint.)

looking up

To follow up on yesterday’s post of spirally gates and grates in Boston, here are some spiral-adorned balconies in Sevilla, Spain. While walking through the streets one evening during my visit there in 2009, I looked up to admire the shadows of the balcony gates.

This particular building had lights shining in several directions, producing a pleasing tangle of spirally shadows.

I also enjoy the contrast of the bright orange walls and the dark metal.

Today was a much better day, by the way, and I did not have to fight the urge to stay curled up in a little ball. Things are definitely looking up when I have gotten a bit more sleep.

5 arched gates

Here are 5 photos of arched gates that I have come across over recent years.

Malahide, Ireland, 2014


Sevilla, Spain, 2009


New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 2005


Portland, Oregon, USA, 2012


Shanghai, China, 2012

This is another unintentional series of photos. Had I had the series in mind, I likely would have framed gates more similarly. (Also, I do wish I could go back in time and replace the point-and-shoot camera I was using in 2005 on my trip to New Orleans. I suppose it would also be worthwhile just to go back to New Orleans…)

3 more gates, in silhouette

Yesterday’s featured gate reminded me that I have many other gates in my photo archives, several of which I also photographed in silhouette. These 3 very different gates were ones I saw on my travels of recent years.


Paris, France, 2007


Sevilla, Spain, 2009


Beijing, China, 2012

gate of chains (friday foto finder: links)

This gate caught my eye on my visit to the Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain back in 2009. Neither a chained gate nor a gate of chain link fencing this particular gate was itself made of made of heavy iron chain links.

I also find it cool to see how different the same gate looked from different angles, with different lighting conditions. These next 2 images were from a photo with the bright light shining on the gate, whereas the others show the same gate silhouetted.

This week’s friday foto finder theme was “links.” I have shared quite a few links before (both the chained gates and chainlink fences mentioned, and linked to, earlier.) But I don’t believe I’ve shared these particular links before. To see what other kinds of links have been sighted, follow the link to the fff blog!

6 unrelated photos

Here are 6 photos I took over the past 9 years or so, on various travels to other countries, as well as to places closer to home.

London, England, 2005


Volklingen, Germany, 2007


Sevilla, Spain, 2009


Massachusetts, United States, 2011


Macao, 2011


Dublin, Ireland, 2014