Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: fun stuff


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Adventuring we go

Pretty picnic area

Pretty picnic area

Katie made me feel guilty enough to make sure she got to go on an adventure this weekend.  Knowing that it was going to rain most of Sunday Katie and I headed over to a park late Saturday.  We were introduced to this park by Katie’s doggie friend Peep last spring and it’s taken us all this time to visit it again.  Because we went on the spur of the moment we couldn’t coordinate with Peep this time but we’re pretty sure we’ll be able to get together again this fall.

Katie and Peep

Katie and Peep

This park has a lot of trails through the woods and I figured I’d find a trail head and we’d just walk for a bit.  The first place I parked turned out to be the parking lot for disc golf so it was a bit too busy for us, but the picnic area was pretty.  The second place we stopped was also a picnic area, but it was empty and had a trail leading back into the woods.  So we were off!

Exploring

Exploring

It was a lovely afternoon; no bugs and lots of sunshine.

A walk in the woods

A walk in the woods

There are a couple lakes at the park too, and we walked down through a boat launch to explore a fishing dock.  It moved and squeaked a bit as we walked on it making Katie jump at first.  But after she figured out there wasn’t anything scary there she was happy enough to be near the water.

Fishing dock

Fishing dock

Mostly though we walked on the paths through the woods and enjoyed being out in nature.  Lots of squirrels chattering and chipmunks squeaking, but Katie was very good when we did a little recall.

Recall!

Recall!

She loves doing recall when we’re at a park.  But I only do it once, and only if she is focused on me.  She didn’t let a little chipmunk distract her.  She’s a very good girl.

And she wants to know what we’re doing next weekend.  I don’t know little one…but I’m sure it will be fun!

Riding home

Riding home


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Photo challenge – saturated.

This week the photo challenge from WordPress is to provide a photo that represented the concept of saturation.  The post was talking about saturated color so here’s just a tiny piece of the color in my yard at this time of the year.  The garden is trying so hard to be spectacular, as if it knows frost could arrive at any moment.

buzzzzzzz....

buzzzzzzz….

Of course before I read the complete instructions I was thinking more along these lines:

Saturated!

Saturated!

I guess the flower is prettier.  But don’t tell Katie that, she gets her feelings hurt easily.  Don’t you know.

Light

Light


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Weekly photo challenge: From Lines to Patterns

Last Friday the latest WordPress photo challenge was issued.  I was immediately intrigued.  I had some ideas, but no time this week to execute them.  Now here it is Wednesday night and the Friday deadline is looming.

I was thinking about one particular photo I had in my archives from our trip to Washington DC last may.  As I searched for it I realized there were a lot of shots from that great city that spoke to lines and patterns.

So I followed the instructions from WordPress to create a tile filled with multiple photos.  If you know me you know how hard that technical stuff is.  So I’m thrilled to show you a photo collage of lines and patterns in Washington DC!

From top left first row:  Ceiling of Jefferson Monument; Arches inside the National Cathedral, apartment buildings.  Second row from left:  Roswell metro station; stairway in Senate building.  Third row from left:  Treasury building at night; Arlington office building reflections from our hotel room.

This was fun.  I still might head out sometime looking for more rural lines and patterns.  Or head into Detroit to see what’s there.  You’ll be the first to see whatever I come up with.  Sooner or later.


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Music in the house

Saturday was the opening night of the 85th season for the Ann Arbor Symphony.  There is something special about standing in  a full house and singing the National Anthem, being supported by a full symphony orchestra, that made me realize how lucky we all were.  Lucky to be in a beautiful place, lucky to be listening to such a fine orchestra, lucky to have family and friends to share it all with.

Warming up

Warming up

This season will be all about contrasts, writes Maestro Arie Lipsky in the program.   Opening night proved he was serious as we listened to Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein, with it’s full and lush orchestration  bouncing between classic and crazy, to full on crazy with Commedia for (almost) 18th century orchestra by William Bolco,  and back to sweet traditional sounds in the “Unfinished” Symphony No 8 in B Minor by Franz Schubert.  And that was just the first half.

After intermission we were immersed in Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, a pounding, intense and relentless dance telling the story of a pagan rite; sacrificing a young girl who dances herself to death in order to placate the god of spring.   The music is difficult, to play as well as to hear, yet it is also impossible not to be drawn in, not to hold your breath, not to let it sink into your being.

As I listened I thought about all the wonderful music that has been heard and absorbed in this place.  And I wondered whether hints of all the music that has come before has somehow been preserved in the crevices of the ornate ceiling, in the dark corners of the upper balcony.  Maybe entwined in threads of the velvet curtains up on the stage are bits of notes from past concerts.  I image late at night all these remnants of concerts past mingle in the air creating a collage of sound.  That makes me smile.

Holding the memories

Ceiling art

As usual the audience was on it’s feet as the last bits of music exploded above us.  We were on our feet as the season opened singing with gusto, and on our feet as the evening closed showing our appreciation.  And in between we were transported; nodding our heads, tapping our feet, holding our breaths and letting them out in a big exultant sighs of joy.  Yes we are so lucky.

Extraordinary.

Family

Family


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Small town

Before this week gets away from me I wanted to share a few more photos from my adventure last Sunday.  Photos that are not barns.  Because  really there is more to life in rural Michigan.

I stopped in the small farming community of Coleman.  I think it’s a farming community because right in the center of town is a grain elevator.

The working parts

The working parts

I thought the whole thing was picturesque.  I suppose if you’re a farmer it’s just equipment.

Buy your feed here

Buy your feed here

But to an outsider it’s all color and angles.

Years of feed sold here

Years of feed sold here

Interesting.  In a dusty sort of way.

At least the driver can see

At least the driver can see

I parked near a store.  Can you guess what they sell?

You guessed it!

You guessed it!

They sell auto and bicycle parts!  Cool combination.

Along the way I also passed this garden.  I actually turned around and went back for these photos.

So pretty

So pretty

They even had a cow.

Moo!

Moo!

It was a fun adventure.  I’m glad I went.  Hopefully I can get back on the road sometime soon!

Glory

Glory


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Sunday adventure. No dog involved.

Sunday my rambling genes took over and I left the house in early morning.   I took the camera,  not knowing where I was going or what I was looking for.  It wasn’t a pretty day; the skies were grey with low hanging clouds.  Not even interesting low hanging clouds.  Rain threatened.

As usual when my heart is tugging me toward the road I headed north for awhile.  After an hour or so I knew I was in farm country and headed west on a smaller highway.  I saw the soybean fields were turning yellow and then I knew what I’d be looking for.

You guessed it.

Red barn, green roof, yellow field.

Red barn, green roof, yellow field.

Barns in fields of yellow soybeans. (Make sure you click on the photos to get all the detail.)

Along the way I also saw other stuff, some of which I even stopped to photograph.  Those will have to be displayed in future blogs.  Because this one is about barns and yellow soybean fields.

Red barn...yellow field.

Red barn…yellow field.

Of course some of the best photos I have only in my mind as there was nowhere to stop.  I was usually out on a freeway thinking “DARN!  There’s another great shot!”  But when I got off the freeway and meandered down dirt roads I found plenty of picturesque stuff.

Yep.  It’s another barn in a soybean field.  Pretty, isn’t it!

Ummm...red barn...you got the rest...

Ummm…red barn…you’ve got the rest…

Obviously I thought so.

Not red barn, but yellow field.

Not a red barn, but still pretty.


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Weekly photo challenge (inside)

For a long time now I’ve been getting daily prompts from WordPress  providing ideas for blogs.  Once a week they even provide prompts for a photo challenge.  Many of the ideas have been interesting but I never quite got to any of them.  I’d save the idea and then something always came up.

This week’s photo prompt is “inside.”  We’re to provide a photo that shows our interpretation of that word.  I’ve been thinking about it and had some ideas.  I remembered when we were kids and Dad always made a big deal about the first sighting of the inside of our Halloween pumpkin.   I thought about a photo of Katie inside her kennel in the back yard.  I thought about a photo of the inside of my closet, but that would scare you all away.

Yesterday as I was working in the yard I looked up and saw my photo. (Click on it to see the details.)

Inside art

Inside art

The dahlias I picked Friday night fearing frost were glowing in a puddle of sun inside the kitchen window, framed in reflections of outside.  The whole thing was a bit of abstract art.

I smiled and went for the camera.

Fun stuff.


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#1300

This is the 1300th post on the blog.  I wanted to write something meaningful, heartfelt, something about one of my favorite causes.  But instead let me tell you about today’s morning trip out into the 6 a.m. darkness to find the perfect spot.

I had been dreaming about my mother.  I lost the dream when I woke to find Katie standing on me asking to go out.  But I was thinking about mom when I clicked Katie’s leash onto her collar and we ventured out into the cool morning air.  The stars were out.  I glanced up and saw Orion’s belt, my representation of my mom, in the sky.   I don’t think I’ve seen it all summer and it felt good to have her overhead again.

We walked down to the end of the driveway, Katie, mom and I; Katie  sniffing her usual places where other dogs leave her messages.  I was watching the sky and thinking about mom when I realized Katie wasn’t sniffing anymore. She was staring intently over at the neighbor’s yard.  “That’s just our shadows silly girl” I told her.  And I moved a little just to prove my point.

And then we heard this;  you only have to hear the first few seconds to get the effect.  The sound was just over our property line…perhaps 20 yards away.  Katie didn’t even bark back.  She looked at me.  I looked at her and together we hustled back to the house.

We were creeped out, but not as much as if Katie’s dad hadn’t heard this last week when he was out with Katie around midnight.  He described it and found it on youtube for us to hear.  So I wasn’t so surprised once I got my heart rate back down and could think about it.  I don’t think the fox would have come toward us.  Katie wants to go back outside.  But I’m not taking any chances.

Not till the sun is up anyway.