September Night Sky

 The scent of burning embers

Mountains still lush green

School days fondly remembered

Being sweet sixteen

by klr

Attempting to photograph a starry night would certainly require more camera knowledge than I possess plus a location outside the city.  But this particular morning I was struck by the shadowy forms of a birch tree and a maple as the sun was just thinking about rising...

Chocolate anenome -Which is better?

Posted on The Creative Exchange

by klr

by klr

Open to criticism - what is wrong with these photos?

The antique urn or vase is posted on Lisa Gordon's Creative Exchange along with many wonderful photos.

First photo with Nikon COOLPIX S8100

Well, I don't know if I needed to go through all the rigmarole I did to get to this point of posting my first photo from my new camera or not - or if I will be able to find another method.  I hope that as I go along I will find easier ways to do things or shortcuts I don't know about yet.  This dried flower arrangement has been in my atrium for some time now and it has a fall color scheme to it so it is apropo as the first one up on my blog  (at the start of autumn) that I can truly say is an original photograph of mine. I tried to use the X-large size but it overlapped onto the side gadgets space. 

It's a start! 

Hercule Poirot, I presume?

Many people who read this can say they have been to Paris, but it is someplace I never longed to see until just recently.  Having heard both positive and negative reports, I guess I want to find out for my self just what it would be like to spend some time in France.  Perhaps this book is a bit on the slurpy side of romantic but it contains a marvelously well portrayed period in history from someone who knows her subject. So I just read.

The recent movie , "Midnight in Paris," captivated me and further prompted a search for all things French.  There are other old movies, and songs, with similar titles that clutter my mind; I recall one with Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, those with Audrey Hepburn at her finest, not to mention Catherine De'Neuve and Juliette Binoche and little sparrow, Edith Piaf.  I envison hopping on a train and encountering Hercule Poirot.  My friend visited the gardens in Provence, which was the highlight of her trip.  I, too, would like to see that part of the country.

Particularly, I have become an admirer of French antiques. Generally expensive but one can find a piece for a reasonable price if one knows what to look for.  Dealers travel to France simply to buy and sell again the wares found there so there never seems to be a shortage of authentic French antiques or French inspired decor.  I'm not an expert, but I know what I love when I see it.  Nothing too exotic as my taste is not too ostentatious, yet interesting, a good conversation piece..  The King Louis XIV silver plate tableware  I own is the closest I will ever get to French aristocracy, but it is lovely.

I'm reminded of Louis Armstrong when I think of Paris (is that because he played in the French Quarter in N. O.?) and Madeleine, heroine for little girls who were disciplined by nuns.  And the subjects of history and art must take up a myriad of volumes in their libraries.  But I would just like to take my granddaughter there, or at least plant the seed of traveling there in her head so she might go someday while backpacking through Europe, even if I never make it there; I hope she spends all day in a museum, takes a boat down the Seine, stays in a small village, tastes the food, smiles at everyone she sees,  and buys a 1.5 oz. of French perfume as a souvenier.

Goodbye summer...

In a last minute attempt to hang onto summer, I retrieved a few photos selected from my stash taken from a multitude of photos by many people. ( I did not take them) to carry me through to the next trip to the ocean.   No doubt there will be a different forecast and the skies will be gray or stormy.  That is just fine with me, for it's cozy inside and it's another opportunity to beach comb and smell the salty air I love.

Blue and white as well as red and yellow are associated with the beach.  I chose some in blue and gray for this post.  I did think about adding some special effects from picnik.com  but decided against it.  All are reminders of a recent visit.  The old VW bus with surfboards for nostalgia, the homemade sea shell mobile, a favorite lighthouse in Cape Cod, some buoys and an oar for nautical decor, a soft pillow for the head while reading, a beachy wreath, Jonathon Livingston Seagull (if you are familiar with his story), and the sound of waves and waves and more waves.

                                                                                

Hear Them

by klr

In a mist of confetti
souls floated away
Incense of their innocence
their lives were betrayed

Heaven bent lights honor them
Pools soothe aching hearts
Wreaths and speeches give tributes
Doleful bagpipes impart

But for a lasting world peace
candles and prayers are not enough
Heed their breathless cries

Put neon stars out tonight
Find the true rose of justice
So no more will die

Seattle's Dowtown Public Library...

These were taken last year when my granddaughter and I visited the fairly new Public Library Downtown Seattle to borrow some books for a project....it had been raining...

I was struck by her interest in the shapes and lines of the architecture and the art in the building. If the cell phone battery would not have run down she would have taken more photos

This is just a sample of what it's like. On a sunny day the windows would be letting in much more light, of course. It was a fun excursion, as most of the Public Libraries are older and a bit musty. Plus it had all the latest technology for making the checking out and returning of books a lot quicker. The scanner was able to read the titles of four stacked books, reading through them like an Xray machine much like those used at the airport for security. Then it was time for a hot chocolate at Starbucks ;-()

Sleeping Beauty

I wrote this a couple of years ago but I never showed it to anyone but a small handful of friends.  It speaks for itself...a familiar sight to those who live in the White Salmon, Trout Lake area near Mt. Adams in Washington State. Now I am ready to share it here ;-)

We 

                                                              by klr                                   Klickitat County WA

Her reclining silhouette looks up to heaven

draped in a gown of multi-hued greens,

she sleeps eternally above the golden valley

Hills of smoldering spruce form her breasts,

 new growth where her flowing lava hair

once was quarried.

 
Indian legend says she died of an aching heart

Gods fought for her pure love

yet she lived for no other than her young brave

The story tells how the volcanoes rumbled,

echoes of Romeo and Juliette,

immortal mountains make a true love's grave

Autumn turns her garb to silky rusts and golds,

 while hints of lime and magenta foliage

grow next to ebony bones

In winter she imparts warmth to those who eye her

A snowy princess in sweet repose

shy clouds cling to her feet

Springtime birds fly gladly all around

finding shelter in her terrain,

Rainbows often circle her throat

The sun and stars take turns

shining down upon her,

Her majesty can be seen for miles

Veils of mist breathe a faint sound

One senses a slight stirring motion

as she slumbers and smiles