1467. river town

beside the ole mon’

six gun sally wails grace slick

a coal barge grinds by 🦊❤️

 On our final night back in my hometown we attended a concert at the Aquatorium that was built on the Monongahela River in 1969 as part of the city’s 200th anniversary. There was something very, very special being at the concert with my son Kevin. It tied our whole weekend of traveling down memory lane together. As a child the river was what everything revolved around.  It still does for us… 🦊❤️

1466. worn out

 

a fresh coat of paint

can not brighten the dimness

a matter of time 🦊❤️

I saw so many houses descending into ruin during my last visit home to Monongahela. Some were just left to continue decaying. Some showed that a valiant effort was being made to preserve their habitability. It was sad seeing the homes I remember in various states of disrepair as well as having disappeared completely. 🦊❤️

1465. night sounds

 

church bells echoing

 add in a train and some rain

i drift off to sleep 🦊❤️

The church bells in my hometown still ring out hourly as they did way back when.  The trains still run, granted much less than before and of course rains still fall.  As a child the sound of any of these while laying in bed were not only relaxing, but also comforting.  The combination of all three simultaneously was heavenly.  🦊❤️

1464. fourth grade at st. anthony’s

 

as i looked inside

1960 came to life

then and now collide 🦊❤️

My search for the past during a recent visit back to my hometown was somewhat satisfied when I peered through the window of my now defunct grade school. There I saw the original desks used since the school’s opening in 1957.  It was my fourth grade classroom… where the infamously dreaded Sister Timothy taught. 🦊❤️

1463. window to the past

 

standing in the now

peering hard into the past

through a grimy lens 🦊❤️

I spent much of my weekend back home in the Mon Valley trying to look back into the past. So much has changed.  So much has stayed the same.  🦊❤️

1462. going home

 

another sunrise

breaks over the mon valley

there my heart remains 🦊❤️

I left the Mon Valley fifty some years ago.  After spending the last weekend there attending my 55th high school reunion accompanied by my son Kevin, I realized just how much my heart still resides in this special corner of Pennsylvania. Now… it’s time to go home. 🦊❤️

1461. 55th reunion

 

like eons ago

foolish teens met and frolicked

good times remembered 🦊❤️

Last night I attended my 55th high school reunion. We shared with each other where we “got to” but the most fun was reminiscing about the crazy things we did 55 long (and all too short) years ago.🦊❤️

1460. going home

 

a visit back home

nonna’s house in sad decay

gone… her dear fig tree 🦊❤️

I returned to my old hometown Monongahela PA for my 55th high school reunion.  Kevin and I spent our entire first day walking and driving around “Mon City” looking, talking and reminiscing.  So much has changed. So much has remained the same.  Some things made me smile.  Others made me sad.   The thing I love most is that the people of my old hometown , and the area in general,  still have the same friendly and down home spirit I remember. 🦊❤️

1459. location, location, location

 

now in their own woods

the fallen trees gathered close

a perfect framing 🦊❤️

I think that building a frame around a painting may be the most satisfying part of the process. But finding the best place to hang the painting was the most satisfying in this case.  🦊❤️. 

1458. doorway

 

a door to nowhere?

or a door to anywhere?

it’s for you to choose 🦊❤️

Yesterday we visited our friends Lori and Tom Curtis. They have created a wonderland on their property.  So much to see and enjoy.  They have indeed created a doorway to their vision.  Thanks for the great time! 🦊❤️

1457. peek-a-boo

 

behind all that brush

a big old fallen trunk lurks

it can’t hide from me 🦊❤️

Recently I am enjoying capturing photographs of unremarkable things and discovering just how remarkable the unremarkable can be. 🦊❤️ 

1456. soft morning sounds

 

i linger in bed

being lulled to linger more

by your soft murmurs 🦊❤️ 

There is nothing more sleep inducing and sleep extending than the foggy murmurings of a Mourning Dove that regularly haunts my balcony.  🦊❤️

1455. a second chance?

 

you once lit a home

now bulb-less and tossed aside

will you shine again? 🦊❤️

It is amazing how many perfectly good household items are tossed away.  Some are scooped up by avid trash pickers (as I was in younger years) and some not. 

(One man’s trash is another man’s treasure .” 🦊❤️

1454. moving forward

 

summer’s moving on

night come sooner… dawn later

leaves float on the creek 🦊❤️

Day by day you can feel summer moving on and fall rolling in.  Daylight becoming sandwiched more tightly between dawn and dusk.  Nature’s way of slowing us down. 🦊❤️

1453. what’s new?

 

day’s first new thing

little green thing-a-majig

novelty abounds 🦊❤️

Infinite newness awaits eyes that are open. 🦊❤️

1452. the pathless path

 

a well beaten path

people following people

indelible rut 🦊❤️

If you want to escape a rut, find a place where there is no path. 🦊❤️ 

1451. miniaturizing a dream

 

upcoming art show

how will the bare walls be filled?

first…make it all small 🦊❤️

Yulan and I are having a joint art exhibit on September 19th. She will be exhibiting her amazing origami compositions and I will exhibiting my newer landscape pieces. There is lots of planning involved in deciding “what goes where”.  We are in the process of creating a scale model of the site and our works to lay it all out. I have dreamed of a joint exhibit with Yulan for quite awhile.  More detail to come on the exhibit.  Fun! 🦊❤️

1450. frenetic

 

scrambling here and there

the sandpipers never stop

 tiny dynamos 🦊❤️

I stood and watched the Sandpipers leaving their marks in the sand as they flitted here and there pecking for food. Then the waves come in and their travels are erased - only to create more   🦊❤️

1449. poison ivy tree

 

once it stood so tall

chock full of poison ivy

no match for the storm 🦊❤️

There was a tree in the woods that we fondly called the “poison ivy tree”.  It had massive hairy vines of poison ivy clinging to its large rugged trunk. Our recent storms made easy work of toppling the tree. It was most likely compromised by the abundance of poison ivy vines that had been depleting its denseness over the years. So long poison ivy tree. We will miss looking at you from afar.  🦊❤️ 

1448. tethered

 

i patiently wait

while you do the things you do

i deserve better 🦊❤️

In my humble opinion, I think that some dog owners don’t qualify to have a dog. 🦊❤️

1447. guiding lights

 

there are guiding lights

some are within and some out

use each as they shine 🦊❤️

There is nothing more wondrous than early morning sunlight creating beams of light as it reveals the morning air. 🦊❤️

1446. here today - gone tomorr…

 

hot and humid days

mushrooms popping by the score

tomorrow… they’re gone 🦊❤️

Our recent hot, humid and rainy spell brought forth overnight a bumper crop of fungi of all types.  And then they were gone.  Here today… gone tomorrow. 🦊❤️

1445. straight “a” student

 

ready and waiting

up front and rarin’ to learn

a straight “a” student  🦊❤️

Tommy exudes confidence and a sense of being in command of his environment. He has been very successful at surviving @ 18 years living out in the woods. He has learned his lessons well. 🦊❤️

1444. won’t you be my neighbor?

 

that pesky bluejay

swooping in to get his due

all god’s creatures eat 🦊❤️

Every time we feed Tommy the same cast of Catbirds, Bluejays and a Squirrel are jolly on the spot to squabble over his leftovers.  We’ve come to realize that Tommy lives in a neighborhood and everyone wants to have a full belly. Mr. Rogers would love it. 🦊❤️ 

1443. leonardo divinci

 

take a very close look

an engineering wonder

a real work of art 🦊❤️

When I picked up and held a piece of Queen Anne’s Lace I automatically thought of Leonardo DiVinci and his architectural and engineering designs. Not only were they amazing structural and mechanical wonders, they were also works of art. 🦊❤️

1442. the cat’s meow

 

never too busy

to keep himself squeaky clean

he’s the cat’s meow 🦊❤️ 

One of the things that I most appreciate about Tommy is how clean and well groomed he is. He is rugged and is out and about in all kinds of weather.  He always takes good care of himself. He is a model of self care.   He really is the cat’s meow!!!! 🦊❤️

1441. golden memories

 

the fish of my dreams

the ever so humble carp

golden memories 🦊❤️

I walk across the stone bridge multiple times daily. Each and every time I stop and look down into the water to see if I can catch a glimpse of my beloved carp. So many memories of childhood, the Monongahela River, lost fishing poles, fishing with my kids and much more. 🦊❤️

1440. fishing for customers

 

no one is biting

much too hot to go fishing

dog days of summer 🦊❤️

It was possibly the hottest and most humid day yet. There was an eerie stillness in the Acme Market. Customers were shopping in slow motion to linger in the air conditioning I deduced. The sales clerk in the fish department could not get a bite. 🦊❤️

1439. me and my shadow

 

the hot morning sun

still low in the cloudless sky

me and my shadow 🦊❤️

Our shadows can be a real source of wonder and fascination if we allow our imagination to wander.  🦊❤️

1438. just describing things

 

the morning’s moisture

like shellac on the brown tree

reflecting the dawn 🦊❤️

I like to post blogs that will spark some thought and reflection in the readers.  Lately I’ve been a little short on that kind of inspiration. When that happens I usually resort to just describing what is in the photograph.  Then it dawns on me that just about everything that can be captured in a photograph is food for thought. 🦊❤️

1437. some like it hot

 

on the empty street

yellow weed flowers stand out

they just love this heat 🦊❤️

I love how the “weed flowers” flourish in the hot weather.  The hotter and drier it gets, the more they grow!!! It’s pretty inspirational.  🦊❤️