Leaves
I took a break from the computer earlier this afternoon to take Olive up into the woods.
Somewhere deep in my memory lives the idea that I have seen something like this before. But I find it quite amazing and wondrous that I saw two different instances of leaves attached to what appears to be a thin strand of spider thread floating in midair and moving with the light breeze. This made me really happy.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Huntington Library
I was back at The Huntington yesterday for my annual visit to the Blue Boy. It is breathtaking. It’s quite impossible to look at a reproduction and get any sense of just how amazing this painting is in person.
At the opposite end of the gallery is this painting by Thomas Lawrence which is commonly referred to as “Pinkie”. I had never really paid much attention to her, but it is pretty easy to get lost in gazing at it.
It was very hot yesterday so I didn’t walk around the gardens for long. There are lots of ginkgo trees on the grounds. I grew up with one in my side yard in Meadville and clearly remember climbing it as a boy. It was the only one I ever saw as a kid, and is still my favorite tree.
As I walked over a little bridge in the Japanese garden, these guys showed up thinking I might feed them. Sorry I couldn’t oblige.
Leaves / Ice
I had a nice little walk in the woods today with the dog. We don’t have any snow, but there is ice.
Acorn
Olive and I had a nice walk in the woods today. There are so many oak leaves on the ground, and lots of acorns. It looks like rain later today, and then another sunny day tomorrow.
If there is water to be found, she will be in it.
Recent
I haven’t been posting lately, and I suspect one of the reasons is above. I am remembering that it takes a ton of work to have a puppy in the house.
The good news is that I am spending a ton of time in the woods with her. Any help on what this lot is?
Cris and I flew out of Boston early yesterday on our way to Denver. Hard to believe the above shot was taken in the airport. Looks like something out of someone’s private home in South Boston. / On our way up to the mountains we stopped in Arvada to see the house where my aunt Leora and uncle Herald lived, a place I have been visiting since a young child.
We are in Colorado for the wedding of one of Cristine’s grad students. Laura was a favorite of ours, and the nuptials are in Beaver Creek. It is beautiful here. The aspens are so lovely at this time of the year.
Pingry and Travel
I just spent the past four days shooting a project at the Pingry School in New Jersey. The days were very full, the work was great and since it was with my friends at the Herson Group, we enjoyed ourselves tremendously. / I have been photographing Peter Carroll jumping almost as long as I have known him (which is a very long time). And while I was living in Ithaca, I spent a lot of time photographing portable toilets, and had a very one sided postcard correspondence with The Portable Sanitation Association. These toilets were on the high end of comfort and I believe they were even air conditioned.
The spring is much further (farther?) along in New Jersey than it is in Massachusetts, and these dogwood blossoms were at their peak. Ours don’t even have leaves yet.
As I was driving through Springfield, the sky got really interesting and I pulled into a scenic area on the 91 to check out this beautiful rainbow. Not a great shot, but a lot of cars had stopped to watch it and there was a nice little collection of people taking in the scene. / Enjoy the weekend everyone.
Snow
We have had quite a bit of snow in the past few weeks, and we are fortunate to be able to walk out our back door and head up into the woods to enjoy it. / About 10 years ago my brother and sister-in-law gave me these old school snowshoes for Christmas, and I really enjoy tromping around in them. They are surprisingly efficient and very easy to use.
Yesterday, Cris and I both were on snowshoes. Today she cross country skied while I stayed on the shoes. It was magical.
Thank You
Thanks to all of you who have sent condolences following the Pearl’s death. Hearing from you has meant a great deal to me. It is a week since the she died and we still haven’t come to terms with it. But we really are trying to move on, while keeping her lovely spirit in our hearts. / The recent weather here has been beautiful, and on Sunday Cris and I had a great long bike ride through Amherst and Hadley. This shot was taken less than a mile from the busy Route 9 corridor facing the Holyoke Range. Moodybridge has always been one of my favorite roads in the valley.
Meadville, PA
I am in Meadville sitting in a Tim Horton’s. It is the only open café with WIFI and I wanted to do a quick post before I head out of town.
My dad died in 2007 and in memorial to his time teaching at Allegheny College the family decided to plant a tree on the campus. I wanted to check on it to see how it was faring and was happy to see that it is in good shape.
My sister Karen knows a lot about trees and gardens and she suggested a Winter King. Here’s a link describing it and it seems an apt choice. (It is cool that the link goes to Penn State’s Extension program as dad got his doctorate in German Literature there.) I especially like how the bark peels off; it kind of reminds me of a sycamore which is a tree I also like. I have been thinking about a long post about my dad which I hope to get to in the next few months. He was a very interesting guy.
Pups in the Park
I made a run down to DC yesterday to deliver more household stuff for Peter’s apartment. Today we went to see the Nats and were delighted to discover that it was “Pups in the Park” day. And as is obvious, there was sniffing.
This picture shows Gio Gonzalez’s first pitch, which B.J. Upton promptly put into left field for a double. It went downhill for the Nationals from there. The final was 9-0 Braves, but it was a fun game to watch. Peter was especially excited about being able to walk up to the box office and get $20.00 seats an hour before first pitch. Something that hasn’t happened at Fenway for a very long time.
This is my second trip to the park, and the fact that you can see the Capitol as you are exiting from the upper levels is way cool.
Pete also told me that these cherry trees were an important part of the planning of the park. So nice to see them in bloom. It was beautiful here in the District today and a perfect day for baseball.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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