little hedgehogs

these chestnuts are some of the sharpest things i’ve every tried to pick up. they seem completely protected from any creatures who might want to eat them. but apparently the local wild boar are dextrous enough and brave enough to graze whole fields of chestnuts, opening them up, delicately removing the nuts, and leaving only the husks behind. no one we’ve talked to seems to know how they do it. but hunger and inventiveness sometimes do go hand in hand.

chestnuts

autignac, france

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

self deception

i am somewhat desperately photographing my surroundings here before we leave it behind on thursday. i am also somewhat desperately trying to fool myself into believing it isn’t happening. that we aren’t leaving this culture and climate behind. that we aren’t returning to below zero fahrenheit (not celsius) temperatures, and a foot or more of snow on the ground. that these agave leaves aren’t actually agave leaves we are leaving behind on our south facing stone terrace in southern France, but a close up of some unmowed fescue grass waiting for us, on a breezy june evening, on the shore of turtle lake, while the frogs sing. yes. now that i could go home to.

agave on our terrace

autignac, france

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

softly falling

one of the reasons i have been so anxious to try this new format is that there is a small but significant segment of the color spectrum that i have not had a chance to explore while working on a white background. in my old format, these feathers would have looked dull gray, or possibly even like dirty white feathers set against a brighter white background. but now, against black, they get to show off their lustrous sheen to offset an air of slightly windblown bedragglement. They are happier, more self-confident feathers against a black background than they would have been against white.

beach feathers

sète, france

 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

shape…color…form…symbol?

i know there is a long human history of using arrangements of stones to mark special places and commemorate special events. i know that there is potentially some symbolism in my choice of symmetry and form and color here. i want very much to provide the key that will elevate this assemblage into a higher and more meaningful experience. but i collected them originally because they each had luscious, satisfying textures and felt good in my hands. then i organized them on a grid, like a good engineer, and continued to play with them until they met some internal definition of the word beautiful. and i stopped there. if you want more, the ball is in your court. let me know what you come up with.

beach rocks

sète, france

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

feature not a bug

when something is as delicious as a fresh blackberry, it only makes sense that nature would try to protect it by starting an arms race with the local omnivores. i can report that deterrence only got the local blackberries so far this fall. there were some heavy losses on the their side of the battle.

wild blackberries

autignac, france

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

"/> "/>