in the summer of 1984

you all know i was a rocket scientist, right? yup, seven years of education in aeronautics and astronautics, and 17 years working in aerospace research. so, it will come as no surprise to you that after i made this composition of maple leaves from the same tree…while i was editing it, only then did i realize that i had made the NASA logo. when i pointed it out to steve he simply replied “it was somewhere deep inside you.” you never know where your inspiration will come from. this one came from a summer internship at NASA Glenn in the summer of 1984.

autumn maple leaves from the same tree

p.s. today my husband of 33 years, steve, turns 57. my god, we were only kids.

true blue

how great is the color of this blue spruce?  i have no idea what makes the blue spruce look more or less blue. wiki refers to “waxy gray-green leaves”, so perhaps it has to do the amount of waxiness. whatever it is, i seemed to have caught this one at peak bluishness–perhaps before the waxiness has been reduced by wind and rain.

blue spruce branch tip (Picea pungens)

50 pinecones

so, this is kind of funny, but i just went to count the rows and column of this image, which by the way i have looked at for over an hour while i photographed and edited it, and just NOW noticed that my top two rows have 9 pinecones and my bottom four rows have 8. what? i was making a grid. i don’t not intend to do that. my first instinct was to re-make the assemblage and reshoot it. but then, i though, if i couldn’t even tell, does it even matter? clearly, in the grand scheme of life it matters not at all. but, for this particular artistic expression…does it matter? for me, the answer is no. the image feels balanced to me. and that is enough.

white pine pinecones

leopard spotted leaves

these sugar maples usually turn yellow. it seems everything is feeling a little out of sorts this fall. including myself. i can’t put my finger on what’s causing my unrest. yes, the news is unsettling. yes, global warming ways heavy. yes, my mom is declining and i am her caregiver. but all those have been true for almost two years now. i am hoping the coming retreat and quiet of winter will help me find some equilibrium.

sugar maple leaves in autumn

more orange than brown

these cedar tips looked brilliant orange in the evening sun. i knew that if i waited a day or two they would turn a dull brown. not sure what causes this die off–perhaps it’s all part of their annual cycle, perhaps it was our summer of high heat and drought. i’ve never caught them in this orange state before. it’s very pretty, the green and orange complements, if a little unnerving.

cedar tips in green and orange