So. . .if you’re going to park your walker, where else would you put it?
Month: January 2013
Life of a bird
When trees are stripped of their leaves in winter you can see birds hunkered down. I once thought if I had a choice that I’d love to be a bird and be able to fly. Then I thought about living in a tree, in winter, in the rain, in the snow. It can’t be an easy life.
Working barn 2
Here’s another in my working barns series. I like the sturdy size and volume of this one. At Christmastime it sported a light display at its front that seemed to light up most of the neighborhood.
Royal mail
I was taken with this mail drop at the Empress Hotel when we were in Victoria last month. Beyond its polish, it was a surprise to see actual brass in use for an everyday utility like this.
Two of my very first jobs – in downtown San Francisco – were in an old office building that, in those days, still had old wood wainscotting and I think there was ample marble used in floor tiling and the restrooms. There was a mail drop on every floor, a slot into a tube that went all the way down to the lobby. And if I’m not mistaken the mail landed in a drop in the lobby with a proud looking brass front. I haven’t worked in a big city in decades. Do high rises have anything like this anymore, a mailbox with a fancy brass presence?
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. today on a day that celebrates his legacy. The longer I live the greater my respect for the bravery of those who’ve fought for human and civil rights through history.
Winter landscape
This fence tells the story of winter vegetation around here: ferns died back, dormant berries, dead or dormant grass, and moss. Plenty of moss.
Dinnertime
This winter woolly horse grazed during a rare golden hour recently.
Working barn
Some time back I posted a shot of one of our local deteriorating barns. One commenter lamented that this seemed to be the way of barns nowadays. And since photographers love a sad and tilting barn (hey, I’m as guilty as the next shooter), we see lots of them. But that got me thinking. We have a lot of barns around here that are alive and working. They may not be as picturesque, nor as nostalgic, but they represent a culture that’s both our heritage and our future.
So I’m going to post pictures of some of our local working barns from time to time. I have a few already. I don’t think they’re necessarily dreamy subjects worth framing, but I’d like to think they deserve a nod, if only to help us remember that agriculture feeds and clothes us. And I for one hope that working barns and family farms don’t become a thing of the past.