The Third Act

Monday

Even though there were a couple milder (no longer so) days, some snow still clings to certain areas.  It's a weird combination of slushy and crusty.  

Trying to wrap my head around this week...and get on track (whatever that means).  I'm on a social media/news fast.  Maybe at the end of the week I'll make my presence known again, but for now it's my blog and Flickr (and to a lesser degree, Bluesky).  I don't need to add more stress to my life.

Oh, but there's some good news!  One of my toned cyanotype pieces was accepted into a show at Davinci Art Alliance.  I'm thrilled!  I'll be taking the small print to get framed this week.

Wishing you all a lovely week ahead.

 

 

 

Last Monday

Today is Saturday...the week has gone by quickly.

The snow still sticks in places, but mostly it's slushy.

More cold on the way starting tomorrow afternoon.

A real winter for a change...

 

 

another Friday

Good grief it all goes by so fast.

Drippy warm up today.  The weekend should be interesting...warm, rainy, cold, snowy.

Seed order is in...I went a little gung ho.  But that's okay...the garden will be phenomenal.

Avery stitches are out.  All is well.

 

 

in the dead of winter, I prepare for spring

The next few days will be reaching closer to average temperatures.  By Sunday morning, I imagine most of the remaining snow will melt.  But then...the temperatures plummet again, with a chance for snow Sunday afternoon.  The first few days of next week will be the coldest so far this winter.  I think I'll leave the faucets dripping on a couple of those nights, forecast to be in the single digits.

Thankfully, there is plenty of firewood.  In fact, there's a whole pile right outside my door just waiting to be stacked.  I have to say, I'm taking my time approaching that task.  With a number of overuse/pain issues happening in my body, caution is well warranted.  It's pretty cool to be able to simply take a couple steps outside to bring more wood in, though (I mean, it's always good to look on the bright side).

Today the seed starting rack got readied for spring...or rather, for pre-spring.  Last year, I didn't start the garden plants from seeds.  Since I was going to be away during a critical time of that process, I opted to buy seedlings.  This year, however, I'm looking forward to trying new varieties and reuniting with some old friends as well.  My catalog choices have been circled and it's just a matter of getting online to send in the order.

I've started another roll of film in the Zero.  I need more pinholes in my life.  For whatever reason it's slow going.  On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with taking time.

 

 

 

 

stragglers

Here are the rest of the frames from the last Holga roll.  As I stated in an earlier blog post, my processing and/or treatment of this film was not exemplary.  Still, the images are...atmospheric?  

The weather continues winter cold.  Not gonna complain, but I do feel an intense need to hibernate!  I find when I compulsively jump into anything new these days, especially with a frantic sort of energy, it doesn't work as I'd like.  So, I'm going to take my time throughout the rest of this month, focusing on the dreaming/planning end of things.  That does not, however, mean I'll stop making photos and sharing them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the snow still clings

It's about four days past the last snow fall...that light, dry, fluffy stuff.  Even though we hit near 50F yesterday, and there was a lot of melt, a cold white covering remains in the garden.  I'm not displeased...I like to think of all the deep sleep the plants are getting.  Of course, truth be told, I also think that maybe some noxious pest grubs are finding their demise as well.

Last night I sat with two friends watching the Wolf moon rise.  It was clear and cold.  We talked about what we wished to release this moon cycle.  We shared our vulnerability.  We bolstered each other in our desires for the future.  

When I went to bed, I looked out to see the shadows of bare trees against the snow, illuminated by the moon.

Below find a couple more Holga images from when the snow had freshly fallen, and a glimpse of the full moon rising taken last night with my iPhone...

 

 

 

 

swimming against the currents

These days, man.  I don't know what's going on, but boy does it feel like I'm moving through molasses.  I'm not gonna blame it on the cold, because I love the cold...or at least I think I do.  But maybe I ask too much of myself in this yet dark and frigid time.

I thought I'd change out all my chemistry in the processing kit.  When I developed this film, well, I'm not sure what went wrong.  Did the gap in the film backing let light in to cause faded areas in the scans (a common occurrence for me and I don't know how to get the film to roll on to the take up reel tight)?  Did I mix one of the solutions wrong?  Did I overfix?  Was it too cold when I shot the film outside?  Is my 20 year old Holga showing its age (does that even happen?)?  For any non-nerdish photogs reading this, please excuse the minutiae.

Perhaps this (and more) is just a reminder to take things a little slower.  Spend time planning but not necessarily doing.  Get ready for the light and energy to return. There is time.

Holga images (some better than others) on Kentmere400 from one of our recent snowy days...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday snow

The accumulation is on the lower side of the range predicted.  It's light and fluffy and has a wonderful squeak when walked upon.  I have no complaints about this little Saturday morning treat.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

just another Friday

When did I start making these weekly Instax self portraits?  It was the Friday after the election.  Ugh...that election.  Maybe my purpose with this project is to monitor my...what...sanity?  Anyway, I started it so I'll at least try to keep it going until 52 weeks have passed.  Nine down, I believe...and it's a little hard to believe!

Also...there's cake!  I never posted the Instax photos of the birthday cake I made...in its fullness and the leftovers.  Towards the end I froze a chunk.  I mean, I almost never make layer cake so it's worth saving for...when I want layer cake?

Another snow storm is in the forecast.  This one is supposed to deliver light, fluffy snow.  That's a much better scenario than the last one.  It remains to be seen just what kind of accumulation happens.

On another note...or perhaps a return to a previous note...I'm contemplating ditching all Meta products.  I'm not thrilled with the direction Mr. Z is taking it (although I can't say I'm surprised).  If so, I need to keep in contact with friends through other means...this blog (although I know it's not a give and take sort of thing and after all this time, the comments area still confuses me), Flickr, obviously, and maybe Patreon in the near future.  There's my website as well, which has been terribly neglected by me.  

Sometimes my virtual life is more overwhelming than my real life.  I don't like this...because my real life is overwhelming enough!  Over the past couple years the real world has certainly been playing a bigger part in my lived experience.  There were a few years after I moved to Virginia and was trying to find my balance (after the big changes) that the natural hermit in me really leaned into solitude.  I can't say I was entirely happy about that, but it's what I could do at the time.  That hermit part of me is still there, but it has faded into the background a bit since there is now a real life social network I belong to.  The deep need for virtual connection isn't as strong as it once was, which makes me a bit braver to let go of supporting entities which I don't think have humanity's best interest in mind. 

Stay tuned!!

 

 

 

 

icy mornings

Icy mornings generate slow starts.  At least for this aging body. 

The snow/ice that fell on Monday hasn't melted.  With daily temperatures hovering right around freezing, only the streets seem to have sloughed off their frigid coatings.

Apparently there's another small storm headed our way.  This time, though, there isn't supposed to be ice...mainly dry, fluffy snow.  We shall see.

Thankfully water is flowing with, as far as I can tell, normal pressure.  The small things (which aren't really small) make a huge difference.