Hazy View

Hazy View, originally uploaded by Jeromie.

Props to whoever can guess (or deduce) how I made this image. A hint: contrast was boosted in post processing, but it's otherwise unaltered.

Coming soon: A deeper look into some of the philosophy of photography, including my answer to the question, "When should I take photographs?"

DCF Pond

DCF Pond, originally uploaded by Jeromie.

I'm not committed to any particular project right now, but I want to get in the habit of making (and sharing) photographs on a regular basis. This is the only picture I took today, so it wasn't hard to choose one to post.

Photo of the Day

Men at Work, originally uploaded by Jeromie.

Burning Lamp Post #1

Burning Lamp Post #1, originally uploaded by Jeromie.

Sometimes I take a picture because it's something I just don't see every day.

Pause in the Action

Pause in the Action, originally uploaded by Jeromie.

They Grow So Fast, originally uploaded by Jeromie.

I'm going to miss these boys. But they are going to take Charlottesville by storm.

Liz and the Argoflex

Liz and the Argoflex, originally uploaded by Jeromie.

Wheel in the Dark

Wheel in the Dark, originally uploaded by Jeromie.

Pillow talk

I had a dream about Eskimos. They were rolling around on the bed making harpoon jokes.

-Liz

The Origin of Poems

Sin Bucket, originally uploaded by Jeromie.

I've long found poetry a compelling way to express my feelings. I love prose, but when my heart is brimming with emotion verse often feels like a better conduit for releasing what is inside. I haven't written a lot (privately or publicly) of poetry, but I recognize it's power.

This latest round of verse had a definite beginning. Liz and I had a date weekend to celebrate our anniversary at the end of June. We went out to a nice restaurant we'd never been to before on Friday night and set Saturday aside for a day of fun. We went berry picking at a local u-pick berry farm, had a quiet lunch at a nice little café, trolled through a few antique stores for some interesting finds (we each brought home one item as an anniversary gift), and picked up some SweeTreats ice cream on the way home. (We got them to mix the berries we'd just picked into the ice cream. Delicious.)

Our time in the berry farm seemed ripe for poetry. The hot sun beating down on us, the feel of the plump berries under our fingers, and the sweet-or-tart taste of berries just plucked from the bushes all begged to be memorialized in verse. The entire experience was a feast for the senses, and I had the joy of sharing it with my best friend and beloved wife. Even a poem can't capture all the richness of the experience. But it's a start.

I walk with my beloved
along neat, orderly rows
where we press our hands
into wild, twisting branches
coming back with fresh scratches
and firm, black berries
that burst between white teeth
staining tongues purple.

Knots

I did not know when I was young
and eager to learn to tie my shoes
that different knots would come, unbidden
to nestle between my shoulder blades
with no dangling ends to set them loose

Jockey Lot School Bus

Jockey Lot School Bus, originally uploaded by Jeromie.

I went with Liz and Corey to pay one last visit to the Anderson Jockey Lot today. It was blazing hot, but we had a good time. Liz picked up a pair of old fashioned irons to use as book ends, and I nabbed a couple of three dollar CDs.

Last night I noticed myself being really negative, but I felt powerless to stop it. It's an ugly place to be in. As I sat and tried to contemplate what was going on before I went to bed, this is what came out:

thoughts race around my mind
like cars circling a city
busy, busy, busy
going nowhere
filling the air (and my mind)
with a noxious yellow cloud
that hides everything beautiful
beneath a layer of ugly grime

Anderson Jockey Lot

A selection of items for sale from the Anderson Jockey Lot online vendor list:

• Baby Products
• Body Jewerly
• Camo items
• ChICKENS
• Christian CDs
• Cigerettes
• Cleaning supplies
• Elvis
• Hair Pieces
• John Deere
• Knives Etc.
• Mens Underwear
• Pets
• Purses, Metal
• Wrestling action figures

The Terror!

One of my favorite blogs is one I've discovered relatively recently, the Boston Globe's The Big Picture.

The eighth picture in today's post about anti terrorism exercises in China was hilarious.

Close call

I was almost pulled into blogging about an Ann Coulter column that was linked to on a forum I've been frequenting lately, but then I took a deep breath, calmed down, and decided it wasn't at all worth it. Her columns are obviously designed to raise ire (and page views) by those who disagree with her. They do a good job of it, too. I doubt she even believes all of what she writes, though I could be wrong. I've been startled before at the reality of people I was sure existed only in stereotype.