Smokies Light

The dog days of summer have set in for me, although since it's not even officially Summer yet, I'll call these the puppy days of Spring. Don't feel like doing much of anything except boogie boarding, walking the beach, and cooling off in the pool in my spare time. I think this was the only pic I took last weekend. If you haven't noticed, these little boats are a favorite subject of mine but I don't know why. Judging from the art galleries here, they are a favorite subject of many local artists. I also don't know where the phrase "dog days" came from. I would google it but I'm too lazy with it being the puppy days of Spring, a phrase which I will reluctantly take credit for. Posting could be sparse this week. Next weekend perhaps imagery will pick up some. I've got a kayak on order for delivery next weekend. You just gotta be on the water somehow when living here and kayaking is the most eco and budget friendly way to go. I've heard rumors of manatees and dolphins coming right up to your boat. I'll have to figure out how to take pics from the boat without damaging or losing the camera gear, but I think it's doable.

In Spaceballs, Mel Brook's parody of Star Wars, the very wise and master of the Force, Yogurt (played by Mel himself), is asked by the protagonist hero Lone Starr if they will ever see each other again. Yogurt's reply was,"Who knows. God willing we'll all meet again in Spaceballs II: The Search for More Money. Good-bye, Lone Starr." After seeing the latest Indiana Jones movie last night, that line remorsefully has been stuck in my head. I rarely go see movies in the theater but this one was special. Raiders of the Lost Ark was MY movie, even more so it was my generation's movie. It was first released in my college years to packed theaters, and then re-released a few summers afterwards each time drawing large crowds. The movie had something for everyone, history, archeology, adventure, travel, good vs. evil, mysticism; it was just a plain fun summertime movie, with special effects and stunts which stretched the suspension of disbelief to the maximum breaking point but not quite exceeding it. While watching the latest movie last night, I got the feeling that I had been had. Lucas and Spielberg knew there were many thousands if not millions of Raiders fans out there hoping, looking longingly for that old magic one more time, but unfortunately they failed to deliver. Speilberg's mastery of light and composition was still there, but the old magic was gone . The script had a total lack of character development, with stunts and action scenes that were cartoonish to the point of being utterly stupid. It was good to see Indiana again in his fedora and reassuring smile, but they gave him no words to utter, no memorable lines, no memories at all to take home. Indy did look his age. He was tired, and the only memory I will take from this movie is that I'm tired also, compared to my college years. It takes a little encouragement and coaxing to get Life going now, where it used to be taken for granted, and this movie somewhat painfully reminds me of that fact. One memorable scene I will take home, the most memorable scene from last night, was one of the commercials we have to endure before the movie starts after paying good money for the seat and $4.00 for a soda pop. The commercial had former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and James Carville arguing politics, but coming together to share a Coke. Now that's one thing we can all agree on I suppose, bringing us together as a nation to heal the bitter divide, and that is buying things.

I don't know much about egret behavior but it's been rare to see one on the beach like this one. They seem to prefer the intracoastal waterway, bays, and marshes.

Shuttle plumage.

Here's the new toy I mentioned last week, a Wilderness Ride 135. It's a pretty nice ride on the water, designed for high stability as a fishing platform but also should work well for photography, at least as far as kayaks go. I did have some buyer's remorse however working with the boat on land. I consider myself average in strength and physical condition for my age, and this boat is just drudgery to launch, take out, and especially load on the roof racks of my Subaru. In fact I haven't figured out how to put it on the car by myself yet. The weight is advertised at 64lbs which sounds like not much, but it is. I should have researched the weight and bulkiness more before buying to see if it could be handled solo. The vision I had was futzing around the many estuaries and bays after work on these long days of Summer, but the transport problem is dimming the vision. I paddled a Mohawk 12ft whitewater canoe about ten years ago while driving a 4Runner and can't even remember how I loaded it on top of a much higher vehicle, so it wasn't a problem that registered with me when buying this one. Oh well, it was nice seeing an osprey dive on a fish just 30 yards away, and the waterways here are just teeming with life so I hope I can adjust to the boat's weight.

It was a jack, the fish not the man.

Ed. note: No fish were harmed in the making of this picture.

for breakfast.

a morning walk after breakfast.

Ed. note: Fish were harmed in the making of this picture

across the Bridge of Lions. In the image above, the vertical structure on the left is not a sailboat mast but The Great Cross, supposedly the site of the first Catholic mass and mission in America.

Ed. note: No sailboats were harmed in the making of this picture.

It was actually darker to the eye than these images appear. A long exposure tends to brighten things up a bit. Shooting in the dark with a high ISO setting allows no wiggle room in Photoshop due to noise. The light was provided by yellow-tinted street lights.

Maybe it's the wine tasting I just got home from still influencing my perspective, and these words have probably been written and spoken verbatim or in spirit by many others, but art, music, and dance are the only things in life that really matter. Everything else is just overhead. It's realization that makes the difference, not memorizing and repeating truths trying to make them come true, because they already are. Have a nice day.

Shot this from the kayak. I have to confess to being envious of the power boats, being able to cover many miles of water and scenery, effortlessly gliding along while drinking a cold beverage. On the left you can see a tiny fish jumping, which was lucky timing but they jump so much it wasn't a surprise to me. Posting will be light this week; back in the Chattanooga area for some family issues.

I'm looking at myself reflections of my mind,
It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind.
So gently swaying through the fairyland of love,
If you'll just come with me you'll see the beauty of
Tuesday afternoon.
-- Moody Blues

Thank you Sarah.

Just your typical trees, hay fields, clouds, blue sky, and a mountain. You know, heaven.