Urban poetry

Eerie shapes and shadows in what is actually a very ordinary elevator by the High Line.

Astronomy Tuesday

These bands of color look like semiprecious stones -- the same veining, the same patterns -- but they're actually clouds. New Horizons took this closeup of Jupiter in 2007 before continuing on its way to Pluto.

Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins U. APL, SWRI

Sunday bird blogging

A raven in a parking lot in Jackson. Their chatter was a constant soundtrack in town.

Geometries

Endless windows, endless balconies: modern generic city.

In this case, Manhattan.

Urban poetry

These are just steps in front of an office building -- 1 Bligh Street in Sydney -- but I love the curves and the way the metal studs zigzag off into a lightning bolt.

The Bligh in Bligh Street is actually Captain William Bligh of Bounty fame, who was later governor of New South Wales. His efforts to clean up corruption in the rum trade led to his being deposed by his officers -- again -- and forced to flee to Tasmania and then back to Britain.

Astronomy Tuesday

This is known as the Running Chicken Nebula, in the southern constellation Centaurus.

Okay, a chicken? Really? I see a bulldog face -- or maybe a hippo -- but no poultry. Maybe it's more obvious where the name came from in a less detailed image. The photographer, Andrew Campbell, took an 11-hour exposure from a backyard near Melbourne to capture this shot. I can't even imagine the equipment required to track an astronomical object across the sky for 11 hours when I sometimes can't manage to get a clear shot of a perfectly stationary building, so kudos to Mr. Campbell.


Image Credit and Copyright: Andrew Campbell

Sunday bird blogging

Here's something sweetly ordinary: a robin, in the creek behind my lodge in Jackson.

Most birds, like most humans, love to splash around in the water. They don't usually do it in the middle of the afternoon, but it was unusually hot in Jackson Hole and if the creek had been a little deeper I might have joined the robin.

Saturday reflections

Windows by the Javits Center.

Yesterday began with our first Active Shooter drill at work, because that's the country we live in now, and ended with an exquisite old school French dinner of mushroom souffle and floating island at La Grenouille, a belated birthday celebration with the lovely Jayne.

So this photo seems appropriate -- a little ominous, a little dreamy.

Urban poetry

No, not that kind of park.

This sign, appearing to point at the single tree, made me laugh, and I had fun styling the picture to make it look far darker and grittier than it actually was.

Astronomy Tuesday

This photo of the night side of Pluto was taken by New Horizons last July. I love the way you can see its atmosphere as a cloudy haze in the oh so faint sunlight.

Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Institute

Textures 2

A field of dandelions, trampled by human and animal into leaf and stem and a few sad wisps of flower.

Textures

I have to admit that, in general, I loathe “Western.” Cowhide rugs, knotty pine walls, antlers used for anything other than stabbing an opponent while firmly attached to the head of the original owner, all make me cringe.

In Jackson they clearly have a steady supply of antlers, and they stack them up and shape them into ornamental archways at the downtown park, at restaurants, and at hotels. It's definitely better than turning them into chandeliers or centerpieces. I can't say I liked the look, but viewed close up, I did love the shapes and textures of them.