… photography, by Ansel Adams
Avalus has been out capturing the natural world for us, and this set of photos is spectacular.
And this morning I had this big bird of prey pose and flex its wings for me. Quality is not the best, as I was shivering on my bike (cold! Forgot my gloves! Again!) and the autofocus had its problems focusing the bird from about 30 m away. It was a majestic sight. The pictures don’t do it justice.
Our weather has been fabulous for the past few days, with lots of sunshine and temps hovering around 18ºc. It feels more like September than November, and Jack and I have been spending our days outside. Jack is still having trouble with an arthritic left shoulder, so we haven’t been going very far, but Bubba is content to lie on his bed, basking in the sun while I do yard work. We have the flower beds cut back and tucked in for winter, we’ve gotten rid of most of the carpet of leaves that fall from our 2 red maples ( I like to keep a light protective leaf cover), the hoses are put away, the patio furniture is covered, the annuals have been uprooted and tossed, and I’ve harvested the last of the tomatoes. There really isn’t much left to do outside, but it’s too darn nice to stay inside, so I might just take the day off and find a good book to read in the back garden. Housework can wait. I have a long winter of Covid confinement ahead of me to get caught up on indoor chores. Summer in November is a gift not to be wasted.
The good news is that Jack’s shoulder is improving, and he should be able to resume normal activity soon. He’s been getting bored with just short walks down the street and back, and he’s more than ready for a bit of adventure. Honestly, I am, too. I’ve hardly used my camera since Jack went lame, and short walks around the block are boring for me, too. I have a backlog of photos from the earlier part of autumn, though, and I thought I’d share them over the next few weeks. Both photos today were taken along the Thames River in mid-October.
… blades. These photos are from the 2019 Knife Awards, a yearly competition held in Atlanta by Blade, the world’s’ #1 knife publication. The event wasn’t held in 2020 due to Covid, but they are planning a June 2021 show, for those of you interested aficionados. Today, I’m sharing just the best custom knives from the show, but if you want to see the full cadre of winners the link is here. I’ve saved the best of show for last. All photos are from Blade Magazine.
Best Art Knife, by Veronique Laurent