Earlier today while in my bedroom, I heard a loud thump against the roof in that corner of the house. Thinking that the house had been hit by falling space junk, I raised the blinds to discover a large and somewhat dazed wild turkey in the backyard. I grabbed my camera and ran to the backyard as the turkey rounded the corner of a neighbor’s … Continue reading Wild Turkey Visits Bluewing Court in Janesville, Wisconsin
The cranes and herons have returned to southern Wisconsin. Hundreds of sandhill cranes have been spotted near Whitewater, and great blue herons are now building and repairing nests at a rookery near Fort Atkinson. In celebration of their return, and the advent of spring, I am posting a remarkable set of photographs taken by my friend, Georgia Kestol-Bauer. Taken several years ago, these photos capture … Continue reading Sandhill Cranes – Courtship Dance on a Cranberry Bog
Two days this week (Saturday and today, Monday) I have driven from Janesville to Middleton, Wisconsin (about 45 miles each way) in search of a great grey owl that has been hanging out behind the Middleton Post Office for the past week. He was there on Friday and Sunday, but on neither day I was there. So, today after failing to find the owl, I … Continue reading Tundra Swans in a Corn Field
When is the government justified in making laws that have no purpose other than to protect us against ourselves? Mayor Bloomberg of New York City ran headlong into this question last week when a judge struck down the New York City ban on the sale of “large sugary drinks.” For those who don’t follow U.S. local news, in September 2012 the New York City Board … Continue reading Big Gulps, Obesity, and Political Philosophy
Starbucks charges about $1.85 for a single medium sized (Grande) cup of coffee. That price is at least 600 times the amount received by the person who picked the coffee used to make that cup. It is about 50 times the amount received by the coffee grower who hired the worker to pick it. Between the coffee retailer and the coffee grower there is a … Continue reading How Much Does a Cup of Coffee Really Cost?
Project: How can you make your backyard look like mine in the featured photo? Instructions: Start with an evening temperature of 54°F. Cover with water for three hours. Next, reduce temperature to 36°. Cover with an inch of sleet for about one hour. When the layer of sleet is complete, reduce the temperature again to 32° and cover with an inch of wet snow. Finally, … Continue reading A Wisconsin Winter Recipe: How to Make Your Backyard Look Like You Live Here
Last week Mexico lost a great artist and art educator. Maestro Juan Alcázar Méndez passed away on Thursday evening, February 7, 2013 due to progressively deteriorating complications of diabetes. Born in 1955 in the state of Oaxaca, Alcázar’s prodigious artistic talent propelled him to an early career in the arts. He entered the School of Fine Arts at the Autonomous “Benito Juárez” University of Oaxaca … Continue reading Remembering Juan Alcázar
White Sands National Monument is one of the most beautiful places on earth. In direct sunlight the sand is as white as snow and is surprisingly cool to the touch. About ten miles from Alomogordo, New Mexico, the dunes are so quiet that you can hear yourself breathe. Listen closely and you can hear you heart beat. I took these photos in 2002, 2003 and … Continue reading White Sands National Monument
Following the rules of photographic composition usually renders idealized versions of reality. Anyone learning to produce pleasant looking photographs will consider the “rule of thirds,” the importance of lighting, the importance of the foreground and background, the elimination of clutter, and so forth. Yet, as beautiful as many of the resulting photographs might be, they fall short of a more representational view of reality. Compare, … Continue reading Tourism Photography vs. Other Realities / Fotografía del turismo contra otras realidades
In Mexico people take pride and delight in constructing their annual nativity scenes. In the city of Oaxaca and I imagine many other cities throughout Mexico, the main city square is taken over by a huge nativity scene that stays up until after the 6th of January, Three Kings Day, on which Mexican children get a second round of gifts. Most nativity scenes, however, stay … Continue reading Nativity Scenes: A Snapshot of Oaxacan Culture
For the last three years I have produced a calendar of Wisconsin scenes to welcome in the new year. This year the theme is birds. The 2013 calendar is available for anyone to download and print for personal use. The file is in .pdf format and it is large (about 8.5 mb) to make it suitable for printing. Birds in the calendar are shown in the … Continue reading Wisconsin Birds – 2013 Calendar Available for Download
My past year in books (from the end of November through November) includes lots of escapist literature, but there are a few serious selections too. Among the crime fiction I rate Keigo Higashino’s, Salvation of a Saint, the highest. For pure enjoyment in crime fiction I recommend the Dr. Siri series by Colin Cotterill. For the apex in literature there is Tolstoy’s War and Peace. … Continue reading My Year of Books – An Annotated List
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