May Day
has been a traditional day of festivities throughout the centuries. May
Day is most associated with towns and villages celebrating springtimefertility
and revelry with village fetes and community gatherings. Since the
reform of the Catholic Calendar, May 1st is the Feast of St Philip &
St James, they became the patron saints of workers. Seeding has been
completed by this date and it was convenient to give farm labourers a
day off. Perhaps the most significant of the traditions is theMaypole, around which traditional dancers circle with ribbons. (Source; Wikipedia)
Wait, what?
Saint Philip is the patron saint of workers? And there is a feast? Why
haven’t I heard of this before now? I guess I shall look up some
information about this saint named Philip.
According
to some new testament stories, Philip was evangelizing in the city of
Hierapolis and managed to convert the city proconsuls wife. The jealous
proconsul had Philip and Bartholomew crucified upside down. Philip
starts preaching from this precarious position and the townspeople
decide to take them down.
Bartholomew
is released, but Philip tells them to leave him be. He’s not done with
his upside down sermonizing. So they left him there till he died.
Am I named after this lunatic evangelist?
Or, am I named after the Philip that died from a beheading in another town?
Luckily,
I am named after my great uncle Philip and my aunt Phyllis. I can pick
from several bible stories which Saint Philip I want to be the Catholic
saint. (One of the original Christian church rules states that you must
name your kids after saints)
Apparently
there are St Philip’s churches, colleges, and organizations all over
the world that train and provide workers for various jobs and
industries. No wonder I side with Democrats, the party of working men
and women, (who work in the factories and skyscrapers owned by
faithless barbarian Republican overlords), they named me after the patron saint of workers.
That was
all very interesting background about May Day and Saint Philip, but I hope
to be somewhere on May first where I can take pictures of people
dancing around a Maypole.
The forecast
for rain today was not fulfilled. This meant I was out taking pictures
for most of the day. I would come in looking at the pictures that I
took, think that there might be better light in an hour, go back out
shoot the same shot again looking for what was missing in the previous
image. Repeat.
It was windy.
The flowers were dancing. Now that I think of it, I probably should’ve
set up a video camera, but I think at that time my mind was more focused
on being ready on time for the band to play at eight.
I kept being
drawn outside to watch the flowers. To experience their altered states
as the wind, shadows and light became their dancing partners.
Wild or domesticated,
they were bursting with colorful, vibrant joy. Whether I was looking at
the tiniest spots of color on the ground or the blazing bright roses on
the bushes, I was mesmerized by the life surrounding me on this breezy,
beautiful day.
I took many
pictures of this iris, (above), as it was tossed about by the gusting
wind. I got a few that I thought were particularly good and it was hard
deciding which ones to post here.
I didn’t
record my band when we played tonight, and that turned out to be
exactly right for me because I played for the moment and not the
recording. I love to experience that immersion into the now. Letting go
of all concerns except the joy of being the music. There were no
clunkers played by anybody in the band on any of the songs we played,
(well maybe one or two), and all who were there seemed to enjoy the
harmonious interaction.
I didn’t
hand my camera to anyone to take our pictures as we played, but that
turned out to be the right thing. I didn’t play to the camera and the
pictures it might be taking. I played and sang to experience the joy of
the music.
I did notice
a lot of cameras and the occasional iPad taking pictures and video of
us, but it wasn’t a distraction because I didn’t think about what the
results might look like later, on my computer.
I was
real happy with the way the music turned out. We had two guitars,
keyboard, tenor sax, bass and drums. The sax player, Darrell, sounded
the best I think I’ve ever heard him play. Keyboard player, Rick Larsen
seem to be sharing my experience and contributed to the overall sound
with precision and feeling.
Sarah
Pappenheim was our drummer for the whole show. Initially I was just
going to feature her on 5 songs, but the other drummer couldn’t make it,
and I asked her if she could play for an hour. She did really well and
the crowd was pleased by her solid beat and interaction with the other
musicians.
Jacob
Rabinowitz is becoming an awesome, and entertaining bass player. He
seemed locked into the way I wanted the music to go, and naturally added
support when I would put additional energy into the singing.
John played
some well thought out guitar solos that added a lot to the homogenous
sound that we all were crafting together. I think everyone in the band
and in the room were aware of participating in a very special musical
moment. It was a lot of fun.
Today the skies are dark, damp, and cool. Those are good indicators that the forecasters are getting their groove back.
I don’t mind
these circumstances that make shelter and the comforts of home very
attractive. One of the nice things is being able to catch up on posting
images of some of the amazing flowers that have been popping up around
the Treehouse.
These images today,
are a few from the hundreds of pictures I have taken over that last few
days of sunshine powered blooming going on around here. I selected a
few, and developed them into greeting cards, last night.
It is
a wonderful feeling when the muse comes to point out specific images
and what can be done to bring out their inner beauty. I take those
suggestions as inspiration and ride the tide of creativity with
excitement and a grin from ear to ear.
The hours fly by while the muse enthralls and massages my creativity. What a wondrous feeling. I just had to share some of the results with you.
I think you can see
why I was drawn outside time and time again during the sunny days to
catch the moments when the sun would illuminate each flower in such a
way as to hit all the right notes in the Lumix sensors so that the
digital images would sing.
And sing,
they do. I hope you enjoy the music of these reproductions. The cards
themselves are the master mix, and, of course, these flowers are
appearing ‘live’ here, around the Treehouse.
If I had to rely on the newspapers, television, or apparently most regular media, I wouldn’t have known that today was Earth Day.
Even
the LA Times only had an article about a $60 lightbulb for Earth Day on
their front page. People in the comment sections picked up on this $60
lightbulb story and used it as their argument against saving energy. If
they had read the story, (and some of the other comments), they would’ve found that that $60 lightbulb only
costs $10 at Home Depot.
The flowers around the Treehouse celebrated Earth Day with new blooms of riotous color.
I saw some of the Washington DC Earth Day celebration on the computer. There was a website
that was streaming the event live. I could see that the weather was not
cooperating but a few people were brave enough to stand in the driving
rain to see performances by Dave Mason, Cheap Trick, several other
performers, activists, and politicians that showed up to lend their
support to Earth Day.
I think
they should have the national Earth Day event take place in California
where the weather is more inviting for people to go outdoors and
celebrate.
There were
a couple of Earth day gatherings here in Redding today. There was one
at the Win River Casino parking lot with vendors, music, and
exhibitions. That started at 8 AM and ended at 2 PM.
2 PM is about the time I get going out of the house, so I didn’t get over there to see that.
Instead I wandered around the Treehouse and enjoyed this place where I live on this magical planet we call Earth.
Yesterday
it was my good fortune to have a sunshiny day and the ability to go see
some of the sites around Redding. It was especially pretty at the Sundial Bridge around 3:30 in the afternoon.
I set up the iPod Touch on the tripod, (using the stand that John Harrison made), and selected the timelapse app.
There were lots
of people out in the sunshine enjoying this beautiful place on the
Sacramento River. I looked forward to seeing them all moving about very
quickly in the time lapse video.
Robert Ward, pedicab driver.
While I
was standing around letting the iPod Touch do it’s thing, a guy rode
by, pedaling a pedicab. He parked his rig to the side, and I walked over
to find out what I could about the Sundial Pedicab business.
The pedaler’s
name is Robert Ward. We got to talking, and I decided to go for a ride
as soon as my time lapse video seemed to collected enough images of
people coming and going on the bridge. A few minutes later, I climbed
onto the backseat and we took off down the pathway to see the eagles.
It was
really a great way to get around, especially for me since my walking
distances are limited. I snapped a few pictures with the Lumix TZ3, and
asked him how he came to be pedaling a pedicab.
He said
he came up from Chico, where he had gone to college and earned a
Masters degree in mechanical engineering. He discovered he has a lot
more fun pedaling a bicycle than being part of the corporate workforce.
We agreed that being able to do the things that you love and enjoy, is priceless.
We soon rolled up to the viewing area for the eagles nest, and as luck would have it there was one of the famous eagles in the nest.
I tried
a couple of pictures through the viewing device to see how that worked,
and then realized I could probably make a nice time lapse of traveling
on the trail in a pedicab.
I wasn’t sure
whether to hand-hold the iPod Touch, or to use a tripod. Later I found
out that setting the tripod on the, “floor”, of the pedicab worked
really well, and next time I will do that for a timelapse of the entire
journey.
There were
plenty of people on the bridge and Robert suggested that he take me
across the bridge and back. It sounded like a good idea to me.
I kept
the video time lapse going, and it was on the bridge coming back that I
set the tripod down on the ‘floor’ so that I could get my still camera
out and take some pictures of the river and Shasta Bally.
I found out, after viewing the video later, that was the best way to get a really smooth time lapse effect from the pedicab.
It was a very productive day. Now I know I can call, or e-mail, Sundial Pedicab
to make arrangements for the next time I want to ride around in
comfort. In the sunshine. Over the Sundial Bridge, and along the
Sacramento river at Turtle Bay.
Later
that Saturday, (yesterday), I went up to the Lake Shasta dam and took
more timelapse video, but that’s another story, (coming soon).
It was
sunny and pleasant today, Saturday, here in Redding. I went out to a
couple of very photogenic locations and took many pictures. I also did
several time-lapse videos, but since they aren’t edited and I haven’t
written or recorded music tracks for them, I shall present pictures of
Friday’s wet flowers that I prepared yesterday.
I am reading Bill Clinton’s latest book; Back To Work.
As usual, he puts forth intelligent, realistic solutions to the mess we
find ourselves in today. I recommend it to all who yearn for some sane
action in government policy and a look at what can be accomplished by
putting America back on track.
I am
really glad that I am not in politics. I remember spending time in a
hunting cabin with some of the leaders of Mississippi’s state government
in 1967. They invited me to bring my guitar and sing some songs about
peace, love, and freedom.
At the time,
I had very long hair and wore jeans and calf high lace-up moccasins. I
had just come to Jackson, Mississippi from California, and the summer of love.
I had a job as head of the art department for a printing company that
did all the state publications, so it was through the owner that I
became part of the governors duck hunting retreat.
I found out
that these weren’t the bad guys that I had always imagined were lurking
in the hallowed halls of corrupt southern state governments. They just
needed to behave and act certain ways to exist in the morally corrupt
world of higher office.
A couple
of them told me that they envied me, and the freedom of thought,
expression, and choices that I represented. They couldn’t untangle
themselves from the trappings of the lives that they led, because it
would mean giving up power.
We never
met again, but I think that time in the cabin expanded the perspectives
of all of us. I know it did mine. I am really glad that I am not in
politics.
So now
I have posted the wet flower pictures from Friday, that I think turned
out well, and I can begin playing with the images from this sunny
Saturday.
This
is the second article I have found, in as many days, that tells the
story of a village that said no to mining corporations that wanted to
give them money in exchange for ruining their land. This video about the
little village in India was very nicely done.
The only problem
with it is the embed is in flash. I suppose I could have downloaded it
and converted it to a more modern media format, but instead, if it
doesn’t play for you, I have added the link to it, below the embedded
video.
Weather is the topical subject today. Specifically precipitation.
The sun
managed to peek between the clouds a few times around midday, but for
the most part it was rain, (and hail, but I’ll get to that later).
I took a stroll along Dorothy’s garden when I went to get the mail between showers. Rain showers, that is.
It’s always fun to get pictures of the flowers wearing their raindrop jewelry.
The different varieties of plants wore their glistening jewels in different ways.
At first
I mistook these yellow flowers, (above), for tiny daffodils, but on
closer inspection, their pistils and stamens are more like those of a day lily.
The little
bitty purple flowers that seem to be everywhere, (once you spot one of
them), seemed to handle the rain and cloud bursts with ease.
The rosebuds
are ready for a couple of sunny days. That will get them pumping
moisture into the petals so they can burst forth in colorful roses.
About 1:30
or 2:00pm, while I was eating breakfast, there were several volleys of
lightning and thunder that announced the arrival of hail. I took
pictures and video. The video inspired a song, and became the video for
today.
Here is a hailstone that bounced inside onto the carpet.
You will see this stone appearing in today’s feature.
