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I didn't take many shots last year, but I have a few that I need to upload, so bear with me. Most are just random nature shots that I want to keep a record of.
from the Philadelphia Museum of Art website (www.philamuseum.org):
"Drawing Room from a Town House
(Rice Room / Reproduction Louis XVI Room)
901 Fifth Avenue, New York City, New York, United States, 1923
Designed by the firm of Maison Carlhian, Paris (1867–1975)
This room and its furnishings were given to the Museum in 1939 by Eleanore Elkins Rice. Designed as an elegant setting for Mrs. Rice's distinguished collection of eighteenth-century French furniture and decorative arts, the room was originally installed in her New York town house. The woodwork of painted and gilded oak is based on designs by French architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel (1698-1782).
The room has been the subject of several paintings that are also in the museum's collection, including pieces by Sir John Lavery and William Ranken."
Chemamulles, Cultura Mapuche – expuestas en el Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino (Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art), Santiago, Chile
del sitio web del museo:
“Hasta principios del siglo XX, los mapuches utilizaban los chemamull como uno de los componentes esenciales de los ritos realizados durante el kurikawin o velorio de sus muertos. Estas enormes estatuas de madera se colocaban junto al difunto, mientras una larga lista de parientes y personalidades pronunciaba discursos alabando al muerto y recordando sus mayores logros. En la etapa final de la ceremonia, el chemamull era erigido junto a la tumba para señalar el lugar donde permanecería el cuerpo. Estos ritos debían realizarse siguiendo estrictamente las tradiciones, ya que un funeral descuidado podía significar que el espíritu del difunto, en vez de convertirse en un antepasado que velaba por sus deudos, fuera capturado por algún brujo y convertido en un espíritu maligno.”
(“Until the early 20th Century, the Mapuche used large figures called chemamull in their kurikawin or funerary rites. These enormous wooden statues were placed beside the deceased person while a long line of relatives and leaders eulogized the deceased person, recalling his or her greatest achievements. In the final stage of the ceremony the chemamull were erected beside the tomb to mark the final resting place of the body. These funerary rites followed strict guidelines to prevent the spirit of the deceased person from being captured by a witch or becoming a malignant spirit before being transformed into an ancestor who would protect the other members of the family group.”)
Every first week in September, the hummers arrive en masse. So far this year, there doesn't seem to be as many as usual, but we still have enough to warrant 3 feeders (so far). By this, I mean that you have to fill 3 feeders on a daily basis to keep them from going dry.
Some years, we've had to put out 6 or more feeders to keep the little suckers happy.
Yet another loved pet has left us. In memoriam of Milo, my sleeping buddy.
No comments needed. This one is for me.
Threadsday, May 7, 2026
Caption: Having recently found The Studio sales event for photographers in Second Life, Xyntia Amore poses outside on the studio lot.
Alt: A full shot of Xyntia Amore posing outdoors on a parking lot. Behind her are some buildings and flowering shrubs. She is wearing an ensemble from La Feminique featuring a cropped sleeveless top with a floral pattern and pale blue trousers.
-- Model
Body: Belleza GenX Classic
Head: LeLutka Noel
Head skin: The Skinnery Maud, Sena tone
Body skin: The Skinnery Orra, Sena tone
Hair: Doux Angelic
Eyes: Dalila Sade
-- Outfit
Ensemble: La Feminique Jenn
Shoes: N-Core Donna
Glasses: Deep Static Ophelia
-- Meta
Model: Xyntia Amore
Photographer: Xyntia Amore
Pose: Wilderia Modeling Collection Vol.1
Location: The Studio
Environment: Shared
I'm 72 years old, a country boy, and I just learned that Dragonflies and Mosquito Hawks are not the same things. I've called Dragonflies 'skeeter hawks' my entire life, but just found out that Mosquito Hawks are actually Crane Flies.
What a naturalist I am.
“Baton Rouge woke up Tuesday to the unthinkable: snow falling for the first time in seven years and temperatures in the 20s.
At least 6 inches was reported throughout most parts of East Baton Rouge, Prairieville and Denham Springs, according to the National Weather Service. Areas of Geismar and southwestern Baton Rouge had as much as 8 inches by early Tuesday evening when the snow finally tapered, the weather service said.
It's likely to be the second-biggest snowfall in Baton Rouge history, eclipsing the 6-inch snowfall in January 1940. The all-time record is 12.5 inches, which crushed the city in February 1895.”
from:
Couvillion, Ellyn & Bruce, Matt. (January 21, 2025). Baton Rouge buried under historic snowfall. The Advocate (Baton Rouge).
This old, ravaged piece of art of mine from '72 seemed appropriate today, as I contemplate the turn of events from yesterday.
"Hello darkness, my old friend..."
Done and done, and I'm still not ready for the day. I'm not sure when this heat wave started, but we're in for another week of 100+ degree days and no rain for relief. It's really getting boring being stuck inside all day. I do some yardwork every day, but can only stand it for an hour or two.
Good news, though! Next week the highs are supposed to take a nose dive down to 99 degrees all week!
A quick shot of the last remnants from the tree that I cut down. We still have the main trunk left to burn, which should be interesting. The trunk is hollow, so I'm hoping that, once lit, it will smolder till gone. The fire that you're looking at smoldered for 3 days!
I've been randomly going through my Lightroom catalog and deleting a bunch of old stuff to make room for some new stuff. I find it fun to finally process shots that, for one reason or the other, just didn't inspire me at the time. There is a lot of pure junk, but you still find some nice stuff that just needs a little TLC... :)
Have a great weekend, everyone, and I'll see you next week...