Shadowplay.

I was playing around in the yard taking pictures.

I had a broken pitchfork / gardening fork end with no handle.

I made one with shadows. (Look closely, the handle is only a shadow.)

Then I went black and white, accentuating the fork with color.

Turn up the contrast for effect.

Last, added color to my silhouette (which is a shadow), making me green.

My favorite is the penultimate one.

Natural color shot standing on my picnic table (my neighbors don't laugh..., I think):

Added a layer in Elements, brought back color in pitchfork, (sans handle of course).

My favorite: I turned up the saturation in Picasa2.

Just playing further, since my shadow is only a shadow on green grass, I added color to me:

What skinny legs. Ha. (It's the angle.)

 

Bob (the cat). 15 second videos.

I grew up a dog person. We raised English Springer Spaniels when I was a kid. Burpee was my first dog. What was he named after? I don't know. I never really thought about it. Anyway, that was his name. He was around till I was about 16.

Now our household pets are all Amy's: Cubbie, the Chocolate Lab; Rama and Bob (the cat).

Both cats came from animal control centers. They were lucky. Living with Cubbie, they act like dogs in a way. In the morning they would rather wait by the door to be let out than use the litter box.

Catch them in the right mood and they actually will come if you call them (okay, sometimes). But in the end, they still are cats and usually follow the beat of a different drummer.

Bob (the cat) in 4 acts on a Sunday afternoon:

Part 1. Bob (the cat) sunning by the front step.

Part 2. Bob (the cat) says hi to his (something going on there) friend, Cubbie.

Part 3. Brushing him out while he "air guitars". So much hair. So much cat emotion. You should see him do the Blues.

Part 4. Brushed out, Bob (the cat), the epitome of balance, almost falls off the picnic table. Ha.

The music was excellent Sunday. It was live from the archives weekend. Mostly live performances from appearances on WXRT or local concerts. This noted, I can keep track how long it will be before they do it again.

Spring plann(t)ing.

I'm so behind. Spring came early; 70's then snow. Lately it's been cold, then as it warmed up, wet.

I have dahlia bulbs to plant pretty soon. They spent the winter in the basement. Each spring I hope they remember to start growing sprouts. Sometimes they are late but never have they failed.

I also have to start some morning glory seeds. Soak them in water a couple days till they sprout - score them with a knife first.

An old sandbox in the yard is perfect for wildflower seeds. I like the poppys best.

The hardest thing is figuring out what are wildflowers and what are weeds.

Moon.

I didn't have a working lens good enough to catch a better picture of the moon. This was the best I could do.

Lit up is my after work play area for Cubbie. I hit him softballs every night for about a half hour. Except when there is alot of snow. Obviously not now.

I have a portable light in the lawn chair. The garage is on the right with my radio playing . The table in front of the tree holds a drink and a flashlight for errant balls. Squirrel feeder doubles as an ashtray and a dog slobber rag holder. Aluminum bats lean on the tree year round. The clothesline pole is on the left and of course the moon is the moon.

Stupid thing I did getting ready to take this: I walked two steps forward to get a closer view of the moon. (like that matters. ha) Then I thought about and laughed. It's like a quarter of a million miles away? What was I thinking?

Neville Brothers:

Kiko and the lavender moon out playing

Makes believe nobody can see

And then he waits

And then he fakes

And then he bends

And then he shakes

He plays and plays

Still playing till he

Goes off to sleep


Kiko and the lavender moon

Out dancing making faces at

A big black cat and then he flies

Up to the wall

Stands on one foot

Doesn't even fall

Dance and dance

Still dancing till

He goes off to sleep


He always sleeps

'Til the sun goes down

He never wakes

Till no one's around

He never stops

Can't catch his breath

It's always there

Scares him to death


Kiko and the lavender moon

Out dreaming 'bout green shoes

Haircuts and cake

And then he wishes

The world away

And then he kneels

As if to pray

He dreams and dreams

Kiko and the lavender moon