NEW from the Selfportrait Series -

"Selfportrait of the Artist and A Stand of Foxtail"
digital collage
- click image to view full size -

"... 'tis round Ruadh Aisrihd the tussocks flourished,
sheltering, curly, handsome, tall;
and every green plot hath its herbage swaying,
as the wind sweepeth it to and fro;
the root of deer's hair grass, the tip of arrow grass,
erect rye-grass, kneed foxtail grass,
the potent bent grass and copious groundsel,
are round the secluded covert, haunt of the stags ..."
- Duncan Ban MacIntyre
from "Song to Misty Corrie"

Thursday Challenge: Soft -

"Soft"
manipulated digital photograph by Mick Mather

Like many of you, I'm with family and friends giving thanks for all that we have. Before I dig into another helping of stuffing I offer this week's Thursday Challenge for the theme of soft. This red winged blackbird is keeping himself busy defining and defending his territory amid fluffs of foxtail and cat-o-nine seed, awaiting the freedom of spring winds that will carry them forth. This hails from a small group of photographs that document the Janus Park Walk. I'll show more of these soon but for now: H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G ! ! !

Thursday Challenge: Pets -

"Taffy"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

Pets is this week's theme at Thursday Challenge so I went rummaging through the stacks looking for some of the beautiful animals I had while growing up. Taffy, named for his creamy, copper color was a Cocker Spaniel with one of the most even tempered personalities I can recall of any dog that my maternal grandmother picked for us from a particularly large litter. He was one of her best stud dogs and, for my father, the absolute best bird dog you've ever seen in the field. I recall many an enjoyable weekend walking through boggy woods in waist hight cattail and foxtail with dad and that dog. You could see the waving stalks as Taffy worked right to left and back again, ever outward, flushing out game cocks and hens. Every once in a while you'd see this dog jump straight up in the air, spinning to get his bearings and to assess the direction my father was walking in. Sadly, he had epilepsy and didn't last more than a decade or so, but while we had him, what a sweet, loving pet he was.