Saturday, April 27, 2013

Cohesion

April 27...

drops shake in the wind
look quickly before they join
my knees wet with mud


I was reading a photography book which recommended that you spray water on plants to get nice droplets of water. I think that is cheating- kind of like jiggering a found poem. It may not make any difference to the reader or viewer but to the finder is does.

Friday, April 26, 2013

April 26...

April 26

Driving to work, many times I get frustrated because I can't stop and look at the trees along the the route-divided highway with impatient drivers.  What's really frustrating as a photographer is that often in the morning I hit this road just when the light is perfect for certain types of shots-yesterday for instance. There was this one view where there was a roadcut into the rock and these young trees with their golden green leaves perfectly illumed by the early sun's light.  Light also glinting on the freshly wet rock. Of course in a flash both they and I moved on.



gold leaves waxy young
the frustration of April
scribbles on work scrap

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Fritillaria imperialis

We have had a spate of bad weather but today was sunny and I found these wonderful lilies along the path to my office. One of the campus groundskeepers said that these flowers smell like skunk. I couldn't detect it. I am one of those people that enjoys the musk scent of skunk and just thinking about it triggered memories...hence

orange skunk lily
no divine scent from its robes
musk woods remembered.

Laden

April 25...

grass laden geese pair
wings kissing baby leafed trees
echos to the east

See all the April haiku at http://theforcethat.blogspot.com/2013/04/april-haiku.html


Monday, April 22, 2013

Mockingbird

April 22…

the bird riffs morning
must be serious business
if the singer hides

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Friendship Garden

Sister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship Garden
Sister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship Garden - CraneSister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship Garden
Sister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship GardenSister Cities Friendship Garden

Friendship Garden, a set on Flickr.
Today I went to the Sister Cities Friendship Garden in Lawrence KS. This is a pocket park at 11th and Mass dedicated in the year 2000. Lawrence has several sister cities, this park dedicated to Hiratsuka City Japan. See the plaque for more details.

Oddly enough I had never taken photos here until today; the redbud and cherries in full bloom.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Narcissus

Narcissus by pdecell
Narcissus, a photo by pdecell on Flickr.
April 20...

yellow paper lips
call me to outside myself
irony, gold mouth.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Psychomorpha epimenis

Psychomorpha epimenis by pdecell
Psychomorpha epimenis, a photo by pdecell on Flickr.
Visiting Magnolia. The host plant is grapes.

April 13 Haiku

Rising Green by pdecell
Rising Green, a photo by pdecell on Flickr.
Spring green shoots rising
light the day around the trees
fireflies in July

Friday, April 05, 2013

Magnolia

















Here is a pink Magnolia from campus. One thing I didn't realize is that it is possible to isolate DNA from Magnolia fossils going back to the Miocene (17-20 million years ago)  and use it to help understand the phylogeny of these trees.  See Kim et al (2003)  http://www.amjbot.org/content/91/4/615.full doi: 10.3732/ajb.91.4.615 Am. J. Bot. vol. 91 no. 4 615-620

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Diversification in ancient tadpole shrimps challenges the term 'living fossil'

I love it when things I teach turn out to be wrong! Check out this article reporting on challenges to the concept of "living fossils". Coincidentally I just taught the concept in my biology class and now have modify what I just taught. This is why I love science. Always new stuff happening!

Diversification in ancient tadpole shrimps challenges the term 'living fossil'

Monday, April 01, 2013

April Haiku

I don't do much with haiku but wanted to try to do a haiku a day to get my poetic flow going again. So I will just add to this page-hopefully daily.

April 1...

Sleepless last night


coyote pups yip
tumbling sound into the night
car growls, later doves


April 2...

Cedars chop bright fog
green fields spread out for a feast
I drive to the sun


April 3...

snow petals echo
on magnolia branches
frogs in cold water


April 4/5...





red buds on blue sky
brief flash overrun by green
snakes on warm rocks soon




morning sky curved moon
trees upside down in the pond
better than the things?


April 7...

Tall candle from bees
burning but always with us
moon almost empty


quick hail

drops clack on the roof
lightning stirring in the clouds
then greening silence

dusk...

water drains dusk light
robins sing to each other
busy wren to itself

April 10...

lecturing, eyes fly
away to the white topped trees
petals fall in rain


green shoots from branches
hurrying in the warm rain
listen fireworks!


April 13...





Spring green shoots rising
light the dark around the trees
fireflies in July


April 14...


gulls wheel in pink dawn
over the cold spring furrow
white grubs in the muck


Been awhile thanks to end of semester stuff and family issues...


April 20...

yellow paper lips
call me to outside myself
irony, gold mouth.

April 22…

the bird riffs morning
must be serious business
if the singer hides

April 25...

grass laden geese pair
wings kissing baby leafed trees
echos to the east

We have had a spate of bad weather but today was sunny and I found these wonderful lilies along the path to my office. One of the campus groundskeepers said that these flowers smell like skunk. I couldn't detect it. I am one of those people that enjoys the musk scent of skunk and just thinking about it triggered memories...hence

orange skunk lily
no divine scent from its robes
musk woods remembered.









April 26...


Driving to work, many times I get frustrated because I can't stop and look at the trees along the the route-divided highway with impatient drivers.  What's really frustrating as a photographer is that often in the morning I hit this road just when the light is perfect for certain types of shots-yesterday for instance. There was this one view where there was a roadcut into the rock and these young trees with their golden green leaves perfectly illumed by the early sun's light.  Light also glinting on the freshly wet rock. Of course in a flash both they and I moved on.



gold leaves waxy young
the frustration of April
scribbles on work scrap



April 27...
 
drops shake in the wind
look quickly before they join
my knees wet with mud