Ahhh. . .Tulips

tulips? really?

tulips? really?

Nope, not from the garden. From the grocery store. Desperation set in!

Winter Stream

on the campus of UW Madison

On the UW Madison Campus

Sometimes I admit that snow can be lovely–lovely to look at, lovely to photograph, even lovely to tromp around in.

Sycamore Shadows

third in the wabi-sabi set

third in the wabi-sabi set

Greatness exists in the inconspicuous and overlooked details. Wabi-sabi represents the exact opposite of the Western ideal of great beauty as something monumental, spectacular and enduring. Wabi-sabi is about the minor and the hidden, the tentative and the ephemeral: things so subtle and evanescent they are invisible to vulgar eyes. ~Leonard Koren

A different way of seeing an Arizona Sycamore tree. Shadows. Leaves. Bark.

Another photograph from my archives, taken in October last year, at Montezuma’s Castle National Monument, north of Phoenix.

Arizona Sycamore

second in the set of wabi-sabi

second in the wabi-sabi set

The bark of the Arizona Sycamore produces a pleasing composition, the pale greens and brown tones play well off each other.

This tree was photographed at Montezuma’s Castle National Monument, just north of Phoenix. The Monument protects Native American dwellings tucked into the breaks of a mountain. The property has many Arizona sycamores and velvet mesquites. Quite a lovely place in the fall, with Arizona’s  moderately high temperatures offset by the welcoming shade of the tall Sycamores and a cooling stream running through the property.

This is the second photograph in the wabi-sabi series.

Arches in Devil’s Garden

Double O Arch

Double O Arch

Double O Arch is the second largest arch in the Devil’s Garden area of Arches National Park. (Landscape Arch is the largest.) There are actually two arches here – the smaller arch spans 21 feet and the larger one has a span of 71 feet.  They are both a part of the same sandstone fin.  The path to this arch is considered primitive (ha!) and is nearly a two mile hike from the Devil’s Garden Trailhead and parking lot. If you are a movie aficionado, you may recognize these rock formations from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Top Story Window

Top Story Window

Although geologists do not recognize the classification of a rock window, popular names often attribute window-like features to openings in the rocks. This opening, Top Story Window, is in the southern part of Devil’s Garden.