Final ICAD

 I finished up July's ICAD and that's it for this project for another year. I'm glad that I picked a theme this time (words in landscapes) although it was challenging to stick with sometimes.

People who love

finally finding each other

Perhaps it was always meant to be

Habitat becomes ever more fragmented. (this is my favorite one of this group)

such prized locations

SEE IT

is but a memory

It's Last Light

Small Footprint

B.A.D.

Come closer...closer

A little group shot

Just Because Flowers

 Those "Just Because" flowers from my dear husband always smell so much sweeter.

This heart-shaped rock in Felton that we drive by has always had some sort of heart-related graffiti painted on it. This is the first time I remember it being entirely painted though.
It says: "You Are Loved" and on one of the rocks next to it there is written in pink:
"Prove It"
 Getting me beautiful flowers when there isn't an occasion is one of the ways my DH does that and I'm really grateful that he does!

Imaginary Landscapes

 This time it was a pen and watercolor crayons in the daily practice journal.  The words in the binding say:  Imaginary Landscapes Draw Me In Every Time.

December 7th just magazine words this time and some pen marking.  Words in the binding are: 

You Know You Do.

A Ramble In Fort Worden

 One of my favorite things we did in Port Townsend was to go for a long ramble in Fort Worden State Park.  This is a late 19th century fort which was designed to protect the nautical entrance from the Pacific Ocean into where all the shipyards were located further in up the sound from an invading navy.  Which navy? I'm not sure at that point in history, but anyways, they left behind a pretty cool place to walk around.  This first picture is taken from downhill of one of the bunker/gunsite complexes. In this picture it looks like a modern art piece to me somehow.
And, Yes, that is indeed a perfect lawn to roll down, guess how I know?  I have the incriminating video to prove it, but I promised I wouldn't upload it.

Here's what was at the top of that hill, it is where one of the guns was attached.  I think this might make a cool rubber stamp image (puts in reminder-to-self file).

Alex and I decided this would be one helluva place for an enormous game of hide-and-go-seek.

Here's the view from the top of the fort, there was about a 240 degree vista.  Pretty handy for a fort I suppose.

I noticed these beautiful thistles growing all over the place.  They deserved a picture since they're different than the ones I struggle with in my garden at home.

See what I mean about a good hide-and-seek place?

At one point we found this tunnel that went uphill.

I wish I'd taken a movie while I was in it because the sound was just amazing.  It was the most sonorous tunnel I've ever been in, such beautiful tones just from us walking.

A rust stalactite! Or something, I don't know what you'd call it.

Walking through some of these tunnels in the old underground living spaces was slightly creepy.  There was one like this, but it was dark and closed off but there were open rooms off to one side, completely dark, ooooh  that was scary.

Some of the buildings left behind are being reclaimed by the forest.

Beautiful decay.

Port Townsend, Town, Sea and Sky

 Hey, how about some more pictures from our recent road trip to Washington.  This is Zach relaxing in Port Townsend.  We had many opportunities on our trip to try Bubble Tea as Alex is rather obsessed with it, I like the color combo of these two with the blue sky.    I took a lot of photos of the cool old buildings in Port Townsend, but  I didn't like how they turned out, too many overhead power lines in the way obscuring everything and breaking up the images, so none of those from me today.

 One of the docks in Port Townsend, with gulls perched on the pilings.

 This building looked like it was trying to blend in with the sky.

 The lighthouse out at the point, horizontal and vertical.

 My two boys in the water.  Shortly thereafter a huge discussion ensued about whether it was warmer or colder in the ocean at home, and why or why not that would be.  It ended with a lot of kelp tossing at each other so I'm not sure they ever resolved it...

Again with the horizontal and vertical views, couldn't decide on which one I liked better.  The cloudy sky was so beautiful that day.  I'm glad I was able to capture a bit of that expansive feeling in these photos.  I love that one glowing line of sunshine on the water before the horizon.

Sunrise on 280

Sunrise captured at 80 mph on highway 280 coming back from the San Francisco airport.  Almost worth getting up at 3:30am to see.
I rarely see a sunrise during the summer, so this was a nice surprise, and worth capturing with a picture.

Shoreline Series

 Looking through my pictures from our recent trip to Lake Tahoe made me start thinking about working in a series.

 From one spot on the deserted beach I took this series of photos while waiting for my family to meet me (they bicycling which I couldn't do because of my still healing finger). 
Each of these pictures is so similar when looked at in thumbnail size, the orangey shore contrasting with that blue sky and darker blue water, and the darkness of indistinct mountains.  But when seen at normal size like I'm showing you here, all those differences come out and catch my interest and imagination and make me want to turn them into quilts or paintings or collages or..... 
This makes me finally get why working in a series is so satisfying to so many people.  I've been feeling that pull lately, and maybe this epiphany will help me get over the hump to actually working on it and giving it a try.

 All those different views possible from the same spot, the same day, the same camera, the same media, the same person making the image.

Until people show up and introduce even more variables! 
Well, at least they were the people I was waiting for, my two sons who were of course immediately set upon digging a hole and changing the whole view. 

Last of the Brow-Beating Light

I'm Made of bones
of the branches
The boughs and the brow-beating light
While my feet are the trunks
And my head is the canopy high

And my fingers extend to the leaves and the eaves
and the (bright?)
Might I shine?
It's my shine (child?)

Lyrics from The Queen's Rebuke in The Decemberist's Hazards of Love.

But the river is deep

To the banks

and the water is wild,

I will fly you

To the far side

Grass, Earth, Rock, Leaf, Water, Sky and Tree Reflection all in one picture.