“Illumination”
August 19th, 2026
little views
Tagged: sunshine
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Recently I was reading about the Romanov family in Russia; the absolute lack of compassion on the commoners compared with their murder. Both seem equally horrifying to my modern understanding: treating others as serfs or slaves and executing someone, especially children.
Sarah and I visited Boston; we wanted to get away from work (both job & home), and since it is an important anniversary for the United States, we chose a town that was instrumental in the Revolution.
I’ve struggled with being proud of the United States since well before 2016, but that was a year that horrified me – not due to a presidential candidate, but because of the public embrace of treating others as inferior and the justification of inflicting pain upon another person, especially children.
It is still impossible to justify owning slaves, it is still impossible to justify class, race, gender, or religious constraints; but visiting Boston helped me regain a little bit of my pride in the United States.
No one is perfect, in fact everyone is tragically flawed – our biases, willful ignorance, and stubbornness can be easily picked apart. But to see the beginnings of something that could lead to a nation that millions would flock to and hold up as “freedom” was a small breath of fresh air.
Twice recently, I talked with a friend who had given up hope, and I realized hope is what we have, what drives positive change, and what can lead to a better future. We’re surrounded by bad news – social, environmental, financial – but there are people who have hope that they can make an impact.
Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Hamilton – they were ALL flawed even for their time; the same way we are now. But their hope 250 years ago allows me to live in a country where we can have hope for change and impact.
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The entire neighborhood around Bunker Hill was decorated with bunting and other red, white, and blue decorations; and it made the walk up the hill from the USS Constitution to the Bunker Hill Memorial beautiful.
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This statue is outside of King’s Chapel – the “Memorial to Enslaved Persons” (notice the open cage and free birds) in recognition of all the slaves owned by members and ministers of the Kings Chapel congregation.
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This grasshopper was so tiny that it was almost transparent, but it stood still for its portrait and even twitched its antenna when requested. Maybe the freckles are from the sunny days before, and it didn’t tan, just got spots instead.
What a perfect metaphor for a Monday! A traffic jam of aphids sucking the life out of this plant!
I am fascinated by aphids visually; they definitely follow a “pack” mentality, and hilariously are often only hanging on by their front feet and jaws. And their bodies are so simple or small that they just glow in the sunlight.
I don’t think anything better exemplifies “if you build it, they will come” than nature. When we purchased our home, the previous owner had already planted an extensive garden, but the previous tenant had not kept up with it. Over the almost 10 years, we have gradually expanded the garden and focussed on planting native plants; and this means that we see all sorts of pollinators as well as other creepy crawlies that are a bit higher up the food chain. Perhaps “if you plant it, they will come” is our interpretation.
First of all, this hotel’s footprint is very odd, very random; almost as if the architect was moonlighting as a cubism artist.
But then the midday sunlight reflecting and refracting across the brick facade?
Absolutely delightful!
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
I’ve taken a few photos similar to this one; the abstract natural textures of colorful rocks. My favorite similar images are from Rockhouse Cave in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio. But what struck me about this image is how much the color palette reminded me of the colors in renaissance art.
There is something fascinatingly unattractive about this photo. It’s not that humans have ruined a scene – so many beautiful vistas are ruined by power lines, trash, or other remnants of humanity. No, this is just the backwater area of a creek that is very low right now; as you’ll see in a photo later in this series, barely a trickle.
The stone wall is muddy and inaccessible, and the water was murky and dirty. But I still love the location and the reminder that not everything is pretty – and it doesn’t have to be either.
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
If you visit the lower area of Matthiessen State Park, you can walk through a naturally carved tunnel on the left side of the canyon to get a unique view of the waterfall and cliff face. While I was standing there, I felt like this was my little hiding place, so I edited this monochrome image to match that feeling.
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
The concrete and glass exterior of the building on the south side of Wells becomes the perfect canvas for abstract architecture presented by the stepped exterior of the top of the building on the north side of Wells.
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I’m back to those photos from my October waterfalls trip – Copper Falls State Park is absolutely incredible; four waterfalls with so many great trails too! The main entrance to the parking lot is up that river channel, and you’re actually looking upriver in this photo. But what you can’t see is the 10ft falls at the bottom of the image, and the 35ft Brownstone Falls just a little farther onward. It was a very impressive view, and someday I’ll have to go back and take a lot more time to wander.
You can see all of my images from Copper Falls here.
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
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…view older images with the thumbnails below…
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
