I went out before sunrise to see if the test balloon from the balloon fiesta might fly over, which would mean the mass ascension would follow. No balloons flew over today, but I discovered Mother’s Rose glowing in the pre-dawn light. Then I came out of retirement from baking and, with René’s help, made Laurie a chocolate mocha cake for her birthday.
The summer monsoon was not nice to the mud plaster on the old San Ysidro Church in Corrales. The north side of the church is weathered and cracked with some large chunks of the mud plaster missing — washed off by driving rains in July and August. We were at the church for the opening of the Old Church Fine Art show, which runs through October 13th. Susan Graham, friend and fellow photographer, has two pieces in the show and won third place for her photo Floral Fireworks, a fantastic explosion of colors that has the appearance of a photo-realistic watercolor. Congratulations, Susan!
Roman ruins in Arles, France. May 2013.
After helping me change the sheets on the bed, Diné started challenging Rosencrantz by biting him on the legs. I ran and got my camera, and when I returned Rosencrantz was giving Diné “mad dogs”, and the fight was on. Diné is the one who picks fights with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and she is always on top as the aggressor, because even though Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are both much larger and stronger than Diné, she is still top cat; therefore, they always maintain the defensive position when she attacks. Even though Rosencrantz brandishes his impressive set of claws in Diné’s face (those claws have earned him the nick name “Claws and Fangs”), Diné is not impressed and whoops on Rosnecrantz until she feels she’s defeated him. This is the full sequence of their sparring match from mad dogs to Rosencrantz’ attempt to get in one last swat before Diné jumped off the bed after her triumphant, tiger-like pounce.
A little place in Paris offering tastes from south of the border in vibrant colors. May 2013.
Riding the Paris Metro, May 2013.
The simple things in life – cigarette, cell phone and McCafé. Paris, France 13 May 2013.
This jumping spider has plenty of eyes to cry for it’s lost love. Rosencrantz looks nice in stripes, and now that our butterfly bushes are blooming they are attracting all kinds of insects, like the scarab in the last photo.
We had been without power for 15 hours when we left for Tristan’s and David’s to charge devices and get on the Internet. About 7:00 pm last night very high winds and pouring rain that took out the power. Puck was out during most of the storm and finally came in soaking wet about 8:30, bringing a good amount of the 2 inches of rain we got with him. He reluctantly posed for photos illuminated by our flashlights, but finally gave me a nice “Chat Noir” pose. The neighbor’s corrals and arena were still flooded this morning, and the horses were fed on the high spots along the edges. The morning sun was brilliant in the fresh air, and the sunflowers and bees were happy after the rains.
We went to the showing of the top 13 films from the Albuquerque 48 Hour Film Festival in the historic Kimo Theater on old Route 66 downtown. The participating teams get topics and then have 48 hours to write, cast, film, and complete final production of their movies. The common elements in each movie were a map, the phrase “You’re so smart!” and the name Roman Rodriguez. The atmosphere was festive and the films were very well done and enjoyable to watch. I hadn’t been in the Kimo in a very long time. It’s a great theater with its glowing skulls and depictions of Anasazi symbols.
Off Center & Not Even 