We had our 8th Annual Corrales Rose Society Dr. Huey tour in person this year. Susan came out in the late afternoon, and we walked around and looked at all the Dr. Hueys on the property, which are many this year. I also photographed other roses and Ladybugs.
Julie’s giant Dr. Huey in front of Rebecca’s black bamboo, and Marina’s Incognito pear tree blending in on the side.
Sleepy Owl was perched in a tree
Leaned forward wide eyes askance
Then the little fella
Puked up a pellet
“Oh! What a good owl am I!”
Gigi’s tree in the foreground with Resa’s and the neighbor’s trees in the background.
As with most parodies, Purple Stain started out to be humorous. However, the lyrics took a turn toward the more serious aspects of life. Purple Stain was inspired by Holly at House of Heart in the Fall of 2020 when we were commenting back and forth on images and poetry. I thought for a long time about how to do a video to go with the song. I finally worked it out.
Many of us don’t fit “Normal” as defined by Miriam Webster*:
Conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern: characterized by that which is considered usual, typical, or routine.
According with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, procedure, or principle.
Approximating the statistical average or norm.
Generally free from physical or mental impairment or dysfunction: exhibiting or marked by healthy or sound functioning.
Not exhibiting defect or irregularity.
Within a range considered safe, healthy, or optimal.
For we who have fallen outside almost all of the above definitions of “normal” at one time or another throughout our lifetimes for various reasons that are often outside of our control, we have dealt with “normal” people who do not understand the issues surrounding the problems we have had, problems we have to deal with continually, and the problem of being different and trying to fit into a “normal” world.
Purple Stain By Timothy Price Inspired by Holly Rene Hunter
Cleverly we put off until tomorrow Wearily the things that make us go insane Fondly running into the waves and splashing Fondly raising our glasses, waking with a purple stain
Purple stain, Purple stain Are we insane? So insane Purple rain, Purple stain
So here we are scrubbing and washing out that purple stain.
Forever longing wanting to be like others Our sensitivities make us like the strangest friends Unfortunately we feel our sensibilities are plundered Again the same our glasses raised as we pretend
Purple stain, Purple stain Are we insane? So insane Purple stain, Purple stain
Funny how we see, we see how things are changing purple stain
You and I we need to live as two Look! Something new That time we had to greet her She stared at us like we’re insane I thought you were going to lose it As it was all about it was all about our purple stain
Purple stain, Purple stain Are we insane? So insane
Yeah!
Let’s get us out of here purple oh the pain Walking hand in hand
We only want, we only want our sanity
We only want our sanity
Storm clouds built up in the early afternoon, with a constant rumble of thunder as the clouds rolled in. I took the above photo at 1:30 pm and the temperature was 81ºF (27.2ºC). Thirty minutes later the clouds pelted us with hail and heavy rain that lasted for thirty minutes or so. The temperature fell to 55ºF (12.7ºC) in a matter of minutes. Needless to say, our poor peonies got beaten up by the hail.
Thirty-nine wild skies. One for each year Laurie and I have been married. Be sure to click on the gallery to view a slide show of the photos.
All of the clouds to the north at sunset tonight were contrails.
The owlets were lined up tonight in their order of age. Major Tom Peepers on the highest branch in front. Mona Lisa in the middle, and Sleepy mostly hidden farthest back.
I am super excited about this collaboration between Resa at Graffiti Lux Art & More and ArtGowns, and me. Resa mentioned that the construction project to replace the 130 year old sewer lines that run under the street in front of where she lives in the old area of Toronto, Canada goes on “all day and all the night through!” I told her that would make a good parody. Resa wrote the parody lyrics to go to All Day And All Of The Night by The Kinks. I go the music and recorded the first round with my vocals. I sent the music to Resa and asked her to try singing her parody. When she sent me the audio file of her vocals, I was like “Wow!” she sounded super good. I mixed her vocals in with the music, Resa sent me video clips and photos of the construction from her window, and I put the parody music video together. Laurie was reviewing the video and she thought there needed to be more desperation in the chorus, and asked if I could add construction sounds to the chorus. I pulled the scraping sounds off a backhoe video and added snippets of the scrapping and clanking to the chorus and solo. That was enough to give a better sense of desperation to the parody.
When Resa first told me about the construction I really felt sorry for her. When we lived in Madrid, Spain, the city constructed a new Metro stop about 100 feet from the apartment building we lived in. The construction noise went on 24/7 for a year. It was horrible. However, we were not in lock down, and so it was easy for us to simply go to parks, museums, and bars to get away from the noise. Toronto is still locked down with stay at home orders, so Resa cannot simply say the heck with it, go out and get away from it all. She can go on walks, but she is very limited in her activity under the lock down orders.
ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT THROUGH By Resa McConaghy
Oh they have got loud work to do in the day time Evac, jack hammers and backhoes too, all the night through There is no time nowhere to hide losing my mind too It’s cruel they pound and crash then roar all of the time
All day and all night through All day and all night through All day and all night through
I believe this crazy work will always be there Oh yeah all day and night time through – PTSD There is no time nowhere to hide losing my mind Evac, jack hammers and backhoes too, not a good time
All day and all night through All day and all night through
Oh go away
I just know that they will be here forever Oh yeah all day and night time through, fixing the sewer There is no time nowhere to hide losing my mind Oh they have got loud work to do in the day time
All day and all night through All day and all night through All day and all night through
All of the blood moon photos were shot between 4:30 am and 5:04 am. I changed my exposure allowing the non-eclipsed portion of the moon to washout. When there is no cloud cover it easier to keep the non-eclipsed portions of the moon from washing out. The bright parts of the moon cast a glow off of the thin cloud cover that turned into heavier clouds as the moon sank toward the horizon. After the moon slipped behind the tree I walked up the road to where I could barely see the white sliver of the moon through the haze. After that it disappeared. The full eclipse was at 5:18 am, but it had slipped behind the clouds and out of sight.
More flowers and roses for the Super Flower Blood Moon.
All three owlets have flown into the bosque. They are near the Tangle Heart Tree. Can you find them in the above photo? I’m not sure you can see Mona Lisa from the photo. I believe she is blocked by a branch. This is a higher resolution image than I normally upload, so you can click on it to see the full image and enlarge the image to help find the owlets.
First two photos are of Major Tom Peepers. The second two photos are Mona Lisa in the foliage behind Major Tom. The third pair of photos is Sleepy on a branch to the left of Major Tom Peepers.
A super-wide view of the area the owlets are in with the Tangle Heart Tree on the right.
Contrails when I got home.
Wild sky of the Sandias and Rio Grande.
More wild skies. The last shot was sunset tonight.
The western clouds were beautiful, but not promising for a clear sky in the wee hours of the morning when the Super Flower Moon gets bloody. I’ll get up a 3:00am and check the sky.
The Super Flower Moon Rise.
Super Flower Moon
Super-wide-angle view of the Super Flower Moon rising over the Sandias and Rio Grande.
Super Flower Moon in the clouds.
Can you find Venus?
You should be able to see Venus in the above photo.
There was nice color in the west, but I missed most of it photographing the moon.
At 5:18 am Wednesday morning, I should be able to see and photograph the Super Flower Blood Moon, which will be a full lunar eclipse. We have had two days and one night of crystal clear skies. The forecast is for clear skies tomorrow, but clouds on Wednesday. The big question is will the sky be clear between 2:47 am when the eclipse begins, and 6:02 am when the moon sets on Wednesday morning? We’ll see. In the meantime, I present you with our first fully bloomed Peony and the moon at 97.7% full.
Off Center & Not Even 