This is no big deal. I can’t understand why it has been so difficult to sit down and do this for the last many months. Whatever the reason, I’m tired of not doing it. But I will say, I’m not sure that I have anything to write about – while I have everything to write about. And I’m discouraged because I’m realizing I’m not the photographer I once thought I was. Ah well.
So these are more images of May. I know that summer on our side of the planet is almost over (may I just say – “Hurrah!!!!”? It’s been one intense set of months), and this lag time is pretty indicative of the state of my mind.
This moon is supposed to be huge. G told me that night, the moon was supposed to be closer than it had been for – fill in the blank. So I decided to take a picture of the huge moon. Huge. See how huge? Evidently my zoom didn’t get the concept. It was pretty, though, and I was shooting it through aspen leaves, which you cannot see.
This is one of the Idaho Bartlett’s wonderful upcycled metal antiques. I bought it at Swiss Days last year, plunked it on the front porch (right next to the other Bartlett Welcome thing) and was happy. Then one day, I realized G had actually been USING it. The bucket looked WAY happier with stuff in it. Next week is Swiss Days again. Will I get yet another bucket, I wonder?
Son Cam, father of Scoots and Andy, stay-at-home-dad on this afternoon, brought the kids to explore in our backyard. Come to think of it, this doesn’t happen very often. And I loved following them around as they focused on the tiny mysteries I usually walk by on my way somewhere else. My yard became my yard again as I watched them.
G and Cam decided to do a web-ad about our studio piano.
My son, the pro.
So in talking to d-i-l Laura, I finally came up with a concept for the Golden Boy cover. (After all those months of total concentration on getting these books published, I’ve petered out. Oh – remind me to tell you what I learned yesterday about the phrase “She stifled herself.” Anyway, I haven’t talked a lot about this book or the one after it yet. I think I’m kind of sleep-walking these days, trying to let my awareness catch up – )
So the concept started with the poster Henny Penny, Rachel’s daughter, had drawn for a presentation to her 5th grade class on this book. Before it was published. Up till then, I’d been trying to figure out what to do with the cover. But her work was SO right – except for the red background. Then I thought, what if I took the rest of the art and stuck it on a piece of notebook paper, as if Brandon had drawn it himself—probably while he was supposed to be learning about fractions or something. But knowing Brandon, it couldn’t be a regular piece of notebook paper – it had to be a murdered piece of paper. And the first mess on it had to be a glop of chocolate milk.
So I dug out some notebook paper and, lucky for me, found a cup that G had just used for chocolate milk. Then I glopped. And made a half-hearted swipe at cleaning it up. Horrible – yay! Then I let the dogs walk on it – spring, rain (we had rain back then), small dog paws: perfect. Then applied some tape. And hug it up on the back deck to dry: excellence. Put Henny’s art over the top and a little bit of commentary – I liked it.
The yard in spring. The grass is just starting to come in strong – mowed for the first time here, I think.
The secret path back to the studio.
And that’s it. Just some random shots. No philosophy. No politics (grrr-politics). No ground-shaking experiences. Just hundreds of hours sitting at that desk, working through the manuscripts and the layout and the covers and the code, code, code –
I wonder if I’ll ever do any more? But next time, I’m gonna do it when it’s cold and gray and yucky outside. Not when the grass is this green. If it ever is again. It will be, right?
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