Scratching The Tiny Pains of Life

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Photo #761: Undignified Red PandaLocation Taken: National Zoo, Washington DC
Time Taken: March 2010

Ah, I do believe you have a smudge on your screen. Just a little one, some speckle from who knows where. I’m sure you know which one I’m referring too.

Annoying, isn’t it?  The way it’s always there, ever so slightly degrading the quality of what you’re looking at. Just this odd little itch that doesn’t seem worth scratching. And if you clean it off with anything but the best tools for the job, well, you’ll just end up with a larger smudge. But really, do you want to break out all those special cleaning fluids and cloths just for that tiny smudge?

Don’t worry, I know a place that can help!

You’ll find all you need to know at this site!

They are the best in the business at over-the-internet screen cleaning, I assure you!

  

Maybe they tried to write the whole name and ran out of rocks?

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Photo #760: The Great TLocation Taken: Thermopolis, Wyoming
Time Taken: November 2012

Look! There, on the hill! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a giant T!

T for Thermopolis, of course.

It’s one of those trends that’s a bit baffling to someone who isn’t used to it but completely everyday to those who are.

For whatever reason (probably local pride), in American towns that happen to have a steep tree-less hill next to them, there is often a giant letter laid out on them. It’s the first letter of the town name, of course.

Now, I grew up in an area that didn’t have many big hills around, much less ones that weren’t covered with greenery on every inch of them. If you tried to lay out a big letter in, say, the Appalachians, you wouldn’t exactly be able to see it.

But the dry hills and mountains of the northern Rockies? The Wyoming-Idaho-Montana area? There’s a whole lot of good spots. And a whole lot of giant letters.

I wonder which town started the trend. And how often someone has to go up there and tidy up the rocks. And exactly how big some of these letters actually are, the ones visible a mile away…

  

A Rare Daily Beauty, Available to All.

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Photo #759: Familar RarityLocation Taken: Wyoming
Time Taken: June 2008

Sometimes I wonder.

Do we love the sunset because it’s beautiful?

Or do we find it beautiful because it is our sunset?

It’s the only sunset our species has known. With all the variations, the clouds, the volcanic ash, the altitude we’re at, that change how it look, it is still the same light coming from the same distance through the same atmosphere.

Well, there’s a lot of variation in those “same”s, I admit. But there are still certain patterns to the setting of the sun that are ingrained in our psyche, calling us to our nighttime endeavors.

Now, there is a certain natural beauty to it, there’s no denying it. Color gradients, high contrast, strong focal point, those are all elements that make a robust image. But would it be the same if it wasn’t so familiar and yet so special?

After all, how many times do you actually watch the sunset? Our lives are busy, and unless they draw you outside at a very specific time, do you seek out this sight? And yet, you still can claim to have seen it hundreds of times, in all sorts of permutations.

The familiar rarity. That is what our sunset is.

  

A Wealth of New Sights of the Plantish Type

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Photo #758: Botanical JungleLocation Taken: Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago, Illinois
Time Taken: April 2008

Hmmm… I got a lot of excellent photos at this botanical garden. Maybe I should see if there’s any in the Seattle area…

A full nine, you say? Including many Asian-style gardens. Iiiinteresting.

Hmm… Many do require a fee for professional photographers to take photos there. But then, I don’t make any money from this blog. It’s more of a hobby than a profession, by far. Hmmm…..

  

There’s just something that keeps drawing me back to this photo…

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Photo #757: Yellow Flower HillsLocation Taken: Kamloops area, British Columbia
Time Taken: June 2010

You know, I’m about 70% certain I’ve posted this before, but it’s not marked as posted in my organizer, so what the hey, might as well be certain it’s posted!

Such a lovely flower, isn’t it? And such marvelous countryside. Certainly worth seeing at least twice, don’t you think?