The Fall of Icarus: the ingenious wing

The great engineer and artisan, the Athenian Daedalus, made wings for Daedalus, his son, so that both could escape from the Island of Crete. The wings were ingeniously constructed with feathers and wax and possibly more materials. Warning his son not to fly upwards past the moon and near the sun, because the wax would melt, Daedalus set forth, but the joy of flying made him forget his father's warning. He did go ever higher and caused his own death. A catastrophe. He plummeted to earth. No one is certain whether it was in the ocean's waves or on earth. All that remains is the wing that Deadalus wrought.

fall fruit or genitalia

Old Love: when sharpness and separtion supplant

the sweetness of youthful ardor

what Virginia Woolf saw one afternoon in Gordon Square, London

The Pysche Bruised: one of many wounds

three points of view, three minds, at least: Wotton Hall

The noted diarist and author, the enlightened John Evelyn (31 October, 1620--27 February, 1706) resided at Wotton Hall, where he realized some of his garden designs. A champion of Nature as a restorative, he advocated vegetarianism, Evelyn also recognized its economic necessity for a political polity. Today Wotton is an hotel that hosts weddings and other events and occasional.

Then and Now

spring will return again, but it is a memory, blurred; it lacks the heat of the moment;. it is not a visceral experience, with the actuality of dryness or wetness, heat or piercing cold, and the sounds of one season are not the sounds of the other. 2009 is not 2010. each is unique to itself, yet the past promises what the future will bring, but with its own unique character.

For Aesop: May 8, 1997--September 21, 2009

Aesop in his prime, Aesop shortly before he died, Aesop keeping guard, while sister Emma sleeps, Aesop facing towards the Hudson River, Emma, facing towards the path at Tallman State Park, New York State, their most favored place.
in remembrance of our sweet-tempered, stalwart, loving Scottish Terrier, Aesop. Born at Great Scot Kennels, Saugerties , New York,he grew up with Kate, our first Scottie, who had lost her "brother" Fala in 1997. We felt that Kate, who was lonely, might perk up with a younger brother. Yes, to some degree it did help her, but the loss of Fala, of their wonderful deep relationship could never be replicated. And Aesop was really too young, a pup full of energy. Nontheless, he tried, but to suit his sister he toned down, but from her he learned sottish terrier etiquette and forest lore, such as how to chase chipmunks without catching them. When Kate died, we again faced the problem of a lonely pup. This time we found a sister, Emma, at Great Scot. They were true siblings: the same mom, but two different fathers. And their age difference was only one litter difference. At first Emma's puppy stage was too wild, and Aesop would run upstairs to escape her teeth. But once she lost her eye teeth, and matured, the two formed a fast loving bond. And they lived happily together. Aesop died first, and then Emma. Emma was bewildered when Aesop died but did the best she could under trying circumstances. We did not want to get a pup because it would have stressed her as she coped with illness. There was silence in the house after brother and sister died. Of course they are in doggy heaven, living in a pastoral world, an Eden, where they have joined with their elders, Kate and Fala, forming a happy pack. That gives us some solace. But nonetheless, we miss our physical Aesop, who always trusted us and gave us comfort and joy.

Mating Manners: doing what comes nturally

Fall: signs of the season

when Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds, she was forced to return to Hades to remain there for six months until her she fulfilled the penalty that had been imposed on her. now begins fall, a season that may be beautiful but which leads into the freeze of winter, a dark cold time.
The 21st of September is the date people in this region recognize as the season's onset; but Nature follows her own calendar, as this leaf attests.

of course it hurts: membranes tear and reveal what lies beneath the surface

The Sign of the Skate Park in Tenafly, New Jersey, 07670

I exist but without sensation

shadows of the past: artifacts dematerealized

the appearance of water but is it water? if not what is it?

"Passion" said Lytton Strachey

Linear Perspective or Scientific Perspective: an example

but the tracks do not always take you to the vanishing point and if they did you would vanish.

Rose Rosen: in memoriam, my dear grandmother

in remembrance of a beloved grandmother. a truly loving couple, a love that was a foundation for the good and bad times they experienced together
with enduring love from their granddaughter Susan Joan Rosen
"Old" Montefiore Cemetery, St Albans, Queens, New York

A contradiciton? Motion and Static

agitation and subsidence of anguish, yet it will always be present until time erodes the distressed structure and rearranges the matter of the past. But can we ever return to The Garden?

Self Portrait: National Gallery of Art, London

painting within marble
permanent/ impermanent
a state of mind
Jackson Pollock

Carrots: homely fare on the kitchen board

September 1, 2010: a new start, with Bess

Stained glass window courtesy of Monica Strauss. See her blog Refugee Tales

August 2010 ends

done on the fly; needed color, difficult to self photograph without a tripod; my excuse for the chrysanthemum: form not content

A Cigar in Rhinebeck, New York: could this be Samuel Reifler's

Pollution, Tenafly, New Jersey 07670. August 30, 2010

same old story. no change. this water is Tenafly's DRINKING WATER, and also other areas in Bergen County, yet it remains as polluted as ever. Photographed at juncture of the Tenakill Brook and the stream that exits the pond located in Tenafly Commons. Action is needed, rather than fancy costly color brochures and verbosity.