What is a blog?

Really, what is a blog?

It surely means different things to different people. In choosing what to write (and how often to write) we are faced with trying to understand what we hope to accomplish. These are things that are possible (not necessarily in order of importance): educate, inform, promote, network, guide, vent, purge, crystallize ideas, criticize, solicit feedback, and more.

If you like what we have to say, follow us. If you don’t, let us know that too. We hope something worthwhile happens here.

Merry Christmas, if you celebrate that, if not, merry whatever is important to you.

Hoping we are all on the path to peace.

… S&M (and no, it’s not what you’re thinking… it’s just our initials)

A few 8×10 images from the Polaroid exhibition at Photosensualis

This show will be up until the end of August …

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8×10 color Polaroid film has become very difficult to acquire. All of it is several years out of date at this point, and it has a strong tendency to ‘color shift’ which is partly why these images have such unusual beauty.

Something to look forward to while we wait for the cold to subside…

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While we’re thinking about spring, we’d like to mention Margaret Roach, a year-round gardening inspiration to us, and whose new book is coming out very shortly. Learn more here:

http://www.youtube.com/margaretroach

we’re fond of white knickers…

Spoonbills!

The roseate spoonbill is a most fantastic and unusual shorebird.  It’s a thrill to watch them fly in…

With their bright pink plumage and interesting feeding behavior, swinging their bills back and forth from side to side, they are fascinating to watch…

This mixed feeding group, with spoonbills, egrets, herons, terns, ibises and avocets, was ‘off the hook’…

They are truly beautiful ‘on the wing’…

What a bird!

Ok, next post we’ll get back to what we do best… Stay tuned…

Florida Birds 2

The next day we visited a wildlife refuge on Merritt Island, in the shadow of, but not quite in view of, the Space Center at Canaveral.

It was a cold, drizzly, gray day, but after a slow start, things started getting interesting…

Sandpipers probing in the mud…

Shovelers ‘shoveling’…

Blue-winged teals ‘tealing’…

Terns ‘terning’…   – okay, okay, enough of that silliness : -)

The great egret is always a treat to see…

This great blue heron was positively motionless except for his fabulous beard blowing in the breeze…

White and glossy ibises were very abundant…

The white ibises in flight are fantastic. With their downturned bills, they are unmistakeable…

It was a great thrill to see many white pelicans. Unlike the brown pelican, white pelicans don’t dive for food.

This incredible flock of pelicans, fifty or more, soared and undulated in an ever-changing pattern, as if skywriting…

The wood stork gets our vote as the most ‘prehistoric’ in appearance…

Usually solitary and wary, this one landed nearby and sauntered along as if we weren’t there…

These beautiful avocets joined a great mixed feeding group that we had the privilege of watching for quite a long time…

A spectacular morning – but it’s not over yet…

Next post: SPOONBILLS!

Florida Birds 1

We recently had the good fortune to spend a little time on the Florida east coast. For us, it’s really all about the birds. This post, and two to follow soon, will provide a glimpse into our experience there.

One of our favorite birds, the brown pelican, was in abundance. These enormous birds, so ungainly in appearance, are just gloriously graceful in flight, especially as they glide effortlessly just inches above the surf.

There was quite a variety of gulls. Birds in their first and second winter plumage, and probably hybrids too, make them tricky to identify.

The terns are fantastic. This royal tern is reminiscent of a balding old man.

Maybe more like a dirty old man… ‘nice caboose, honey’…

In feeding mode, the terns are incredible aerialists, swooping, then skimming the surface at breakneck speed…

And then, at the very end of the day, off they all went, in a flurry.

To be continued…

An untimely post…

We have been told we should be blogging every day… every day? YIKES!
Ok, here we go…

We are currently exhibiting in a group show at MARK GRUBER GALLERY in New Paltz in an exhibition called DON’T TOUCH THE ART – THE NUDE. This image ‘Arched Torso’, is one of seven we have in the show. The exhibition runs January 23 thru March 10. Mark’s gallery is very nice and the show is beautifully hung. Please check it out.
We are also very pleased to be one of the featured artists in an exhibition titled ‘LANDSCAPE FOREVER’ at the WOODSTOCK CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY. Our images in the exhibition include ‘Tree Cliff’, ‘Lilies Cliff’, and ‘Leaves’. The proceeds from the sale of these prints will benefit the WOODSTOCK LAND CONSERVANCY, a very worthy conservancy organization here in the Catskills. Please drop by for a look. There is much beautiful work there besides our own. The exhibition runs January 9 thru February 28.

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Our next exhibition at Photosensualis, ‘WILLIAMS & RUSS – SMALL WORKS’, opens Feb 5. In a few weeks, we’ll do a wine & cheese reception at the gallery. More on that later.

In the meantime, stay warm!

Cedar Waxwings!

A couple of days ago, on an exceedingly cold and windy day, we were delighted to have a visit from a museum of Cedar Waxwings (and yes, a flock of waxwings is called a ‘museum’ or an ‘ear-full’, according to iBird Explorer)…

Again and again, in they flew, feasting on the small crabapples in our front yard, then moving away just as quickly, to circle and perch in tall trees across the road…

We have just learned (also from iBird Explorer), that although most Cedar Waxwings have yellow terminal bands on their tails, some birds now have orange tail bands, which is believed to be caused by pigments ingested while feeding on non-native honeysuckle berries.

They ate and they ate…

You gotta love this face…

And as quickly as they came, away they flew, bellies full…

Wow!

There’s something about the food…

that makes the holidays extra special…

lots of fresh veggies...

can lead to tears of joy...

makin' momma's cornbread dressing...

the piping hot dressing is sublime (northerners, trust us...)

breakfast might be an arugula and turkey bacon frittata...

or maybe just good ol' fried eggs...

Whatever it is, there’s something in it that makes us like it!

Happy Holidays!