Standing Into Danger: August 2021

Friday, August 27, 2021

On Mudflats and Rough Textures

This has been the week of too many appointments, and my brain is fried.

So I'm grateful for my friend Rain's Thursday Art Date,

because her prompt of Rough Textures is fun and easy to respond to.

I've taken photos of textures for many years.

Any surface has a texture, and texture is the way a surface looks and feels.

Some textures are pleasing, and some are definitely not!

Take mudflats, for example.

They have an icky uneven surface that sent me into fits as a toddler.

My mother loved to roll in mudflats when she was young.

She relished the cool touch of mud on a hot summer's day.

She rolled in mudflats an adult too,

and she couldn't believe they freaked her daughter out.

Mudflats on the Edge of the Sand Bar to Bear Island

The Scallywag Run

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 2, 2019

I hate mudflats.

What my mother found silky, I found rough and sticky.

When I stepped in the goo, my foot sank into the sucking mud.

I have too many scary memories of my brother and me

tossing rocks into mudflats and watching them swallowed by mud.

And there are things in the mud:

fragments of rock and shell, bits of slimy seaweed and kelp, and sharp clams.

I've never seen a clamdigger rolling in the mud.

Clamdigger on the Mudflats

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 3, 2015

I'm working on drawing a cottonwood tree, but it's taking me a long time.

It's that damn bark! Rough-textured for sure!

I'll share the finished drawing at a later date.

Here are some rough-textured pictures

that caught my eye as I scanned my photo collection,

beginning with one more pleasing than mudflats.

The Back of Eros Alato Con Mano

Winged Eros with Hand (2013 ~ bronze)

by Igor Mitoraj

Regio VIII, Ancient Pompeii, Italy

May 20, 2016

Hadrosaur Jaw (Duck-Billed Dinosaur)

Royal British Columbia Museum

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

September 16, 2015

Among the Cottonwoods

Parker, Colorado, USA

December 13, 2014

A Portion of The Royal Lion Hunt

from Nineveh, North Palace

Assyrian 645-635 BC

British Museum

London United Kingdom

May 31, 2014

Lobster for Dinner

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

September 16, 2015

Sólheimajökull ~ an Outlet Glacier

from Mýrdalsjökull, Iceland's fourth largest glacier

Iceland

June 13, 2014

Thatched Roof

Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens

Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 14, 2014

Castle Valley Overlook

Near Orangeville, Utah, USA

January 4, 2019

The Army Museum with Its Rough-Textured Walls

Halifax Citadel National Historic Site

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 8, 2014

Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption

Siena Italy

September 20, 2018

Sea Ice on the Bay

Hudson's Bay, Ontario, Canada

June 15, 2014

Plaster Body Cast of Pompeii Victims

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Denver, Colorado, USA

January 9, 2013

Lady Bug and Thistles

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, USA

June 20, 2020

Fundy Trapper in Choppy Water

Bay of Fundy

Point Prim (Near Digby), Nova Scotia, Canada

July 29, 2014

The Flood Tablet ~ 7th Century BC

Eleventh Tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic

(How the gods sent a flood to destroy the world.

Upnapishtim built an ark to house living things,

and after the flood, he sent out birds to look for dry land.)

British Museum

May 31, 2014

Aspen Trunks

Breckenridge, Colorado, USA

September 20, 2014

Next week I will be posting on Wednesday, September 1,

for the Insecure Writer's Support Group's monthly Get-together.

Stay happy and safe!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, August 20, 2021

Back from Vegas and TAD's Reflections and Mirrors

Terry and I have just returned from a much-needed break in Las Vegas.

It was so good to get out of town!

No cooking, no cleaning, no worries ~ just sleeping and having fun.

Terry and I

8 East in Circa Resort & Casino

Fremont Street, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 13, 2021

I lugged my computer along on our trip with plans to do some things online and off.

But that didn't happen! I was too tired at the end of each day,

perhaps from the heat or sensory overload.

Sensory Overload

From the Plaza Entrance Looking Toward Fremont Street

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 12, 2021

We stayed Downtown the whole time, except for one brief Strip trip

to the new Resorts World built on the site of the former Stardust Resort and Casino.

Resorts World (Hilton, Crockfords, and Conrad Hotels)

Terry and His Bud Jon

Walking from Self Parking to Resorts World

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 12, 2021

Resorts World was beautiful, but I won't rush back.

It's expensive, the layout is confusing, and there are much better places to gamble.

The highlight was enjoying ridiculously caloric confections at Starbucks.

And I did love the Big Ball.

Terry and Jon at Starbucks

Resorts World

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 12, 2021

The Big Ball

Resorts World

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 12, 2021

Much to my delight, live music is back on Fremont Street.

I spent hours listening to music in front of the various stages on Fremont.

My favorite band ~ which I won't name ~ was back but with a new front man.

I was really really sad, because the former front man was fabulous.

This new front man has awesome pipes,

but he lacks the strutting, flamboyant charisma of the former Jeffrey St. Germain.

Very Much Missed ~ Jeffrey St. Germain

Fremont Street

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

June 16, 2019

Luckily I discovered a new band, Blue String Theory,

which I watched for over seven hours during multiple performances.

They were fantastic: gritty, versatile, excellent singers and musicians.

Blue String Theory

Fremont Street

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 14, 2021

Brian Pollack (left) and Scott Van Zen of Blue String Theory

Fremont Street

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 14, 2021

On our last night in Vegas, Terry took me to Andiamo Steakhouse in the D for dinner.

If I can't get to Italy, at least I can enjoy delicious food

and excellent service with an Italian twist.

And then there are the wines and desserts!

Andiamo Steakhouse

Fremont Street, Las Vegas

Destination360

We had a lovely surprise at the end of our dinner.

A couple who had been sitting at a nearby table treated Terry and me to dessert.

We were shocked and delighted.

We couldn't thank them because they departed before our desserts arrived.

Some Andiamo Steakhouse Desserts

My favorite crème brûlée is in the lower right.

Fremont Street, Las Vegas

Trip Advisor

I snagged a window seat on our flights to and from Vegas.

I love to fly over the southwestern states because the rocks are largely exposed,

and I can see magnificent formations and structures below me.

A favorite sight I watch for every time is Waterpocket Fold in southern Utah.

This structure is a large wrinkle in the Earth's crust,

a south-southeast trending monoclinal fold that extends for nearly 100 miles.

(For more information click here: National Park Service)

The Waterpocket Fold, Looking North

The white jagged rocks on the left (west) are the beautiful Jurassic Navajo Sandstones.

The strike valley on the right (east) is largely Cretaceous Mancos Shale.

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA

September 25, 2019

But in both directions on this trip almost everything was smothered in smoke.

I caught occasional glimpses of the landscapes below,

and sometimes I saw huge thunderheads breaking through the pall.

A Line of Thunderheads

Somewhere over the southwestern USA

August 17, 2021

It's great to be home again. I slept most of yesterday.

Burning the candle at both ends isn't working so well for me anymore.

I am continuing to participate in my friend Rain's Thursday Art Date.

The theme this week is Reflections and Mirrors.

Below I am sharing some of my photos for this theme.

Middle Pond

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, USA

March 21, 2020

A Skilled Bartender!

The Vue Bar in the D

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

June 19, 2019

Dining by the Grand Canal

Venice Italy

May 24, 2016

Self Portrait

The Golden Gate Hotel & Casino

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 12, 2021

Middle Pond

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, USA

March 29, 2020

The Plaza Entrance

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 12, 2021

Turtles and a Seagull Sunning

in Water Reflecting Summer Leaves

Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

July 27, 2014

Reflection in a Dirty Window

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 14, 2021

Fishing Boats at the Digby Wharf

Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 1, 2019

My Reflection in the Big Ball in a Mirror Phase

Resorts World

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 12, 2021

Reflection of DIA's Iconic "Tents" in the "Whale Tail"

Denver International Airport and Westin Hotel

Denver, Colorado, USA August 17, 2021

I've been trying to capture that DIA photo for years as I've taken off or landed at the airport.

Finally, as we landed in Denver after our Vegas trip, I got it,

strong reflections of the "tents" in the "whale tail."

I never know what's going to happen as I take a photo from a taxiing plane.

But my theory is that if you take enough shots, you'll eventually get what you want.

And how lucky was it to catch that bus with the letters "DEN" on it!

Luck is always good!

Stay happy and safe!

Books Read in 2024

"5 Languages of Love: The Secret to Love That Lasts" by Gary Chapman
"At Home in the World" by Joyce Maynard
"Cockroaches" by Jo Nesbo
"Death's End" by Cixin Liu
"Eruption" by Michael Crichton and James Patterson
"In Darkness" by L. Diane Wolfe
"In My Time of Dying" by Sebastian Junger
"Nothing to Fear" by Julie McFadden, RN
"The Bat" by Jo Nesbo
"The Dark Forest" by Cixin Liu
"The Frozen River" by Ariel Lawhon
"The Last to Vanish" by Megan Miranda
"The Montauk Monster" by Hunter Shea
"The Road to Character" by David Brooks
"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller
"The Twist of a Knife" by Anthony Horowitz
"The Uninhabital Earth: Life After Warming" by David Wallace-Wells
"The Women" by Kristin Hannah
"Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens
"Writing the Shadow" by Joanna Penn

Pages

Friday, August 27, 2021

On Mudflats and Rough Textures

Friday, August 20, 2021

Back from Vegas and TAD's Reflections and Mirrors