My last week in a nutshell: three states, two campgrounds and a zillion pelicans. Wed-Fri: Gainesville. My friends have made their side yard into a tiny trailer park that perfectly fits one Alto. It even has a big gate so I can back my trailer in and then close the gates to have privacy from people on the street. I love it. And I love them for their generosity and their wonderful cooking. I got spoiled! I also got a library card and, man, ebook loans on Kindle are awesome. Saturday, I left the lap of luxury to make my…
Month: January 2018
Sunday Serenity: Trees of Florida
As Judi Dench said in a recent advert for a BBC show, “My life is all about trees. Trees and champagne.” My friend posted that to FB with a comment about life goals. I agree. The trees around Gainesville have been a revelation. I wasn’t thinking “trees” when I was thinking “Florida” before my arrival, but now… Yes, it is time for a meditation on trees. This is the biggest tree in Florida. Look closely at the lower left. People have propped up a long branch with a series of wood supports, willing the tree to keep growing even as…
Weekly Update: Jan 24, 2018
I’ve been in Gainesville for a little over a week, and it’s been a most relaxing time. Even vagabonds need down time, so staying in one place, having friends handy, and having those friends be most excellent cooks, has been wonderful indeed. Been hanging out, taking walks at various parks in Gainesville. They do have wonderful parks and lots of bird-watching going on. I’m learning, once again, that the forests I grew up with in California are much different than forests elsewhere. This is a Florida version of forest: This weekend, I’ll be moving up to Georgia and then a…
Sunday Serenity: Doubts and Fears
I’ve been publishing my photographs here and on Facebook for more than a year. I have gotten lovely compliments, encouragement, and more than a few people saying I should make a book. I thought it would be easy: pick some photos, see how they look as prints, fine-tune them in post-processing, and then put ’em in a book. I had not factored in the doubts that have come slip-sliding down as I started to make the book. Who do I think I am to make a photo book and self-publish it? Would people actually buy it? For $40 or $50? Geez,…
Weekly Update: January 17, 2018
Week Two of the big sprint across the country continued in earnest, taking me the last third of the way from Louisiana to northern Florida. Read on for the deets. Wed night: Bayou Segnette State Park in Louisiana was just south of the action in New Orleans so it was easy to hop on a passenger ferry that dropped me a short walk away from the French Quarter. Had to get my beignets! Thursday morning, after surviving the drive out of New Orleans, I stopped at the Infinity Science Center, next to NASA’s Stennis Space Center just over the state…