...and it happens every day!

I woke up at a little after 4 am this morning, promptly hit the snooze button, and said to myself "just seven more minutes." Two and a half hours later I jolted awake in a panic because I knew I'd removed any reasonable possibility of making the first scheduled meeting of the day. The panic morphed a little as I plodded downstairs and beheld the fact that a Leprechaun had sprung the trap that my daughter had set for it the evening before, and instead of leaving a pot of gold, he had eaten the carrots, chicken, and most of the chocolate used for bait, he'd slept in the barbie bed, and put little green footprints all over the kitchen floor.

Between the late awakening and the chaos of the Leprechaun, St. Patrick's Day 2016 had gotten off to an inauspicious start.

Events, as they are wont to do, unfolded in a slightly more organized fashion and I was able to see a friend of mine from college who I have not seen in person since 2004 because he went out of his way to drop by my office on his way to another event. I pushed some paper through the process at work because that's what I get paid to do, and I hit the trail in the afternoon with a little bit of relatively comfortable jogging to test out the foot.

It was also a pretty good day to capture photos of the grand ol' lass of the Anacostia as the time of her departure draws closer.

Another Skyline with USS Barry

The USS Barry has become such a centerpiece for quite a bit of my photography during walks that I'm not sure how it will sit with me when she leaves in about six weeks.

Anacostia Afternoon with USS Barry

As I've probably mentioned before, she's been here in DC for about three decades now.

USS Barry and Vietnam era Swift Boat

These two pictures are the first time that I remember taking photos of Barry from the starboard side of the ship. I'm not sure why my habit to date has been to capture only the port side. It's an odd but enduring habit that I thankful to have broken today.

USS Barry and WNYD Saluting Battery

Just after I snapped the series of pictures for this panoramic view, a very large fish jumped right at my feet (I was on the water side of the pedestrian safety chain), and the sudden splash startled me enough to just about cause me to fall into the river. Thankfully, I managed to regain a modicum of composure, although my pride was pretty well shot at this point.

After completing what felt like an overly long commute, I wound up in Annapolis at just the right moment to capture the sun setting over College Creek. This just goes to show that if you let it, the universe will conspire to make you successful in spite of your best efforts to the contrary. Thanks to long lines of traffic, I arrived in the right place at just the right time to capture the following shots.

College Creek Sunset Panorama

This panoramic mashup created by Google Photos captures the scope of the vista pretty well, but the color has shifted enough that it doesn't quite capture the feel of the scene. I'm glad it was made for perspective because the sweep of the sky and the water just can't be adequately expressed in a single framed photo from this vantage point.

College Creek Sunset #2

This image is true to the colors of what greeted me on arrival in Annapolis after sitting in traffic for a little over an hour. The wait was worth it.

College Creek Sunset #3

A friend of mine remarked that this was "Amazing." I responded, "...and it happens every day." Some solar events are more flamboyant than others, but if you're lucky enough to experience one, they are all unique and pretty special...at least they are to me.

I've been very lucky over the last six months or so, and I'm looking for that good luck of good experience and a sliver of planning and action to pay dividends again tomorrow.

Last Day of Work Before Christmas

Today was my last paid day of work before Christmas this year, and as might be expected the actual work involved was rather light.  I was able to get some walking done, and some photos to document that walking that I'll share with you now.

Anacostia Morning with the ex-USS Barry

One day relatively soon, I'm going to show up in DC and the ex-USS Barry will have left her berth that she's spent the last thirty odd years occupying.  Until then, I intend to make her a regular feature that's documented here.

Capitol Building Rising into the Fog

Progress on removing the scaffolding from the dome of the Capitol has paused over the last several days, but one day soon I'm looking forward to showing you the United States Capitol in all her naked glory.  Until then, this will be another fairly regular feature of the blog.  Honestly, because of my morning and afternoon walking routes and a shocking lack of creativity, this will probably be a fairly regular feature long after the nudity of the dome is unveiled.

Capitol Building rising into the Fog

This may be one of my favorite panoramic shots of the Capitol of all time.  The spire of "Freedom" rising into the mist coupled with the fiery forges of Sauron peeking out through the windows in the Senate side of the building is both intriguing and menacing all at the same time.

Look Closely....Do you see them?

I stumbled across this pair of albino squirrels on the mall during my morning walk.  I was not feeling motivated at all this morning, and I was really dragging my feet.  I almost didn't make it down this far on the Mall on a couple of occasions, but I am really grateful that I slowed down and made the journey.

Albino Squirrels on the Mall

Here's a shot with a bit better contrast.  Seeing two of these squirrels romping around together felt a bit rare and special.  Since DC is the home of a concentration of albino squirrels, it probably isn't all that rare, but it sure felt like it today.

Another great day as the year winds down.

Every Moment is a Unique Act of Creation

I suspect I've touched on this topic in the past, but frankly, I'm just too lazy to go back through the history to try to figure out just how thoroughly it has already been covered.  It actually feels pretty good to have a situation that I'd have to use the search function to find out just how much I've written, but that's a different story for a different day.

The demonstrable fact that every moment (day, year, nanosecond, month, whatever measure of time you decide to use here) is a unique act of creation is important enough to discuss again.  I'll attempt to demonstrate the point with some pictures that are "the same" as the ones I shared with you, dear reader, yesterday.

Capitol Hill Sunrise

I took this picture at about the same time of day of the same building as the one I took and shared yesterday, but even a cursory glance will tell you that these are entirely separate and distinct events.  The perspective is from the opposite corner of the building.  Google Photos has executed the magic of Google processing in a completely different way.  I was in a different space, in different weather, and I had a completely different reaction both taking the photo and seeing the results google delivered.  To be honest, I have more of an affinity for yesterday's photo, but this one is intriguing as well.

Anacostia River Sunset

This picture, taken of the Anacostia River at around sunset yielded similarly completely different results from the one yesterday as well.

One of the things about life that I've discovered while slowing down a little and walking is that, in the past, I would pass what on the surface appeared to be "the same" scene without ever truly appreciating just how different the manifestations of life were moment to moment.  As I became more conscious of the truly spectacular and unique creative processes at work to produce the blink of an eye or a second in time, I began to exercise my desire to observe. 

This level of observation also gave way to the realization that the conventional wisdom on the topic of time that says the past is over and done, the future is a fantasy, grab hold and live in the moment is a much more fulfilling discipline of life to pursue.  Given the habits I've learned, it is a difficult task to remain present.  I find myself mulling over the past, or needlessly worrying about what might or might not happen next week.  If I'm honest with myself, I don't think I've predicted what is going to unfold in the future one single solitary time in my entire life.  I've gotten close on a number of occasions, but even when I did, things would probably have been more enriching if I had allowed myself to be surprised by the reality instead of the less than colorful guess that kind of, not really, mostly came to pass.

In order to to get completely philosophical here, and in order not to be accused of boring you with the same pictures day in and day out, I'll leave you with one final shot that I came across this morning.  Again, on the surface without pondering the meaning too much, this is a photo of some badly done graffiti on the southwest bridge abutment of I-395 where it crosses 4th Street, SE in DC.  Though poorly rendered the words that are written represent what I believe are a heartfelt, funny, and warm expression of love.

Badly rendered graffiti with a heartwarming message of fondness

Molly is an extremely lucky person.  She is loved by someone enough for that feeling of closeness to be rendered in red spray paint, at great risk to the renderer of spending some time in the DC pokey, on a bridge.  The admirer loves deeply, for while I understand a feeling of fondness that outstrips fondness for puppies, sunshine, beer, and even HBO, the placement on a pedestal above the experience that is Eastern Market is truly a wonderful expression of closeness.

Every place and every moment that you find yourself is exactly the place you were meant to be in that instant.

 

Summerwind

Today was a pretty full Saturday.  I started off with a group of friends and we talked about the difference between forgiveness and redemption.  From my perspective (and I'll speak for myself here) it is much more likely that I will receive forgiveness for past wrongs if I'm seeking redemption from them.  I have some small amount of influence on the later, and the former is wholly in the hands of someone else.  Forgiveness is really only important to me when I give it.  A wise woman I know says that forgiveness is simply giving up hope of a different or better past.  I like that definition because forgiveness really just becomes a matter of fact, since there is really no hope for a different or better past.  It's right there in the word itself...forgiveness, giving that happens in advance of the insult.

It doesn't quite come across as well when I write it, but it was a pretty good way to start the day.

Even though we are several days into autumn, a fresh "Summerwind" blew into town today.

Schooner "Summerwind" from Kings Point, NY

"Summerwind" is a the newest addition to the United States Merchant Marine Academy sailing fleet.  Laid down in 1929, she is a classic vessel in apparently new condition.  Her wooden masts, and, to me anyway, the unique design of her booms were a glorious addition to all three of my walks today.

Stern view of "Summerwind"

Rory Conlan and I discussed the appearance of "Summerwind," and when I related to him that it was a schooner, he had all kinds of questions about what the term schooner actually meant.  This led to a series of question regarding the classification of sailing boats or ships which Wikipedia does a passable job of describing and providing enough links to expand on these descriptions to satisfy anyone.  You can read all you ever wanted to know about what makes a hermaphrodite brig slightly different from a brigantine rigged ship.

I once again found that my walk has taken me places that I never even imagined existed. The real beauty of that magic is associated with the fact that I've already covered this path more times than I can easily count. Every moment is a journey and act of creation.  I find that if I'm bored with a place because I've seen it before, I am probably not trying hard enough to really observe because each moment and place, no matter how familiar it may seem, is truly unique.

Sunrise, Friday, 25 Sep 2014

On this second day of autumn, I was greeted with a beautiful sunrise display over the Washington Navy Yard, DC.  Each one of these experiences is unique, and although they happen every day, I'm reminded that each and every one of them is truly a gift that should never be taken for granted.

Sunrise over the Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia

If I live to be one hundred and twenty years old, I'll only have the opportunity to see 43,800 sunrises.  That's quite a few, but I've already slept through more than my fair share of them.  I understand that we all need our rest, but I can't help but think that I probably wasted some of those hopefully many but ultimately finite opportunities.  No sense looking back with too much nostalgia (or even worse regret), but I'm glad I got out and experienced this one.  Here's to hope for another one.