Category: haiga

flowers, haiga, haiku, photography, seasons

Lilac, 2026-05

Posted on by Mellow Curmudgeon
“Lilac” bush
might not bloom “lilac.”
Names mislead.

 
 

The color called “lilac” in CSS is a light purple, with equal amounts of red and blue.  (The buds on this bush were a magenta, with a good deal more red than blue.)  Eleven days later, this bush was almost done for the year.  It looked like the flowers had indeed been lilac when fully open and were fading to lavender and then white.

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haiga, haiku, photography

Another Dawn

Posted on by Mellow Curmudgeon
IMG_8812_rot-2.9_crop.1_dram+90_ blush.2_shine.1_crop.1_840x865

Soon after solstice,
angry year nears end with hope:
“Peace on Earth, Good Will …”

 

glass-wreath_merry-xmas_840x630

 
 

Early morning sunlight can make a frosted window (or clean snow) sparkle like myriad tiny diamonds.  I have tried and failed to photograph that look.  Editing one recent try produced an image that struck me as interesting and subtly hopeful, appropriate for a Xmas greeting after a grueling year. 

 

 
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haiga, haiku, humor, photography

Not in Nature

Posted on by Mellow Curmudgeon
IMG_8759_blem_crop.1_840x532

Cattle breed with swine,
just in someone’s playful mind.
Belted Galloway pigs!

 
 

Nature~ Pic and a Word Challenge #390

The farm near my house does raise Belted Galloway cattle; it does not raise any pigs.  My guess is that someone wanted to decorate the farm’s entrance with an outdoor sculpture of a Belted Galloway cow, then found one of a Hampshire pig at a flea market or garage sale.  Close enough: black-white-black (but  with white forelegs).  BTW, I found an image of a pig with black-white-black arranged just as on the cattle.  Nature can sometimes be playful, too.

 
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growing old, haiga, humor, life hacks, photography

Two Workarounds

Posted on by Mellow Curmudgeon

§1: Tree to Stone to Tree to Stone

“I must grow.”
“I can’t move.  Sorry.”
“No problem.”

TreeRock_crop.2_sat-20_840x538

 

§2: Me to Knee and Up Again

Kneeling on one knee to capture the image for §1 was no problem for me, but my old legs stiffened in the time it took to get a few photos of the tree’s workaround for the stone.  To get up again, I depended on my own workaround.

After a few scares with stiffness from kneeling and balance on slopes earlier this year, I had bought a monopod and then replaced the monopod’s wrist lanyard with a clip that was intended for attaching a key ring to a belt loop.

Monopod_crop.1_840x571

Having taken the monopod on the walk leading to §1, I extended two of its four sections and used it to get up w/o drama.  When collapsed and clipped to a belt loop, the monopod leaves my hands free for wiping sweat or taking photos.  Like a good assistant, it’s there when I need it and unobtrusive when I don’t.  Remembering to take it when I go for a walk is the hard part.

 
 

Stone ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #387

 
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