As I scanned the SD card, a theme emerged. First it was birds in flight, then I sort of got taken by the vivid colors of summer. I thought about Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome.”
I don’t have any Kodachrome, but I do have a Nikon camera… It takes a nice photograph. I always get fascinated by foxtail weeds. They are quite photogenic. Morning glories steal the show when the soybeans dry and summer slips into fall, but we’re not there yet. Let’s not rush into anything.
So while we’re not there yet. I took some pictures of flowers. Flower Power, and why not? I can’t claim that era, but I can enjoy the flowers. Get a little dream going in the hammock.
Christopher J Ananias
Saragun Springs 
CJA
Everything is utterly alive in this group. There is something in the Buster Keaton visage of a Bird that tells the Ancient Story.
Almost every place on Earth thrives with life. And yet we have yet to find a living germ of any kind Out There. And yet we kill.
Beautiful work!
Leila
LikeLike
Hi Leila
Glad you like these photos. Nice way to lead with the finch. It does tell a harmless little story.
I’m not sure what is wrong with the human that has this terrible instinct to kill. When we get older, for some of us, it becomes clear how wrong those actions are.
Thanks!
CJA
LikeLike
Gorgeous photos, Christopher, and a nice play-by-play as well. I look forward to viewing more of your excellent work.
LikeLike
Hi Bill
Glad you like these.
Thanks!
Christopher
LikeLike
CJA
I went outside the other morning just after sunrise and was shocked at how busy the birds were, and at how many there really are around here, right across the street from Chicago. They were everywhere, fluttering and flying and having a party. Within an hour after sunrise, all the activity had chilled out a ton. The animals have the night to themselves (sort of), even now.
You are an artist after Van Gogh’s heart. He would look out his window, or around himself in his room, and paint what he saw. The circumstances were “normal,” but he showed us all how extraordinary they really were (and are).
That bird pic is amazing! It’s great to see the details of him just after having had my early morning urban bird experience the other day. The flowers are like magic; the tiny details in these, and the way you’ve captured them here, should remind anyone who’s awake that this world is now, and will always be, beautiful. It’s just in the eye of the beholder (and the creator).
One thing that’s amazing about your pictures is their PERSPECTIVE and your SELECTIVITY in knowing which ones are the best! You make it look easy, but also no one else can do what you’re doing.
When they are all put together, the prairies of Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa are the most fertile, productive land in the entire WORLD (not just the USA), and because of their positioning, they will remain so for hundreds of years, at minimum. This is a scientific and agricultural fact. And we also have the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River: a vast, unbelievably huge amount of the world’s fresh surface water.
Dale
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Dale
It sounds like a great morning in Chicago! All of those birds, chirping and serving up a good ol’ time. They do have fun I’m sure of it. We love the birds!
Very cool about Van Gogh finding the beauty of the world–all around him. Thanks!
Yes indeed the world is now–great way to put it!
I definitely stew over the pictures. Cameras are one of the finest instruments that the crafty, insane human ever came up with–No doubt a divine tool in the right hands. Glad you like that little finch. I think it was in a patch of our zinnias.
There’s something about flowers and the vibrant colors–that draws my eye.
Wow great description of these three states! And the Great Lakes. The Midwest is a wonderful place to live!
Thanks for your excellent commentary!
CJA
LikeLike
CJA
Yes, Ingmar Bergman always talked and wrote about what a great machine the camera is for capturing and expressing things like close-ups of the human face (in the right hands, that is). Different kind of camera, same concept!
Your pictures today explode with a great array of different colors and it’s wild that nature has so many different colors. Somebody must’ve created it.
Dale
LikeLike
Dale
I keep trying to get myself to watch I. B.’s “The Seventh Seal-“- someday. Love Max von Sydow. There is no media quite like black and white.
The different eras of photography are amazing and can’t be reproduced. Like those black and white pictures of A. Lincoln and the civil war. And those smeary Polaroids of the 70s.
Glad you like them! The colors of summer are so fleeting… Now i’m planning to send you and Leila another batch, but i’m not sure what–maybe something to do with flight. It’s been a lot of fun here on the Springs!
Christopher
LikeLike
Christopher
Yes! The Seventh Seal is one of my favorite films of all time. Actually it’s quite short and fast-paced, even. Lots of (very dark) humor; and even lots of not-so-dark humor, too. A vibrant, beautiful actress in it, as well. (Can’t remember her name right now.) But that is true of all his films. It has two endings (one right after the other) and both of them will freak you out!!
D
LikeLike
Nice photos! And they add to the wonderful, eclectic nature of Saragun Springs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi David
Thanks very much! It’s been a lot fun sending them.
Christopher
LikeLiked by 1 person
Christopher
I know that I know nothing about photography because my brother is a keen amateur wildlife photographer. But I have to tell you that the last shot (seeding grasses?) is strikingly beautiful.
bw
mick
LikeLike
Hi Mick
Glad you like that picture! Yes, the foxtail weed is a seeding grass. Good call.
Thanks!
Christopher
LikeLike