a new year is coming soon

To the Consolations of Philosophy

by W. S. Merwin

Thank you but

not just at the moment

I know you will say

I have said that before

I know you have been

there all along somewhere

in another time zone

I studied once

those beautiful instructions

when I was young and

far from here

they seemed distant then

they seem distant now

from everything I remember

I hope they stayed with you

when the noose started to tighten

and you could say no more

and after wisdom

and the days of iron

the eyes started from your head

I know the words

must have been set down

partly for yourself

unjustly condemned after

a good life

I know the design

of the world is beyond

our comprehension

thank you

but grief is selfish and in

the present when

the stars do not seem to move

I was not listening

I know it is not

sensible to expect

fortune to grant her

gifts forever

I know

A Wordle of Great Basin A&E

Toiyabe Range

This is the eastern wall of the Toiyabe Range, looking SSW, as seen from Highway 50 about 12 miles east of Austin. On the map below the spot would be very near the intersection of U.S. Highway 50 and Nevada Route 376.


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Red Cat Records

So I was digging around in my files, and found this.

If the Red Cat were still with us, it would just now be preparing to celebrate the end of its 10th year. Gone but not forgotten.

Big Rocks

Chocolate Mountain, Santa Rosa Range, Humboldt County, Nevada
October 7, 2009


















Hinkey Summit, Santa Rosa Range, Humboldt County, Nevada
October 10, 2009

Took these photos during three trips to the Santa Rosa Range. My friend Stuart invited me to help out with a photography field trip for his class at Great Basin College. We went out on "scout" trips twice to find a good location for a large group. Then we took about 18 people out to one location we'd found in the mountains, and then on the way back to town spent some time in Paradise.

This sounds like much more of a report, than a story....argh...


Try the full screen feature.

Austin Summer of 2009

This is the nearly the longest time I have ever gone between posts. Just too much life and not enough time for creativity.

I spent today judging photos at the county fair, or the Tri-County Fair. This is interesting work. You get to claw your way through a huge pile of mounted photos that range from the sublime to the truly awful.

People tend to enter photographs that they have some sort of emotional connection with, or that evoke a fond memory, no matter what the subject matter or quality of the image.

Our job was to score each one independently, and then write some notes, constructive suggestions, on how the image might be improved, to "offer the entrants encouragement".

It was with this in mind that I chose my own image, above, to post today. This picture, while rather poorly done, represents my current, confused, state of mind. It was captured in Austin Nevada 7/26/2009 when I was on my way to a meeting in Ely.

Sacred Ground

Inspiration - Illumination


















We sent our brother John Allen off in a manner he would have fully appreciated. A wake filled with his spirit, his friends, his artwork & totems, and his writings & poetry. Conversation, music, singing & dancing, smiles & tears, and hugs. The land, the wind and the sun.

Home was filled with small children of all sizes playing hide-and-seek on the stairways and in the doors.

The moon, and then fireworks, and likely some gunfire off in the distance.

We spread his ashes over his 80 acres. These lands along the White River hold a powerful medicine, and now he has joined with it.

John Allen Sims
Born: Troy, Alabama September 29, 1948
Died: Chadron, Nebraska January 12, 2009

Look at more photos

John Allen's Blog - Mind over Matters

Dunes

The High Desert. That's an accurate name for this part of the Great Basin. I'm beginning to think in terms of years, to remember when this dry spell started.

And no, these are not snow drifts. These are dunes.

It seems I always end up making a trip to the dune fields about this time of the year. This year it got dark, and I almost missed the light. I don't think I have really adjusted to moving the clock, and the days getting so short.





The blue light is what had my attention. The shadows on the dunes were filled with a beautiful blue light.

W.V.F.D

Old Trees

I've just uploaded some more images to my long ignored flicker account. Have a look.

Landscape-Mindscape

White Mountains, in California, at a photography workshop.


It was a beautiful spot, among groves of Bristlecone Pines, some of the oldest living organisms on the planet.

Independence Day 2008

We had a nice spot to watch the fireworks tonight. Sitting in the grass on the slope of the # 8 tee box at the WGC. Beautiful evening; clear, cool, calm, and not a cloud in the sky.

Wishbone

There is this shot. It's a little late since it was taken in March I think. But I liked it. The last snow of the season. About three days later it was all gone. The trail will wrap around the back side of this ridge when it is constructed next spring. Those Humboldt's over in Pershing County, and the Humboldt River Valley show up nicely.

Which Way Did They Go ?

It must be a sign of the times.
end-of-scenic-route reminded me of this shot.





















One thing you might want with you up on the mountain is a good set of body armor. A little thicker than this sign. A helmet might be a good idea as well.

Happy Mother's Day

These young orphans wish they had their mothers.

They get special love and care, and have their stories told in a color-coded alpha numeric script code.

Sun Down again

The view down the street this afternoon.


















We've been having some strong wind storms. This afternoon, about sundown, the wind was taking the dust northeast. The wind blows huge amounts of soil, very fine dust mostly, into the air, and then carries it away in huge choking clouds.

The lands producing most of this dust are the vast acres burned by wildfire. The oceans of sage and clump grass having been burning away over these lands in what has become a annual ritual. The burned lands may never recover. There are now invasive species of grass weed that are propagating so quickly that the same lands can burn year after year. Mostly cheatgrass. There are a lot of different strategies, and tactics, much discussion, and some execution, on how to best address this problem.

I don't think there is a local solution. It appears to me that a different climate, one that provided more rain and snowfall, might be required. That may not come anytime soon.....

I wonder if 500 years from now this area will be the north reaches of the Mojave Desert?

Jungo Flats

This afternoon we made our way in the sedan, to the beach, but we couldn't ever find the water. We could always see it, just over there, but we couldn't ever sneak up on it.

This image reminds me of a vistor from the far east we saw in NYC, on the south tip of Manhattan Island. He had his cell phone mounted on a 5' tripod, and was taking a photo of the Statue of Liberty The photographer above is using her iPhone.

Wait till you see the video morsa made, you'll be amazed.

Sleeping Giants

quarter past six

The snow on the north side of this low peak reminded me of a sports car, a 911, with door handle.

Today the proposed route layout is complete.

WINNMO

It's coming together. JP, the trail designer, is laying loops on the mountain. This is him, at the
foot of the mountain. headin' up.














This is JP talking with the mountain.
Seeking permission to seek the summit.