signs of the times, part II
June 15, 2025
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At the end of February, I put on my photo journalist's hat and photographed the "Not My President" rally in Santa Fe. Here we are, almost four months on and I found myself at yet another rally at New Mexico's capital building, with yet another theme, even more people, this time sweating instead of shivering. Many people with whom I have spoken have...
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the beginning of the end
June 09, 2025
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It was 6 June 1944 - D Day. In almost the same way that "a date which will live in infamy" - 7 December 1941 - became synonymous with the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Allied invasion of the beaches in Normandy, France, is historically considered the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe. Last Friday was the 80th anniversary of that massive...
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spines and blooms
June 01, 2025
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The winter of 2024-25 did not offer much in the way of moisture across New Mexico. There was a huge flood near Dexter in the south eastern part of the state in October. And Santa Fe and parts north had a substantial snowfall in November. But beyond that, there were dribs and drabs. Until the third week in April and into mid-May, when the northern p...
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flower of the day
May 25, 2025
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Memorial Day 2025. Flags are flying everywhere and flowers lay on the graves or headstones of those who died fighting for this country and democracy. I will see those later today at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe. But the flowers highlighted in this blog have their own role in bringing smiles to people's faces just because of their complicated b...
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masters of the air
May 18, 2025
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Living in the sagebrush biome for over twenty years tends to fine-tune one's senses. It is extraordinarily mesmerizing in color, smell, structure, and wildlife. Making time during the day just to let our eyes scan the tops of mile after mile of sagebrush in the same way one looks at ocean waves was nature's meditation. The sagebrush ecosystem "is t...
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design appreciation
May 12, 2025
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Two brothers - Terry and Renny Russell - set out to discover the rugged wilds and themselves during another fraught time in United States history when the Vietnam War was raging, and free spirits and hippiedom were rampant. In 1967, their experiences and photographs became a wonderful jewel of a Sierra Club book titled On the Loose. The statement "...
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nothing like it
May 05, 2025
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As far as tulips are concerned, the slot in my brain's drive of early memories that includes flowers is vacant. However, when grocery stores began carrying flowers of all kinds in arrangements and bouquets, tulips were almost always included. A tulip is a near-perfect cut flower, progressing from an oblong shape opening to a bowl, and lasting a rel...
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blooming
April 28, 2025
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Despite the wind and dust that is typical this time of year in the southern Rocky Mountains, nature's bloom cycle continues. While living farther north in New Mexico, a regular photographic pilgrimage to the area in and around the mountain pass off of Highway 64 between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla was part of life. It was the time when the wil...
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a beautiful planet
April 21, 2025
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Tomorrow, Tuesday, 22 April, is Earth Day. This year's celebrations world wide will be the 55th anniversary of the event, founded by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. 1970 was a heady year in America, with non-stop protests against the Vietnam war, and less than two weeks later, four unarmed students were killed at Kent State University in Ohio by...
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fragrance remembered
April 13, 2025
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There is something to be said about fragrance and its impact on memory. From year to year, I photograph the seasons as they change. Each time I photograph flowering fruit trees in the spring, I walk into the midst of blossoms, hear hundreds of bees as they fly from blossom to blossom, and the fragrance hits me. Yes. This is why I come back to them...
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feast for the eyes and soul
April 06, 2025
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When a person has and shares her talent with others, I feel it should be acknowledged. In addition to a forty plus year career as a physical therapist, our friend Ingrid, is an extremely creative person. As another friend, Jim, said "Not every artist is a painter". So true. In addition to her many other skills, Ingrid has become a master tart desig...
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breaking through
March 31, 2025
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Spring and March presented themselves in earnest last week with warm winds and sunshine. And all of nature knows this is the time for action. Vegetative growth from bulbs that wait patiently throughout the winter miraculously pushed through the hard, dry soil, and the blooms have arrived. Flowering shrubs and fruit trees are gradually joining the p...
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skills I do not have
March 23, 2025
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During our many adventures in home building, my husband, Fred (primarily Fred) and I have built homes of wood, stone, and adobe, that were accomplished courtesy of his architectural, engineering, and design skills, along with my organizational and mud and mortar mixing skills. Darn good with a shovel, water, concrete, clay, and sand, and although t...
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the wild wind
March 16, 2025
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It is perpetual, breathing life into every entity on this planet. The wind - whether we appreciate it or not, whether it destroys what humans and other living entities build, causing tragic loss of life, whether it contributes to deadly fires, whether it peppers our faces or legs, or whether it drives us mad - is a necessary part of life. The sprin...
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spring gifts
March 09, 2025
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The vernal or spring equinox arrives on 20 March this year, but meteorological spring arrived officially on the 1st of March. If there was no record keeping or calendars, humans would count on the sky, weather, and other animals to tell when spring was coming. In the Rocky Mountain west last week, the full gamut of weather - including graupel, rain...
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© Daryl A. Black