Birds

stealthy hawk
soars astride thermals
winged eclipse


out of bounds
raven on the wing
lobs cackle












This image is a digitally altered fractal originally created in Fractal Explorer. I have a love/hate relationship with birds due to a few harrowing experiences and this image reflects that.

Birds: the prompt issued for October 3 by Inspire Me Thursday.

fractals

Write Stuff. Fiction Friday. Free Write.

Dip. Drag. Dip. Drag.

Quill was weary of being used and abused. Her nib hurt and the scratching abuse was worse than anything she'd taken in her lifetime of being used. Used. She hated that. Quill longed to jump away from the dip and drag scene and to log her own comments. Feed her own ego. She was tired of being linked to her owner and yearned for freedom.

Freelancing. She'd heard the term, but was only now realizing that was exactly what she wanted to do. She began to lay escape plans and when her owner next picked her up, she leaked a blot, then another. Left a thin trail of pale ink. Nothing legible.

She choked as the hand squeezed her tighter, then shook her as if to remind her who was boss. Not much longer she thought, then she'd be on her own.

Snap. Snap. That small rite ended her future.

Darkness.

This is my first exploration of free write from an inanimate object's pov. I hope it's the last. :) Actually, thanks for the prompt, Fiction Friday. I was dry.

Tumblewords Blog

Portable Rainbows

This video clip fascinates me. The four-year-old is enamored with bubble blowing - he started waving wands before he walked.

This clip was easily rendered using MS Photo Story, a free program which is probably already installed on your computer or can be downloaded from the Microsoft site.

Other art, fractals, digital photos, watercolor and poetry/prose at Tumblewords Blog.

Edits and Ego

Two recent happenings encouraged me to keep art-ing. One of my abstract paintings was selected by Blood Lotus for their e-zine and three of my digital photos on Better Photo were selected as Editors' Picks. Now the ego part is over - on to edits!

New technology gives rise to the idea that one can't believe his own eyes. Photo editing software can create whatever the mind can dream.

For example, the upper picture is the initial cropped portion from an original scene. The lower one is the desired portion of the first selection which was then placed on a fractal using the color selection tool to match the fractal color to the boy's shirt.

Not to pretend I'm speedy, this took some great time and many errors but it was well worth it. The fully edited photo was published in I Love Cats Magazine.

I used MS Digital Image software for the photo editing and because it's an older edition it was reasonably priced. The fractal was created in Fractal Explorer which is a free program.


North of Summer, a Decade of Poetry is available at Lulu Publishing and Tumblewords Near Year of Blog is available in e-book format at the same site

poetry watercolor

Quick Photo Editor

IrfanView is a multi-faceted photo editor. I've used it off and on for several years and still haven't exhausted its possibilities. Recently the company came out with a wide variety of plug-ins which boggle my mind. And all this is free. That's really a boggler.

The 3-D button effect is one of my favorites. Because the program is so simple, it's readily available and works on the fly for quick changes and editing. But it's complex enough to allow a virtual plethora of changes, alterations and editing fun.

This particular photo was sharpened, resized and gamma altered. The raindrops were there originally but if they hadn't been, IrfanView can add them. Amazing, isn't it?

North of Summer, A Decade of Poetry is available at Lulu Publishing

One Hint of Nostalgia

Change comes quickly and leaves me in a state of questioning. When did that building disappear? When did that stand of pines fall for a new gated community? When did the neighborhood grocer leave? When did the traffic arrive? What happened to the little town I knew?

Last fall, I drove to several nostalgic spots to take a photo or two to accompany my gray days - those when I know old has been replaced by new and big.

I like this picture - the bald eagle has been removed from the endangered list. The barn has been re-roofed and added to that list.

Where'd the Yellow Go?

When did dandelions become classified as plants with the need to be exterminated?

Hanging around all summer in various stages, from vivid sunshine yellow to finely tuned flying seeds, dandelion plant parts can be used for wine, salads and medicinal purposes. They have an innate ability to seed and thrive in the smallest crack of concrete or in the most luscious of lawns.

If the grass seed in my yard had half this staying power, I'd be envied. As it is, my neighbors frown when fuzzy parachutes drift across the fence to take root.

I find them fascinating! I've also learned to wage battles I can win and this surely isn't the one.





Pending Parachutes, Digital Photo by Sue

Near Year of Tumblewords Blog and North of Summer, Poetry are available at Lulu Publishing

Bathtub to Garden Tub

Yesterday and today I moved plants from the guest bathtub to the great outdoors.

In pure FIFO inventory style, vinca vines were the first addition last fall and the first to move out.

My younger daughter brings her leftover plants when they grow too large or too brown and, even though I have a natural killer thumb, I manage to salvage most by ignoring them except for a random drink.

One granddaughter left a large container of something with one stem on it in my garage along with several boxes of stuff when she left for college the first time - I brought it inside several months afterward when it appeared to have a leaf of life left and it's now grown large and full enough to hide my treadmill. Lucky me!

The tub needs vacuumed and spruced up as there are only a few plants left inside. You might notice that the shower door handle, which came off some years back, serves as a plant shelf. The wrought iron plant stand, formerly in the tub on a mat to prevent tub rust, is now outside and sports a small fountain as well as some freshly moved greens.

Fractal Exploring

A fractal makes a spot of fun in each day. Better than, or at least as good as a multi-vitamin, in my opinion. There are dozens of sites to visit where talented math folks post their luscious designs. Several great freeware fractal programs are available. This fractal was created in Fractal Explorer. Download is quick, the program is user friendly and there are several tutorials posted on the site.

Fractals make wonderful pictures, postcards, greeting cards, magnets, screensavers and desktops. The possibilities are as unlimited as the fractal compositions. My mind is frequently boggled by ideas for their use.

North of Summer, a book of poetry and Near Year of Tumblewords Blog are both available at Lulu Publishing.

Spring Color Pops on the Way to Yoga

The calendar shows spring. The clock chimes noon. My bare feet beg for shoes and my knees ache from cold.

Patience, I say as I head toward my yoga class where I will warp my blood into a dream of warm. As I walk toward the PE building, there are actual signs of spring and suddenly I feel warm and happy as the hibernation gray of this day releases me.






North of Summer, A Decade of Poetry and A Year of Tumblewords Blog are available at Lulu Publishing

Mosaic Photos

Three granddaughters have birthdays in this 30-day period and I try to do something original each year for their cards.

When I accidentally ran across Andrea Mosaic it appeared to be a nifty idea. It's fairly user intuitive and I've created several landscape photos with it. The nice thing is that you can make as many changes as desired. I haven't settled on the perfect combo yet, but I'll keep trying.

In the meantime, it's another challenging project with unusual results. Even as I post this, I'm thinking of other options to try. The mosaics are better in full size and would make wonderful posters.




The first year of Tumblewords Blog is available in e-book format at Lulu.com

Combination Image

This piece is a combination. Background is a digitally enhanced sky photo, the left side mountain was scratched with pen and ink and the reeds in front belong to a fractal which was cloned, split, reversed and pasted. Amazing what the mind can do when the nights are long and the days are dark. Color floats in any fashion.




 

Spring is Coming

Groundhog Day came and went. The gray hangs on.

Painting is an exercise in color, if nothing else. However, I rather like this new abstract and will use it for my newest book cover. North of Summer is a collection of poetry from my latest decade.

While I watch for spring, I'll print another book or two through Lulu.com and if you have books, large or small, believe me when I say it's a wonderful thing to hold your own book before placing it in a favorite bookcase.