Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – My Hideaway

Fargo, North Dakota.

This week, Ann-Christine asks us to share our hideaways. She writes in part, “This week, I thought we should go inside for communication – A Hideaway, is a place to which a person can retreat for safety, privacy, relaxation, to seek seclusion or refuge. Where or What is Your hideaway?” You can read her entire challenge post here.

Please indulge me in a selfie or two for my challenge-response. My personal hideaway is often in front of a screen somewhere. I am a child of the 1950s and ’60s. I grew up in front of a TV screen, and when personal computers came around in the late 1970s, I had a new screen to sit in front of (some would say “hide behind,” and I suppose there is some truth to that.) In any case, the computer screen has served me well as I spent over half my career “hiding behind” screens in computer network data centers and in helping teachers use their screens to enhance their students’ learning.

Wolf Point Bridge – Born out of Tragedy

Wolf Point, Montana.

On a July trip to Montana, we traveled through the town of Wolf Point. At the Missouri River crossing between Roosevelt and McCone counties, we passed by a small park that led to the original Wolf Point Bridge. On our return home, we stopped to check out the bridge. A placard posted at the site of the park described some of the basic details of the bridge which I will share with you in a moment. A search on the Internet, however, told a more somber story of how this bridge came to be.

Cellpic Sunday – 18 October 2020

Big Lake, Minnesota.

Less than a week after the first day of autumn found us in Big Lake Minnesota at Lions Park for a Celebration of Life. As we awaited the start of the event, I happened to notice a row of evergreen trees, each with vines and small trees growing within the area at the base of each large evergreen.

Lens-Artist Photo Challenge – Communication

 

This week is unusual in that we got our photo challenge instructions from Biasini. What’s unusual is that Biasini is a horse. Though unable to talk, a horse’s conversation with the rider is part and parcel of horsemanship. The challenge this week is to share our thoughts on communication.

Today we think of writing on objects such as buildings as graffiti unless they are legitimately authorized, then they are murals. In earlier times, though, painting on rocks was quite common in the desert southwest. These images, hundreds, if not thousands of years old, have survived for archeologists to wonder and speculate as to their meanings. The opening photo, as in all the photos in my response are from petroglyph sites near Phoenix, Arizona.

Medicine Wheel Park – A Scale Model Solar System

Valley City, North Dakota.

On the campus of Valley City State University, a class project has grown into a 30-acre park and educational destination. The Medicine Wheel is visible from my drone shot in the top of the image above. The wheel is a basic solar calendar that uses the alignment of the sun to the spokes of the wheel to determine sunrise and sunset during each of the four seasons. The center of the medicine wheel is the sun in a solar system model. A short walk will take you by each of the nine planets (including our dwarf planet, Pluto) in the solar system.

Cellpic Sunday – 11 October 2020

Fargo, North Dakota.

Last week’s Cellpic Sunday introduced you to the NDSU Horticultural Research Gardens on the campus of North Dakota State University in Fargo. I had a bit of fun “chasing” another visitor around the flower beds. This little guy would see me and duck around behind some marigolds. He was big enough, however, that I could tell which way he went by the rustling of the plant leaves. At one point, he stopped near the zinnias and picked up something to eat. Apparently, he was hungry enough that he ignored me as I took his picture.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Photo Walk

St. Louis, Missouri.

This week, Amy asks us to take a walk, a photo walk. She writes, “You are invited to share your photo walk, whether park, beach or street.” You can read her challenge post here.

In my travels to new places (for me), I’ve often looked for the local botanical garden to see some of the area’s natural plants and get a feel for the local habitat. That walk through the garden always presents itself with plenty of photo opportunities. For this post, I will share one of my favorite garden visits, a walk through the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Painted Canyon – Scenic Views of North Dakota’s Badlands

Painted Canyon Rest Area, North Dakota.

At the edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, in the North Dakota Badlands, I-94 carries travelers toward or away from Montana. If you are traveling this route, even only passing through, you owe yourself a stop at mile marker 32, the Painted Canyon Rest Area. From high on the scenic overlook, you will get a commanding view of the National Park that may just encourage you to delay your destination and visit the park.

Cellpic Sunday – 4 October 2020

Fargo, North Dakota.

Fargo is the home of North Dakota State University and those season-wining Bison football teams. As a land grant college, NDSU is also an agricultural research university of some repute.

On the west edge of the campus, a small collection of gardens features plants native to the climate in the upper Midwest. In early September, my wife and I stopped there for a few minutes. I came to the realization after all that Fargo does have a botanical garden, something I have always thought was missing in Fargo.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Symmetry

This week, Patti Moed asks us to think about symmetry. She writes, “Architects in ancient lands, like Greece, Rome, China, and Egypt, experimented with form and balance. They discovered that the human eye likes patterns and architectural features that are symmetrical. That’s why a row of pillars or arches is pleasing to the eye.” You can read her entire challenge post here.