Dog Photos by K. Smokey Cormier

I was invited to participate in the "Dogs on Camera" photo exhibit sponsored by the Frank Bette Center for the Arts in Alameda, Ca. We were supposed to go and photograph dogs at the specified dog parks in Alameda during the weekend of February 5 & 6. Then pick one of the photographs to submit and then see if it was selected for the show. We could submit only one photo! I showed the one that I submitted. You can see it here. But I thought I should also show you readers the other ones that I thought were good. Here they are ...

Howdy.

The Queen

All photos (c) 2011 K. Smokey Cormier

Bon Tempe Lake - Marin Watershed

A friend at work recommended a hike at Bon Tempe Lake in the Marin Watershed. So last Saturday, my oldest daughter and I went "exploring" there ... she's 17 and I dare not use the word "hiking." Exploring means you can stop and look at tadpoles or see if there are any lizards in the tall grasses. I love to hike but I'm not a type A. If I'm with my daughters, I can adapt to their quirks.

A friend asked: what type are you?
My reply: Type F.
"Type F?" she thinks I'm being risqué. "What's the F mean?"

Fun!

Right away, the fun began. We had just gotten out of the car and a big ole jackrabbit with long long ears hopped by and startled my daughter. I laughed.

Besides the rabbit, we saw a tadpole (still a tadpole in May!!!), lots of deer, a lizard, and many birds. I heard several frogs plop into the lake -- I was too slow getting to the edge of the lake and didn't see them.

We really had a good time. And it was so beautiful out there. The wind was calm and it was a sunny morning.

All photos taken by our close friend K. Smokey Cormier.

all photos (c) 2010 K. Smokey Cormier

From the Album of K. Smokey Cormier

San Francisco Bay, looking North from Berkeley

all photos (c) 2010 K. Smokey Cormier

Last Saturday around 5:30pm I was at the intersection of Gilman St. and Buchanan in Berkeley ... right near the Eastshore Freeway. Near the Gilman St. turf fields. My oldest daughter was playing rugby.

The sky was beautiful. I had to take out my trusty camera and shoot. I just love the sky when it's like this. C.L. is absolutely right -- who wants sunny days! (Although, of course, the sun plays a big part in most photography.)

looking South

more South

What is this structure? (I kept thinking ... might be my future home if I get the chop ... like so many at my place of employment.) It's a beautiful structure ... I took several photos. I couldn't really get at the angle I wanted because there was a huge puddle there and I didn't have my Wellies on.

More Photos from K. Smokey Cormier

devil duck gone fishin'

blood orange web

rina's birthday present to herself

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All photos copyright 2009 K. Smokey Cormier

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Art: American Prayer Flags

Copyright April McDonald

Oakland artist April McDonald has kindly allowed this blog to post a virtual exhibit of her found art. It's not everybody who can turn out something so beautiful, political, powerful, and communicative with bits and pieces rescued from those who don't possess the wherewithal to see art in everyday things.

Copyright April McDonald

So much for Gertrude Stein's message about Oakland. There is a there there.

Copyright April McDonald

Armed with the everyday household implements of glue, stamps, scissors, thread, needle, and a few other materials, including rolls of felt of different colours, Ms. McDonald has found a way to create powerful images with a message:

Copyright April McDonald

Is there a gallery out there that will host these prayer flags?

Copyright April McDonald

Some of the messages are downright subversive:

Copyright April McDonald

If you know of a gallery that is looking for local artists' exhibits of their work, please let us know.



We will be posting more from this artist soon:

Copyright April McDonald

All images in this post are the property of April and Ian McDonald. Please respect their copyright, and do not reproduce these images without the express permission of the artists. Photos by Ian McDonald. Copyright April and Ian McDonald.

Parks: The Beauty and Bounty of Nature

Tree in Henry W. Coe State Park, copyright Cynthia Leeder

If you didn't already know, PBS is running Ken Burns' documentary on the National Parks system in the USA this week, titled The National Parks: America's Best Idea. You can see video clips from the documentary right here.

Wildflowers along the road, Henry W. Coe State Park, copyright Cynthia Leeder

Fellow-blogger FoTPC, who often writes a particularly good post or the other over at our sisterblog, ThePoliticalCat, has managed to persuade her good friend, photographer Cynthia Leeder, to contribute two beautiful photographs of one of her favourite parks, Henry W. Coe State Park, for our use. Please note that these photographs are copyrighted, and the copyright is owned by Ms. Leeder. Please respect her copyright and do not reuse these photographs without Ms. Leeder's express permission. Thank you.

We at this blog have plans to hike Henry Coe as soon as our knees are up to it. For those of you who don't already know, both ThePoliticalCat and Ms. Manitoba, your hosts at this blog, have recently had a knee replacement. We're assured that we can soon hike longer distances and rougher terrain. Both of which constitute some of Henry Coe's finer features.

If you haven't visited Henry W. Coe State Park, we encourage you to get off your duffs and go there! California Governor is trying to shut down much of the state's beautiful park system. What a shame! California has an abundance of State and Federal parks, and for those of us not wealthy enough to own sufficient land to showcase the beauties of nature, the park system, State and Federal, is one of the few places where one may go and enjoy nature in all her beauty. A good hike is a fine way to get much-needed exercise, and the view is hella better than the one from your treadmill if you're not one of those who is rich enough to own a home that has access to this beauty.

Many thanks to the lovely Ms. Leeder for sharing her photographs with us. As representatives of the hoi polloi, may we just say that these incredibly beautiful photographes give us a much-needed frisson of delight, a break from contemplating the daily pain-in-the-ass that politics and the news inflict on us.

Oakland: Morcom Rose Garden

Oakland Municipal Rose Garden, c. 1932 (courtesy of Oakland Heritage Association)

"A rose is a rose is a rose." Sistah Gertrude said.

A beauty of a rose at the Oakland Rose Garden
photo by K. Smokey Cormier

Today I visited the WPA-created Morcom Rose Garden here in wonderful Oakland, California. I had never heard of it before but recently saw it on the list of places visited by the author of "36 hours in Oakland, Calif." in the NYTimes. I first moved to the San Francisco Bay Area ... holey-moley!... 36 years ago and I have lived in Oakland two other times before now. And, nope, never heard about this gem of a park. It's gorgeous and smells great. It's not completely surrounded by tall trees ... but it has a lot of them on both sides. They provide fresh air and quiet.

Tall trees are on both sides of the Oakland Rose Garden
(all photos copyright 2009 K. Smokey Cormier)

Double-click on photos to zoom in

One of the other visitors there today told me that this park wasn't always a good place to visit. It was ruined by people who messed up the plants, threw garbage around, and hung out there shooting up. I was one of four people there this morning. So few visitors because it had just rained and it was cold, wet, foggy, overcast. But it was also lovely. The other visitor told me that volunteers worked and worked on this park and brought it back. There are still work parties almost every Saturday.

The Oakland Rose Garden also called the Morcom Rose Garden,
named for former Oakland Mayor Fred Morcom

I noticed all these names embedded in the concrete path. This is the Mother of the Year Walk, displaying names of all the women chosen as Oakland's Mother of the Year since 1954. The things you learn when you read voraciously and go snooping about in the world!

From the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation Department's website:

Morcom Rose Garden
Located near Grand Avenue
700 Jean Street, Oakland, California 94610

Morcom Municipal Rose Garden, also referred to as the Morcom Amphitheater of Roses, is a fantasyland of a thousand fragrant roses. The garden which features a large Italian-style pavilion (which only facilitates the restrooms), a reflective pool and terraces overflowing with gorgeous roses. The first roses bloomed in 1932 at Morcom Rose Garden, today the Gardens feature 6,000 plants and 300 varities of rose bushes throughout the garden's eight-acres.

A peaceful oasis in the middle of the City, hidden amongst endless beds of roses. The garden is conveniently situated just off Grand Avenue, not far from Lake Merritt, the treasured jewel of the city. The gardens are available for reservation Mother's Day through October 31.

In 1959, the Morcom Amphitheater located in the Oakland Municipal Rose Garden was officially dedicated, where it became a favorite location for weddings. It remains as a resplendent back drop for brides and grooms preparing to tie the knot in matrimonial bliss [also brides and brides, grooms and grooms -- Ms. Manitoba must add]. Along the garden is a serene 10-tier waterfall on the western hillside gently shaded by towering trees, with delicate pink Pride of Oakland polyantha shrubs resting on both sides. Four varieties of Peace fill the center bed of the rear terrace, where old garden roses rescued from around California clamber up the rock retaining walls. Rose bushes bloom May through September annually.

This rose had the most wonderful fragrance

I can't wait to go on a sunny day when these roses have opened up.

The reflective pool

I love these bushy types

And here is the 10-tiered waterfall

Thirsty plants

In this neck of the woods, our plants are thirstily drinking up the recent rain water ...

(c) all photos K. Smokey Cormier

Photos of Amanda Means

I love very simple photos. Well, seemingly simple. Like a beautifully tight piece of writing, a lot of work goes into simple photos. You can see some really elegant ones here. They're by a photographer called Amanda Means and they're on the NYTimes website so you need to register to access them -- but registration is free. Make sure you scroll down and see the photos of the sweaty glass.