*master gallery

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Summit Lake ~ Washington State
summit lake washington Summit Lake water trees garden flowers landscape mist pines nature
This Land Is Your Land....
"This land is your land,
This land is my land,
From California to the New York Island,
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.
As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway,
I saw below me that golden valley,
This land was made for you and me.
I roamed and I rambled, and I followed my footsteps
To the sparking sands of her diamond deserts,
All around me a voice was sounding,
This land was made for you and me.
When the sun came shining, then I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving, and the dust clouds rolling,
A voice was chanting as the fog was lifting,
This land was made for you and me."
~ Woodie Guthrie
This Land Continental United States sky mountains land Endless Skyway clouds rocky outcroppings hills vastness outdoor flight valleys summertime birthday
View from the Wild Blue Yonder
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.” ~ J.M. Barrie
landscape
rambling beach house ~ Great Lakes and Watershed
Word for the Day ~ sonder
n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own ~ populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness ~ an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk." ~ *The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows*
rambling beach house Lake Michigan shore sonder birthday
perspective ~ Great Lakes and Watershed
Word for the Day ~ occhiolism
n. the awareness of the smallness of your perspective.
~ John Koenig
strolling Great Lakes and Watershed sky water wharf light Lake Michigan Michigan coastline landscape shore coast outdoor birthday
The Pier ~ Lake Michigan
"A pier is a disappointed bridge; yet stare at it for long enough and you can dream it to the other side of the Channel." ~ Julian Barnes
j van cise photos Great.Lakes.and.Watershed walk Lake.Michigan blue pier water coast disappointed.bridge birthday
Gothic Spires of Wisdom at Old Kenyon ~ Ohio River Valley
"In any modern society, and between all such societies, there are many conflicting interests that are more or less irreconcilably opposed. Pursuing their interests, persons and groups try to block each other, and this blocking invites retaliation.... The blocking and retaliation readily take violent forms. In the end, politics are about finding ways to manage and restrain this struggle. Those who become expert on political issues, who advise political actors, or who themselves take leading roles in the political effort to maintain civility and peace engage in the highest of human callings." ~ Gary P. Freeman, Chair, Department of Government, University of Texas @ Austin
gothic spires wisdom education Old.Kenyon Kenyon.College architecture Gambier Ohio residence.hall building constructed.between.1827.and.1829 Kenyon's.first.permanent.building massive.brick.walls outdoor tower school college birthday
Before the Ascension ~ Commencement 2007, Samuel Mather Hall, Kenyon College, Ohio
*Kokosing Farewell*

Old Kenyon, we are like Kokosing,
Obedient to some strange spell,
Which urges us from all reposing;
Farewell, Old Kenyon,
Fare thee well.

And yet we are not like Kokosing,
Which beareth naught upon its swell
But foam of motion's own composing;
Farewell, Old Kenyon,
Fare thee well.

But when we are far from Kokosing,
We still shall hear a calling bell,
When round us evening shades are closing;
Farewell, Old Kenyon,
Fare thee well.

And see a river like Kokosing,
In meadows sweet with asphodel,
Where mem'ry dwells dear past supposing;
Farewell, Old Kenyon,
Fare thee well.
j van cise photos commencement 2007 celebration Kenyon.College ascension samuel.mather.hall Gambier Ohio Kokosing.River graduation college private seating light.and.shadows
Soul of a Cat
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France
cat eyes blue soul Siamese animal pet macro portrait kitten
Spring Gardens ~ Huron River and Watershed
"A fine and subtle spirit dwells in every little flower." ~ Anne Brontë
Virginia Cowslip Virginia Bluebells Mertensia virginica spring gardens flowers perennial herbaceous blue wildflower native to Missouri clumpforming dainty bulbous
Corner Table ~ Ohio River Valley
"There's a table in the corner
Of a honky-tonk in town
And if you should ever want me
There I can be found."
~ Conway Twitty
j van cise photos table seating squares tiles modern birthday
Dream Café ~ Ohio River Valley
"I'm in the corner with the coffee
at The Dream Café." ~ Greg Brown
j van cise photos dream cafe Ohio River Valley corner table coffee birthday
a winter's day ~ Michigan
"A winter's day...gazing from my window....on a freshly fallen, silent shroud of snow.." ~ Simon & Garfunkel
j van cise photos snow Michigan winter late.afternoon trees cold cool wintertime wintertide freezing outdoor winter's day silent.shroud.of.snow
Evening Contrails
"Your imagination is the preview to life's coming attractions." ~ Albert Einstein
contrails evening condensation trails lineshaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust several miles above earth primarily water in form of ice crystals homogenitus produced by changes in air pressure homomutatus cirrus aviaticus wingtip vortices biofuels radiative forcing clouds sky sunset
Ranger, the Red-tailed Hawk ~ Buteo jamaicensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
Note tethering and perching gear for this rescued beauty of nature.
Ranger RedTailed Hawk bird captive bird Buteo.jamaicensis raptor shrill cry oldest known 30 years red tail broad round wings short wide tail 2nd largest buteo hawk residentshort distance migrant
Red-Bellied Woodpecker Takes the Peanut ~ Melanerpes carolinus ~ Huron River and Watershed
“Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.” ~ Peter Adams
Redbellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus barred backs red cap oldest12 years pale belly red nape clings to tree bark undulating flight pattern bird
Blue Jay with Peanut and Friend ~ Cyanocitta cristata ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.” ~ Diane Arbus
Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird songbird complex social system tight family bonds fondness for acorns sometimes migratory mimi calls of hawks tool user blue oldest known 26 years prominent crest bold black necklace bold white wingbar wings tail barred wblack abundant near forest edges knnown for intelligence often mate for life communicate vocally wbody language immense vocabulary excellent mimics gular pouch
Ranger, the Red-tailed Hawk ~ Buteo jamaicensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
Notice tethering and perching gear for this rescued beauty.
Ranger Redtailed Hawk bird captive bird Buteo jamaicensis raptor shrill cry oldest known 30 years Michigan red tail broad round wings short wide tail 2nd largest buteo hawk resident shortdistance migrant
White-Breasted Nuthatch, with Photographer in Background ~ Sitta carolinensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." ~ proverbial saying
White breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird bird food nature fauna
Time and Tide ~ Southern Outer Banks
"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears and the sea." ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh
sea seaside ocean isle island Bogue Banks Atlantic Ocean time and tide tide Southern Outer Banks Emerald Isle outdoor coast landscape shore seascape blue shore sand water sky beach misty nature Crystal Coast blue salt water
Northern Cardinal ~ Cardinalis cardinalis ~ Michigan
"There is no discovery without risk and what you risk reveals what you value." ~ Jeanette Winterson
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis red bird perching bird sweet whistles in the morning songbird crest sunflower seeds nature outdoor animal
European Starling ~ Sturnus vulgaris ~ Michigan
"If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin." ~ Ivan Turgenev
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris bird Shakespeare mumation songbird dark and glossy in summer perching bird Darwinian Dance roost nature outdoor
song of the river ~ Huron River
"The song of the river ends not at her banks, but in the hearts of those who have loved her." ~ Buffalo Joe
river Huron River Michigan river banks water ripples rocks trees autumn sparkling birthday
Shells ~ Great Lakes and Watersheds
“The camera makes you forget you’re there. It’s not like you are hiding but you forget, you are just looking so much.” ~ Annie Liebovitz
shells seashells sand grains of sand beach blue macro birthday
Sunset ~ Lake Michigan
"The only way to truly know a person is to argue with them. For when they argue in full swing, then they reveal their true character." ~ Anne Frank
sunset Saugatuck Lake Michigan water coast golden hour shoreline waterscape Nikon D7100 AFS Nikkor 70200mm f2.8G ED VR II Continental United States
What's Up?
"In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this." ~ Terry Pratchett
Oriental Shorthair cat feline green eyes animal pet kitty Maui domestic cat almondshaped eyes triangular head shape muscular body social intelligent vocal related to Abyssinians and Siamese large ears mammal soft fur felis domesticus felid felis catus svelte ebony silverspotted kitten portrait birthday

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*master gallery