#ColoraDay #GreenSat I trimmed Caesalpinia branches yesterday and noticed that I could see 2 shades of green in the jumbled stack: the top surface, dark green & glossy, normally facing up toward the Sun; the underside, softer green, almost velvety, normally facing down toward the Earth.

#FoodOnFriday I had pizza for lunch today. Then I had to spend the afternoon contemplating the messages on the box.

#ColoraDay #YellowThu

#ColoraDay #RedWed

#AnimalArtTuesday #ColorADay #BlueTue

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekBforBehind Garden work did not happen today. It didn't happen yesterday, either. Standing between me & the trees is heavy rain, with some thunder and now lightning. I'm not going out there. Maybe tomorrow.

#AnimalArtTuesday This wooden bench is in a shady spot, with a stone wall behind and a stone floor beneath, cool on a hot afternoon. I've sat there myself a few times, waiting for that office to open. The carving on the back is mysterious to me: maybe a large bird, or some mythical winged monster.

#ColoraDay #OrangeSun Bright colors create visual camouflage, as demonstrated by these orange flowers in a garden reflected in an orange truck parked nearby. Nothing beige can hide near a garden.

#ColoraDay #GreenSat The solar light in the birdbath changes color every few seconds; sometimes, the light is green. I don't know what causes the other small sparks of green light out there in the dark garden.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekAforAbandoned #ColoraDay #YellowThu

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekAforAbandoned #ColoraDay #YellowThu

#ColoraDay #RedWed Texas Star hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) has been growing in my garden for some years but this is the first year I see flowers. There will be many flowers, it seems.

#ColoraDay #OrangeSun I never had an orange toothbrush before. My dentist hands out a toothbrush after every visit; this time, somehow, it was my lucky day & I got an orange one. It seems super special.

#FoodonFriday Today's watermelon, chilling overnight, will be perfect tomorrow. I hope. Hot weather means cold food.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekZforZany Why is this giant radio standing near a park bench? Maybe that's a good place to listen to music. The radio wasn't playing as I passed, and I was late to catch a bus so I didn't search around the radio for clues or explanations. July 2022, Jerusalem.

This is from what I still call the Archaeology Table, tho that's not what happened to it. Tools were left outdoors, rusting. I found them, stacked them on the table, left them there for years, under fallen oak leaves. Rust leaves marks. Oak leaves leave marks. I accidentally invented iron gall ink?

#ColoraDay #PinkMon In a nearby spiderweb, floating pink flowers are caught. Farther back, the flowers are on their tree: Lagerstroemia, crepe or crape myrtle, banaba, it has many names. Not from here, but they say it's been growing in the southern US since the 1780s, long enough to feel at home.

#ColoraDay #OrangeSun Some orange ribbons fell loose on the ground; most were tied to vegetation along Cibolo Creek in River Road Park in Boerne TX. The ribbons' meaning was unexplained but, comparing marked to unmarked plants, I can guess: gardeners have been here, planning which plants to remove.

#ColoraDay #GreenSat Something seems to have happened to this leaf in its younger days, when it was rolled up. I never noticed it until the leaf grew & unfurled into this strange, repeating design.

#FlyDay Ducks & humans can enjoy many of the same activities on a summer afternoon (walk, swim, nap in the shade). Ducks can also fly, though they often would rather not.

#ColoraDay #RedWed At night, I've noticed laughing people poking at this thing near the ice-cream place but never got close enough for a good look. Yesterday afternoon, all the smart people were sitting quietly, enjoying ice cream cones on shady benches, so I went over to see what this might be.

#AnimalArtTuesday #ColoraDay #BlueTue In the alley beside an antique shop, some things are predictable (old gasoline pumps, neon in the window, faded brick on the wall) and some things are just surprising.

#AnimalArtTuesday #ColoraDay #BlueTue

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekXForXyloid I store blankets in this cedar chest. A record of heroic deeds could also fit. Locate the cedar-wood storage-box, release its locks, its bronze clasps, raise its lid and expose its contents, lift the lapis lazuli tablet and read of Gilgamesh--

#ColoraDay #OrangeSun Orange Gulf fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) have been fluttering around the Passiflora vines in my garden. They never seem to land, so I guessed they might be picking out hosts for future caterpillars. Then the caterpillars, also orange, magically appeared. The future is now.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekXForXyloid This mezuzah case is made of olive wood. The doorframe & door are also made of wood; I guess that's pine. The white-painted dome is the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, protecting Dead Sea Scrolls & other treasures. Happy Juneteenth & Shabbat Shalom, y'all.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekXForXyloid A living tree helps us handle sunlight by making shade; it helps us enjoy night by supporting wires for electric lighting. Cut wood can be assembled into furniture and a little house, places we can rest. Shredded into ground-protecting mulch, it helps us walk.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekXForXyloid

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekXForXyloid

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekXForXyloid If the corks decorating the top of this table are made of real cork, they began as the bark of cork oaks (Quercus suber). The table base is a whiskey barrel. Those are often oak. The paper shopping bag might also have come from trees. Trees do many things for us.

#ColoraDay #YellowThu This petunia escaped containment and made its own home under the lamppost. Not part of anyone's plan, I'm sure, but looking good there nonetheless, adding to the brightness on a very sunny day. In Boerne TX, June 17 2026.

#ColorADay #YellowThu It's definitely the same bandstand, in the photo of the mural and in the photo of the park, both in Boerne TX yesterday, but I have to wonder about the sky. I don't get to Boerne extremely often, but my observation has been that the sky there is generally blue, not yellow.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekXForXyloid

#ColoraDay #OrangeSun "Gardening is an act of hope." (Riley, Ketajima, Holmes, 2025, Designing the Lush Dry Garden) Sometimes I plant zinnia seeds to see them leap up, ready. I planted these Thursday evening; Sunday morning, they're awake before I am, sprouting new green leaves.

#FoodOnFriday All these (backyard tomatoes, leftover cheese, bluecorn chips) are fine to eat cold & separately. Slightly warm, melted together, they become excellent.

@historicalmarker.bsky.social This granite marker on Ranch Road 187 tells a story from Republic of Texas days (1836-1846). It was erected by the State of Texas in 1936. I saw it Tuesday, in 2026. "IN THIS VICINITY" seems a great way to say "somewhere around here, a long time ago, tough to know."

#ColoraDay #YellowThu These yellow flowers are not from the same kind of plant as these feathery green leaves. They look good together & seem to be happy, so I'm not worried about it. Photo from June 9 2026, near D'Hanis TX.

#ColoraDay #RedWed Grass is soft & green in fairy tales from other parts of the world, I've heard those amazing stories, but grass comes in many colors & some rough textures around here. This pretty red grass is growing in sun beside the county road near D'Hanis, TX.

Metal silhouettes of local wildlife mark one edge of a small park in Utopia, TX. Not a fence, really, in that it couldn't stop anyone from getting in or out, but it separates the park from the sidewalk. Photos from today, June 9 2026. #ColoraDay #BlueTue #AnimalArtTuesday

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekWforWater #ColoraDay #BlueTue On a blue-sky day, a fast-moving black cloud like this carries a heavy load of water & questions. Is it moving away? Am I about to be rained on? Could it hail? Should I hurry up for home? A few big drops punched down. Then it moved on. Me, too.

#ColoraDay #PinkMon

#MacroMonday A garden snail's trail is left behind on a rainy window. The snail itself is making excellent progress, considering its reputation for slowness. It could cross the glass more quickly by picking a direction and sticking with it, but maybe that isn't the goal. It wanders in long loops.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekVforVocal At night, a woman sings to a big crowd in a breezy mountain town, at the Ladino Festival in Safed. A few days later, a man sings to passersby on the sunny beach in Tel Aviv. Both from July 2022. Good night & Shabbat Shalom, y'all.

A storyteller captivates listeners at the Renaissance Faire in Kerrville, TX, January 2025. I think he also sometimes juggled.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekVforVocal Live music in Gruene, TX, January 2026. I guess I stopped to listen at 5 places that day but only photographed this one, because I'm shy. There's always live music in Gruene, as far as I've been able to determine. If they're not playing now, they'll be right back.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekVforVocal Music under the trees by the Blanco river, from the 2023 Blanco Lavender Festival. I wish I had learned the names of these and the other musicians there; I surely enjoyed their music. The festival is coming around again this weekend. www.blancolavenderfest.com

#ColoraDay #PinkMon Sometimes I wonder what this pink bowl is doing in my house. It doesn't match anything. It isn't exactly the right shape or size for any purpose. I like how heavy it is, though. And the speckling is good.

#OrangeSun #ColoraDay

#ColoraDay #YellowThu

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekUforUniform Window screens are woven of thin wire, uniformly sized, uniformly spaced. The pattern of wire surrounding space is so tight that it's easily ignored. Cameras & human eyes can be persuaded to do the unnatural thing: look at, not through, a window screen.