The photo essay below is one view of 2013. It tends to emphasize people interacting with nature. The photos may be representative of what retirees find interesting as a year moves along. Maybe the essay’s main point is that we exist in a natural world and we watch it and adapt to it in many interesting ways.
The photos may load in your browser as a large mosaic, or they may load as a truncated mosaic with the individual photos mostly un-viewable. In either case, click on the first photo and a gallery should load in your browser. Then click the right edge of each photo to move through the gallery. Captions are at the bottom of each photo.
Happy New Year.
American pastoral—red, white and blue.
One of the moods of Mt Mansfield, Vermont.
After school in Vermont: school guard, kids coming down the sidewalk, cars navigating the snowy roads. This is one reason people, like birds, migrate south in winter.
Ice fishing on Lake Champlain, late in the day—a young man and woman tend to their holes.
Winooski River ice jam. We might wonder about the pent up force stored in the ice, which wants to head downriver but is held back by a patchwork of ice blocks on ice blocks, all wedged together in one mass.
A temporary thaw brings out a young woman hoping toward summer.
Yet when snow returns with a vengence, people of all ages are called into battle.
When left alone, the snow haunts us with visions of warm-weather activities.
Spring is a good time for misty mornings on Georgia rivers—South Fork of the Broad River, Watson Mill State Park, Georgia.
Watson Mill bridge, Georgia, black and white. The bridge crosses the South Fork of the Broad River, which in turn drains into the now tamed version of the Savannah River, forming the border between Georgia and South Carolina. This bridge always reminds me of life in the past, which is something an older person spends time with.
In a world that seems forever to stress the taming of boys, it’s good to see two boys wrestling a river while sliding down moss-laden rock.
Flowers against brown water invite moments of peace.
Once we stop to see a flower, the richness of color and soft texture seem of other worlds.
A warm night under a summer moon.
July is always a time for reunions—here is a 50-year high school reunion in Blacksburg, Virginia. This class comes together every five years.
Perhaps this fellow is an older version of the boys we saw earlier: kayaking on the Potomac River.
Near sunset on the Blue Ridge Parkway. A black and white image of clouds dancing through the mountains.
Early morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The clouds are still asleep.
Fall brings out athletic competition: western style riding at a college equestrian meet.
Jumping at the same equestrian meet.
Two residents at a retirement home watch a pleasant autumn day while the third watches the photographer.
Fence and fall foliage: do good fences still make good neighbors?
Fog in the woods in November.
Musician in love with Christmas. We can’t help but be inspired by a person radiating affection as the year draws to a close.
A good year ending may be Santa listening to our children’s wishes as their parents click away.