Ueno is home to the the largest zoo in Tokyo. The zoo is famous for its pandas. The entrance is lined by vendors you find at most Japanese tourist attractions. Click on the image for a larger view.
Conversation
A small fishing town south of Tokyo, Japan. Click on the image for a larger view.
Snowmen
For our Canadian and British readers, happy Boxing Day—or for anyone else that celebrates the holiday. Click on the image for a larger view.
Happy Holiday from Maine
Naomi and I wish you a marvelous day.
Christmas is a rather peaceful day. The hustle and bustle of the shopping season has taken a sudden pause. Stores are closed. No one is commuting to work. The world is quiet. Click on the image for a larger view.
O Holy Night
When growing up in England, I was a choirboy. The carols and music seemed to define the season. For me, the songs and images of the night and divinity were powerful. It was only after I left the city and experience dark, star-filled skies that the metaphor took on a reality.
This is the view Naomi and I had when we stopped near Little Hunters Cove in Acadia Nation Park one evening to eat the dinner we had packed. Click on the image for a larger view.
Holiday Illumination
illumination (noun)
1. lighting or light.
• (also illuminations) a display of lights on a building or other structure.
2. Physics: synonym for illuminance, the amount of luminous flux per unit area.
3. the art of illuminating a manuscript.
• an illuminated design in a manuscript.
4. clarification.
• spiritual or intellectual enlightenment.
Click on the image for greater illumination.
Newfoundlands and Snow
Illusions
How do we see the natural world? How do we read the landscape? Every season has its illusions. The low sun of winter gives the land a warm, inviting character—known as the golden hour. This pond on a salt marsh in Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area is not liquid, but frozen over with a thick layer of ice. Click on the image for a larger view.
Signs of Life
While December in Maine is stark, it is not lifeless. Click on the image for a larger view.
Suspension
With the foliage off the trees, water pools on our forest floor and freezes with the falling temperatures. Ice will embrace its bounty until spring frees the land from winter. Click on the image for a larger view.
