fe·roc·i·ty...

The quality or state of being ferocious.

Lulu at the driveways bend...

I am sorry to have missed all the people I did when I went back to Wisconsin, but, I can blame it on one sole factor.... Lulu... This little girl is quite amazing. I got to meet her just before her 3rd birthday, which I helped her celebrate. She is up at dawn and out well after the sun goes past the horizon. She has a friend, Robin, who flies wherever she goes. Robin is a superhero of sorts as he can fly, but he often forgets things, such as his backpack, which he has to go back and get quite often. He needs his backpack. At her dance recital she is the littlest one. But she is the easiest to spot because she has the biggest smile. Between times of disaster, as things often are to her, and taking photos of tongues sticking out, well, there just isn't that much time. This is where I used to play.

witches...

My dog, Aurie, reluctantly lives with a cat. You see, he is deathly afraid of them. He tells me that they are shape-shifters... witches of the worst kind. There is no such thing as a domestic cat, he says. They are all just witches living on the sly. Therefore he keeps his distance. Any person wise enough to stay away from witchcraft and spells will live a much more genuine and predictable life. I can attest to one thing... I have never known Aurie to lie.

remember roses...

The seemingly complicated process of a rose provides such a simple product. The repetitive flow and size makes the eye scan again and again. Yet, the strong and defined plan that it upholds produces such a soft and susceptible plant. A point of origin flows vigorously to the end of its world. Why can such a simple sample of the biological world hold so much for all senses. How privileged we are to be human and share our remembrances.

website...

everpoor photography... come get some.

Portland photo booth project...

Some samples of the photo booth project at Alberta's Last Thursday in Portland... you can see the rest at www.everpoor.smugmug.com and the Portland video HERE AND don't forget the Boston photo booth project HERE.

terminal velocity at half dome...

Finding these photos is precisely what taking them is for. This was an amazing day in my not so distant past. The day had started out rocky. I didn't want to go to Yosemite for some odd reason yet I still went. We had four in the car and were meeting two there. Before even leaving Tahoe, some crazy girl punched on her horn behind us, sped around and locked up her brakes, emitting smoke from the tires. We stopped and she got out in the middle of the road and proceeded to yell at us for cutting her off. I got out of the car and asked her to kindly get back in her car and leave. She said it wasn't her car, it was her friend's. Oh, really? That is how you treat your friend's cars? Regardless, this was not a conversation I wanted to have. I put my arm around her and guided her to the car. She said I had beautiful eyes.... twice. I wished her good-bye and to buckle up to be safe. some guys cheered.

We eventually made it to the gates of Yosemite after finding the other two. They went ahead with their parks pass while we waited. Then out the port side of the car there was a long legged blonde haired kid running through the field. It was Matt and he had the parks pass so that we (the second car) could get in for free.

We made it into the valley where it seemed that most of California had decided to go. We started hiking up to Half Dome while bumping shoulders with the onslaught of tourists. As we pressed on we eventually emerged out of the crowd after a bridge. From there on we saw a total of maybe four people. So much for the meek.

We camped early so that we could get a get-up on the next day. we slept for a few hours and awoke a couple hours before sunrise. With headlamps equipped, we pressed on.

In pitch black we made it to the bottom of the cables to Half-Dome. While we looked for matching gloves, as to not cut our hands on the cables, a man who never really came out of the shadows lingered. paying no real attention to him he started to climb. It seems a lot steeper when you can only see ten feet in front of you.

We made it to the top as little telltales of light shown over the horizon. We had made it, and just in time for sunrise. Madeline, being as prying as she is decided to go find out what our lingerer was doing. As luck may have it his story is the most compelling:

He asked, "Do you know this area well?"

She had no idea.

"I think my car is somewhere over by that river's bend."

he kind of had a lazy eye as he told her his secret.

"You guys seem nice enough, I'm going to jump."

She flagged down the rest of the crew to notify us of his daring stunt.

And just before he did jump he wished those around him to have a wonderful sunrise.

We watched him fall down and pan out. He flew across the Yosemite Valley toward Bridal Veil Falls, made a ninety-degree turn, opened his chute and lofted into the trees.

The sun was just coming up now, and it was time for a nap.