We had an annual event occur today. At least it occurs about this same time every year for the last six or so. A farmer’s cows from down the road broke out of the pasture and ended up grazing in our front yard. This year there were about six heifers and six calves. Continue reading Just Stories – Cows In The Front Yard
One of my favorite places to visit in all my 50 years of travels has been re-enactments, particularly those that celebrated events in the 1800s. The above mosaic celebrated the Fall seasons in Northern Indiana. This historic reenactment captures 18th century life at Fort Quiatnon which is north of the present day West Lafayette/Purdue University. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #61 Re-enactments Are My Thing
During my travels, I have visited many historic sites. I think Shaker sites are my overall favorite, especially the one closest to me near Lexington, KY, called Pleasant Hill Shaker Village. There are no longer any active villages, but many have been preserved as national historic sites. My initial introduction to Shakers was their furniture, but garden seeds were probably what they were actually more famous for. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #20 Shaker Seeds
These flowers remind me of something entirely different. What makes this bouquet so beautiful is the variety of individual plants that make it up. Yes, a dozen roses tell a story usually involving love, but a beautiful variety of flowers such as above shows us that diversity of life is where all the beauty resides.
This mosaic was taken on the shores of the Great Lakes. Indiana only has a minute segment of shoreline, but what it has is beautiful indeed. It is at the very southern end of a 317-mile Lake Michigan. Most of the weather in this part of the country comes from Canada, so I suppose that is the reason that many of the rocks and pebbles accumulate at the southern end. To me, this mosaic kinda looks like organized chaos. I especially love the blue rocks scattered among the others. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #74 – Chaos (Double Memory)…
One of my favorite things to look for when I visited local or regional museums were containers. Back in the day before TV commercials, magazines, and such, the primary way to get attention to their products was by creative packaging. This picture was taken in the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. I will give you more details about the park in a future mosaic. For this mosaic, I just what to focus on the containers I found there. Each one tells a story of it’s own. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #73 – Old Fashioned Containers Tell A Story
One of the advantages of living in a college town is the number of artsy sources in the community. Last month I visited the IU Biology Dept green house for the first time. I was warned ahead of time that it is a “working” green house, so expect hoses and wet concrete. Most of the flowers were one steel-grated tables, not elaborate presentation as most conservatories are. But, that was perfectly fine with me. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #70 – Red and Green & White All Over
I don’t remember when my fascination with glass began. Maybe it was my first visit in the 1980s to a museum in my wife’s hometown, Neenah, Wisconsin, named Bergstrom-Mahler – Museum of Glass. There are literally thousands of pieces of glass art. I will save any more details of that museum for future mosaics.
The last time I was at the Grand Canyon was when this picture was taken in 2005. I have been there on two other occasions. What was special this time was that we stayed in the lodge on the south end of the canyon. We could lie in our bed at the national park lodge as see the canyon about 50 feet away. It was like the other two times I had visited there in that it just didn’t seem real. The grandeur of it was just beyond imagination. One of the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” things I regret not doing … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #28 – Surreal Landscape
Today is our wedding anniversary. It would have been our 38th. I still miss you so much, even now, three years after you passed. This picture was taken at one of the NYC Central Park ponds. It was an unusually warm day for that time of year. We celebrated your birthday with dinner at the top of the World Trade Center.
Continue reading Mosaic of Life #72 – Happy Anniversary, My Dear…
During my time in the business world, I made several trips to Guadalajara, Mexico, otherwise known as GDL. I’m sure I will have several other mosaics about those times, but for this one it is about the Guadalajara Grill and how I got “popped” there. If you want to go to THE “party” place in GDL, this is it. I can’t remember how many times I have been there. Every time we had a “new” person join us on the trip, we always took them to the GDL Grill. One of the traditions is to get the “Special” appetizer platter … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #71 – Guadalajara Grill – Tap & Pop
I know the title of this post title is kinda cryptic. It is a story about how I have changed my name over the years, to match where I am in my life. It’s strange to me that something we have to carry with us throughout our lives, we have no control over. I am ⅛ Native American, and I kinda like the idea that they don’t name their children until some particular characteristic exhibits itself. I asked my mother why she named me “Rodney Joe”, and she being a pretty extreme narcissist, admitted that she didn’t give it much … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #68 – Name Changes…
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 