Woman in a Landscape 
October 19, 2012 by
I took this shot and felt like there was something familiar about it. Was there some artist I was channeling? I don’t want to flatter myself here, just wondering about images of women’s faces – with houses or a bit dwarfed by their landscape. Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. Here’s a few images that […]
Take 12, October
October 16, 2012 by
On the 12th of every month, I (try to) take pictures of the day, then choose 12 to post. It’s called Take 12. Here’s this month’s gallery: October isn’t a very pretty month in a garden. Here is my dead tomato/basil/pepper bed. Some marigolds still determined to hang on, but otherwise, everyone else is in […]
Book Review: Sea Room, by Adam Nicholson
October 6, 2012 by
I think we have relationships with places like we have relationships with people. Love, hate, complexity, history, baggage, emotion, confusion. This may be the first of some reviews I do of books that explore our relationships with place. Sea Room is a book about a man’s relationship with three islands he owns on the west coast […]
Pictures of the Vicar, 9pm 
October 3, 2012 by
The night before we left on a short vacation last weekend, after church meetings we’d both had that night, Adam set up his tripod in the sanctuary to take some professional photos of me. It was strange to be putting on vestments, alone, at night, in the big empty church. These were for a newsletter […]
Farms I Have Loved
September 21, 2012 by
This is a farm right down the street from our house. Well, sort of. It’s a couple miles away. An island of agriculture in a sea of Naperville suburban boilerplate. The farm interns always seem to look appropriately scruffy and disinterested when I come to pick up my veggie share. There’s also a wind turbine, lots […]
My Favorite Monastery
September 17, 2012 by
I’ve been visiting monasteries since I was in college. This is my favorite – Holy Wisdom, in Madison, Wisconsin. The land is sort of magical — one of those places where “the veil is thin.” The rooms and buildings have a spare and open aesthetic. The sisters are brainy, sing their prayers in inclusive language three […]
Birdhouse In Your Soul
September 3, 2012 by
When this birdhouse (only decorative) appeared on my block, I thought it was pretty cute. When similar little houses started popping up in trees all over the place – some looking like little barns, others like schools – they got a little cliche’. For our yard, I’m on the lookout for a birdhouse in the […]
A Suburban Curmudgeon
September 1, 2012 by
The city cannot claim a monopoly on eccentric, grumpy people. This is the second year in a row that one of my neighbors across the greenway has caution-taped his or her lawn off for the big soccer tournament this weekend. I mean, this is kind of ridiculous. And hilarious. And somewhat impressive. I mean, this […]
