A Timely Tee Shirt

I was sorting through tee shirts while packing last night and came across this old one. It's from the Truisms series by one of my favorite contemporary artists, Jenny Holzer. Her modus operandi is streams of aphorisms, thrown at us like water over the falls, or sometimes a single sentence that burns for long periods of time. I first encountered her work many years ago while walking down Picadilly in London and saw these words projected on the side of The Ritz Hotel: you cannot stop hunger by drawing a cake.

Obviously low on material but I won't need this shirt where we're going. (No, it's not Canada.) May or may not have a post tomorrow. Maybe I can find something Texan tonight.         

Make Way for Ducklings

The Make Way for Ducklings statues in the Public Garden. There is currently an exhibit of the Art of Robert McCloskey at the Museum of Fine Arts until June 18, 2017. The exhibit is a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the beloved children’s book set in Boston, Make Way for Ducklings (1941).

A visit to Matatiele in the Eastern Cape highlands

I haven't really had the opportunity to venture into the North Eastern Cape so a first visit to Matatiele in the Eastern Cape highlands near boundary with Kwa-Zulu Natal was on the cards while en route to the Drakensberg in December.  Matatiele services the surrounding villages and farming community and gives a very good first impression.  Even though it was a long weekend and only about a week before Christmas, the town was neat and tidy, unlike some of the other towns we passed through on our way there.  Surrounded by the the Southern Drakensberg, Matatiele is a great starting or finishing point for trips into neighbouring Lesotho, especially for bikers.  

A very popular activity in the area is fly-fishing and for that Matatiele has the perfect spot. The Matatiele Mountain Lake.  This 30-hectare lake is located in the mountain above town and forms part of the Matatiele Nature Reserve which is a core protected area within the Maloti Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area.    

It was up to this lake that Phillip Rawlins, owner of Resthaven Guesthouse in town, brought us while showing us around town. Wow, what a beautiful and peaceful spot.  He explained that the lake is a natural lake fed by three springs and not a dam.  It means that the water is clean and unpolluted and the perfect spot to fish for rainbow trout.  

Driving back down the pass to town this was the view of Matatiele with Lesotho off beyond the mountains on the horizon.  I wish our stay was long enough to venture over the border with Phillip (the invitation was there), but the Drakensberg was calling and our time limited.  Next time I will definitely slot in an extra day or two to visit the Mountain Kingdom.

While in Matatiele we stayed at the excellent Resthaven Guesthouse.  Resthaven is located on the main drag through town and offers 22 rooms stretched over four buildings on the property surrounded by lush green lawns.  Owners Phillip and Elrita welcomed us with open arms and typical small town hospitality was evident the whole time we were there.  Breakfasts were spot on but I can't help but to comment on the dinners.  No fancy meals, no extensive menu, just good hearty plates of food, well prepared by Phillip and the kitchen staff.  The guesthouse is the perfect overnight spot for anybody wanting to stay over in Matatiele.

Disclosure: We stayed over in Matatiele at the invitation of the owners of Resthaven Guesthouse who I have known for many years.  They didn't expect me to do a blog post about the town nor the guesthouse and will probably be very surprised if they get to see this.  All opinions are my own and they had no input on the content of this post. 

The Donald's St. Louis Office?

Could be, although the opulence is not up to his usual standards. Noticed this on Macklind between Manchester and Forest Park. 

Outta here tomorrow. Overnight in Dallas and then...     

Very Stylish

"What are people wearing in London?" I was asked last week.  I love a challenge, so camera and I will focus on the fashion on London streets over the coming weeks.  The first of this series is Diane in very very stylish hat and coat.  

Red, White and Blue

Well, pretty close. A bit of bright color we get downtown every sunny late afternoon at the corner of Broadway and Pine. 200 North Broadway is the most interesting modern office building in the neighborhood. That's a sliver of 100 North Broadway on the right.

Geez, I gotta start packing.      

Nice Light

Sunset yesterday at the Old Court House downtown. It was quiet on Broadway late on a Saturday afternoon.

So, some odds and ends for a few days. An adventure starts on Wednesday.            

A Swiss donkey and a black sheep

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A fun and unusual night in Boudry, Switzerland, last month.

Every December this nice man takes his calm donkey around to all the Christmas events in the region.
The kids and the people love it.
I especially loved seeing a donkey again.

One farmer brought a young lamb, which I just HAD to hold.

The donkey led the way for a multi-cultural holiday procession through the cobblestoned medieval old town.
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(Linking to Camera Critters.)
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Dumpster Diving

I think we've had enough of the March and I don't have any new material. So it's time to go back into the archives for what I call dumpster diving.

There are a couple levels of meaning here. This is, in fact, a trash dumpster placed behind a store at Cherokee and Jefferson. Across an alley is a Family Dollar store, hence the lettering. This chain sells inexpensive food and general merchandise. Low income people shop there. You know, the poor. And we know how some of the rest of the world views them. (Think big blond comb-over and all his friends.) Maybe only my loose brain saw it but I ended up with an obscure social commentary.                

The Villages Charter Middle School - Mass Murder Attack Derailed

This is a photo taken several years ago of The Villages Charter Middle School. News reports this evening indicate two students from this school have been arrested for planning a massacre similar to the Columbine mass shooting of several years ago.

The teens are in custody and will be charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

The complete story can by found in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.

Bilingual

Ok, anybody else disturbed that President Blondie wants to prohibit people from most Muslim countries from entering the US? If you agree go to my Facebook page and like this post. But, if you read the news closely, did you notice that there are two exceptions? If you are from Saudi Arabia of Afghanistan you can still pay us a visit. Huh?

These women carried bilingual signs in English and Arabic at the Women's March. The principles are the same in any language. I was glad to see them.        

Evening Glow

We've had some very pretty skies recently. It alternates between fog that covers everything all day to clear skies with lovely pinks and purples.

Thursday Arch Series

Hey, it's a twofer! Some indication of the crowd last Saturday. To get a better sense of it I'd have to find an elevated position to shoot from. 

For locals, the first one is inside Luther Ely Smith Park, between 4th Street and the new entrance to the Arch museum. The second is looking east on Market Street from about 7th.

As you can see, the weather was perfect. It's been unusually warm for several days but winter is back today.

            

Rebar and concrete

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One of the many houses under construction in Meitar's newest neighborhood.
In Israel it's all concrete and rebar.
The wood you see in the photo is only temporary.
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A spider's pantry

We always say that we have to look at the bigger picture and not just be narrow minded and get stuck in the same rut over and over.  When you travel though you should really pry your eyes away from a bigger picture at times and look for the little things as well.  Travelling up to the Drakensberg we spent two nights in Matatiele in the North Eastern Cape and went to have a look at the Matatiele Mountain Lake in the mountains above town.  An absolutely stunning but hidden beauty.  While the Damselfly and KidZ were admiring the surroundings I was looking for interesting angles to photograph it from and while getting down on my haunches between some rocks I came across a spider's pantry.  Didn't see the spider though but made sure I wasn't hanging around when he got hungry.

The Warrior

A Roman Warrior, an historic church, and a modern glass tower, only in London would all this sit side by side.  The site occupied by Southwark Cathedral has always been a place of worship, prior to the earliest Christian church in the seventh century, there is evidence to show Roman pagan worship took place here.

Now there is a monument in honour of the religion of money, the towering Shard with its exclusive hotel and expensive viewing platform has taken over from the Bishops who managed the brothels along the waterfront in the middle ages.

P*ssy Power

Gender politics? Maybe more like combat. Women aren't mad at all of us guys (I have a certificate of approval) but they have plenty of reasons for rage against the party in power. Aux armes, citoyens!

                                                                

Action Speaks

The heroic stance of the woman in the first picture sums up nicely the mood and attitude of the Women's March. What we don't need is the conduct Yeats describes in The Second Coming: The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. The worst are not on the horizon. They are inside the doors and they have the keys.

The sign in the second picture triggers some of my worst fears. The new administration is heavily sprinkled with climate change deniers, among the worst of the irrational loonies, people driven by ready-made, rigid belief rather than data. No one knows what is at the end of a road but am apprehensive about my grandchildren's future.  

         

Toy building blocks for a giant?

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More scenes from the new neighborhood being built in my town. 

 Don't these look like toy building blocks for a lucky giant?! 

A lot like Lego Duplo, no?

They were lined up on both sides of the new street,

. . . just waiting to become the sidewalk itself.
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(Linking to OurWorld Tuesday.)
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Don't Forget Grandpa, Too

Certain people in Washington are raising a lot of other people's temperatures, me included. That anger overflowed at the Women's Marches here and around the world. I went a little nutso yesterday re-posting news stories to Facebook as those lying, arrogant (plural noun deleted) flouted their disrespect for democracy and truth. 

Three generations of Crowe women walked with their sisters (and me). Sometimes Madeleine is eager to pose and sometimes she will have nothing to do with it. What are you going to do with a three year old who insists on wearing an owly hat?       

Dusk

A view of the Millennium Bridge from the north side of the river.

St. Louis Women's March

Me, too.

This was a heck of a turnout for a third-tier town. Police estimated the attendance as up to 13,000. Some of the organizers said 20,000. My guess would be on the higher end. My wife, Carolyn, daughter, Emily, and granddaughter, Madeleine, joined the throng. I played photojournalist.

The tone was decidedly anti-Trump, which made me fell good for the first time in days. Some very clever signs. This will run for a few days. As I edit more they will be added to a growing collection on Flickr.