Inessential Stuff

This is Lydia.  She was born January 28, 2010.  These pictures were taken six days later.

She was a cooperative model, even though we had tried to arrange a meeting when she was asleep (no such luck).  No complaining.  No crying.  No fussiness in the least.  She mostly looked into the direction of the light.  Just wide-eyed wonder at the world.

Wallace, Idaho was filled with treasures:  the alleyways, the brick buildings, the fire escapes.  But for me, one of my favorites was the Mining Supply Company buildings.  There were several of them.  And all of them were painted, from top to bottom, in a rich rusty-red.  The effect was remarkable, and really accentuated all the lines of the buildings.  I loved the geometry of it. I shot and shot and shot some more.  Here are some photographs.

Big and big-boned. Patient. Slow-moving. Tolerant even when toddlers pulled on his tail. And sporting the world’s longest, most splendid whiskers. A perfect lap cat. Not pushy. But always glad to accommodate an empty lap. Easy-going. And, in the right situations, given to spectacular love attacks: glassy eyed, purring, rolling around, when thisclose was not close enough, reaching some level of ecstatic bliss only he knew. With an epithet of “Big Fat”, on account of his size. But mostly on account of all that loving. Big Fat Cello. A very fine cat. 1994-2010.

I like lines.  More than color, more than light and shadow, what I see in an image are lines.  Wallace, Idaho had lots of great lines:  bricks and mortar, the pattern of windows, the shapes of buildings sandwiched together, and the lines their rooftops make against a blue sky splotched with clouds.  Here are some photographs of some of the lines of Wallace.

And this is part one.  Wallace, Idaho, of course.  I made a day trip to Wallace, having heard it was a quaint town.  I parked on the north side of town, and then crisscrossed my way, on foot, systematically, through the streets and alleys.  The town was quiet.  Not many people out, in spite of the unseasonably warm weather (about 40 degrees in February).  Many businesses were closed, either seasonally or for good.  I also hadn’t known that Wallace was the Center of the Universe.  Now I know.

It’s a beautiful little down.  Resting below tree-covered mountains.  Sleepy streets.  And fantastic buildings:  brick walls, transom windows, fire escapes.  So this is a bit of Wallace in photographs.

It started with a modest 70 cars.  The next year featured over 500 cars.  But this year, well, this year topped them all.  Over 1000 cars raced in a thrilling, competitive fury to see who would be crowned the Fastest Car in the Third Annual Hot Wheels Extravaganza!

The track was constructed and carefully calibrated, and the cars were ready to race.

And in the end, one car stood above all others.  Was it a Track Star?  A car on FTE wheels?  An Acceleracer?  Maybe last year’s winner?  No indeed (though last year’s winners all finished in the Top Ten).  The winner of the Third Annual Hot Wheels Extravaganza was none other than  . . . (ready for it?) . . . the RD-10 Ace Racer.  I know!  It’s super exciting!