about a month ago I decided to restart my poem-a-day project. I felt the poetry muscle atrophy & wanted to flex some creativity again, even in just some small way. being in the desert makes me think about the world, & art, & appreciate the little things – like the way the creosote sways in the wind or how the ravens call to each other to warn of coyotes – so I wanted to try again to find an outlet for that.
find the poems here or follow my instagram.
woke up this morning pre-dawn when something triggered the motion light on my laundry room. peeked between the curtain to find enormous wet flakes of snow racing towards the earth. everything stretching out into the darkness covered in a layer of sopping white.
tuesday morning I was woken up at dawn by my power going out. as I peeked out my window I saw that it was raining, my first rain as a resident of the mojave. I didn’t yet know what the coming days would have in store for my friends in la, but the rainy sunrise was beautiful.
adjusting to a slower life out in the desert country. feeding the wild birds, putting water out for the coyotes, & peanuts for the ravens. hummingbirds circle my house all day, their wings a low buzz.
almost every night I sit out in the dirt circle that serves as my driveway to watch the sunset. the mountains of the san bernardino national forest swallow the sun every night, sometimes crowned in clouds glowing orange or pink.
turbulent skies & songbirds in the mojave today.
leaving where
ever you've been
a home is a bee
with bright eyes &
lips of pollen
succulent & water
heavy like dreams
pavement to sand
stars to stars
somehow the leaving
hovers unreal
until there's no
going
back
i think i should get weirder, 2024
in april I walked 116km across spain on the camino de santiago. true to my dedication to the shitty camcorder, I brought it along to capture the experience. long live camcorder vids!
another afternoon spent in joshua tree national park, this time with my 2010 nikon coolpix p7000.
the built in nd filter on this camera is really nice for days spent in the desert.
of course I didn’t forget my 2024 birthday pictures! this year was inspired by bert stern’s iconic photos of marilyn monroe & shot on my ricoh cx3 digicam.
spent a january morning in death valley national park touring scotty's castle with the national park service & my camcorder. also known as death valley ranch, the expansive former residence has been closed for repairs since 2015.
spent a few days in orlando for work & while florida is not high on my list of favourite states a walk around the resort grounds with my digicam one afternoon did make things seem a little better.
despite the plethora of injuries I’ve had the last year I managed to finish my third la marathon on sunday. it was frankly excruciating & I had to limp along after mile 20 but I did it. I mean, I had to get the shamrock medal!
you can follow my running/fitness instagram to keep up with my outdoor & running pursuits.
took my latest digicam on a drive through joshua tree national park in the late afternoon sun as storm clouds rolled in.
I’ve been having a lot of fun with the ricoh cx3’s “high contrast black & white” setting & I can’t wait to have some bright southern california spring days to play with.
I don’t need a gun
I need the dark thick pit
curling around my stomach
to bloom into sweet lilies
I don’t need a gun
I need the stitches you’ve sewn
across your eyes to melt
under the heat of children’s blood
I don’t need a gun
I need the weeping
the wet hollowed wailing
to stop
my streak of buying old digital cameras continues...
spent an hour walking around hollywood testing out the latest digicam I’ve added to my collection, the nikon coolpix p7000 which was originally released in 2010. so far I’m finding this little thing pretty fun & I’m excited to experiment more with the build in ND filter & the full manual controls.
I spent a weekend in my favourite national park recently, death valley, which is known for being the “hottest, driest, lowest” national park in the united states. right now though, thanks to our strange summer hurricane, pluvial lake manly (the ancient lake which once covered most of death valley) has made a reappearance at the lowest point in north america – badwater basin.
I had thought most of the water would be gone by the time of my january visit but it turns out lake manly decided to stick around a bit longer than expected. the cloud streaked blue skies & mountains reflected in the pristine surface of the ankle deep water made the whole experience feel otherworldly. like visiting the inside of a kaleidoscope.
a bright afternoon on the mesquite flat dunes in death valley. I have been playing with photographing the desert in black & white recently. there is just something immortal about the way these came out.
one freezing saturday morning spent wandering along boston’s charles river esplanade.
a few weeks ago I went to boston for the weekend to check out the john singer sargent exhibition at the museum of fine arts. sargent is one of my favourite painters & I couldn’t pass up the chance to see so many of his works in one place. arriving in boston just before 7 am on a saturday morning meant I had a lot of time to wander. I layered on hiking clothes & windproof fleece in the logan airport bathroom before heading into the city to brave 27 degree temps.
it’s been quite a while since I’ve experienced “real” winter. the sharp cold air & ice gathering along the rivers edge fascinated me.
