Welcome to the rt tulley photography blogIt features photos, text, and poetry.July 3Targets
I am thankful for targets. My daughter Beth is thankful for Target, the store, but that is not what I am writing about now. A target is something that you take aim at and try to hit regularly. For example, a bullseye target for gun or bow practice. Or, in the case of the photo, a target on the golf course. Of course, you have to successfully hit your target, or at least come close, to consider yourself successful in this endeavor.
This is a photo of the golf practice range at The Bluffs. The target in this case is the flag stick. As you can see, a few, but not too many balls are in close proximity to the stick. This was taken right after I practiced so I am at least one of the guilty parties. To be successful in golf, you need to hit the ball toward the target (the hole) successfully, and ultimately put the ball into the hole. The majority of people think that hitting the ball really long is the most important thing in golf. Not me. I believe accuracy is the most important thing. Have you heard the joke about the gorilla that could drive 500 yards. It turns out he was a really bad golfer because he hit it 500 yeards every time with every club and never found the hole. I'm not a long hitter and have never been. For that matter, I'm not so accurate anymore either. Worst of both worlds - short and wild! I have played with old men who really didn't drive long at all, but they always systematically hit it down the fairway, and ended up on the green, and beat my brains out.
So being accurate is one of the most important things in not only gof, but in many sports. Even in non-sports things, reaching your target is very important to your ultimate success, such as reaching your goals in business or in life.
target
i rarely if ever my target do miss i take careful aim relax and then this i shoot and wait as my ball meets its mark i then take my target close to that ball i drop. © rt tulley July 2Contentment
I am thankful for contentment. Contentment is defined as the state of being satisfied. It is a difficult state to be in but a satisfied baby is about as good as it gets. We all need to be able to achieve this state of nirvana more often.
This is my nephew Jessie's and his wife Brooke's baby Madeleine. She is all stretched out, with her left hand behind her head and enjoying her nap. That is ultimate contentment!
contentment
this state that i’m in this state of ultimate contentment is such a wonderful place to be don’t spoil it with a bowel movement with spit up or a bad bad gas pain i can do without them i certainly maintain for all i really want and it’s no salami is a little warm milk and to be held of course by my mommy. © rt tulley July 1Stepping Stones
I am thankful for stepping stones. Stepping stones can make up garden paths or be in rivers to allow us to cross the river. They may be natural or artificial. They allow us to get places one step at a time where otherwise it would be more difficult or impossible. Similar to milestones (January 31 Blog) but different in that they serve as a visible pathway.
Above is a photo of a stream that crosses the Willow City Loop in Texas, not far from Fredricksburg; below is my niece, Sabrina, on the stepping stones in the Merced River in Yosemite National Park in Califronia.
stepping stones
stepping stones on the water stepping stones along the path to keep our feet dry to keep us from a cold bath. © rt tulley
June 30The Earth
I am thankful for the Earth. There is so much natural beauty put on our planet. It is the only place we currently have so we need to take care of it. There is such a diverse type of scenery available on the earth: waters, plains, mountains, desserts, swamps, forests, and beaches. There is such a diversity of climates: tropical, freezing, warm, temperate. It runs the gamut.
I was reading the other day about the trip to colonize Mars that people are signing up for at $75 a pop for a chance at a one way ticket. Something like 80,000 people have signed up for a chance. Now's your chance if you want to be a reality TV star, which the MarsOne company will use to finance much of the mission. It sounds like a great adventure, but to leave the Earth permanently? The Mars atmosphere contains almost no oxygen and high amounts of carbon dioxide, the gravity is only 38% of Earth's, and it gets very cold there. The need to live in small pressurized containers is a requirement. Conversations with your loved ones on Earth will take between 3 and 23 minutes to cross the space between the planets and sometimes there is a blackout for up to 2 weeks because of the sun getting between the planets. So even communication with Earth will be difficult. Not for me. I love it here! Sorry that I digressed to talking about Mars colonization during my blog about the Earth. But the purpose was to make us realize how precious Earth is. Mars appears to be the most logical place to colonize in our solar system. But it comes woefully short when compared to the Earth. It's likely there are other inhabitable planets in the universe but they are probably so far away as to make colonization nearly impossible.
The photo above is of a globe that I saw in Denham Springs at an antique shop. I've been looking for one to use for my Earth blog and presto, there was one. Another photo I include below is of one that is at the Baton Rouge Zoo. It is a water fountain, with the water supporting the globe, and the golbe spinning freely on the water.
earth
one world one earth one place one birth
caretakers we find ourselves entrusted servants protect it serve it defend it from ourselves love it enjoy it caress it imbibe it absorb it
replacement there is none no upgrade there is only one we may find it is too late for its repair when left with only despair. © rt tulley
June 29Books
I am thankful for books. I love books of all kinds - non fiction and fiction. I remember well when I fell in love with books in my sixth grade at J.E. Prass Elementary School in Dayton, Ohio. Although I had read a little before that, it was that year that the teacher, Mr. Dilgard, required us to read on our own and write index cards about each book we completed. I began reading the Tom Corbett Space Cadet series. I remember I was so engrosed in the books that I sometimes would stay up all night reading. Sadly, I but don't read as much as I used to but I still love books and generally have a book going. Although I just bought an electronic reader for us this week, and they do have some advantages, I love the look, smell, and feel of real books. There is nothing like it.
These are some classics that I found stacked up in an antique store in Denham Springs the other day. I instantly shot the photo because I liked that the books were classic novels, short stories, or biographies of famous authors and people and the old hat on the top added exactly the right amount of elegant classic flair. All the work was done for me, I didn't have to pose the books or add the hat. All I had to do was aim, focus, and shoot. The books are from bottom to top: John Steinbeck's East of Eden, Moran's Churchill: Taken from the Diaries of Lord Moran, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Edgar Johnson's Charles Dickins: His Tragedy and Triumph.
the future of books
there’s one thing i can say i surely do love my books even if they’re quirky, big, and spacey even if they get odd looks i use mine almost daily a book makes a handy paper weight it can function as a door stop or to hold open the gate use them as step stools build up a feaux wall to elevate the couch decorate the hall books are simply wonderful they’re things i really need but you say there’s another use they can be used to read? © rt tulley |
