Solitude by Joe Fenton

JWise Photo of the Day

Solitude by Joe Fenton, signed copy #2 of 100 now rests on our wall

The print on the wall behind Caroline is titled, Solitude, it is from artist Joe Fenton. A couple of weeks prior on a Saturday afternoon, an email from Joe popped into my mailbox. He was notifying everyone who joined his mailing list that his webshop was now open and that Solitude was one of the first prints that were available. I ordered within 10 minutes of his email arriving and for my speed, we had signed print number 2 of 100 sent to us.

This has been the year that Caroline and I have purchased more art than in the previous 10 combined. My apologies for the reflection, the folks who framed Solitude tried talking us into using museum-grade glass, but if you have ever priced a large 60″ x 31″ custom frame with non-reflective museum glass, you’d know that the costs can be heavy. If you ever want to see a tiny corner inside the heads of Caroline and me, look at Solitude and you will see part of what makes us fall into delight.

Broken Pole

JWise Photo of the Day

Broken electricity pole in Phoenix, Arizona. A storm the night before brought in a wind shear that decapitated more than a dozen power transmission poles.

What kind of surgical storm is able to drop from the sky to decapitate more than a dozen power transmission poles and not touch the houses right next to the carnage? The one we had in our neighborhood last night, that’s what kind. The people on this street around the corner (luckily not affecting us) were out of electricity for four days while the old wooden poles were replaced with no-snap giant steel monster poles. It’s not so much the missing electricity that would be bad, it is the 90 degree (32c) nights without air-conditioning that would be horrible.

Trusty Water Can No More

JWise Photo of the Day

Trusty red watering can broke its handle, fell to the ground and exploded

I still can’t believe this and Caroline may never recover from her shock – we may sue someone. With our favorite little red watering can full to the brim with plant-nourishing water, Caroline as on so many other days for the previous 10+ years, went out to water her plants. Today though, would not be the familiar routine we had grown accustomed to. The handle broke right off with the bucket, still full of good clean American water we paid for, falling to the ground and exploding with a loud crash. I raced to the front balcony to witness the look of distress on my wife’s face and a red lonely handle still in her grip. She may have been crying, although it could also have been some of the splashing water from the ripped-open now-dead watering can.

You can imagine our anger that this cheap Chinese-made water bucket only lasted a year or so more than a decade. I am certain had we been able to buy a good old American-made plastic bucket, it could have lasted 50 years because our plastic is superior to that foreign stuff. American plastic is only made with oil drilled in Texas because it is big and tough, like gristle from an old cow. We decided not to sue this time, but if this $5.99 plastic water bucket we replaced our beloved bucket with doesn’t last at least 20 years, there’ll be hell to pay in China.

Rey and Stephanie

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Reynaldo Medrano and his soon to be wife Stephanie Lopez

I would like to introduce you to Rey and Stephanie, in less than two weeks they will be Mr. and Mrs. Medrano. I know Rey through the farm I was writing for since 2008, Tonopah Rob’s Vegetable Farm. Rey is a farmhand and soon-to-be husband. Stephanie wanted some photos they could use as thank-you notes after their nuptials in Las Vegas, Nevada. I obliged them by coming out to the other side of the world (about 70 miles from our place) and on this very hot morning, shot about 250 photos to get this one good one. No, Rey is not related to Prince Charles.

Towels

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Caroline Wise and her 8 feet of hand woven towels - her first ever.

Last year Caroline took possession of a floor loom, a big contraption used for weaving cloth. Back in July 2010, she was on the verge of making her first sample weave, but with our monumental Grand Canyon trip that put everything else in the backseat. It would be a while before she could return to learning the craft of weaving. Well, here we are in June 2011 and her first fully completed project is now off the loom. This almost 10 foot length of dish towels are yet to be cut up and washed the first time and already Caroline has taken possession of a more sophisticated tabletop loom. If only it were the 17th century and she had these skills, we’d be making good money with what is now a fading hobby only practiced by a small minority of men and women who are keeping the art alive.

50mm

JWise Photo of the Day

Combing Churro fleece prior to being able to spin it into yarn

Yesterday I purchased a new Canon 50mm 1.4 lens, this is one of the first photos I shot with it. You are looking at Churro fleece being combed. Combing fleece is the step taken after the sheep have been shorn and the fleece washed. Combing aligns the fibers which are instrumental in preparing the fibers to be spun. With the fibers aligned, they are able to wrap around each other allowing them to lock together when being spun so the spinner can make a strong yarn. Caroline is combing this particular fleece before she spins it into yarn for our friend Celia – the Barn Goddess. The lens was bought for those low-light scenarios and with the idea that it would make for a nice lens when shooting video on my HDSLR.