…while taking a keen interest in something or other.
While our daughter volunteered at Fort Edmonton on a weekend in May, 2010, my wife and I roamed the river valley around the fort. As usual I carried my camera equipment with me, setup for macro photography with diffused flash. While we paused to rest at a bench, I noticed a slender wasp 'feeling' its... Continue Reading →
The Olympus OM-2 was the first in a set of tools that allowed me to begin taking true macro photographs. Handed down to me by my father in the 1980’s, I had no idea of its full macro potential until almost 15 years later. At first, my needs were simple, so I used the 50mm... Continue Reading →
My first exposure to Tolkien is lost in the mist of my early childhood memories. It was either from a substitute teacher reading The Hobbit to the English lang. class at Aloe Ridge Primary School, or it was the first view of my brother's paperback tome of The Lord of the Rings trilogy at our... Continue Reading →
Aquaria: what's old is new again, for me at least. Found in my father's slide collection, a Dutch-style aquarium. 1963. (Scan from 35mm slide, Converted to B&W due to colour degradation) Like photography, the keeping of aquaria was introduced to me by my father when the family lived in South Africa in the 1970s. His... Continue Reading →
For the first time at this school, an English assignment excited me. I chose the heroic narrative style: epic poetry. For the project's examples, I chose The Song of Eärendil, (a mini-epic contained within the Lord of the Rings) and passages of translations from Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, The Song of Roland, and Beowulf.
I planned the backyard first. The space was to include a maximum of trees, shrubs and perennials and a minimum of lawn. A pond was essential, as well as more compost bins, rain reservoirs and an area for growing vegetables.
Lurching Toward Oblivion 