London II

If you go to London with a musician, especially a guitarist, don't miss Denmark St. Lots of 1960s and 1970s rock and roll was recorded there. A couple recording studios are still in operation. Nearly every other storefront sells guitars. Jeremy tried out a vintage Les Paul electric guitar with a maple fretboard. We did not spend over £3000 on it, although one of us wanted to. 

I didn't take many pictures inside the Tower of London, but the Tower is well worth a visit. Built by William the Conqueror as a home and fortress, the original walls are fifteen feet thick at the base and eleven feet thick at the top. Great Britain has a bloody history and the Tower has many reminders of that. Yes, the object on the green is a trebuchet. 

The Tower Bridge can be seen from the Tower of London. (This is not the London Bridge.)

Skyline showing the Shard and the Tower of London.

I took this picture of the Buckingham Palace gates in the afternoon after the crowds who came to see the Changing of the Guard had left. 

Are you watching Victoria on PBS? This statue decorates the fountain across from the palace. 

The changing of the guard happens daily in the summer and every other day in the winter. We arrived an hour early, and already the crowds had all the prime viewing locations. Jeremy took these pictures because he's tall enough to hold the camera over the heads of other onlookers. The changing of the guard often includes musical accompaniment. Surprisingly, we heard several pop numbers including Latin-Jazz fusion. 

I heard a few wrong notes, then Jeremy said, "Don't lock your knees! That's band camp 101." Apparently one of the trombonists became disorientated and started to sway. His companions grabbed his arms and eased him down before he or his trombone hit the pavement. 

Finally, a use for selfie-sticks. The only way I could see the changing guard was to look at the screens of cell phones on sticks. 

This guy plays a flaming tuba outside the Tate Modern. In my view, that museum is not worth the time and effort to get there.

We didn't have an opportunity to go inside St. Paul's Cathedral. It's supposed to be lovely, and if you get there in the evening, you can hear evensong. 

I hope my friends who are visiting London soon enjoyed these two posts. 
Again, click on the pictures to enlarge them. 

London I

I recently had an opportunity to go to London with my husband and my younger son, Jeremy. Our older son couldn't go with us as he is in graduate school. I'm planning to divide my pictures and discussions over two or three posts. 

Several of my friends are planning to visit London soon, so I through I'd turn these posts into a travel guide. Get Rick Steves' book, LONDON. He describes where to stay (Victoria Station Neighborhood or South Kensington Neighborhood), how to get around (The Underground) and where to eat (everything from pubs to tea shops). His descriptions of sights, museums and landmarks are detailed so you can choose what interests you. 

We started with Rick's "Westminster Walk." I included the picture of Big Ben to prove that the sky was blue once while we were in London. 

If you've read any British historical fiction, you've heard of Horse Guards.

Westminster Abbey is a wonderful place. Read up on the people and features before you go. The audio tour was excellent. (You can't take pictures inside.)

This is the London Eye (Ferris Wheel) and a view of the Thames. The Thames river boat cruises are supposed to be great. Unfortunately, the weather was mostly cold and rainy while we were there, so we opted not to spend time on the river. 

Trafalgar Square is fun on its own, but it's near the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. The National Gallery has an impressive collection of paintings. We were particularly taken with the Impressionist wing. I've never before seen a Monet in person. The collection also includes several paintings by Van Gogh, including The Sunflowers. See the National Portrait Gallery after you've seen Westminster Abbey and learned about some of the historical figures of Britain. 

The Sherlock Holmes Museum is fun. It's located, of course, at 221b Baker St. Some of the rooms are made up to look like the descriptions of Watson and Holmes' home in the books. They also have mannequins dressed up to depict scenes from favorite stories. 

Of course, I had to take a picture of Holmes' chemistry set.

Abbey Rd is near Baker St. Here's my favorite rock star.

The Abbey Rd. recording studio is still in operation. Jeremy says it has the best compressor in the world. Also nearby are the Beatles Store which is okay, but doesn't have anything out of the ordinary, and the Rock and Roll store which carries Rainbow Rising T-shirts, if you're in desperate need of a couple. 

As I said, there's more coming - after I crop and resize another set of photographs. 

Click on the pictures to enlarge. 

Sea Lions and Pelicans

We were in San Diego last weekend. When we went for a walk along the ocean, I forgot to bring my camera. (I know!) These pictures were taken with my phone. People sell fresh fish on the pier, and one stand cleans the fresh fish. The extra bits are thrown into the water where a couple of  sea lions beg like dogs at the table, and the pelicans squabble over scraps. 

Click on the pictures to enlarge them. 

In the Bleak Midwinter

As the water level falls, some ice is suspended above the river. 

leaf patterns

more leaf patterns

A Walk on a Snowy Day

The deer waited for me to take off my mittens, get my camera out of its bag, adjust the settings and focus. I really needed a different lens for this shot. The falling snow adds a little blur. Here are the Loch Ness Deer.

One of my students has a test next week on transforming functions. Here's a reflection across the x-axis.

The vine is almost a parabola.

Fall Reflections

Morning light on the Red Cedar River in October

Early Fall

Yesterday, I went for a walk in the woods.

(Actually this one was taken in my front yard.)

Through the web

shallow depth of field

The One that Got Away

It rained again today, and I managed to capture the ruby droplet that escaped me a few days ago. The red is cloudier than I remember. Maybe this cherry was dusty, or maybe the light was better last time. 

I Remembered I Own a Camera

These gladiolas, or their ancestors, were planted by my father in the garden of the house where I grew up. You can see the flowers in the background of my wedding pictures. Years ago, my mother gave some of the bulbs to her wonderful caregiver, Maud. Last year, Maud sent some of the bulbs to me. These are California glads, so I’ll have to dig up the bulbs and shelter them inside over the winter. 

Yesterday, I went for a walk after a rainstorm, but I didn’t bring my camera. (There might be a lesson there.) One of the cherries growing on this wild cherry tree had been damaged, and the cherry juice leaked into a droplet, making it glow red. By the time I got back with my camera, the ruby droplet had fallen. The best I could do was this slightly pink one and the drop that has a smiley face reflection.

The woman who lives in that house came out and asked what I was doing. I told her about the ruby droplet. She said I’d frightened her son. Apparently a disreputable realtor had recently photographed their house and claimed he’d made the sale. I apologized for upsetting her son. Then I waved to the boy because he was peeking through the curtains. I asked my neighbor if she’d like to look at the pictures I’d just taken to prove they weren’t of her home. She must have decided I didn’t look like a creepy, dishonest realtor because she declined. Then the boy came out of the house, and I had to retell the story of the ruby droplet (lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry). He ran to the tree and started picking wild cherries. His mother and I shouted in unison, “Don’t eat them!”

Two days ago on our morning bike ride, I noticed about 15-20 great egrets roosting in this swampy area. Yesterday, there were more birds, and today there must have been 50. The birds are constantly squabbling with each other. I took this picture with my phone because I don’t bring my camera on bike rides, especially when it’s about to rain. I asked my friend Tim why so many were together in a group. He said, “First, most or all of these egrets will migrate fairly soon. They need to put on as much fat as possible before then. I presume there must be good pickings here -- fish, snails, frogs, perhaps trapped in this slough for one reason or another. Easy pickings compared to rivers and lake edges. A few egrets must have found/known about this place. When other egrets flying around saw those unmistakable white forms, they tried to horn in and are all trying to get their bellyful. They'll probably pick that spot nearly clean of prey.”

Overheard #315

"There's no way to look quite so brilliant as to show you pay attention in class."

Foxgloves

Seeing spots

Catch the Wind, Catch the Light

Happy First Day of Spring!

This kite is from San Diego, in case you wondered about the blue sky and green leaves.