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cohanf

@[email protected]

old guy struggling toward a new path; artist; painting, writing, photography, gardening; plants, bugs, music, film, books, connection (not dating)...
I have a Ko-fi link if you'd like to support my art/writing/ video etc.
West Central Alberta, Canada

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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 22 /23 has been working on the wreaths! I hope anyone who celebrates in any way is having a beautiful season! For me the meaningful date is the Solstice - is a cultural time- treats available, probable day off work, fun old music and imagery etc. For those who find this a difficult time of year, may you find and online or in the flesh!

The gold tip of a stem of Wild (Prickly) Rose Rosa acicularis enters view from lower left with just a few prickles visible ending in a reddish leaf bud and a single rose hip on a relatively long stem that arcs out past the centre of the photo. The hip is a narrow elongated oval, somewhat wrinkled, orangey red enhanced by the afternoon sun. The hip still holds the dried remnants of sepals and stamens at its end. Rich browny gold and pointy, it looks a bit as if some tiny stiff squid has attached to the tip of the fruit. The background is a blur of darkish blue shadowed snow with a few spots of red (other hips) and brown (stems/leaves).Edges/corners have been further blurred with a black vignette effect applied to emphasise the shadows. A medium gold colour taken from the dried floral bits has been used for narrow border around the image and simple lettering in lower left that reads Happy Holidays.

The gold tip of a stem of Wild (Prickly) Rose Rosa acicularis enters view from lower left with just a few prickles visible ending in a reddish leaf bud and a single rose hip on a relatively long stem that arcs out past the centre of the photo. The hip is a narrow elongated oval, somewhat wrinkled, orangey red enhanced by the afternoon sun. The hip still holds the dried remnants of sepals and stamens at its end. Rich browny gold and pointy, it looks a bit as if some tiny stiff squid has attached to the tip of the fruit. The background is a blur of darkish blue shadowed snow with a few spots of red (other hips) and brown (stems/leaves).Edges/corners have been further blurred with a black vignette effect applied to emphasise the shadows. A medium gold colour taken from the dried floral bits has been used for narrow border around the image and simple lettering in lower left that reads Happy Holidays.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 18 From the other morning when the snow was at times horizontal. Thankfully that didn't last long, but now we head into some even colder weather for the weekend. In this view the grouse were writing messages to Bird Goddess in the snow...

From lower left and mid left, two sets of bird footprints in nearly straight lines cross the snowy ground, angling slightly upward to the right. The fresh powder snow on the surface is not too deep and the prints are distinct. A slight film filter giving a faint violet hint and enhancing the snow texture has been applied, and edges are blurred and a white vignette effect used.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 16 A couple of mild days to start the week again before more snow + a return to deep freeze later in the week. So instead of Lazy Monday yesterday, I started cutting a fallen tree on the acreage I'd been avoiding (hard to get at, tricky to cut + heavy). It was rough work even without a lot of progress, but on the + side there was a bit of afternoon sun and some grouse and boreal chickadees nearby!

Anemone virginiana var cylindroidea Tall Anemone or Thimbleweed- or Riverbank Anemone- I don't like that name, as there are no riverbanks here, and it seems to prefer the drier parts of the acreage! Two thin dry stems rise from the centre bottom of the image, each with a fluffy seed head at the top, which fuze into a single irregularly shaped wooly mass dotted with the actual seeds which are flat ovals with pointed ends like little stems. The background is blurred to abstraction- the goldy green of a spruce saplings, a string of red-brown leaves reduced to near circles, some dark shadows and white snow patches. A bit of film filter has been applied to enhance constrast and add a faint violet atmospheric effect. The edges have been blurred and a white vignette applied.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 15 from the weekend Saturday- still chilly in the morning (around -16C/3F) but a bit warmer later (-10C/14F by the I was outside doing garbage at work in early evening...lol)

From the passenger side of the moving car, looking across out the driver side of the windshield. In front is a bit of snowy ditch, then a wire and post fence followed by a small wetland pasture with tallish dry golden grass, cattails etc. The grass contines a little way past another parallel fence, then the ground rises a bit to nearly blank snowy field (probably it has had hay cut) then another fence and another snowy field. around the centre of the image is the highest line of the field from left to right, and just over the crest we see the tops of a number of farm buildings- an old peaked red barn and a number of lower sheds, barns and a single story house to the right backed by several large dark spruce trees. Beyond the buildings we don't see the immediate land which slopes down away connectiong to forests extending to the foothills in the distance. Farther still the real mountains rise, distance blued, rugged and snowcapped. A narrow band of white dynamic cloud sits right above the mountains, above that a narrow zone of light blue grey, above that a darker blue grey cloud zone extends to the top, apparently moving to the left, trailing bits that drag to the right. A couple of film effects have been applied, giving a faint violet tone, also a warmer zone in the middle of the image, and the edges have been blurred and a white vignette applied.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 13 Still cold this morning, but the temperature is starting to creep up. The next couple of days look positively balmy, by seasonal standards, but more snow coming and more cold days by mid-week. These shots from dusk, yesterday around -20C/-4F with snow falling

Dusky light, snow blurred scene, looking through a gap in a modest stand of youngish poplar trees. We see across a fairly clear snowy pasture bordered by a wire and post fence, then another pasture a bit lower, with clumps of dry grass, and scattered low bare trees and shrubs, mixed woods farther back. The poplar trunks to left and right foreground are fairly sharp, though dusk shadowed. The farther away we move in the scene the more snow blurred it becomes, with sky and snowy ground similarly dusky white and the distant trees faded to light grey. A filter has been applied which increases contrast a bit, adding a faint tint of violet, and a blur and white vignette has been applied to edges.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 12 A nippy afternoon yesterday high of -20C/-4F at the most, with some notable windchill. I did a bit of work outside and got a few photos. Another cold day today, bit warmer tomorrow, mild early week then another cold spell.

Looking through a tangle of saplings and mostly smallish tree trunks and branches, mostly bare with a couple of smallish spruce. The trees are silhouetted against a sunset sky, mostly unevenly overcast with bands and bits of cloud in grey with bright thinner patches and dull gold bands. A film filter has been applied to the image giving a faint hint of violet, enhancing the silhouette effect a bit. Edges have been blurred and a black vignette effect applied, increasing the feeling of dusk, shadow.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 11 Frosted dead spruce branches at the edge of woods, and deep winter shadows.. Not exactly warm, but yesterday was a bit milder, so I spent more time outside- got some wood cut and took a few photos and a bit of video- of course I missed the early sun...lol Today much colder and fresh snow- still hoping to get a quick bit of wood harvesting in but I won't hang around outside too long.

Several dry needle-less spruce branches hang downward from a large tree of White Spruce Picea Glauca. All the fine twigs are still intact and now they are lightly coated with frost crystals, almost giving the appearance of a tree in full growth with white branches/needles. Next to the spruce branches we see part of the trunk of a Balsam Poplar Populus Balsamifera. The bark is a slightly gold tinted grey with deep rough irregular vertical fissures and furrow and a few tiny bits of clinging snow. The background is more blurred branches and trunks, in shadow within the woods. There's a faint violet tint applied and the edges are blurred with a black vignette applied to accentuate the shadows of the season even as snow and frost whiten everything.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 10 Some potentially cold days coming end of the week, so I've been trying to get some wood cut ahead of several days of heavier use! That means not a lot of photos taken-also it was a bit gloomy and not too visually exciting the last couple of afternoons... Today it looks like there is some sun, though I still need to cut more wood! This Black-capped Chickadee said hello the other day just as I was about to go in at dusk.

A small bird looks toward the viewer, in an almost eye shaped gap in a tangle of linden branches against a blurred and shadowy background with near white spots of late afternoon overcast.The bird is mostly grey (belly and wings) and buff (underneath farther back) with black cap and bib and white below the eyes/around the neck. The late day light was dimming, and a filter enhances the sort of blue-violet tint. Edges are blurred and a white vignette effect has been applied.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

I usually like to use current photos for (Day 09) but yesterday I was only out long enough to cut a little wood + too lazy to take photos of decorations..lol So! as we approach Winter Solstice, views from the opposite side of the year as we approached Summer Solstice. I chose shots with a lot of shadow as a reminder that there always needs to be a balance between Light + Dark

The tip of a native pea plant (Lathyrus ochroleucus) emerges from dark green shadow to a bit of sun that lights a couple of golden green leaves and bracts along with a cluster of narrow tubular cream coloured flowers. One small butterfly- silver grey with white fringed wings adn almost electric blue painted on its centre- sits on the flower cluster while another flies toward the flowers, about to land. The background is shadowed foliage, with the edges darkened and blurred to enhance the already dark shadows, while the green -gold of leaves has been intensified emphasising the idea that the height of summer still holds darkness even while Sun is at peak.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 07 views from yesterday's after several recent moderate snowfalls and ice fog overnight.

From the passenger side of a moving car on a snowy gravel road, we are looking out the windshield and left across the road. The snowy road nearly blends with the snowy ditch which shows some dry tall snow-covered grass and is bordered by a wire and post fence. The fence crosses the image from lower left, following low hills and dips disappearing into the bushes past the centre. Across the fence is a snowy hill pasture in the left; over the crest, around the centre left of the photo is a stand of bare poplars with some darkish trunks showing, all the smaller branches are heavily whitened with frost (from ice fog) and snow. Farther right is another stand of trees, farther back- more white poplars and a few dark frost highlighted spruce. The sky is a soft blue which is echoed a bit in the snow on the ground. The edges of the photo have a white vignette effect applied.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 06 Yesterday afternoon was overcast, a bit of snow, bit of ice fog had left the trees slightly frosted (hoping for some nice white views today!). Late afternoon light made the photos look rather abstract, so I took that as permission to play around with them a bit more (see alt).

Looking up through the very thin branches of an Amur Maple which come into view from lower left and angle up to the right. There are quite a few (not all) leaves still clinging, red brown and dangly, semi-silhouetted against the featureless whitish sky. Behind we see bits of poplar and spruce trees blurring into the background and in centre the upper half of a large spruce tree, dark but frost lightened. I've applied some 'light leak' filters which have added random faint blobs and zones of colour, some reddish some blue-green-which hint at holiday lights. The corners have a dark vignette effect applied.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Whoa, I think I'm caught up! lol Day 04 views from a short trip to town today to do some banking. Pretty, swooshy clouds- I think there were flurries or showers about but we didn't encounter them. Snowing lightly now, melting on the steps as it's still warmish, tomorrow temperature drops again...

Somewhat dusky light on a rather overcast late winter afternoon. Looking across a lightly snow-covered pasture which rises in a couple of smooth edged ridges that cross from left to right. Occasional bits of dried grass and forbs (dried thistles, likely) poke through the snow. Just over the crest (we see the upper-half? two thirds?) sits a small bare poplar tree, silhouetted agains the sky, its solitude and exposure meaning it appears rounder and less slender than usual.The sky above the hill is overcast but bright with just a hint of pre-sunset colour. Above a medium blue-grey more solid cloud mass feathers into the light below, the lighter and darker blending as if arcing strokes in a watercolour painting. The top and bottom of the image have a white vignette and blur applied, and a faintly violet filter across the centre.
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@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Day 01 (late!) A dark image to remind us as we await the sun's return in the north, that we also need to honour and celebrate the Darkness. Blood, soil, womb, rest, regeneration, rebirth- these are all tied to darkness.

We are looking at the top of an old weathered fence post. The centre of the post has rotted away, so there is a sort of crater on top, which is out of focus and just slightly seen as we are looking almost straight on at the rim. The top of the post has a generous growth of fairly fine textured silvery-blue-green foliose lichen (with one small bit of an even finer sort with filaments) and tiny highlights of gold-green moss here and there. This growth continues down into the crater and also down the outside of the post, though there it is less dense, the bits smaller.The limited background is shadowed snow and just the suggestion of a wire grid fence. Edges are blurred and have a dark vignette effect applied to remind us of the darkness of the season.
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@h4ckernews@mastodon.social avatar h4ckernews Bot , to random
cohanf ,
@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar

@h4ckernews Love his stuff :)
I was amused when I learned a while ago that some places have nights too hot for tomatoes- here they tend to do well only when coddled in greenhouses..lol
btw- one small caveat- humidity doesn't automatically make hot nights as I'm sure Joey knows- my nights are humid enough that we typically get either dew or frost most nights (whichever's seasonally appropriate) but nights are definitely not hot- only occasionally more than a few degrees above 10C/60F-often below

@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar cohanf , to random

Running late for lol I had said these were the very first non-tree wildflowers of the year, but found another contender yesterday (still have to edit those!,stay tuned!)
Shepherdia canadensis Buffaloberry; super tiny flowers on a mid size, open branched, nitrogen fixing shrub. Tasty bitter berries used by native peoples and much loved by birds!

Against a blurred reddish grey background, a close view of a narrow rain darkened branch, finely nubbly scaly, which angles across the view from lower right to upper left . Along the stem several tiny twigs project with several or more tiny flowers and a few new leaves beginning to emerge from the tips as well, at this stage they are also brown/scaly, no green showing yet. Flowers are light golden green with slightly textured and faintly red lined edges to the petals(?).Female flowers like these show a single pistil in the centre. In this view the flowers are presumably a bit older, so the pistils are a bit elongated and angled at the tip, projecting conspicuously from the flat/recurved stars.
Two really tiny 4 point star flowers and a scaly brown bud emerge from a grey scaly narrow upright branch/stem. In the blurred background several short twigs emerge from the same main stem with many flowers and buds, Flowers are light golden green with slightly textured and faintly red lined edges to the petals(?).Female flowers like these show a single pistil in the centre.

Two *really* tiny 4 point star flowers and a scaly brown bud emerge from a grey scaly narrow upright branch/stem. In the blurred background several short twigs emerge from the same main stem with many flowers and buds, Flowers are light golden green with slightly textured and faintly red lined edges to the petals(?).Female flowers like these show a single pistil in the centre.
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cohanf OP ,
@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar

@plants
video of Shepherdia Buffaloberry now loaded, and the Early Blue Violet is on the way.
Since I already posted stills (above in this thread) I'll include both the link (which will show an image in this post) and the YouTube link below that.

https://spectra.video/w/5tBuffdiu78iP1cJzyRLQx
https://youtube.com/shorts/lVnpeqtLw_o?feature=share

@TootTropiques@c.im avatar TootTropiques , to bookstodon group

"We tend to forget that there are people who are simply after money and power, and they have no psychological complications at all."

--Len Deighton, The IPCRESS File

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cohanf ,
@cohanf@mastodon.online avatar

@TootTropiques bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group How could anyone forget this? It's what western capitalist society is built on!