His boat is a beautiful, not overly large craft that he has put a lot of work into, redoing and refinishing. And Chuck and Martha seem totally at home as sailors and love being on the water. That was evident.

We had to have a chase boat for me to ride on since they wanted pictures under sail, with the hills and clouds of the New York Finger Lakes in the background. It was a gorgeous day to be out on the lake and their friend, James, obliged with his boat for the chase. Chuck and Martha had been up the lake for an overnight with some other boats and were on their way back in the afternoon, so we met them as they approached the south end of the Seneca Lake.

We cruised round and round passing and circling each other while I sat on the bow and shot away. Fortunately the light was generally good with clouds coming and going, good bright sun and dappling light across the hillsides. The wind would come and go, but generally cooperated.

After a couple of hours of shooting Chuck's boat, we swapped places. With both boats pulling up close together, I took my life in my hands and leapt from one boat to the other after passing the camera bag to safety. It was a moment of gasps and grappling hands as I almost went into the lake, but kept dry with Chuck's quick assistance. And so the transfer complete, I sailed off on Chuck's "Delta G" to shoot James' boat for a while as a return gift to him for providing the chase boat for the first go round.

All in all, a beautiful afternoon to be on the water, and a great day for sailing pictures. Let's do it again.

Images Copyright © George Cannon, All Rights Reserved.

9x12in - oil on canvas

I wonder if something he ate put him in to some type of coma?

© 2008 - Michael Brown
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"Halloween Pennant" - Dragonfly

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LANDSCAPE "LUCCA" / PAESAGGIO LUCCA

Landscape "Lucca" of Luciano Torsi (15x20) cm
Description: Original oil on mdf board, misure 15x20 cm (5,8x7,8 inches), certificate Modì Arte and signed Torsi 2008.
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TUSCANY HILLS

Tuscany hills of Luciano Torsi (13x50) cm
Description: Original oil on wood board, misure 13x50 cm (5,1x19,6 inches), certificate Modì Arte and signed Torsi 2008.
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OLD FARM AND POPPIES

Old farm and poppies of Luciano Torsi (13x50) cm
Description: Original oil on wood board, misure 13x50 cm (5,1x19,6 inches), certificate Modì Arte and signed Torsi 2008.
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OLD FARM ON THE COAST

Old farm on the coast of Luciano Torsi (13x50) cm
Description: Original oil on wood board, misure 13x50 cm (5,1x19,6 inches), certificate Modì Arte and signed Torsi 2008.
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-evening without flash below

here's the essay anyways

N. Scott Momaday once said that “there is great good in returning to a landscape that has extraordinary meaning in one’s life.” Mr. Momaday may have had the right idea. There are certain landscapes, or environments, that help define us in who we are as people. The landscape that, I think, most shaped me is my childhood neighborhood.

My childhood neighborhood was not the typical American cul-de-sac, street, nor was it even near a town. I lived in a forested area in El Dorado County called Swansburrow. There were lakes surrounded by trees, roads shrouded by dark forests, houses buried deep in he woods, and hills covered in vegetation of the tree variety. In short, there were trees, of all kinds and sizes surrounding me and my home. I look back on those years of my life and just remember the life that those trees provided, the safety and comfort that the trees provided for the inhabitants of Swansburrow. With our houses hidden behind a veil of pine and Manzanita, people felt they could be more themselves in a haven of solitude.

Solitude, that’s what people moved to Swansburrow for. The families would have get togethers on holidays like 4^th of July at the firehouse, but that would be the only time the adults would really interact. There were a few families that were intimate as friends, but mostly the adults kept to themselves and let the kids create the bonds. Every person under the age of 21 knew each other, and were considered kids in Swansburrow. Those without cars went around the miles of road on foot or upon bicycle. Even amongst our friendships and adventures, however, we were alone. We had the solitude of a community spread out and disconnected. We learned how to fend for ourselves during the long summer months while our parents were away at work. The older kids watched us, as long as they wanted, but let us go off on bike rides away from them, away from rules and expectations.

That environment truly taught me how to make decisions on my own, and take care of others. I was the oldest of the younger kids, so I was the one they turned to in the midst of a problem. I learned how to make fair decisions that benefited everyone from my experiences in the forest of my childhood. When I moved away from there, into town, I took those lessons with me, but I couldn’t take the solitude, or the trees that kept me shielded and safe.

I agree with N. Scott Momaday in his quote:  “there is great good in returning to a landscape that has extraordinary meaning in one’s life […] they define us, and we say: I am who I am because I have been there.” Having lived in Swansburrow when I did really shaped who I am today. I have revisited the area since I moved away from it, and have since learned that I had a singularly unique experience that no child will ever relive. They have torn down my trees and built houses up to the edge of my lakes, but they have not taken away the Swansburrow in my mind’s eye, or the memories I accrued there.

However I did manage to paint a picture, just a small one. I happened to remember when I was a kid I saw on tv this guy who was teaching painting. I just remember I learned to paint trees from him. Me and my husband got to talking about painters and methods of teaching painting and I decided to figure out who he was. Turns out, the man I saw on tv many years ago was Bob Ross. I watched a few of the episodes with my husband and we were both amazed at what he could do in a matter of 30 mins or so. We decided to try. Very interesting outcome. Turns out that you really need a certain amount of training in how to mix and make certain colors. In addition to that you need a good space to paint that you don't mind getting oil paint on. I did alright mixing colors but I'd say that hardest part was not has a area that I could not worry about. Overall I think his method was simple and amazing with the only drawback being that many of his pictures looked fairly similar just with different colors. I think as long as you try not to paint exactly what he is painting that he was a pretty good teacher. Here is how my picture came out.

It is not so good but I think that with practice his technique could be used to make some very interesting landscapes. All in all I enjoyed trying new techniques and it really did help me further develop my own personal painting style. If you like painting I'd recommend trying the technique Bob Ross uses, if not for the purpose of learning it, then just for the purpose of widening your personal style. Plus, it's fun. :D

Exported for two thousand years, the red onion has built its reputation around Italy and the world thanks to its sweet taste, which is not in any other quality onion among the approximately 50 existing. This feature is favoured by the microclimate of the area, a mild climate without changes in temperature in winter, thanks to the nearby sea and the special fertility of fresh land.
The red onion of Tropea, cultivated in common: Ricadi, Head Vatican and Tropea addition to its sweet taste (thanks abundance of sugars such as glucose, lactose, etc.) and also easily digestible.

One last feature of our onion is its color. How does this name, onion Tropea tends to have a red color.

Features curative
Onion is a real cure for your health. From this it can receive vitamin C (it is full) fine for functions antinfluenzali and antiemorragiche. It 'also a dose consisting of iron, useful for anemici then, and has a beneficial effect on diuresis and on high.

Cultivation
The red onion is grown in common: Cape Vatican, Ricadi, Tropea. To a lesser extent in common: Parghelia, Zambrone, Briatico. Cultivated in November is collected from March to June. During these months if they find in abundance in the menus of all restaurants in the area, being an ingredient widely used in local cuisine.