Seems when I’m home in Vancouver, my photos are all about what is growing in my gardens and around the neighborhood, and when I’m at home in Long Beach, my snaps are of birds and beach critters! Amy has invited us to feature the colors of April so here is another batch of flora!
I love to look up at a clear blue sky through the screen of bright yellow forsythia. An early bloomer, the shrub is somewhat unwieldy, needing hard pruning, however its yellow blossoms yield to a bright light green leaves as the flowers fade.
Grape Hyacinth naturalize and spread yearly. These were nestled amid the green grass looking like there should be an Easter egg hiding nearby!
Flowering Quince in the foreground is enhanced by forsythia in the background.
Naturalizing together, jonquils, hyacinth and candytuft make a pretty pattern in this corner.
One of my most fragrant lilacs is just starting to bloom.
Evergreen Hydrangea trails along the hand rail to my front door. The flowers bloom early, and hardy, dark green leaves soften the hard edge of steel and brick all summer long.
Jello, the fairest flower of all, tucked into one of her favorite “forts” in the back yard!
Wishing everyone safe harbor, as we navigate onward. Please mask-up and stay safe.🐾
Primroses bring delightful color and light to my rock garden in late winter on through the summer. Heading them and fertilizing, keeps their cheery faces blooming.
Inexpensive and sold as annuals at local grocery and hardware stores, I add to my primrose lane every year.
The double ruffled ones (above and the last two) are particularly pretty and quite hardy.
Primroses can get rather ‘dog-eared’ if not trimmed and tidied, but they bring a smile to my face very time I see them, so for me, they are worth the time it takes to care for them.
Thank you to Leya for this “You Pick It” challenge. To see her selection and the contributions of others, click the link below!
These are not pretty. They are distillations of my observations and study of human behavior since I began to differentiate myself from others.
Unhinged - a series of haiku
4/1/21
many synonyms
for human insanity
subtle nuances
4/2/21
careful portrayal
in medical manual
no 'nutso' or 'bats'
4/3/21
out here in real world
deranged thinking goes postal
with guns, knives, autos
penis extensions
unbridled power to kill
inflates crazed egos
4/4/21
if not genetic
this unbalanced behavior
when does it begin?
with the birth of pain
invisible soul bruises
unacknowledged trauma
4/5/21
compressed hidden hurt
amplified by daily life
a festering boil
gloms proof from mundane
fuels a growing conviction
which course will it take?
4/6/21
easy to find fault
self-blame brings on depression
road to suicide
simple to accuse
hold others accountable
self-validating
4/7/21
just a normal guy
clutching his cauldron of bile
teeters on the edge
suddenly sees red
the instant his synapse snaps
madness takes over
4/8/21
bloodlust the sole fix
to quench a raging passion
scratch the crazy itch
4/9/21
alternative source:
rigid indoctrination
unquestioned beliefs
4/10/21
engrained repression
natural impulse denied
labeled abnormal
4/11/21
pent-up frustration
lack of personal control
backfires in gunfire
to quell fiend within
or erase temptation's source
death is their answer
4/12/21
parental abuse
of children and each other
molds relationships
survival instinct
drives actions and attitude
vengeance is aroused
4/13/21
self-harm is quick fix
striking back at unfair world
seems just punishment
4/14/21
hard core reprobates
humorless unforgiving
life-long psychopaths
among us daily
skulking in shadows alone
or batshit bullies
4/16/21
fear triggers action
fight, flight, freeze - or buy a gun
AR seventeen
handy extension
for would-be mass murderers
hunters of humans
4/17/21
just thirteen years old
shot, hands up, in an alley
justifiable?
4/18/21
fear of the unknown
fear entrenched in racist tropes
fear of ‘the other’
adrenaline rush
fear plus gun - deadly combo
fear beats reason
4/19/21
power is granted
through position or merit
power stimulates
counterfeit power
assumption born of conceit
corrupts to the core
4/20/21
there is no excuse
will there be justice for all?
the jury is out
guilty beyond doubt
nation waits with bated breath
for first conviction
4/21/21
GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS
YES! Handcuffed, led to jail. YES!
maybe forty years
it is about time
finally held to account
blue line is breaking
4/22/21
head down silence scheme
bad cop’s crucial weapon
good cop’s nemesis
4/23/21
an act of hatred
victim considered evil
wicked dangerous
perp intends to hurt
craves to destroy the object
lust for suffering
4/24/21
hold accountable
daily deaths by police - three
twenty-one per week
law and order kills
eleven thousand yearly
reprehensible
4/25/21
football brain scramble
chronic encephalopathy
prompts mood swings, outbursts
explanation why
past NFL defensive back
kills a family -
shot dead in their home
doctor, wife, two grandchildren -
then turns gun on self
4/27/21
hands on steering wheel
boxed into driveway by cops
with warrant to search home
seven officers
their guns blazing - mow him down
execution style
4/30/21
racist violence
erodes all humanity
traumatizes young
holding onto hope
in face of degradation
heroic challenge
Maybe it’s because spring is all around me, or perhaps it’s that I’ve always enjoyed the softness of spheres relative to angles, either way, today my LAPC focus is on circular shapes in nature.
Wishing everyone safe harbor, as we navigate onward. Please mask-up and stay safe.🐾
This week, in response to Tina’s challenge to feature “moments that take your breath away,” I’ve selected five photos taken over the past five years on the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington State, USA. Each one was a gift from nature, and taught me something about capturing breathtaking shots.
February 2016 – North Head Lighthouse – Cape Disappointment State Park
It was a dreary cold day when Jello and I took a long walk through the park to North Head Lighthouse. I snapped several photos of the structure and the environs before walking up the path away from the lighthouse. When I turned around, the sight stopped me in my tracks. In this moment a personal photo mantra emerged – “Always look back!”
Long Beach Sunset – September 2016
Sunsets are addictive! Intense gorgeous light filtered through earths atmosphere as night begins to overtake day, is almost always stunning. What makes this photo a favorite of mine is the dune grass foreground. Without that texture and context, it would be ‘just another sunset’.
Beach Walk – December 2018
Bird life here is plentiful and diverse. In late fall to early winter large flocks of shorebirds migrate through. Over the years I’ve featured some, as I learned to identify what species they are. This shot was a moment of being in the ‘right place at the right time.’ The couple was walking away from where I stood, birds swirled through the air above them, and I took the photo.
Jello at Sunrise – October 2017
If you follow my blog, you have seen this photo before. Mist had settled into the dunes as we crested the berm heading toward the beach. I stopped to see where Jello was and saw her silhouetted in ‘the golden hour,’ confirmation that light in early morning truly is magnificent.
Fierce Bald Eagle – May 2020
During the initial two plus months of COVID19 shutdown, we opted to stay at our condominium in Long Beach. Twice a day Jello and I walked along the beach and resident Bald Eagles became accustomed to our presence. Always keeping a distance, so as not to intrude, I was blessed to get some great photos using the telephoto feature on my camera. The lesson here is, ‘just keep taking shots, you don’t have to pay to develop them, you can delete all that are blurry or blah, and once in a while you get something extraordinary!’
Wishing everyone safe harbor, as we navigate onward. Please mask-up and stay safe.🐾
Walking With Eagles is a collection of original poems and photographs by Lindy Low Le Coq. A lifelong naturalist, amateur photographer and bird enthusiast, Lindy’s verse, composition and photographs open a window into the essence of her subjects. Her poems and photography reflect the rich natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest.
Bald Eagles mature over the course of five years. Walking With Eagles invites the reader to take a poetic and visual tour of this odyssey.
view ~ Walking With Eagles ~ in top menu bar for a preview, though the folio is much nicer!
Lindy Low LeCoq 
~ April Poetry Month ~ Daily Haiku and Social Commentary ~
These are not pretty. They are distillations of my observations and study of human behavior since I began to differentiate myself from others.
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