Detours

Please note: I’ve been working on Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, literally, all week. It takes time to sort and develop the best of six hundred photographs, and despite being behind on posting, I needed a break. Thanks for bearing with me.

Update: 73 more photographs are uploading as I type this — check the gallery when you have a moment, and stop back by tomorrow [Saturday, March 28 —Ed.] for the rest.

Update 2, Sunday 29th: Still working on the rest, sorry; have been pretty sick this weekend, and haven’t spent nearly as much time in front of the computer as I should have, let along wanted to. Back ASAP.

Spring in Macon is a beautiful time of year. After spending the week chained to the desk, watching the blooms through my office window, I needed to get out for a minute — and the mini-refresh worked perfectly. I was up and back at the desk before six this morning. Nice.

Started the evening at the Sidney Lanier Cottage here in Macon, attending a lecture by photographer Walter Elliott, “From the Cutting Room Floor,” on what didn’t make it into his two books.

I’m not sure which I enjoyed more: the talk and slide show, or the interaction of a room full of Maconites who have known each other a long time — great stuff, either way.

Here’s Walter in the Q&A:

Walter’s Lecture

I ducked out of the wine-and-tasties event to head down to Cherry Street for the Thursday ritual with some folks I’ve known a long time now. And some I’m happy to just be getting to know.

Including the same precocious mop of curls highlighted at the end of my previous post:

Bug Hug #1

I’ve been working on my photographs’ framing recently, and am very happy with how that one turned out. The follow-up is pretty darned good, too, even if “conventionally” framed:

Bug Hug #2

Recently, Cocktail Hour has started small and built as the evening goes on; I usually leave well before it ends. (I want to drive home safely — they are cocktails, after all, and I’m not a walker like most.) There’s a benefit in that, though: I get dibs on the snacks.

Like the fat-free (not) cheese-and-sausage dip, or this, for which I even asked after the recipe:

Fantastic Salsa

Giles, photographing chips and salsa. Yup, about right.

While on the subject, have to mention this:

Sunset Rose, Enjoyed

Free, from the local Fresh Market earlier in the week.

“You must have looked like you needed it,” Gerald quipped.

Guess you could say that, together with a great community and some good friends, it got me back into a salsa sort of mood…;)

Enjoy all 22 photographs from this week’s Cocktail Hour here. Thanks, Kim!