efficient Agony™: 2014

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Bridging Seasons

Click on image to enlarge:

"Seasons approach, merge, cross, or unfold.

Beauty is often lost in the subtlety

of change bridging seasons."

-Rick Burnett Baker

Photo taken by R. Baker at Wolf Creek in Letchworth State Park, New York.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Bridging Beauty

Click on image to enlarge:

"Bridging beauty allows us to ignore it,

the destination the obvious flaw

of our journey."

-Rick Burnett Baker

Held

Click on image to enlarge:

"The Earth holds the forest,

the forest holds the Earth.

I hold my gaze."

-Rick Burnett Baker

Saturday, December 27, 2014

MUSCLE AND BONE: To Earth, Become...

Click on image to enlarge:

"Do not cling to the Earth:

Become it."

-Rick Burnett Baker

Friday, December 26, 2014

Muscle And Bone: Twigging Beauty

Click on image to enlarge:

"On fear we are fused as one

to twig beauty, as centuries

brittle our bones."

-Rick Burnett Baker

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Santa: After Christmas Sighting In Kendall, NY

BREAKING NEWS:

Santa has not gone back to the North Pole just yet. I've suspected it for many years, but he lands, and rests for a couple of days after Christmas.

During my afternoon drive in the country today, I caught a glimpse of him. He's hiding out in a shed near Kendall, NY before heading north across Lake Ontario and onwards to the North Pole.

No wonder it was so windy today! That will give him and the reindeer a nice tail-wind for flying back home.

When he saw me with my zoom lens, he darted back inside very quickly. One of the reindeer charged my car to shoo me away. Close call!

Click on image to enlarge:

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

© 2014 Rick Burnett Baker

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Roots To Gather Our Souls

Click on image to enlarge:

"We believe our inner selves

to be secret and forbidden.

Flowing rivers, raging seas,

violent storms, breaking dawn,

show us where to

gather our souls."

-Rick Burnett Baker

Monday, December 22, 2014

Rivers: They Come As They Go

Click on image to enlarge:

"A river doesn't wait for seasons.

There is no past tense in a river."

-Rick Burnett Baker

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Symbiosis

Click on image to enlarge:

"What autumn leaves

see as an ending,

the pond sees as

renewal."

-Rick Burnett Baker

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Beauty Unadorned

"The beauty of a stream and woods in winter

is in the reflection of every element laid bare."

-Rick Burnett Baker

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Remnants and Reality

"At some point

we become

windows to the past,

testaments to the future.

Beauty is found

in the marriage of both."

-Rick Burnett Baker

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Seasons Then & Now, Old & New

"Who am I beside new-fallen snow?"

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Forest Waltz

Dancing Tree

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Muscle or Bone: Trees Endure...

I turn my nose up at winter,

but force myself to walk

in the snow.

Trees endure.

But are they happy?

Friday, December 12, 2014

Silence In Winter

There is a silence in winter that belies the brutality of its nature: Unsettling beauty flows within.

Photo/Text © 2014 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo taken December 11, 2014 by R. Baker. Holt Road, Webster, NY.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Muscle or Bone™

"Shield me in your arms, between delicate folds of power."

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Round Table Challenge Prompt: Cali-(k)nights

THE ROUND TABLE CHALLENGE

Photo: "The Last Trip" by Macro Art

Cali-(k)nights

San Andreas motif

decked the walls.

(we were on a budget)

Highway 1 spooled

across time. Motel

sheets served more

than one purpose.

Luxury's an afterthought.

The only thing better

than seven on the

richter scale was

you swimming in

Russian River red;

me, extra dry.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Life In A Second-Hand Shop

We cling to our former selves: Don't judge.

You can't wait for this or that to happen,

then complain that time flies.

We can't wait.

Sometimes beauty is simply being alive.

Photo/Text © 2014 Rick Burnett Baker
Photos taken at Greenovation, Rochester, NY.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

A Day In The Life Of A Gray Day

There comes a time in November when autumn resembles spring in the shadings of the forest, the color of dying leaves, shadows on branches, and the smattering of snow between grass and trees.

Willow trees are among the last to loose their leaves. They're also one of the first to bud in spring. Willow is my favorite tree.

Today was cold and gray. Many people love winter and all the outdoor activities associated with the season.

Not me. I'm a fair-weather child. My freedom is in the sun, blue sky, heat, and being unencumbered by heavy coats, hats, and gloves.

My eyes sting in the bitter cold. Everyone's eyes do.

Some folks just won't admit it.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Be

Friday, November 21, 2014

Either/Or

"On the cusp of winter,

seasons compete for the pond.

Compromise is not an option."

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Deep Autumn

We are deep into Autumn now. The templet for winter is being set with gradual cold, gray days. I wait for words, for poetry, for a story. I'm empty. I'm like these trees, now naked to the sky, and remembering sunshine and warmth.

A few trees resist. The creek, also. But they will soon join the calendar and be frozen on the days, dreaming of spring.

November Creek:

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Father and Son: Poetry Without Words

Poetry Without Words

Looking through some photo files this evening I came across several shots I took in Cleveland, Ohio back in June of this year. I had forgotten about these photos, but remember now how I was touched
by the quite interaction between this father and his son. No iPads, no phones, no tablets: Just two people sharing their surroundings and being part of the world around them.

The way is should be!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Hilton, NY. Not Paris.

Subdued Autumn

The last day of October was cloudy in Western NY, and damp. I had a business appointment in Hilton, NY, but managed to snap a few photos of the waning colors and scenes of Autumn.

Sometimes a damp, chilly day can be oddly comforting. Sometimes.....

Monday, October 27, 2014

Gorge-ous Autumn Scenes

These are a few of the photos I took today along the Genesee Gorge Trail in Rochester, NY. It was a lazy walk, shambling through the leaves and shadowed pathways. Autumn colors are about at peak.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Blueprint Of You

metropolis

I had designs on you. skylines

and cityscapes, imposing eyes

to measure each breath. draw

the line at street corners, I said.

crosswalks cannot be foretold:

don't jaywalk. paths have been

carved from every inch of emotion.

you are a blueprint unfathomed.

comes time for the dedication.

ribbon-cutting; cornerstones;

handprints in cement; signs.

you are a time capsule, empty.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

After The Palette Dries

artist(s)

who are we after the palette dries,
colors blend, shapes form, un-form.

your life is defined by myriad patterns.
a sketch of recall you leave to imagination.

memory becomes narrative in abstract.
that was your art. it is my guide. I waver.

who are we after chapters end?
we are characters sketched on any

shape of paper or canvas. we are
ink drying like tears in blackest night.

Painting by my Aunt Jean Garner, circa 1990. Watercolor and ink on paper.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Magpie Tales 241: Peak Color

peak color

take your place beside

forest fodder. glory is a

wind-song journey captured.

entities have season, purpose;

resilience if not recourse.

we count days. we count.

someone captures our image

for posterity. we remember

as we forget. don't be sad:

color is progeny. you prevail.

Photo shared by Tess Kincaid.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Letchworth Park, NY: An Afternoon Drive

It was a pleasant October day, today. I took a drive to Letchworth State Park, NY. It is Near Mt. Morris, NY less than an hour south of Rochester. Here are a few select photos I took today. Enjoy!