caucus99percent free-range politics, organic community

Hopefully, the future is a bit more forgiving than stone.

An errant leaf I think. I was busy trying to get Bollox minor to stand still.

The 'wall hanging' is actually a much used scratching post.

Purfleet was in make-up for three hours for the shot. A real trouper.

—

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 7:51pm

I like errant surprises in photos.

And I thought your well scratched wall hanging was a piece of modern art. I think I need to take off my rose coloured glasses!

How perfectly accomodating Purfleet is. Give her my regards.

Submitted by Bollox Ref on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 8:26pm

I'll tell her when she's filling out forms

at The Complaints Dept.

—

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 8:48pm

So, you're both the file clerk and mediator.

I don't envy your position.

When you give her my regards you can also mention that she's not the only one that counts ; ).

Submitted by Socialprogressive on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 7:31pm

Thanks for Fri photos this week BR. I really like your second photo.
Due to a home improvement project I haven't been able to get out and shoot much lately so here are some shots from a trip to Hearst Castle from a while back.

The Castle

The Guest Cottage

The Formal Dinning Room

The Pool Room

The other Pool Room

View of the Pacific

—

I'm great at multi-tasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at the same time.

Submitted by Bollox Ref on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 7:44pm

Thanks Socialprogressive

That formal dining room reminds me of the state dining room at Windsor Castle, although the latter is a little larger and the gothic style less exuberant (i.e., English).

Quite the house.

—

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by Socialprogressive on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:13pm

Quite the house indeed

@Bollox Ref @Bollox Ref
Although those dining room chairs don't look very comfortable. I think if I had to sit in one for more than twenty minutes my back would be barking something fierce.

—

I'm great at multi-tasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at the same time.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 7:55pm

Decades ago I visited the Hearst Estate.

It blew me away at the time. I have never forgotten the fanciful images that I was left with trying to imagine life there at the time there was life there.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 7:58pm

Thank you Socialprogressive, for the visual reminder.

What was your impression?

Submitted by Socialprogressive on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:37pm

My impression

@janis b
Excessive opulence.

—

I'm great at multi-tasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at the same time.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:58pm

A little like the current state of things,

in the house that Trump built, and millions have to endure.

What's the emoji for spewing?

Submitted by magiamma on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 11:49pm

I so love that cool pool room

in the basement with the blues and turquoise and gold. So refreshing on a hot day.

—

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Submitted by Socialprogressive on Sat, 02/18/2017 - 8:59am

I was tempted to go for a dip

@magiamma

but I couldn't find anyone to hold my camera.

—

I'm great at multi-tasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at the same time.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 7:46pm

While at the Auckland Art Gallery this week

I took a few photos of the gallery’s large collection of paintings of Maoris, by Gottfried Lindauer. I thought you might be interested in seeing a couple of these portraits.

Submitted by joe shikspack on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:18pm

wow!

those are awesome portraits, janis. that's a gallery i'd love to visit.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 10:01pm

I'm sure you would love it,

and be fortified by. Wish I could share it with you. I'll post a couple more next week for your pleasure.

Submitted by magiamma on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 11:52pm

Pretty amazing

portraits. It's interesting how the surface design changes the context of the face.

—

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 8:16pm

Evening! Here's a close-up of Westminster BIS, GSD 'Rumor,'

Apparently, only the second GSD to win 'the big dog show.' Still miss our neighbor GSD, 'Cujo.' (who moved)

Thanks for tonight's photography OT, BR; and, thanks to all the excellent Caucus photographers for their contribution to this thread.

Everyone, have a nice weekend!

Mollie

"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."
____Author Unknown

The original meaning of “fiscal conservative” may be gone. In fact, Democrats have had a better claim on the label in recent years than Republicans.
____David Leonhardt, Journalist, NYT, January 9, 2017

—

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 8:41pm

Evening Mollie.

Thank you for beautiful Rumor.

Here is Ernie, part Shepherd I always assumed. She was the most beloved by me.

@Unabashed Liberal

Submitted by magiamma on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 11:55pm

Thanks Mollie

@Unabashed Liberal

Beautiful German Shepard. I had one when I was growing up. It was my job to walk her. She was so smart.

—

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Submitted by magiamma on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:14pm

something a bit different this week

Beach Shoe
Beach Shoe.jpg

But wait there's more...
At 5am yesterday I received a text from P. There was an incident in Beach Flats with ‘ice’. There were incidents in Live Oak, on Ocean St. and others likely.

At 5:15 I texted everyone I had on my list. No one replied. I tried calling. Nothing. I finally called J. He answered.

We had no specific location. I went there alone. I drove around looking. It was dark. And empty.

By the time I found the location J and M were already there. AND so was a reporter from San Francisco with camera in hand. He was interviewing J. He said there were four locations. He had information. After all, he had come down from San Francisco and was on the ground at 4:30am. He said he had sources.

We need those sources.

I spoke with a man on the street and offered to leave red cards (know your rights) and guardianship papers for the neighborhood. M was already talking to people in an apartment that had been ‘visited’. The door had been broken down.

I took pictures of the door and of the warrant.

It was for the boyfriend of the daughter of the couple that lived there. There were several children present – a ~three year old and a young girl around ~12. There may have been others. A neighbor was there and she said a woman and a young child had been put into the back of the ‘paddy wagon’ with no warm clothes and no shoes. And it was really cold out. Someone was finally allowed to bring warm clothes out to them. The neighbor planned to call for counseling later.

M said we needed to call a meeting with all the people on the ground.

I made some calls. By 10:30 there were ~30 people at the Center. People went around in a circle and spoke.

There was a woman who had one son in San Francisco taken and one here. There was another local woman who also had her house entered and her door broken down. People from Live Oak said that there were a lot of loud sounds from different locations which happened simultaneously at ~5am. We were told of a couple in San Francisco who was taken with their daughter and hoped to have their young daughter stay with their family. They were looking for legal help. A took incident reports.

We discussed what we needed to do to organize and broke into work groups.

In conclusion, I want to emphasize that - the faces of the people - who had their homes raided, their doors broken down, their belongings rifled through and their children traumatized – their faces – are indelibly imprinted on my mind. Forever. Fuck this shit.

Broken Door.jpg

—

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Submitted by joe shikspack on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:31pm

evening magiamma...

@magiamma

thanks for sharing. it sounds like there's a poignant essay lurking in your comment yearning to get out.

Beach Shoe But wait there's more... At 5am yesterday I received a text from P. There was an incident in Beach Flats with ‘ice’. There were incidents in Live Oak, on Ocean St. and others likely. At 5:15 I texted everyone I had on my list. No one replied. I tried calling. Nothing. I finally called J. He answered. We had no specific location. I went there alone. I drove around looking. It was dark. And empty. By the time I found the location J and M were already there. AND so was a reporter from San Francisco with camera in hand. He was interviewing J. He said there were four locations. He had information. After all, he had come down from San Francisco and was on the ground at 4:30am. He said he had sources. We need those sources. I spoke with a man on the street and offered to leave red cards (know your rights) and guardianship papers for the neighborhood. M was already talking to people in an apartment that had been ‘visited’. The door had been broken down. I took pictures of the door and of the warrant. It was for the boyfriend of the daughter of the couple that lived there. There were several children present – a ~three year old and a young girl around ~12. There may have been others. A neighbor was there and she said a woman and a young child had been put into the back of the ‘paddy wagon’ with no warm clothes and no shoes. And it was really cold out. Someone was finally allowed to bring warm clothes out to them. The neighbor planned to call for counseling later. M said we needed to call a meeting with all the people on the ground. I made some calls. By 10:30 there were ~30 people at the Center. People went around in a circle and spoke. There was a woman who had one son in San Francisco taken and one here. There was another local woman who also had her house entered and her door broken down. People from Live Oak said that there were a lot of loud sounds from different locations which happened simultaneously at ~5am. We were told of a couple in San Francisco who was taken with their daughter and hoped to have their young daughter stay with their family. They were looking for legal help. A took incident reports. We discussed what we needed to do to organize and broke into work groups. In conclusion, I want to emphasize that - the faces of the people - who had their homes raided, their doors broken down, their belongings rifled through and their children traumatized – their faces – are indelibly imprinted on my mind. Forever. Fuck this shit.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 10:02pm

Yes!

Submitted by magiamma on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 11:42pm

Thanks Joe

I wish I had the time. 650+ were taken throughout the US and 150 in CA. The strategy of this is frightening. The press release from our police was out by noon. All about controlling the dialogue. All about gangsters, criminals. Can you say Crimination?

—

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:49pm

Damn, magiamma.

@magiamma

Thank you for paying witness to this unthinkable tragedy, that is sickening to its core; and for mobilising something more constructive.

The single, lost shoe photo you posted is perfectly reminiscent of this tragic loss of life, in one form or the other.

I'm sorry.

Beach Shoe But wait there's more... At 5am yesterday I received a text from P. There was an incident in Beach Flats with ‘ice’. There were incidents in Live Oak, on Ocean St. and others likely. At 5:15 I texted everyone I had on my list. No one replied. I tried calling. Nothing. I finally called J. He answered. We had no specific location. I went there alone. I drove around looking. It was dark. And empty. By the time I found the location J and M were already there. AND so was a reporter from San Francisco with camera in hand. He was interviewing J. He said there were four locations. He had information. After all, he had come down from San Francisco and was on the ground at 4:30am. He said he had sources. We need those sources. I spoke with a man on the street and offered to leave red cards (know your rights) and guardianship papers for the neighborhood. M was already talking to people in an apartment that had been ‘visited’. The door had been broken down. I took pictures of the door and of the warrant. It was for the boyfriend of the daughter of the couple that lived there. There were several children present – a ~three year old and a young girl around ~12. There may have been others. A neighbor was there and she said a woman and a young child had been put into the back of the ‘paddy wagon’ with no warm clothes and no shoes. And it was really cold out. Someone was finally allowed to bring warm clothes out to them. The neighbor planned to call for counseling later. M said we needed to call a meeting with all the people on the ground. I made some calls. By 10:30 there were ~30 people at the Center. People went around in a circle and spoke. There was a woman who had one son in San Francisco taken and one here. There was another local woman who also had her house entered and her door broken down. People from Live Oak said that there were a lot of loud sounds from different locations which happened simultaneously at ~5am. We were told of a couple in San Francisco who was taken with their daughter and hoped to have their young daughter stay with their family. They were looking for legal help. A took incident reports. We discussed what we needed to do to organize and broke into work groups. In conclusion, I want to emphasize that - the faces of the people - who had their homes raided, their doors broken down, their belongings rifled through and their children traumatized – their faces – are indelibly imprinted on my mind. Forever. Fuck this shit.

Submitted by magiamma on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 11:37pm

yeah, really sad

Thanks Janis

—

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Submitted by Daenerys on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:16pm

hello all.

pied-billed grebe

Canada goose

Redhead drake

Pied-billed grebe

American coot

—

This shit is bananas.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 10:06pm

The American Coot

@Daenerys

is very Cute. I like the peek of white in its tail feather complimenting its outstanding white beak. Thanks for seeing it for me.

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:24pm

Hi, Janis--thank you for sharing your

lovely Ernie's photo. I like that you gave her a name that is sometimes associated with male dogs--we did, too, when we named our female Terrier Mix, 'Murphee.'

I attempted to feminize the spelling a bit, which was rather silly. Actually, I named her after Candice Bergen's character--Murphy Brown. Turned out that the name fit her to a tee, except that our Murphee was more mellow in disposition, than her teevee namesake. I did enjoy the show, though.

Have an enjoyable weekend!

Mollie

—

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 10:22pm

I wish I could take credit for Ernie's name, which was perfect

@Unabashed Liberal

for her. I inherited her at 8 years old, the sister of Bert (who I never met), and loved her (and she me, my husband, and my daughter) for the next 10 years.

A distant acquaintance was moving to England, which would have meant a 6 month quarantine for Ernie. Unimaginable. She was one of my life's greatest gifts. Now I'm crying.

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 10:57pm

I know the feeling--

'cause I teared up yesterday at the Veterinary Hospital when they put me and 'the B' in a cozy living room, until an exam room was available. (We had to be worked in, since I didn't have an appointment.)

Several years ago, they remodeled the room to make a small living room where folks could say a final good-bye to their furry friends--instead of doing so in a stainless steel, sterile exam room. We waited there instead of in the regular waiting room, since 'the B' is very fearful, and easily threatened by other animals, especially dogs.

Anyway, we said a final goodbye to two of our dogs in that room. One, quite a number of years ago, when it was still an exam room; and five years ago, when we were forced to say goodbye to 'Murphee.'

On the bright side--no one can take away our precious memories!

Mollie

—

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 11:11pm

Dear Mollie,

@Unabashed Liberal @Unabashed Liberal

I hope your wait for some positive news is realised. I’m happy that you have the opportunity to be cosy while hoping and wishing. That’s a special vet you have.

How precious are our memories that sustain us.

All the best, Mollie, and Mr. B.

* Edited in respect of Mr. B.

Submitted by joe shikspack on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:24pm

evening bollox, folks...

thanks for putting up the photo diary! and thanks to everybody for your contributions, i love checking out everybody's recent photos.

here's one i shot last weekend:

AS4B0882-ledb-s

Submitted by Bollox Ref on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:28pm

Joe, do you have a large garden?

—

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by joe shikspack on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:36pm

heh...

ms. shikspack has a lovely garden, but most of my floral shots come from longwood gardens, which is huge. their conservatory is 4 acres under glass and there are hundreds of acres of outdoor gardens, forest and fields to wander.

Submitted by Bollox Ref on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:31pm

I've got to go

Here are a couple of swans on the River Otter.

—

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 10:34pm

Exiting with the grace of swans. Nice Bollox.

Thank you.

[video:https://youtu.be/3qrKjywjo7Q]

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:33pm

Daenerys, I always enjoy you bird photos--thanks! And

thanks to all for the gorgeous and interesting photos which have been posted since I got back from a late dinner--all I can say is 'Wow!'

Mollie

—

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by Daenerys on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 11:47pm

Hi Mollie

@Unabashed Liberal I'm glad you enjoy them.

It's always interesting to see the array of photography posted.
I saw Windsor Castle in 2006 (oof, has it really been that long ago already?!); we weren't allowed to take photos inside and my memories are fading.

—

This shit is bananas.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 9:58pm

Not my photo

This was taken by SANGEETA DEY who is a photographer I follow.
This is another reason why I miss living in California. Yosemite was a two hour drive from the city I lived in and I would have gone there and tried to capture this photo event which only happens a couple weeks in February if the conditions are right.

Here's the link to the article
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/02/how-to-photo...

—

Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 10:41pm

Thank you very much for posting this image. It is one

@snoopydawg

of the most fantastic images I've ever seen.

Somehow, the fact that it was photographed by a neuropsychologist makes it even more interesting. It's undeniably a flash of brilliance, of both body and mind.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 02/18/2017 - 12:24am

Here's a link to her FB page

@janis b and a video of the sun creating the photo.
In the article I posted a link to she says that she uses a cable release so she can take pictures while watching it happen.
https://www.facebook.com/Sangeeta-Dey-Photography-1517984581792608/?hc_r...
I love looking at her work as well as others on this website.
http://fineartamerica.com/art/photographs
I have my photos on this site as well as my other site but so do a lot of other people and I haven't gotten any orders from it.
I'm hoping one day to get a shower curtain with one of my photos on it. If you want to see what they look like then click on someone's photos and you can see what other items you can purchase with their photos on them. It's a great idea, but when there are thousands of people trying to sell their work it's hard to get noticed.

—

Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?

Submitted by janis b on Sat, 02/18/2017 - 2:29pm

Thanks for those links snoopy,

@snoopydawg

I will very happily look at them later when I will have time. The cable release is the perfect solution!

Submitted by magiamma on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 11:45pm

Bollox I love the orange

on orange. I did not know that pur(r)fleet had a collar of an orange color. Purrfection.

—

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Submitted by magiamma on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 11:59pm

Thanks for the birds, Daenerys

Really beautiful pictures. So makes me want to go birding.

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Submitted by magiamma on Sat, 02/18/2017 - 12:01am

Snoopydawg

Thanks for sharing this amazing picture.

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation