"How Geraldine Becomes a Frog Trainer"

At the edge of the pond, Geraldine lies belly down on a board, face to the water,
breathing
the smell of mud, green slime, frogs, raccoon poop, hot gingham
and sweat.  Her sweat.  The sun is a winter wood stove on a summer morning,
penetrating,
setting her hair on fire.  Her skin almost steams in the drifting morning mists.
She dangles fingers in the water, warm near the top and cool toward the bottom.
Imperceptibly, she moves her hand toward the frog hanging in the water
inches away.
Moves it again, watching the tadpoles nibbling at the mud, watching the hellgramites
stalking the tadpoles.  The sun rises further.  The shadows shift
over the duckweed.  A heron lands a few feet away.  Geraldine
breathes
in slowly.  The frog doesn't move.  She lets out her breath, inches her hand
closer. 
A mosquito lands on her leg, just below the hem of her dress. She inches
her left hand
slowly
to the spot, but not in time to stop the bite.  Slowly she scratches
and inches her right hand closer
to the frog.  A cardinal lands on the tip of a half submerged branch, walks
foot over foot to the water, dips its black beak in, raises it's head, points
the beak skyward, and drinks.  Geraldine slips her fingers closer
to the frog.  She can almost touch it. 
The cardinal flies, a flash of red over the pond and through the thin trees.
A moment later, the paler female
takes it places, hops along the branch, bobbing the twigs toward the water.
Circles move out from the branch; duckweed ripples, rising and falling. The cardinal
takes a slow drink.  Geraldine makes one
tiny motion
closer,
strokes the frog belly.  The frog twitches slightly, then relaxes.  Doesn't swim away.
She strokes again
and again.  The belly; then slowly, the back.  Slips her hand around the frog
and pulls it closer, stroking, cooing.
With a rapid jab, the heron grabs
a frog.  Not Geraldine's frog, who now, for this moment,
sits placid in her hand,
safe.




Mary Stebbins Taitt

"In the Beginning"

In the beginning comes the need. Then, a moment later, or a week or a year, comes the idea to fill that need. And everything must follow from that little seed, planted and watered, tended carefully, sheltered from storms, loved and beloved, on into time.

"Sun King"

This is a Picasa treatment of a photo by Gail Slaughter.

"Blue View"

This a Picasa treatment of a photograph taken by Gail Slaughter.

"Water Lilies"

In the dead of winter it's nice to have something beautiful to look at. This is a photo by Mary Stebbins Taitt that accomplishes that feat marvelously. Just look at the delicate colors! Pale pink, yellow, white... a touch of water blue and leaf green... it won't be long before these things return!

"Icicle Detail 1"

Photo: Dennis Whitehead

Crop and process: Adobe

By: Michael Serafin

"Log Across the River"

An absolutely wonderful winter picture by Dennis Whitehead, sent in by Gail Slaughter.

"Tree Circle"

Is this a cosmic tambourine? Not exactly. It's a new work by Kate Jackson, of Messing, England. Also see "Circle of Hearts" below for more information. Kate's link is

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/gallery.asp?memberID=69463

The Bell Tower

This is Beaumont Tower, the iconic image of Michigan State University, where I received my BA in Radio and Television.

The campus is beautiful and very scenic to walk, known especially for its many varieties of trees and its botanical gardens.

The campus is well worth the visit, and is located in East Lansing, Michigan, about 35 miles north of my home in Jackson.

"Circle of Hearts"

"Circle of Hearts"---a new project by Mary Stebbins Taitt, in a technique which was suggested to her by Kate Jackson.

I understand from Mary that this project is "still under construction", and we may see updates later.

.

MARY SAYS: "After seeing Kate's tree circle, and loving it I wanted to learn that technique. I tried several earlier attempts from which I learned this: to get a full circle using Polar Coordinates, you need to use a square and place the items you want to make a circle of about 1/4 of the way up the square, all the way across. Then you simply apply the Polar Coordinates filter in Photoshop and presto, you have a circle. A little tweaking of the elements ahead of time seems to produce the best results. You want them to be even and symmetrical for the best results."

See more of Mary's work at http://imagik.blogspot.com/