Two for Tuesday (experimental)

Posted on by Prior...

The weekly photo challenge this week is experimental.  I experimented by taking this photo of a colorful tree through the trunk of a Crepe Myrtle tree.

Trees from Richmond, VA (11-2017)

I have a few more photos to share for a “Two for Tuesday” experimental post:

Sugar & Carbs stand from Virginia Beach, VA (11-2017)
Russ (cool dude) from Richmond, VA (9-2017)
Art from Charlottesville, VA (9-2017)
As the holidays roll in –  maybe we need more places like this – “lifesaving services” for holiday chaos rescue….

One bonus photo of our doggies when they were pups:

Commodore Cody and Sir Steven Paul of Canterbury Royale (9-2005)

Wishing you a nice Tuesday.

Oh – and many of us think of Narami on Tuesdays – because for many years she has hosted the Tuesdays of Texture challenge from her perch in Puerto Rico. And…. as we all know, Puerto Rico was hit by Hurricane Maria on September 20th, 2017 (here) and it has been a long road to recovery.

Narami has posted a few updates on her blog – and one from last week was moving.

Here is a snippet:

“The first time I drove out of my house after hurricane María, three days after it went right through us; through our island and through our hearts, and through our lives, and through our dreams – three days after it went through our futures, for now we will talk of the days before the hurricane and the days after the hurricane and no one will even have to ask ‘which hurricane?’ Because everyone will know – the roads looked like they do on those ‘end of the world’ movies. Every few feet there was a tree or power pole and I had to keep going from one side of the road to the other. There was no zinc piece of ceiling in it’s place and they all lay on the ground looking like someone curled them as you curl a ribbon with scissors under a balloon.

I cried.

It hurt. Every single broken thing hurt. I also felt alive, very consciously alive “I am living right now, in this broken place” I thought and I felt the air in my lungs and I held on to the steering wheel, feeling it under my hands, and I felt my hair on my cheeks. Everything looked surreal….”

and then this:

“A month after the hurricane went through us, right through us all, something peculiar happened: Puerto Rican flags started to pop up everywhere. In front of stores, in houses, in cars. It looks like we are celebrating Tito Trinidad winning a new belt, or a new Puerto Rican Miss Universe, or Monica Puig winning the gold medal. We were celebrating our lives. It is a wink to our compatriots, it is a hand in the shoulder, a “I know it’s a challenge, but you can do it”, a “don’t give up”, a “you’re doing good”.

The spirit of our people was shaken, but not destroyed.”

Go here for more – and let’s keep them in our prayers and also help in ways that we are able.

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56 thoughts on “Two for Tuesday (experimental)”

    1. thanks so much amy – 🙂
      and PR is hartd for me to fully grasp too – but I do think once they recover it could have great advantages – and I think good things are in store there with the leadership and future economy (hope so at least)

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  6. Love all of your photos! I now know the name of the trees I photographed some time ago but haven’t used yet (Crepe Myrtle)! LOL! I love your puppy photos; so precious! What beautiful sentiments from your friend in Puerto Rico. She brought tears to my eyes — first very sad followed by hope and happiness for the resilience of people. Have a wonderful week, my friend! 😀 ❤

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    1. Hi Linda – and you are in Crepe Mrytle heaven down in GA…. and I have a few older posts referencing those trees because I love them (and find it hard to believe some folks do NOT care for them – like recently met some and they had a few reasons)

      And the blog friend from Puerto Rico is Narami – you might have seen folks joining in her Tuesday Texture challenge over the years – I think it was badfisb’s first challenge – ha! And quick factoid about Narami – she has been blogging the longest out of anyone I know (maybe the Doobsters had her beat) but I think more than 15 years – !!!

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      1. Wow, I don’t think I would have known what a blog was 15 years ago! LOL! Sending you Happy Thanksgiving wishes, my friend, and prayers for all the best for your and yours! Love and hugs! 😀

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  7. Love the contrast in some of the photos especially cool dude…it’s like me before and after a long day at work…hehehehe. Puerto Rico is in my thoughts always, even from my side of the world…I hope that things will get better soon for everyone there…

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Those work for me. As for Puerto Rico and all the other places where there’s been so much destruction, the most important thing is to remember that they will need help for a very long time. Hard to imagine so much gone. Thanks for the reminder.

    janet

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    1. Hi Janet – you brought up two great points (thx) but recovery efforts are still underway for many Americans too – and I guess Puerto Rico should be back to full power by mid December – and today I heard that about 60,000 Haitians living in the US have been told they have 18 months to go back home to Haiti’ – they were here temporarily after the 2010 earthquake and well – how do we send some back who have children who are legal citizens? So layered!
      And second – you are also so right about the Ongoing healing and trauma recovery – Blog 538 recently wrote about that and I will try and share it at some point cos it was so good – thanks for the rich comment and have a good night

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  11. Such a moving account of life after the hurricane. Your blog friend is very brave. It’s really going to be a long process. Love your pairs of photos, Yvette. The puppies are adorable and the cool dude’s hair made me smile. He looks like a really good sport. 🙂

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    1. hi S! Nice to “see” u and again – dry glad your part of Florida was spared recently – whew
      And thx for the comment – long process for sure ((never the same but can have good fruits ))

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I think my reply was cut off –
      Well my experimental approach was to practice taking a photo of a tree through the crepe myrtle tree (framed it and I just changed the focus to first grab some tree trunk detail and in the second one less foreground and more far tree – something like that)
      🤔

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  15. Pingback: Experimental Skies 3 (Africa) – What's (in) the picture?

  16. Yvette, these twinned photos are wonderful! i especially enjoyed the two-men-in-a-window – so fun! and the fellow standing in the aisle with dreadlocks. Thank you for the update from PR. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  17. That last portion is a striking contrast to the first. I like the two-fers. I less like destruction, but of course, the real message is the unbreakable spirit of those who move forward. ❤

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    1. thanks Joey…. and you are right about the contrast – this was unplanned to pair the posts – but it was difficult to not mention Narami on a Tuesday post (because she has done that Tuesday challenge for so long…)
      thanks for reading

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  18. I was sad about Puerto Rico, too. I hope they get the assistance they need. I hate to say this but just being honest, I like to try to provide extras for my grandchildren (gloves, mittens and boots in winter for example) and cannot spare much. I live simply in a one bedroom apartment. . .
    I gave to the bell ringer outside the grocery store, I give gently worn clothes to the Goodwill, etc. . . I wish I had more to share!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. well my friend – you might be sharing more than some of the wealthy – ya know?
      and sometimes “many people” overlook the small differences (which are huge) and so you keep doing what you are doing and let God lead ya. There is a time to give and a time to refrain from giving…. and there are many ways to give so it really is individual and can change season to season…. eh?

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      1. Yes, thank you. This was thoughtful of you to say.
        I do feel this is true but I guess my heart would be to give more, especially to the children who need food. They always are on my mind. . . I hope it may change in the years ahead, Yvette.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. well don’t even get me started on the topic of how giving is sometimes equated with big dollars.
          I know someone who is working hard (almost lusting for big bucks) and claims he wants to use part of it for water wells in third world countries – and I get it – I do – but sometimes we put undo pressure on ourselves to provide in ways that feed the ego or pride. I also see this at Christmas – where parents want to give big “material” gifts to their kids and then feel like a loser if they don’t – but in reality – the short term high from a material gift is not what intrinsically inspires children (or humans) and so while we can bless with large gifts at times – i think some folks need to rethink the matter… hm

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        2. I agree, Yvette. I realize when my grandies and I go on flashlight hikes and go to parks these are much more valuable than money. I sometimes wish to do more, but it comes from when I was involved with projects that helped people. By helping raise good grandchildren, I am doing my “part” for the time being. My daughters (DIL) who make things for the kids and others, they are giving of their precious time and talent. We are on the same page, I believe (or close to it! 😊)

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        3. yes – I feel we are on the same page –
          and speaking of christmas gifts – many years ago we told our kids that if we had a giant gift for them – we would actually wait until February or even summer – just so it did not become associated with Christmas and grandiose gifts – we did do big gifts one year but after that we just wanted to draw healthy boundaries and all that – hmmm ya know?

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        6. yes -I agree – it is fun to participate and I bet the grandchildren enjoy your decor – and your joy…. you sound like such a gift of a mom and grandmom

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  19. The photos to me all are great, maybe choosing the darker ones of the tree and the male customer behind the glass. The fun in this was studying and thinking of your editing skills, Yvette. 😊🎖

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    1. hi – thanks for the nice comment. I like your choices. And actually I did not do much editing at all. I just took a couple of photos and so by standing a little to the right or left seemed to change things up a bit….

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        1. yes- I do adjust my pics quite often too – and isn;t a fun day and age to be able to do this so easily – ahhhh
          (and thanks for coming back to reply Robin)

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        3. well we have to do what we have to do – and less can be more while visiting blogs – maybe make certain visits throughout the year – and keep in touch – ya know

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  20. I enjoyed your experiment in photography. It’s difficult to choose one pair as a favorite since they all have something special about them. Dod you ask the rasta guy if you could photograph him or is he a friend? I hesitate to randomly take photos of people. I’m afraid they’ll attack. lol
    Anyway, thanks for the direction to Narami’s blog. Her words are eloquent. I went through Hurricane Irma(in a shelter) and then Hurricane Maria caused devastation to the island I went to every summer. It was like summer camp. My parents are buried there. And, I have a brother there too. It’s overwhelming to see the video’s. I cried more tears than I ever thought I had. I’m going to chak out her blog. Thanks again …
    Isadora 😎

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Isadora 🙂
      please let me know if you checked out her blog – 🙂 and thanks for sharing your experience – Irma was rough, eh? We have rode out a few hurricanes but never in a shelter (thankfully)
      and yes, I asked for the photograph.
      I sometimes grab candid shots – but try to be respectful and ethical and so I ask for permission like 98% of the time
      thanks for your visit

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      1. Yes … I visited Narami’s blog and read her heartfelt writings about hurricane maria. I’ve signed up for her blog and yours too. I felt a little better hearing her perspective on how things are going in PR. 😊
        I’m still recuperating from Irma. Our roof needs replacing – shingles flew everywhere; our screened lanai has no screens; our fence doors don’t close properly due to the bashing of winds and my poor orchid tree – my adult children’s gift for my 50th birthday – is still leaning with it’s roots exposed. The delays are from red tape and lack of materials and workers. Sad, but I don’t think the powers that be took proper care of being prepared. BUT … I’m alive and I have my health and love from my mate. It’s OK. 😄
        It’s been a pleasure meeting you through this WWW. Happy Season’s Greetings and May 2018 bring you more LOVE than your heart can hold.
        Isadora 😎

        Liked by 1 person

        1. oh thanks so much for sharing Isadora – because maybe a few that read will realize what some folks are still dealing with – and it just helps other things to keep people informed.
          and yikes – that tree might not be savable – please let me know – well actually I will be checking back in on your blog and look forward to staying connected.
          ttys

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        3. thanks for coming back – and never worry about visiting – I am sure you know this as a seasoned blogger – but many have told me that “the blogosphere will always be here” and sometimes life breaks make it nice to return – if you know what I mean – and hope the storm repairs are not to annoying! ugh

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