Photo-Finish WINNER! In a Slug-Fest

Winning Photo (1 of 5) "General" Category
Wiki Science 2017 Science Photo Competition

Banana Slug (Ariolimax sp.) and the

Sword Fern of Damocles

Wiki_Science_Competition_2017_in_the_United_States

A bit of happy news arrived via email today, the above photo I submitted to Wiki Science photo competition back in November, 2017 was selected as one of five winners in the 'General' category.  There were 818 submissions for the general category and over 1100 photos/images submitted across five categories in the 2017.  All of the winners now move on to 'international competition'. 

When I first opened the email with the congratulations from Wiki Science, I thought, "Oh, that's kind of nice."  But I kept hitting a few more links, looking and reading deeper into the Wiki Science photo competition page; and the more I looked and the more I read, I had to begin beaming a bit to myself.  There are some fine photographs in there, and I was up against some professionals and a few extremely competent natural science hobbyist.  I am honored to be chosen along with such high caliber craftsmen.  I think of my self as merely a joyous explorationist (with a camera), not a photographer.  But this is a cool honor.

I serendipitously happened upon the photo competition when I googled Wikipedia to look up the genus and species names for the banana slug photo I was about to include on my Suneson Scenes blog, detailing our 2017 vacation stops.  This banana slug happened to be at Patrick Point State Park on California's North Coast [see A Far Piece From Home - Travelogue 2017v6: North Coast; August, 2017].  The life-long science and nature enthusiast in me feels a debt of gratitude to old Carl Linnaeus (Swedish botanist, 'Father of Taxonomy') and his binomial nomenclature classification, so I like to add genus and species names to my subjects when my subjects are interesting critters, and even sometimes to the flora.  While searching for the proper nomenclature, I noticed the invitation there in Wikipedia to upload any science photos that one wanted to share in this year's photo competition.  Yeah, I'll give it a shot - this banana slug looks like a winning slug if ever I saw one.

I knew I liked this photo, it had interesting and appealing symmetry and composition, mostly by luck.  I thought the background was a bit messy, but - it was only the background after all.  I liked the dynamic position of the banana slug, with the look and feel of an impending plummet to the forest floor captured as the slug dangles from the tip of the sword fern while feasting on its evening meal.  I do not know if my pun of a title helped my entry, playing off of the moral fable of the 'Sword of Damocles'.  A tale where Damocles, a court flatterer, opined to the king how wonderful to be so powerful and enjoy such an opulent and splendor-filled life.  The king offered Damocles a chance to taste such an envied life style, and Damocles willing accepted the offer.  While dining on rich food and being attended by servants he noticed that a razor-sharp sword had been suspended over his head by a mere single hair.  Damocles understood that peril and assassination were only an instant away from those seated in such a position of power, and excused himself from the feast.  Likewise, there is sword in this photo (albeit, a 'sword' fern) and the action takes place while feasting/feeding - at least in my mind the allusion worked.

There were hundreds of banana slugs out along the rim trail at Patrick Point State Park that evening as we scurried along toward Wedding Rock to catch the final rays of the sun as it slipped into the Pacific waters, but I stopped for a few fascinated moments to take a few photos of these large gastropods, and I would admit that such a moment has given me pleasure, not only for that moment of exploration and observation, but now for a little recognition of my good fortune to see and collect this photo and to be recognized for its composition.  It was a [banana] slug-fest out in those woods, but I came out of those woods a winner!

Happy New Year!

Here comes 2018.

For a nod to the old, the traditional, we have standing plans to gather with the McCords and the usual suspects - which includes two other families mas-y-menos their "kids".  We all just call this event, New Years at the Blue House.

The McCords have plans to sell their house, 2-story bunkhouse, barn and pasture and move back to the Dallas area in the coming year.  So Donna says. "Y'all, this is the last one - everyone do their darndest to get here this time!"

The Blue House
New Years Tradition at the McCord's
East Texas Estate

We had 18 answer the call, which included Inga and Sean winning the prize for 'furthest traveled' as they flew into Dallas from Portland on December 30.

It was everyone up and at 'em come morning of the 31st for our 104 mile journey to the Blue House where everyone was waiting to meet Sean.

Inga contemplates a pink
Girl Power Princess Sword in the Fireworks Warehouse

Part of the traditional New Year's Eve hoopla is to ignite our own pyrotechnics in the dirt drive off of the front porch as midnight approaches.  This spectacle is mainly the boys - but plenty of girls join in the thrill of making things explode, pop, boom and burst.  Sean was particularly pumped to throw his punk into the action, as he had never had an opportunity to feel the rush of launching exploding great balls of fire into the night; it isn't his fault he was raised in western Oregon where good, clean fun is outlawed.  There you are free to light up and inhale cannabis until you're as high as a bottle rocket, but you can't light up a bottle rocket while sober. We stopped 2/3 of the way out to the McCords to select some appealing pyro toys at one of the several warehouses opened for just such an occasion.

Racks and racks of explosive entertainment to choose from -
What do we need and what do we want?

Check out.
Check it all out.

Sean joined right in with all the good ol' boys and lit his share of artillery shells, roman candles, flaming fountains and fire crackers in proper celebratory fashion.

The Sunesons signed up to serve dinner to the gathering crowd on New Years Eve.  This year we decided to serve roast beef, buttered asparagus, pineapple + fruit salad with Italian bread.  Cheese cake for dessert.  It goes without saying that their was plenty of wine flowing at dinner too, including a few bottles imported from the Willamette Valley by Inga (who knows the vintner).

Fried Filipino Pork Rolls
are made fresh for a tasty mid-day appetizer

Donna's kitchen where snacks and meals seem constantly in preparation,  is one center of activity.  Once the snacks are finished, they rolled out of the kitchen to the other activity centers and served to those playing board games around the big dinner table and to those who are working feverishly to complete this year's jigsaw puzzle.

Plentiful snacks are to be had at the bar
on the periphery of the kitchen

Intense board game - who is the assassin? Who is the double agent?

The games is cleared off the dining table (briefly)
to make room for lunch

Brenda and Sue do there puzzling work
over cocktails and chatting now that all of  the
edge pieces are in place.

While dinner prep starts before all of the dirty dishes are even clean, the parlor activities begin anew, puzzles and board games.

The roast beef is in the oven and 18 people are working up an appetite.

Donna sets the "Kids Table" for
Dinner and Drinks

Done with lunch. Let the games resume!

Dinner dishes now cleared and cleaned.  It is time to move outside to ignite the night sky with our own fireworks display.

We add some color to the last night of 2017

This year we have to bundle up extra warm (and maybe that still wasn't enough) as it was around freezing with some tiny ice pellets falling into our smoke and tracers this year.

After the noise and smoke coming with much sound and fury, we retire to the warm indoors and get ready for the replay of the TV Times Square Ball-Drop Count Down... 5-4-3-2-1!  

Happy New Year!

James works on popping the top of a bottle of bubbly

Well, that year is over.  Let's all unwind and get ready for bed.

Inga and  Sean
Retire to the sofa after a long 2017 and a day of
Blue House Activities

A bright New Year's Day.  Pogo and I go for a walk down the hill to the pasture to see what 2018 looks like.  We'll be back before lunch to make sure we eat our greens for new year prosperity and our black-eyed peas for good luck.  A Texas tradition.

Pogo and I investigate the spring-fed stock pond
in the lower pasture

New Years Day
The sky is a bright blue
The air is crisp
and I hope it is a fruitful year for all of us!

Happy New Year to each and everyone!  Enjoy the journey.

Half-A-Holiday Visit

A bit of holiday cheer comes at us from text messages and a final old-fashioned voice on the cell phone: Inga will definitely make plans to return to Texas for a few days after Christmas and stay through New Year's Day so as to attend the traditional 4-family, multi-day and night gathering at the McCord's east Texas estate (know simply as "The Blue House") outside the Texas rural crossroads signed as Montalba.  Will her boyfriend Sean come? - yet to be determined, based on work schedules of course.  After a few days and working to make the pieces fall into place, Sean arranges to get a few days off over New Years.  Inga and Sean book a late flight for December 30 to arrive at Dallas' Love Field at 11 PM.

Inga come bearing bottles
for New Years at the Blue House.
Wine courtesy of Angel Vine - Vineyard owned
by one of Inga's college roomates 

Having raised the family here from start to finish, and racked up almost 30 years in the same place myself, I find it interesting to observe when our grown kids return to the place of their formative years with their sweethearts, I enjoy seeing what eating, entertainment venues and sights they choose to share with those with whom they have a close bond of affection.  A litmus test of sorts as to what we parents did to make a favorable impression on the kids. Last time (the first time) Inga brought Sean to town, Inga chose to bring Sean to a What-A-Burger (Texas homegrown burger chain), a Texas Rangers baseball game and a few other local sights.  This time, for Sean's second visit, Inga requested that we go to eat at Cafe Brazil; a coffee shop and casual artistic diner with original art hung generously around the two dining rooms with a Texas-flair menu specializing in breakfast, but with plenty of other toothsome items served 24 hours a day.  A perfect selection for a late night arrival into town.  Come down to Texas Sean and we'll fill your belly with some good Cafe Brazil fixin's.  Inga says she has been "talking up Cafe Brazil to Sean for awhile" - now comes the proof.

I think we can say that everyone enjoyed what was set before them late that night toward the end of the year.

A late Christmas Gift - save the shipping since
we'll be in town a few days after Christmas anyway

The four of us overnighted here in Garland, but the main event is to get out 104 miles southeast of the Suneson place to Anderson County and our traditional Blue House New Years cooking-eating-snacking-visiting-cooking-puzzling-snacking-pyrotechnic boomapaloooza-drinking-gaming-snacking and eating celebration.  Same as it ever was, except the once young kids now have jobs girlfriends and boyfriends and don't arrive in a van with their parents, nor do they like to do what their parents tell them to do; like I said, same as it ever was.

Sean takes a seat after flying in from Portland
for New Years at the Blue House
with Inga & Parents

Donna McCord says that they have intentions to put the Blue House on the market and move back to the Dallas area in 2018.  So everyone please come and make this New Year's at the Blue House extra crowded and extra special!  Inga heard and answered the call and was pleased to bring Sean along to get a taste of some of her pleasant childhood memories with some close family friends.

We'll need to get up early(ish), especially for those still on Pacific Time, and get out to East Texas, since we're in charge of cooking tonight's dinner; roast beef, asparagus and crusty Italian bread for 17!

Christmas Morning 2017

We slept in on Christmas morning.  In part because of Sue's work at First Presbyterian and all of the Christmas activity she had to conduct as Director of Christian Education.  Christmas Eve on a Sunday is a lot of work for those who work at church.

Once we were up, it was cold enough to have a fire in the fireplace, not always the case in Texas.  With cheery flames dancing below the stockings hung from the mantle, we warmed our toes by the flames and unwrapped our gifts.  Taking calls from our kids out in Portland and in New York.

We'll share our fireside Christmas with you.

Christmas Morning Fireside
The stockings were all hung with care,
in hopes that St. would soon be there...

Popsicle Toes
About to dig into her stocking stuffed with little goodies

Mark's Christmas Cracker is a Pirate Theme
A One-Eyed Buccaneer wish ya a Merry Christmas Mattie! 

Bring out the Christmas Gifts!

A stack of mystery and fun anticipation

Yum.  A jar of Marionberry jam form Oregon

Swedish Gummies - advertised as better than orange peanuts

Bird-feeder Gourd-Head

US Grant - A nice book to go with my recent readings of
Andrew Jackson and Alexander Hamilton biographies

What's so amusing?

Thai Cooking made fun and easy

We were in the middle of eating our Christmas candies and sweets, talking to the kids on the phone and peeling of the wrapping paper when the doorbell rings.

It is Tahir, our Muslim neighbor; "Merry Christmas" I say to him as he offers me a plate of hot-off-the-griddle crepes just made by his mother.  Kubra has sent her oldest son over to our door as she has just made us Christmas breakfast.  So sweet.

Tahir delivers Christmas Morning Crepes
from next door
We are often the recipients of his
Mother's great cooking & baking 

We loaded the hot crepes with our Christmas jams and had a merry ol' time this Christmas Day.  

Sang the angels upon visiting the shepherds to bring news of great joy that will be for all people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom

His favor rests.

Book of Luke 2:14