March for Life January 2010, Signs and Banners

Members of the Ohio Right to Life contingent all decked out with signs. Love all the youthful energy!

Sometimes, unspoken words speak the loudest.

Waiting in the streets of Washington, DC for the march to get underway. The Washington Monument is visible way in the background.

Another powerful witness.

This sign showing Sarah Palin and her son Trig was carried by a member of Team Sarah. Their website can be found at the following link:

http://www.teamsarah.org/

Also pictured in the same photo above is a banner from Saint Francis University. The colleges did themselves proud ... there was quite a good turnout of students. My next blog post will feature a bunch of other colleges and universities in attendance at the March for Life. Notre Dame will not be included in the next blog post but will instead be featured separately.

March for Life January 2010, Catholic Presence

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC rises in the pre-dawn hours on January 22. The Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services USA, celebrated Mass here.

Three nuns representing Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate, Monroe NY carry a sign showing Pope Benedict with some children and the words "Hope and Trust in Life."

Images of the Divine Mercy and Our Lady of Guadalupe are carried during the march.

The Knights of Columbus from Chantilly, VA were in attendance.

Members of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property carry a statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

Next up in this series of blog entries on the March for Life January 2010 will be a feature on outstanding signs and banners. There were definitely a lot to choose from.

March for Life January 2010, Media Presence

A C-SPAN cameraman attended the 2010 March for Life.

FOX News attended the 2010 March for Life.

EWTN attended the 2010 March for Life.

As for the rest of the mainstream media? Well, I did overhear someone in the crowd mention ABC News, but personally, I didn't see any evidence that ABC was present.

March for Life January 2010, We the People

The view outside the window of the Upper Level of the East Building of the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art several hours before the March for Life parade began in Washington, DC on January 22, 2010.

This blog post begins a series of photo journalism articles that I am self-publishing dedicated to this year's March for Life. All of the photos were personally taken by me. The particular theme here is "We the People," based on the human interest angle of who attended the pro-life rally and parade.

This beautifully inspirational young lady and her father carried the message that along with saving the lives of the unborn, the elderly and the handicapped also need protection when it comes to respecting their right to life. Her sign was furnished by The Climb Organization, which you can visit at the following website:

http://www.theclimborganization.com/

A representative of the Eastern Orthodox faith carries a traditional icon. It was announced during the rally that in times past the Orthodox really had not gotten involved in the March for Life, however, they had decided to participate and make themselves known as a presence this year.

An Anarchist Agnostic against Abortion was happy to discuss his views with any and all comers during the parade.

These bagpipers lining the street during the march belong to an orgnization called The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property.

This man was hanging off the Russell Senate Office Building. As participants in the March for Life passed in the street below, he would sometimes bless them with the large wooden crucifix. As I was taking pictures, a priest stopped next to me with a cell phone and made a call to someone to basically report "Cross Man's" presence atop the building and ask what was going on. Sounds like mystery and intrigue to me.

Upcoming blog entries in this series will discuss such topics as media presence, Catholic participation and influence, outstanding signs and banners, and college representation, with a special focus on Notre Dame.

Winter Trees Sing to the Skies

Trees adorned with snow and hoarfrost, blue sky adorned with puffy clouds, sing together in a glorious celebration of winter sunshine.

This was the scene two weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon at Mapleside Farms in Brunswick, Ohio. Such a magical spot there, always offering new surprises whenever you go.

Will be travelling out of town and look forward to catching up with all of your blogs again starting Saturday.

Wizard of Oz Coincidence Alert -- Emerald City Socks

Several weeks ago, I went shopping on Etsy for handmade wool socks. I figured that rather than spend the money on several cheap pair at Walmart, I'd prefer to treat myself to one good pair that were high quality and made with loving care by a real person right here in America rather than by some big impersonal corporation.

Came across Mumma's Comfy Socks in a shop called BellaBlueKnits. Here's a link to her shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BellaBlueKnits (The photos in this blog entry come from the BellaBlueKnits Etsy shop.)

The name of the socks sounded a bit strange, but the important thing is they were just what I was looking for. Or so I thought. Actually, they turned out to be even MORE than what I was looking for. Part of the description read: "This pair was knit with a color called Emerald City; a lovely shade of brilliant green."

Well, that settled that! With all the crazy Wizard of Oz coincidences going on in my life, I just HAD to have these socks!

But that's not the end of the story. I wrote the shop owner a little note telling her how the socks were personally meant for me. She wrote back telling me that indeed they were, because she had just gotten through knitting them and had listed them as available in her shop right that very day.

Wow.

Creek with Winterglow

A cold beauty runs its watery course through the ice and snow of wintry banks. This is another fine art photo look at Hemlock Creek in Walton Hills, Ohio.

EcoRover wanted to know where the hemlocks are ... that I cannot say. Maybe they left the forest, like the Ents of Fangorn on the move. EcoRover, meanwhile, can be found here:

http://ecorover.blogspot.com

Winter Walk at Hemlock Creek

A one-lane bridge spans a crisp passage of water through banks soft with snowfall. This was the scene last Friday at the Bedford Reservation, a Cleveland Metropark in Walton Hills, Ohio.

The magic of a winter creek decorated by a fresh-fallen snow.

Hemlock Creek winds its meandering way through the surrounding woods.

The grand finale: A memory of autumn brightens a winter creekside.

Birdhouse

Remembering warmer days at the Rocky River Nature Center in North Olmsted, Ohio during a snowstorm. Decided to give this photo a painterly look.

The Queen of Narnia Hereby Bans Global Warming

From atop this high precipice be it decreed that in order to save the planet, winter must reign. Global warming is banished. Let there be cold, snow, ice, blizzards, and all manner of freezing! Trust that these measures are for your own good, sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. Sooner or later you'll come to appreciate the finer things of winter.

Look here, it's duck weather!

Author's Note: Photos taken at the Rocky River Reservation in North Olmsted, Ohio.

An Epiphany of Ruby Slippers

As today is the Feast of the Epiphany, it's the last official day for mentioning Christmas in my blog.

"Epiphany" can be defined as a manifestation. Wizard of Oz coincidences have been cropping up everywhere for me this past year. Finally, thanks to a dear friend who sent me a Christmas present in the mail, I had something physical to show for it ... well, besides some photos I took on August 25th, 2009 which happened to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz movie release. I'm still working on that batch of photos, and you've already seen "Over the Rainbow" and "Morning Pasture in Deep Emerald Fog," which are on display in Niagara Falls.

Before getting to the main action, the more memorable Wizard of Oz coincidences include:

1) Having a street person at Tower City look at my photos (which didn't include any Oz-themed ones at the time), stare straight at me, and sing "We're off to see the Wizard ... "

2) A few weeks later when I DID have Oz-themed photos, selling my first 4x6 matted print of "Over the Rainbow" at Tower City and then hearing the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as piped-in mall music an hour later.

3) Actually watching the pastor in a church do an impression of the Wicked Witch of the West!

So anyways. Back to the main action:

One day driving home from work in early December 2009, a Cleveland radio announcer on a classical station was holding one of those contests where they play a movie song and you're supposed to guess the movie it came from. An instrumental version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" came on and everyone was getting it wrong and guessing Bing Crosby. Finally, as I pulled into my apartment parking lot, the announcer told us that the correct answer was the movie "Meet Me in St. Louis" ... and then added that Judy Garland had starred in it. (Yes, the witch's Dorothy!)

Minutes later inside the apartment, I opened a package containing a set of the blank note cards shown above with the ruby slippers and yellow brick road!

The Cafe Press receipt read, "Wizard of Oz Greeting Cards, judy_garland."

Adventure awaits ...

On the Road Again

As Dierks Bentley would sing,

"Pair of boots and a sack of clothes

Free and easy down the road I go ... "

Then again, maybe not. We’re under a Lake Effect Snow advisory all weekend! So I was wearing the boots and had a spare set of clothes just in case I got stranded in a snowdrift. Don’t worry, the photo is from two years ago.

Today I journeyed from Cleveland, Ohio to Lockport, NY because it was the last day of the holiday art exhibit at the Market Street Art Center. Starting Monday the art gallery will be closed during January for renovations. So it was now or never to pick up my artwork.

All the way there, I was picturing the framed photo “Mineral Water” and my plans to possibly enter it in another show or two this year.

Plans change. Walked into the gallery to claim the photo … to discover an empty space on the wall! Well, almost empty. Looked for my name, didn’t see it. What I saw was a placard bearing some OTHER artist’s name, and one of those little bright red “sold” stickers! Good news is, it turns out that my “Mineral Water” had indeed sold!

“Welcome to Narnia” was still there to pick up and take home, which I did. But you know, even if both photos had sold and I had driven all that way through patches of challenging winter weather (as in … Hey, What Are Those Purty Blinkin-Lights ... AAAAIIIIIIEEEEE, IT’S A SNOW PLOW ….. good thing the brakes are working!) … it still would have been worth the whirlwind out-of-state trip "there and back again" to pick up nothing, just to find out the news in person that Something had sold.

From here?

"Ain't no tellin' where the wind might blow

Free and easy down the road I go ... "