Fair Report

No ribbons. Not surprised. Still disappointed. Best in class photo sucked. Really could have used some recognition, but not to be. The whole thing won't be as big a deal tomorrow. Headed to bed. Maybe next year.

Here are the photos I entered. Now that I know that they did not win, I won't jinx anything by sharing them.

Big Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow I head up to the Utah State Fair to see my photos on display with hundreds of others. It will be cool to see my work hanging there with so many others. I really don't expect to see any ribbons, but it would be nice to be surprised. It will be interesting to see what the judges think is noteworthy this year. Last time I went, I tended to disagree....or at least not understand the reasoning behind...most of the judges' choices. I may have mentioned this before (but I DO like to whine about it, admittedly), but the big winner last time I went was an orchid on a white background. It was a no-brainer photo. Anyone could have taken it, but it was in a really nice frame and was entered in the fine art category, so maybe that was what made the difference. I just could not believe that a photo that took so little effort ended being judged the best. There were literally dozens of photos that deserved it more than that one in my opinion, but I'll stop whining now.

Another Friday night and another Timp High loss. They showed some moments of brilliance tonight, but they just couldn't avoid the mistakes. Next week they play at Springville. We'll see what happens then.

Ancient Pet Picture?

Is it just me or does this look like a Native American decided to immortalize his favourite dog in stone? Proof that they had pets? I think it just might be so myself.

I took this one in Moab (I think) and I almost entered it into the fair, but it did not make the final cut this year. It is less than a year old, so I can still use it next year if I want to. It is one of those petroglyphs that looks familiar, but does not seem to be of a hunting scene or of something abstract. That is one of the reasons I like it so much.

Another Restless Night

This one is going to be another short entry because I had yet another night with little restful sleep. This time it was because I had a couple of very bad dreams where I was feeling complete despair. This wasn't a little bit of depression, it was full on just-let-me-cease-to-be despair. I do not recall why I was feeling that way. I only retained the residue of the feeling when I woke up. It took me a long time to shake most of it off, but it has never completely left me. Try dealing with unpleasant people in a pleasant manner when you wake up from an experience like that. I'm not too surprised that I am feeling quite drained right about now. I hope tonight is much better.

Verse

Have we forgotten the strength
Of a simple touch
Or the warmth of a voice
Speaking for us alone?
Lost in a world of pixels and texts
Safe electronic shelters
Free from the need
For true human interaction
Speech, touch, laughter
The light in another's eyes
The smile on cherished friend's face

Sheltered by the distance
Brought by e-mail and chat
Are we forgetting what it means
To be human?
Acquaintances pass for friends
In worlds with internet harbors
And friends fade to acquaintances
Relationships become too much work
In a society where
Almost any desire
Can seem to be satisfied
In an instant
Are we handing over
The best of what we are
To the soulless machines?
Convinced we are not alone
As we share keystrokes in the dark

Lack-Of-Labor Day

It has been a nice Labor Day. We managed to take a nice drive on the Alpine Loop, though we almost got hit by people driving down the middle of the road a couple of times. I was amazed to see all the cars parked along the side of the road anywhere they could find even a hint of space. I do not believe I have ever seen so many people up there.

We would likely have tried to go hiking today if Merilee's foot felt better. I'm hoping it gets better before we are supposed to go down to Capitol Reef again. That's only a couple of weeks away and it will be a much longer, more restful break. Even now I am dreading returning to work tomorrow morning. The last three weeks have been incredible stressful and draining, and I am concerned about another week like that, even if it is a short week. At least I have the State Fair to look forward to on Saturday.

Instead of doing anything outdoors other than our drive, we finished watching the extended edition of Return Of The King and just kind of hung out. I did get a few things out into storage and I helped our neighbor clear out a few overly ambitious grape vines, but other than that is has been a fairly lazy day. I hope I sleep well tonight and have an uneventful day tomorrow. Maybe I'll have something more exciting to write about tomorrow as well.

Meet The Marmot

I really don't have much to say tonight, so I thought I would share a photo. This guy (OK, not sure it was a guy exactly) was not at all camera shy. Merilee and I were parked in one of the areas by the north rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone when we saw him. It was rather early and he was foraging around. He seemed rather unconcerned that I was sitting there taking pictures of him. I didn't get close enough to be a threat, so he just went about his business and let me take photos. Occasionally (as seen here) he would look up at me as if to say, "You're still here?" and then he would go back to eating. It was really quite cool.