Musical Echoes

This weekend I attended a Native American music festival, taking in the beauty and majesty of the culture…. as well as enjoying great food.

Throughout the day exceptionally talented flutists performed, some bringing a dozen or more different instruments on stage during their session. The songs were moving and achingly beautiful.

Each performer would also offer stories about their music, either telling folktales about the first flutes, or about what the songs were saying. A few of the performers also sang in their native language… it was amazing.

Seems that I can’t find enough superlatives to describe the event, but suffice to say I stayed the whole day.

And the dancers, in full regalia… I was literally on the edge of my chair watching.

One of the dancers explained that their regalia was like a family photo album. With different pieces handed down through generations or given as gifts from friends. He said that the dances also told a story.

The Hoop Dance, performed by two different dancers, using anywhere from one to 24 hoops, showed the connection between every one and every thing. We all play an integral part in this world, he said, and we have to work together to conquer hate.

Wearing a long skirt, adorned with 365 sliver cones, the Jingle Dancer performed a healing dance. Her movements adding a soft chiming sound to the music.

Traditional men and women’s dance were also performed, both somber and exciting to watch.

If you ever have a chance to attend such a festival, go! The dancers and musicians love sharing their talents and culture, and you will be richer for it.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Oakland: forgotten cemetery

Before heading out for my weekly photo hike, I put out a question to my online friends, asking them where I should go… beach, woods, cemetery or backroads. The vote, overwhelmingly, was cemetery.

My friend Kath, suggested the venue first, saying a cemetery would be a good place to photograph, in honor of a short story I’m writing with fellow blogger Lance, he of “My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog.”

(If you’re interested in the escapades of our heroines, Pauley and Vivian/Millicent, check out “Pauley” in the header nav bar.)

One of my favorite cemeteries to visit is St. Michael’s in Pensacola. It’s located near downtown and is steeped in regional history. After doing a little Google-recon, I found an old graveyard in Panama City to visit – Oakland Cemetery.

Where St. Michael’s is well-maintained and manicured, Oakland is…. sad. So many of the grave stones were toppled and broken. Ledger stones worn smooth over time. Sand and weeds obscuring any legible names or dates.

Many of the stones marked graves of Civil War soldiers, Union infantrymen from as far away as Michigan. One section of the cemetery, spanning almost the entire width of the park, two burial sites deep, was all children. Perhaps the devastating result of an epidemic.

Where St. Michael’s is garden-like, peaceful and serene. Oakland left me sorrowful and restless. Heartbroken that these graves had seemingly been forgotten.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Juniper Lake

This week I headed back to one of my favorite stomping grounds - Blackwater River State Park near Holt, FL. Every time I hike there, I find something new.

Walking around Juniper Lake, I wandered off the trail (luckily, my smartphone has a compass and GPS), and found the abandoned pilings from an old boardwalk. The path was lost through the underbrush, but the trail head was still visible, and much too tempting to not go exploring. I had to wonder why the boardwalk was taken down… I need to concoct a story about it.

I will admit, I was also hunting for alligators, but was only able to scare up a couple of little green and brown lizards, and a fat, muddy swamp turtle. Better luck next time…

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Spring break’s lost weekend

Frat boys linger late at the bar, throwing out baitless pick-up lines at all the pretty girls misbehavin’ for the lovin’ and attention. Gobsmacked by their lack of success, blaming rejection on the game and not their feeble hunting techniques.

All popped collars, and gelled hair, believing they’re irresistable and not just ridiculous. Puffed out chests, and puffed out egos, clipped wings that can’t soar off balconies, falling short of the concrete ponds.

Twenty-one shots in the dark hit the spot until the morning their whole weekend is lost. A souvenir from their first time away from home.

The 100 Word Challenge is to tell a story in only 100 words. This week’s theme is ‘Misbehavin’

*Spring Break has brought hundreds, if not thousands, of college co-eds to our beaches. Every year there are reports of some drunken reveler being injured falling from a resort balcony trying to jump into the hotel pool. I haven’t read about any balcony divers yet this year, but there were more than 200 arrests for underage drinking in the first two weeks of the season.

Water logged

The recent deluge of rain made St. Andrew’s State Park in Panama City a bit water-logged, flooding the lower section of hiking trails along Gator Lake. I was still able to get in a good walk and snapped a few shots around the high water. The tiny island in the middle of the lake was, as usual, brimming with nesting heron and ibis (Ibix? Ibises!).

A small family of cormorants, a mother and five juveniles, were paddling around among the reeds, but my loud Sasquatch feet scared them off before I could snap a photo.

The Spring Breakers were out in force, so I avoided the beach. Traffic was nuts. Within an hour, I saw two out-of-towners pulled over for speeding (I know they were speeding because they passed my car like I was sitting still – karma has her own blue-light special), and two more accidents with multiple emergency vehicles. Hopefully, there were no serious injuries.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Misbehavin’

Taking a Time Out
Reassessing behavior
You’re blocking my sun

Haiku Friday is hosted by Lou at LouCeeL

*Photo venue: Ed Walline Public Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, FL

Last peaceful weekend

I did a little checking this weekend, a little Google recon, because it’s good to know things. When you live near a popular tourist destination, especially a summer favorite, it’s important to be prepared. Monday, the beginning of the first, full week of March, also marks the beginning of college Spring Break season.

From now until the middle of April, co-eds seeking sun, fun, love and libations, will flood our beaches in a constant stream of drunken debachery. This could be my last solitary photo hike until next fall. Alas…

My one consolation is that, despite the bright sun and clear skies, it’s actually cold. When I hit the sand on Saturday it was 34F with a 12mph wind. Yet, if past Spring Breaks are any indication, the chill won’t keep the revelers from hitting the beach, so I took advantage of the peace and quiet while I could.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

*Photo venue: Henderson Beach State Park, Destin, FL