We walked out around the rocks to the place where the belugas sing.
When we got back, the setting sun made wild roses glow.
I took so many photos of the sunset, each one better than the last, none of them real.
The only real sunset was the stained-glass one I saw upon the sky, but it is gone.
The sunset will return next summer, when we do.
Goodbye, water.
Goodbye, mountains.
Goodbye, sky.
Goodbye, Baie-Sainte-Marguerite.
See you next year.
Ten Years, Four Months, Eleven Days
Seven Years, Two Months, Twenty-Four Days
Unknown Age
While Akiva busied himself building canals,
Iris amassed a small krill collection.
* * *
Back when I was learning to work in the dark room, we were encouraged to study Ansel Adams. I pondered some photos and I read some of his words about technique. I was particularly impressed with his equipment and darkroom setup— or lack thereof. I understood the importance of his work from a historical and from a conservation standpoint, but I had trouble “reading” landscapes in black & white.
What I remember most of all of it was his portrait of a man’s face. After discussing his photo he wrote, “I think this portrait would have been better in color.” That was remarkable to me, as I have generally preferred portraits in black & white and landscapes in color, and I was under the impression that Adams did everything in B&W. I hadn’t even known that color film existed during his lifetime.
I wonder what it was about the face that he thought would have been better in color. He didn’t explain. The only thing I can think that displeased him was the difference in drama between a mountain and a face. Mountains are dramatic in a way that allowed him to capture them in stark blacks and whites, expertly balancing the tones across the page. A face has more muted peaks and valleys, lending itself to the ambivalence of grey. Perhaps Adams was less sure of himself due to this lack of starkness. While most of us need color to comprehend the landscape, perhaps landscape is what Adams saw most clearly in any light. Perhaps Adams needed color to help him comprehend the human face.
I wanted to bring the goslings somewhere new and different, so I loaded them into the basket of the cargo bike to go for a ride. I didn’t know that geese don’t like riding bicycles. It would explain some things, tho! I suppose if they liked riding bikes, they could bike south instead of fly. Unfortunately, our geese can’t ride bikes or fly. To make the trip to the river easier on them, I put a big burlap bag over the basket.
I biked through the woods until I couldn’t go any further on the cargo bike, then we all walked.
It may well be a kilometer between the bike and where I wanted to go on the river.
By the time we got there, the geese were too exhausted to swim.
They sat in the grass and had a big snack.
Akiva was not too tired to play.
He brought Orange Boy in the boat to the river.
Huge rapids! The boat capsized! AAAH! HELP!
We returned a different way.
Unfortunately for the geese, it was no shorter.
They forgave us eventually.
