It’s Just Too Much

I don't know about you, but the constant chaos, lies and pandemonium that we Americans, at least those of us who aren't members of the cult, are forced to live through are taking a toll on my mind and body.

It's exhausting. Reading day after day after day after day about the incessant babbling of the president of this once great country. Watching him travel at taxpayer expense to Middle Eastern countries where he is treated like the king he wants to be as he sets up deals that benefit not our country, but himself. It's all about him being feted by very wealthy people. Watching how his government prosecutes people who dare to speak out against him after he has insulted them repeatedly is extremely distressing. Watching the courts refuse to do anything to try to reign him in is very discouraging.

They're taking my enthusiasm away. They're taking my will to do anything except sit home and read or watch television. They're taking my energy away. All I want to do after the sun goes down is to crawl into bed. Fortunately, my dogs keep me up and moving. Each gets a 1-mile walk every early morning.

I have lost many hours of sleep, worrying about this country and what is being done to dismantle it. One recent night found me awake for 4 hours as I stared at the ceiling in the darkness. I thought about getting up, but if I got up, my dogs would get up. And their routine indicates that after they get up and go outside for a potty break, they have breakfast. That wasn't going to happen at 1:00 a.m.

I am looking forward to some travel this year that should provide not only a respite from the terrible news, but also offer opportunities for some great photography. I have reduced the amount of time I spend on social media, and the only news I watch is a 30-minute local news program followed by a 30-minute national news broadcast. 

I read a lot, but sometimes I get tired of reading. I exercise every day. And most of the television I watch is historical or archaeological or science-based. I cannot deal with the inanity of sitcoms with their canned laughter. 

A break from the insanity of American politics will be a welcome respite, especially when I am overseas. Of course, for the first time in my life, I have to worry about whether I will be thrown in jail as I return to the US because of something I may have posted somewhere online. So much for freedom of speech. So much for the Fourth Amendment. So much for our democracy.

What Takes Your Breath Away?

I follow a number of photography pages online. 

Recently I got a friend request from a retired physician who is also an amazing wildlife photographer. He has been posting photos of leopards and other wildlife from his recent travels. To mark World Leopard Day recently, he posted a breathtaking photo of a male leopard walking directly down the road toward him. 

That is the kind of image that takes my breath away. It's also the kind of image I dream of capturing. Sadly, that leopard was killed by lions, a fate that happened to my most favorite Kenyan leopard named Fig. Fig is pictured to the right, the first time I saw her in Kenya. She had a daughter named Figlet who is still thriving in Kenya. Figlet has raised several beautiful cubs.

Lions and leopards hate each other. So I'm not surprised when I hear about lions killing a leopard. But it still always saddens me.

Another thing that has taken my breath away is viewing (and photographing) some of Mother Nature's handiwork -- landscapes. I confess, however, that as beautiful as some landscapes are, nothing can compare with the amazing wildlife I have been fortunate enough to photograph.

My preference for landscape photography is mountains, the bigger the better. Pictured here is Shiprock, the remains of an ancient volcano on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. This monadnock is a mountain that rises abruptly from a flat or gently sloping plain.

Finally, certain singers and music take my breath away. Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand come to mind immediately. I recently saw a video of three sopranos singing with Andre Rieu's orchestra. The song, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, is such a moving song. And one of the sopranos, whose name I don't know, has an incredibly beautiful voice. 

When I was in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, at the conclusion of walking the Camino de Compostela pilgrimage route, a soprano known as the 'soprano of the arches' was singing outdoors. I bought her CD so I could enjoy her incredible voice at home. That was the first time I had heard Cohen's masterpiece, and I was hooked.

I hope you find, and enjoy, things that take your breath away.

Never Too Old

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. -- CS Lewis

This quote seems very timely and appropriate right now. A couple of days ago, I signed up for a photography trip to Sri Lanka in 2027. The thing that caught my attention in a major way was the opportunity to photograph leopards, which are my favorite predator, Asian elephants and sloth bears. The opportunity was just too good to pass by. So I put down a deposit.

The trip is a full two years away, and I suddenly started wondering whether I still will be in physical shape to go. Sri Lanka is a really long way from where I live in America’s desert Southwest. A quick check of an airline website shows that it’s likely to take between 35 and 40 hours to get there. And as the saying goes, I’m not getting any younger. I’m in good health for someone my age. But I’m not as strong or flexible or resilient as I used to be in my younger days. 

The trip itself is listed as a level one, which means there isn’t a lot of strenuous activity or walking while carrying photography gear. Of course, just getting there will take a long, long time on an airplane. That definitely will take a toll. But, travel helps keep me young and engaged. So I will pack up my cameras, tripod and my lenses, and hope to have a very successful expedition to Sri Lanka.

There are still so many places I want to visit. Among them are Rome, the Scandinavian countries, the Baltics, the Balkans, and other places in Italy. 

I just hope I can maintain, or improve, my current level of fitness, and that my health remains good.