;)
I decided to look around, and see if I could spot the signs of early spring in Wasilla and nearby environs. The first thing that I saw was this police car parked behind the little red car that had been driven by a driver who was undoubtedly feeling pretty uncomfortable right then.
This was a sure sign of spring - a driver being pulled over by a traffic cop.
True, you see cops pulling drivers over in the winter, fall and summer as well as spring, but the difference is the rotting snow in the background.
When you see a car pulled over by a cop and there is rotting snow in the background, then you can be pretty certain it is springtime.
One of these days soon, I must bite the bullet and replace this cracked windshield before I get pulled over, too.
As soon as I do replace it, the new one will be struck by a flying stone and will get cracked, too.
I hate it when new windshields get cracked.
Of course, when you spot a cat sitting inside its people's apartment looking just like this, then you know for certain it is spring.
So here is Junipurr, a cat of spring.
Wait a minute. I took these pictures one week ago today at Lisa and Bryce's apartment after I had photographed the Lady Whalers winning the state championship and the young Barrow scientists competing in the Alaska Science and Engineering Fair. I just didn't have the chance to post them until now.
Last Saturday was the 19th - one full day before spring
My bad. These are not spring shots at all.
But they sure look like spring. Here is Zed. Zed is very hard to photograph in Lisa's apartment because it is always pretty dark in there and his fur is so black. Plus, he is shy. If he figures out you are photographing him, he will hide.
But I am a determined, dedicated and resourceful photographer, so naturally I succeeded in taking his photo.
I didn't even look, either. I shot it with my eyes closed. I knew where he was, so I didn't need to open my eyes. I was too tired to open my eyes.
Here is Lisa, studying hard on spring break, and Bryce, playing video games.
Now I am back to yesterday, when I spotted this cyclist pedalling up Church Road.
I had just been to Metro Cafe, where I shot:
Through the Window Metro Study, #5,187: Carmen and two old friends who were surprised to meet each other in Metro Cafe.
This is the story:
When the young woman to the side of Carmen entered Metro Cafe yesterday, she was not thinking anything at all about the man on Carmen's other side. Same thing with him. Although they had know each other years ago and had worked together at Pedro Bay, they were not thinking of each other at all. They had not even seen each other in three to four years, so why would they be thinking about each other?
And then they saw each other, and recognized each other.
And it all happened in Metro Cafe.
I had them tell me their names and, because I have learned that I often forget names that I am certain I will remember, I pulled out my iPhone, turned on the recorder and had them speak into it and tell me their names. This way, I would not forget and because I would not forget, I had no real need to remember, because the memory was right there in my iPhone.
So, just now, I pulled my iPhone out to pull up my memory of their names.
And the whole recording was gone. I don't know what happened to it. It was just gone.
Ha! Can you deny that a pair of mated mallards strolling through a Wasilla parking lot is a sure sign of spring?
And how about young love? Hence we have:
Study of the Young Writer, Shoshana, #1: with her boyfriend, Justin - the study to break the hearts of of my young, single, male readers...