October 28, 2016

Watertown, MA. October, 2016


More stars in the autumn garden. This time, the Witch Hazel, which (get it?) I've only seen bloom in late winter, has suddenly sent forth a starburst of flowers, sparkling against the blue morning sky.

October 27, 2016

Watertown, MA. October, 2016


Don't let the stars get in your eyes.... Suddenly the autumn foliage seems to suggest stardust. I'm not complaining. Here, a chance glance toward the sidewalk surprised with a constellation of fallen leaves.

October 26, 2016

Istanbul. June, 2007


The Bosphorus as seen from Topkapi Palace. So not only did the sultan and his family get to live in palatial splendor, they also had this beautiful view. Seems unfair.

October 25, 2016

Istanbul. June, 2007


Long before there was refrigeration, there was pickling. A tradition that continues in earnest to this day. Here, a small sampling of the rich roster of pickles offered at Petek Turşulari, the city's most popular pickle shop.

October 24, 2016

Üsküdar, Istanbul. June, 2007


Within one of the city's many, many mosques, an illuminated sign indicates the five times this day the faithful are called to prayer. Or is it six this day?

October 23, 2016

Üsküdar, Istanbul. June, 2007


I love the colors on the outside wall of this mosque on the Asian side of the City of the World's Desire, the only city in the world to straddle two continents.

October 22, 2016

Cambridge, MA. May, 2008


I sure hope the person buried here was named Joy, because it seems an odd emotion to find expressed within a cemetery. Even the fanciful Mount Auburn Cemetery. (I also like the straightforward demand the tombstone seems to make: "Joy, period!")