The Scroll

The scroll, according to David, is where the luthier imparts his aesthetic mark on an instrument. The scroll, along with some other distinctive features like the "f" holes and purfling distinguish a maker and are clues to his skill and care in instrument making. They are part of his signature.

I wrote yesterday that individuals don't make things anymore. That is isn't really true. I read somewhere that more photographs have been made since the dawn of the digital age than all time before. That may be true... Think about the gazillion mobile cell phones out there, not to mention the little point and shoots. I think I have made over 40,000 snaps between my D3 and D200. That is significantly more than I ever shot on film.

The thing is, most of them are just that - snapshots. Sometimes I shoot the same thing a dozen times the same way just to make sure I got it. Of course this just results in a dozen mediocre shots of the same thing.

I tell myself that what I need to do something different. Different angles, depth of field, light, etc. I need to think before I snap. Anyway, I am working on that.

The other thing I need to do is develop a style, just like the luthier. Something unique, that causes people to think of me when they see it. But for now, I'll just keep trying to make better pictures. If I take 100,000 snaps, somewhere in there is bound to be a good picture.

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Caution: Bassist at Work

David's bass is repaired and he has it back. It was damaged during the concert we saw on New Year's Eve. The neck was completely replaced and I personally think it is a better piece of wood. The old scroll was grafted on to the new neck.

This got me to thinking. Most people don't know how to repair things anymore, and a lot of things made today aren't really repairable. A hundred years ago, almost everyone was a repairman or woman. You repaired your house, farm machinery, your clothes, everything. People made things for themselves too.

By the time I came along, people still repaired and maintained a lot of stuff. We worked on the car, did plumbing, sharpened tools, and generally fixed things that needed fixing. Of course not everyone did that. I knew kids that didn't work on their car - rich kids mostly.

Today, hardly anyone does repair. They call the repairman. Don't ask my kids to replace the muffler on a car. Anyway, it was a good repair on David's bass I think (even though I didn't do it)...

Red-eared Sliders

You may know your turtles better than me, but I believe these to be Red-eared Sliders. It was a nice day for sunning at Mercer Arboretum.

Sam Houston

This statue of Sam Houston is located at the entrance to Hermann Park.

The city of Houston was named after Sam Houston (of course). Old Sam was born in 1793 near Lexington, Virginia. To say the least, his early life was interesting and he lived with the Cherokees, became a war hero in the War of 1812, was a lawyer, a congressman and governor of Tennessee, a heavy drinker and a discredited politician who beat a adversary with a cane on Pennsylvannia Avenue.

Obviously, this was a man destined to move to Texas and he did so in 1832 as the Texas revolution was coming to a boil. As every school child in Texas knows, he eventually led a small Texas army to defeat Santa Anna at San Jacinto. Eventually Houston was elected President of the new republic (twice), and served as a governor and senator after it became a state.

The city of Houston was founded in August 1836 by two brothers, J.K. Allen and A.C. Allen in Houston's honor. Houston died in 1863 with wife Margaret by his side. His last recorded words were "Texas. Texas. Margaret".

State Bird of Texas

The mocking bird is the State Bird of Texas and probably my favorite song bird in the area. They are relatively fearless and sometimes curious like this one in Hermann Park on a bench. The mocker is a loud and vocal singer that mimics other birds. Mocking birds will aggressively defend their nests against cats, dogs, and if necessary paper boys as I can attest.

Little Train in Hermann Park

Hermann Park is located near the medical center in Houston and was named for it's donor, George Hermann, who donated the property in 1914. Hermann traded a team of horses and a buggy for a tract of land in northern Harris County. By chance, it was located in the center of the Humble oil field that was discovered in 1904 and he became a wealthy man.

The miniature train has been there a long time, although I think the track has changed since when I was a kid. I believe there is more than one train because I remember one that looked like a diesel, although this is the one that was running today.

Happy Valentine's Day

These are Teresa's tulips. Why tulips? Because tulips aren't roses and everyone gets roses. Why purplish? Because purple is the color of royalty (and everyone else gets red or pink). I'm doing my part to be different. Teresa already is ;-)

I like the light in this photograph (believe me, I went to some effort to get it that way). I could have gone into Photoshop and cleaned up the leaves, taken out the ragged spots, and removed the imperfections from the petals. But that is how the stalks and blossoms look. So I left them like they are. You shouldn't look for perfection in a valentine - that is impossible to find (very, very good is OK, just not perfection :-)

Gator!

OK, back in Texas again... We went looking for gators at Brazos Bend State Park and found them. Male American Aligators can grow to 15 feet or more and over 1000 pounds while full grown females are smaller at around 10 feet.

This one, trying to gather a little sun on a large tree log, was 4 to 5 feet long and we saw some I estimated to be well over 10 feet. They have five toes but if you click on the picture to enlarge it you will see this fellow has lost one and has four on the front right.

For comparison, an Australian saltwater crocodile can get to 22 feet or so and 2500 pounds.

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White Ibis

The North American White Ibis is quite a bit better looking than the Australian one I think. This one is looking for a meal in the Brazos Bend State Park. They are abundant there year round, and this one was part of a pair.