Philip Brewer

Milky Slough, originally uploaded by bradipo.

I went out for my first run of the season today. I ran about 1.5 miles in 20:36. That’s not very far and it’s pretty slow, but it’s still a good sign, because I could run for over 20 minutes. I wasn’t at all sure I’d be able to, because I’d been pretty sedentary this winter. It speaks well of Taiji as exercise, because it’s been about the only exercise I’ve gotten. I know from experience that once I can run for 20 minutes, it’s pretty easy to build up some endurance, so I’m starting from a good point this year.

I did my usual short run around Kaufman Lake, and noticed this scary looking white stuff flowing down Copper Slough. (Maybe it was just some sort of white scum floating on top of the water. I couldn’t tell.) It was weird enough that I felt compelled to walk back and get a picture, although the picture I managed to get fails to capture the terrible wrongness of the fluid flowing in that ditch.

Milky Slough by Philip Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Frosty Morning, originally uploaded by bradipo.

Taken just a few steps from our front door, looking east.

Frosty Morning by Philip Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Shiny Guard Hairs, originally uploaded by bradipo.

I liked the way the sunlight caught Rapunzel’s guard hairs.

Shiny Guard Hairs by Philip Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Piggy Bank Awaits the Spring, originally uploaded by bradipo.

My plan had been to capture the snowflakes in the air, but they’re pretty much invisible.

Piggy Bank Awaits the Spring by Philip Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

No Swimming, originally uploaded by bradipo.

I’ve always been amused by the “No Swimming” signs that are up year-round at Kaufman Lake Park. I thought this captured the absurdity perfectly.

No Swimming by Philip Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Our Christmas Star, originally uploaded by bradipo.

When I first moved out on my own I had only sparse Christmas decorations. Among the things that were lacking was a star for the top of the tree.

I didn’t feel it was so terrible–the tree was decorated, even if it didn’t have something on top. One Christmas, though, my brother and his wife came to visit at Christmas, and Alisa was appalled. Rather than tolerate such a defect, she cut a star out of shirt cardboard, covered it in aluminum foil, and put it on top of the tree.

I was delighted. I kept that star and used it on my trees for many years.

We went on using it for some time after I got married, until Jackie started doing needle-felting. Then she decided that a Christmas star would be a perfect little project. She needle-felted this star, which has been our tree-topper ever since.

Our Christmas Star by Philip Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Cthulhu in Hermes Scarf, originally uploaded by bradipo.

Is it just me, or do the images of horse ribbons on this Hermes scarf look like images of Cthulhu?

I’m prepared to accept that it’s just me.

Cthulhu in Hermes Scarf by Philip Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Copper Slough, originally uploaded by bradipo.

Most of Central Illinois would be wet prairie if it weren’t for a network of drainage ditches, such as the Copper Slough. It runs past Kaufman Lake and then on south and west. It merges up with similar ditches and, somewhere around Sadorus starts being called the Kaskaskia Ditch, after which it, presumably, flows into the Kaskaskia.

I liked the mirror-flat surface of the water. I also liked all the drain tiles emptying into the ditch.

The picture was taken from the bridge on O’Malley’s Alley, looking north towards Kaufman Lake.

Copper Slough by Philip Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Crane in Kaufman Lake Park, originally uploaded by bradipo.

A damp, chill, late-autumn day. With a crane.

Crane in Kaufman Lake Park by Philip Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Late Fall Outside My Window, originally uploaded by bradipo.

This is the view out the window in the study. The leaves on the tree are just about gone.

Late Fall Outside My Window by Philip Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.