If you look closely you will see that this ficus tree was not planted at all. It stands above the ground, retaining the shape it had when it was growing inside a pot, in an apartment on the other side of the street.
After she left him, he became morose. Is there a word that combines despair and anger? That’s what he felt, especially late at night, after drinking too much beer. One such night, he noticed that the little tree she had cared for wasn’t doing so well. Maybe that was because of the cigarettes he stubbed out and left in the dirt. Or maybe it was because he didn’t remember to water it. He certainly didn’t sing or speak to it as she had often done. In a fit of despair-rage he picked up the plant by the trunk and flung it from the balcony. The dirt was dry and so the little tree easily slipped out of the pot, which fell and shattered on the balcony, and flew in a glorious arc across the street and landed somewhere in the dark. The root ball, and the dirt it clung to, was the heaviest part of the little tree and thus lead the way, which is why it landed right side up on the sloping meadow. Later that night it rained and by the morning little roots were drilling down into the grass and the dirt below, anchoring the tree to this spot. It had found a place to grow.
Worked on this piece and created a rain rhythm background. Added a muted guitar and a reggae rhythm that accent the 6/8 against 4/4 feeling. It’s a rhythm I keep coming back to because I just love the forward motion of it. I have been playing with a few different melodies but haven’t commited to anything yet. Recorded with the HeartDrive Mobile Studio. :-)
Today’s forecast was rain, all day rain, but in the morning the sun appeared and found little openings between the gray clouds that have blanketed Lisbon for days. I wanted to get out and stretch my legs and decided to take a chance. I wore my camera strap under my coat, in order to protect the camera should it start to rain, and started to walk in the direction of the Gulbenkian Museum. I had been to the grounds several times but had never been inside.
Calouste Gulbenkianamassed a huge fortune and an art collection which he kept in a private museum at his Paris house. An art expert said in a 1950 issue of Life magazine that “Never in modern history has one man owned so much.“
Link to Wikipedia page on the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. Link to the museum’s website.
I took more photographs than I expected to and wondered why some days are good for photography and others are not. Or, why does nothing look like a photograph on some days and on other days everything IS a photograph? It had been gray for days, so perhaps the light was simply inspiring. But, I am convinced, it is also in the head!
The first photo of this slideshow was taken outside the museum’s entrance. The second and third photos are of amazing glass pieces… but I was more fascinated by the light on the tree outside and so I focussed on that. The next two photos are of windows with sun screens and the garden beyond. The following photos were taken on the way home. There is the arch made of red cubes, the leaf attached to a wall, and the flattened and wet mango box. Oh, yes, I love mangos, especially the Keitt variety. I tried that variety in Santa Fe a few years ago and was hooked! During the season we have a mango every day. The next photo is of three doors opening to a workshop of some kind. The doors are red and the light streaming in from a glass door in the back is exquisite. The last image is a traffic cone that seems to guard a bike path. It may be my favorite image of the day.
Some thoughts about the museum. It was strange to think that these rare items from Egypt, Iran, China, Turkey, Japan, etc, had been owned by one person. It somehow felt wrong to me. At the same time I was grateful that this owner started a foundation and is showing these items to the public. Who do you think is most likely to do something like this today?
May all be happy.
May all be healthy and safe.
May all have enough.
May all be at peace.
This time I didn’t write “beings” because I realized that I want to include mountains and rivers.
I walked by my cactus friend and saw that they were doing well and are even taller than when I saw them in the summer:
I was in a store to investigate and instigate heating/cooling units for my apartment, since it has neither. While there, I saw this little growing pod. This would have looked sooooo futuristic twenty years ago!
I also met a person with a beautiful family name: Vagarinho
It means Little Wanderer in Portuguese.
Same root as Vagrant, which also comes from the Latin word vagari, meaning to wander.
We are all Vagarinhos. :-)
On my way home I walked by a school and saw this on the wall:
“Every person is a World”
My guitar was delivered to the apartment just moments ago and I was thrilled to see that it was in perfect condition. Not a scratch on guitar or case. Very happy.
The music is something new I am working on. It’s a 6/8 feel over 4/4 and the second guitar will be a plucked reggae part. I just played the second guitar part along with the video and it works very nicely.
Recorded with a phone propped up against a pillow. :-)
