Best Photo and Article/Entry of 2010

And the winners are:

Well, one small commercial before I announce the winners.

I want to make it clear that the best photo and article/entry do not mean that they are the best events of 2010. I went over the best events of the year yesterday in 2010 Events of the Year.  The winners today are for the picture which spoke to me the most and the article/entry that I enjoyed the most on rereading.  In both cases the selections also needed to represent the eclectic approach that I take to this blog.

My blog is--my blog. It is personal and yet public. I cover a wide range of topics from news to family items and events. I also include leadership thoughts and reviews of movies, restaurants, wine, concerts and other items that strike me. I even include some jokes, and writing/poetry of my own. I do not believe that anything is off the table--although I have considered breaking the blog into other smaller bodies of work.

I appreciate feedback and I have even been called out on some of my statements this past year and I appreciated the time my friends took to educate me on the items that I did not fully understand. I admit I have opinions and fairly deep rooted beliefs about much of what I write about.

Thank you to everyone for the time you take to read my thoughts and for your comments--either directly on the blog or in Facebook.

And the winners are:



My favorite photo of 2010:




No Caption Required

This image was in the article Patrick and Tina get Married which was published on Sunday, June 20, 2010. I felt that this was one of those stand alone images--hence the name "No Caption Required."  I can still feel the love of the moment as I look at the picture.

My Favorite Article/Entry for 2010:

Dark Trees

I was outside Tuesday evening

looking at the night sky.

Chris bought a telescope at a yard sale--

I thought I'd try it out.

I saw Jupiter and three of its moons.

and craters on the Moon as well.

But bathed in the bright moonlight

I noticed the trees

towering above me still full with leaves.

They were dark.

The lightening bugs that made them shimmer

during the nights of summer--

were gone.

Dark and foreboding.

Silhouetted by the moon.

They were not yet autumn trees--

robed with red and orange leaves.

Nor were they the eerie trees of Halloween--

leaf-less, sketching scary shadows on the lawns

for the ghouls and goblins to dance with

in the moonlight.

No--these were still summer trees.

Standing tall against the winds and rains.

Reveling in hot summer sun

providing cool shade to travelers

pausing beneath their branches.

Yet, they were dark.

I imagined them gloomy.

As if they sensed the change.

The coolness of the still not yet autumn breeze

swept across my bare arms.

I paused, breathing deeply,

savoring both the musky scent of summer

and the sweet smell of recently mowed grass.

A dog barked in the distance

returning me to my driveway.

I had drifted off

to a summer-bathed sandy beach.

The light in the window reminded me

that the time for sleep had come.

And dreams.

The dark trees stood tall.

Nodding, it seemed

in the cool gentle breeze.

Autumn was at hand.


Dark Trees appeared on September 23, 2010. I love the imagery and the sensory nature of this poem. One of my favorite lines is: "... the eerie trees of Halloween--leaf-less, sketching scary shadows on the lawns for the ghouls and goblins to dance with in the moonlight." I actually can see playing out in my mind as I read it--and it really still strikes me. Reading the line "...breathing deeply, savoring both the musky scent of summer and the sweet smell of recently mowed grass" makes me relive summer and warmer times while I am trapped here in the winter time.

In conclusion--

The competition was fierce and stiff--and I considered including the runners-up, but that would be a bit presumptuous of me.

Thank you for reading and commenting during 2010, and I pray that your year ahead is full of hope and blessings.

Don't party too much tonight and if you drink--don't drive.  Spend the night or get a taxi.