morning light

Luckily the light coming into the kitchen at an early hour this morning made everything that it hit golden and/or translucent (in a way that highlights the mysterious process through which images that look positively luminous on the computer screen flatten out when they are uploaded onto blogger: sometimes, like this evening, I spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to correct for this in Photoshop's Curves, but can never manage to get it right).   For the rest of the day (96 degrees outside, head bent down over a hot computer trying to run a department, write a chapter on sensationalism, and read a promotion case for another university) was conducive, alas, neither to looking nor to thinking about the visual...

Here's a wineglass full of stems from outside - a pink willowy blossomed tree that shouldn't be growing on our land at all, ideally, because it sucks up water, and some Mexican Hats; and a begonia.   The begonia is a gift from our hairdresser, or more precisely, from the hairdresser's boyfriend: they have a sweet practice of giving their clients (their favorite clients? - who knows - but it always makes one feel like a favorite) a little gift on each visit - which can be extraordinarily hit or miss - a wonderful spangled kitsch nailfile on one occasion, a shamrock teatowel on another.   In fact, that would make for a good photo project in its own right...I'll see what I can do in a couple of weeks, after the pre-re-entry chop and color visit...