Opportunity Lost?

It’s a glorious Friday afternoon in East Tennessee with a brisk breeze, some thin scattered clouds, and lots of sunshine. The first signs of summer are in the air. The temperature and humidity both highlight the season to come. I hate to see spring end. It has been the most wonderful spring season I can remember for many years. We first saw signs of spring at least eight weeks ago and it has been awesome since. Not too hot, not too cold, not too dry, not too wet. You might say the spring weather in 2020 has been a Goldilocks season. Just right!

It’s the kind of afternoon when you want to skip out of work early and join some fellow truants on an outdoor terrace to enjoy a cold alcoholic beverage. Of course, that’s not possible this Friday afternoon. Instead, I’m enjoying the last days of spring on my deck soaking in the air and trying to identify some songbirds in the woods behind my house. All while simultaneously soaking in the last of a cappuccino I made from home roasted beans. Not a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon! I’ve said it before…I’m fortunate to be one of the privileged.

When I’m not working from home or sipping cappuccino on my deck or pressure washing my house, I’ve been embarrassingly unproductive. I should be in the best shape of my life, I should have all my images cataloged and processed, I should have a new website up, or I should be halfway done writing my book. Life is short and precious. I hope I don’t look back on 2020 as the year of lost opportunity. I still have time to avoid that fate, but I say that to myself every day it seems.

Admittedly, I set high standards for myself. I’ve spent a lot of time studying viruses and aerosols and masks and disinfectants and models. Maybe I’ll share some of that science stuff in a future post. It’s really remarkable how much science had been applied to the coronavirus in such a short amount of time.

I’ve actually spent some time digging through old images and building my expertise in software like Photoshop and Lightroom. These modest efforts notwithstanding, I should have more to show for the last two months. I’ll keep trying if you keep listening. For now, here are some images from Namibia and the Smokies. I hope you can tell which ones are which!