Those of you following my blog will remember that I sprained my wrist eight weeks ago while attending the US Pond Hockey Championships. And being my dominant hand it’s been an exercise in patience, of which I sometimes haven’t had a lot of. But what was originally diagnosed as a sprain has since proved to have been a break. A few weeks ago I found out that I had broken one of the bones in my right arm below the wrist, the ulna. Good news was that the break was healing. Bad news was that my thumb wasn’t working right. If you look at the photo, the thumb on the left is giving a good “thumbs-up” whereas the thumb on the right is unable to flex up and back. (For you photographers, yes, I did flip the photo. It is my right thumb that is the problem thumb.) I could use my left hand and pull my right thumb back without any problems, but I could not get the muscles and tendons to do it on its own. After multiple doctor visits, I was informed that I have a ruptured tendon in my thumb as a result of the break in my arm. No amount of physical therapy will be of any help — the only solution is surgery. I’ve since learned that we have one tendon in our thumb, however we have two tendons in each of our fingers (although we really only need one). The surgery to repair my thumb, called an EIP to ELP tendon transfer, involves taking one of the tendons from the finger and moving it over to replace the ruptured tendon of my thumb. So this coming Friday I’m scheduled to have my thumb repaired. Hopefully in about six weeks I’ll be able to give a 2-thumbs-up and have it really work right!
Uncategorized
The simplicity of winter
There is a wondrous simplicity that seems to take hold of the landscape in winter. With all the snow that has fallen, our world has become very black and white. Color is hard to find in the surroundings. With a fresh few inches of snow this past week, I headed out of the house with my camera before dawn. I didn’t have to venture very far — just over to a nearby golf course. The world was quiet on this winter’s day; there were no birds, animals, or other people when I got to my destination. The silence was only interrupted by the sounds of my snowshoes. Quickly the sun moved over the horizon and into the sky adding some color to the scene. Doing so it lent its warm light to the cold landscape, with long shadows over the clean snow. As if on cue, the rest of the world began to stir and wake. I heard a cross-country skier out on the groomed tracks, and I heard cars moving by with their tires scrunching the compact snow on the roads. The quiet and stillness had changed, but the simplicity of snow and trees and sunlight was still there.
Exhibits, awards and publications
This past Friday night was the opening reception for the 4th annual Horizontal Grandeur fine art exhibition at the Stevens County Historical Museum in Morris, Minnesota. The exhibit brought together artists from across the country, all living in states with prairies. Inspired by Bill Holm’s essay, “Horizontal Grandeur,” there were inspiring and wonderful interpretations of the prairie theme. I was honored to have two of my photographs juried into this show. This image, “Dawn’s first light on the prairie” was photographed while I was an artist-in-residence at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa. My second photograph in the exhibit is the image from my April 11, 2010 blog entry “Pasque flower welcome to spring.” For a complete viewing of the pieces in the exhibit, please visit the website for the Stevens County Historical Museum at www.stevenshistorymuseum.com.
Here in the Twin Cities I’m a member of the Minneapolis Photographic Society — a group of wonderfully talented photographers with diverse interests. Each year there is one image that is selected as Color Print of the Year and one that is selected as Monochrome Print of the Year. This year I was awarded the Color Print of the Year for my image “Through the red barn window.” To see more of the award-winning images from the group, please visit the website: http://www.mplsphoto.com/mps/site/a28yearend.php
And lastly, I am excited to have a photograph published in the July/August issue of “The Iowan Magazine.” This image “Swept into the center” is the opening spread of the portfolio section titled “red.white.blue.”
It’s been a busy and exciting few months, and I feel honored with these exhibits, awards, and publications.
It was a dark & stormy night
We headed north this weekend for a little fishing trip — one that was full of delights and surprises. We were tent camping and were fortunate to find a beautiful campsite on the shore of a northern lake. As we drifted to sleep last night we were serenaded by a chorus of frogs and loons. And yet in the middle of the night a storm moved through, bringing lightning and thunder, wind, and rain. I lay wide awake in the tent, imagining a worst-case scenario and worrying about what we would do. Luckily the worst of the dark & stormy night was off in the distance and what I was imagining didn’t develop. When we awoke this morning we were greeted with summer temperatures, a calm lake, and clearing skies. Today was beautiful for fishing. With blue skies, white clouds, clear water, and the serenade of red-winged blackbirds and loons, we were successful in catching a “slug” of northern pike. After having lived here in Minnesota for almost four years I’m appreciating even more the specialness and richness of our 10,000 plus lakes.
Sounds of transition
As a photographer, I consider myself a visual person. My eyes are constantly moving across whatever scene is in front of me, scanning for details, for patterns, for the beauty of the scene. Yet this week I’ve been attuned to the sounds in the air as we transition from winter to spring. With temperatures above freezing throughout the whole week, we’ve been serenaded with the sweet sound of running water. The gutters and drainspouts are gurgling once again — a sound we haven’t heard since early December. The street curbs are filled with water running from the snowmelt down to the storm drains. Every house and building overhang is dripping as the snow is melted by a warmer and brighter sun. As I was walking in the neighborhood this afternoon my ears caught the sound of a group of young boys playing catch and the distant radio broadcast of a spring training baseball game. I think spring is the one season that’s announced by a cacophony of sounds, all that are welcome with the promise of warmer weather, green grass, blue skies and warm sunshine. Yes, we still have mounds of snow and the sidewalks are becoming small canals as the water melts with nowhere to run, but we have hope in this annual ritual.
lindastaatsphoto.com 