A different take

Last week you saw a picture from April 6th showing a great mixture of purple phlox and sandworts (Minuartia drummondii), with some Indian paintbrushes (Castilleja indivisa) adding red-orange touches. I took that picture at a high shutter speed to counteract the strong breeze that stayed with us all day (one source estimated gusts as strong as 40 miles per hour). I also took a few pictures at a slow shutter speed to let the wind have its way with the flowers and create something akin to an Impressionist painting, where forms are suggested rather than clearly delineated. You’re looking at one of those that I took at 2/25 of a second (the camera showed 1/13 of a second, but I’m assuming that meant 1/12.5).

© 2022 Steven Schwartzman

 

 

 

Unexpected Missouri violets

For whatever reason, I practically never come across Missouri violets (Viola missouriensis). The only time I showed a picture of one here was in 2016. Imagine my surprise, then, on April 1st when I discovered two little clumps of Missouri violets that had sprung up between bricks in a walkway behind our house. We’ve called this place home for almost 18 years, and these were the first Missouri violets I’d ever seen in our yard. To give you a sense of scale, let me add that a Missouri violet flower is at most 3/4 of an inch across.

 

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Welcome to New Discourses! We like to think of this place as a home for the politically homeless, especially for those who feel like they’ve been displaced from their political homes because of the movement sometimes called “Critical Social Justice” and the myriad negative effects it has had on our political environments, both on the left and on the right. If that’s you, welcome, and make yourself at home.

New Discourses is, by design, meant to be apolitical in the usual sense. That means it is not interested in conservative, progressive, left, right, center, or any other particular political stances. It is, in this regard, only broadly liberal in the philosophical and ethical stance. In that case, whether you’re a progressive left-liberal or a conservative right-liberal, traditional or classical in any case, you’re likely to find what we’re doing refreshing. (And if you don’t, we can talk about it! That’s the point!)

That’s from the About page of a website I recently came across (I don’t remember how). If those words resonate with you, check out New Discourses.

© 2022 Steven Schwartzman