Pic(k) of the Week: Ephemeral rapids

Arabia Mountain is a monadnock —"an isolated small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain"— located just over 20 miles southeast of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Primarily composed of granite-like migmatite rock, the 'mountain' is 955 feet (290 m) above sea level, rising 172 feet (52 m) above the surrounding countryside.

Here, ephemeral pools, recently overfilled by rain, empty down its exposed rock face. The hillcrest in the image is some distance from the summit.

Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area: Stonecrest, Georgia, USA. 26 January 2023.

-----more-----

Pic(k) of the Week: Light as storm passes

i am afraid of what happens

when it stops storming this way round

when the clouds have blown,

and all that is left are me and my prayers for rain.

i'm trying to enjoy the thunder while it lasts,

but it's hard not to miss a storm before it leaves.

— Ryan Jones
a bop for rayden

Poem seen in Georgia Poetry in the Parks. Sunset seen after a violent storm in Decatur, Georgia, USA, 12 January 2023.

-----more-----

Pic(k) of the Week: Full Wolf Moon

The setting Full 'Wolf Moon,' waning gibbous (at 99% illumination), on a cloudy, early morning, as seen over Decatur, Georgia, USA, on 7 January 2023 at 6:43 am EDT.

The first full moon of the new year, January's Wolf Moon, rises on Friday night (Jan. 6). The moon will be on the far side of Earth and close to its farthest from the Earth, around 250,000 miles (around 400,000 km), making it a 'micromoon,' the opposite of a 'supermoon,' when the moon is closer to the Earth. The moon's orbit around Earth is a flattened circle, or 'elliptical, ' so there are times when the moon is closer to Earth and times when it is farther away. However, 'supermoons' appear only around 14% larger than 'micromoons,' a difference virtually imperceptible to the naked eye.

The Old Farmer's Almanac states that the name for January's full moon —the Wolf Moon— arises due to the fact it was seen at times of the year when wolves could be howling outside villages as a result of hunger.

— Space.com.

-----more-----

Pic(k) of the Week: Vernal Dreaming

This unnamed mural is painted on an outside side wall of Twain's Brewpub & Billiards, in Decatur, Georgia, USA. Often obscured by employee vehicles, it was in full view this winter morning (11 December 2022).

For its title, Vernal Dreaming, befitting the dank day, would be my conceit.

-----more-----

2022 Pic(k) of the Week Rotogravure

Pic(k) of the Week

Since 2006, I have uploaded 24,601 photographs and images to the website Flickr. Every Saturday since 29 August 2009, I have culled through those images and selected one as my Pic(k) of the Week.

Here's a retrospective collage of the fifty-two images I selected for 2022. Clicking on the thumbnail will take you to the full image.

***************

2022

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

**************

Metrics

☞ Of my fifty-two selections in 2022:

• Only 7 (or 14%) were fermentably related.
• Thus, 45 images (or 86%) were NOT of a fermentable or comestible, or brewery/winery/distillery, or related subject.
• 29 images (56%) were of 'nature.'
• 10 (19%) were of structures, objects, vehicles, or signs (not including breweries).
• 10 (19%) were focused on people, primarily or tangentially.
• 7 (13%) were of art or culture in one form or another.
• 6 images (11%) were in black-and-white (but none were beer-related).

☞ That compares to 2014, when:

• 45 (or 86%) were fermentably related.
• Thus, only 7 images (or 14%) were NOT of a fermentable or comestible, or related subject.
• 6 images (11%) were of 'nature.'
• 2 (4%) were of structures, objects, vehicles, or signs (not including breweries).
• 28 (43%) were focused on people, primarily or tangentially.
• 1 (2%) was of art/culture in one form or another.
• 1 image (2%) was in black-and-white (but not beer-related).

(The figures don't reflect a sum, as a category may be a subset of another.)

☞ Examining the images of the previous nine years, 2014-2022, here's more of how my selections have changed. The trend is undeniable. My 'general photography has grown at the expense of beer-related photography.

	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
Beer	2	n/a	12	10	12	28	34	34	26
Brewery/Pub	3	n/a	8	12	5	8	16	20	34
Cask ale	0	n/a	1	1	2	5	0	10	8
Wine/Winery	1	n/a	0	1	0	1	0	3	4
Whiskey/Liquor/Distillery	2	n/a	0	0	1	0	0	2	1
Food/Restaurant	0	n/a	1	2	3	4	8	5	5

(As above, the figures don't reflect a sum, as a category may be a subset of another: such as breweries also appearing under beer, food also under brewpub/brewery, etc.)

☞ Here are links to the image retrospectives for the years 2014 through 2020. (I did not do one for 2021.)

• 2021 retrospective (n/a)
• 2020 retrospective
• 2019 retrospective
• 2018 retrospective
• 2017 retrospective
• 2016 retropective
• 2015 retrospective
• 2014 retrospective

***************

The cycle begins anew.

There were 53 Saturdays in 2022. So, the first Pic(k) of the Week for 2023 was posted on 31 December 2022. See it at Flickr: here.

-----more-----