Pic(k) of the Week: Autumn morning on Arabia Lake

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

As I was setting up my tripod, a passing hiker greeted me.
"It's a beautiful day."
"Yes, indeed," I replied.

Arabia Lake: a man-made reservoir on Arabia Mountain, a granite monadnock near the town of Stonecrest in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 6 November 2025.

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Arabia Lake & Davidson-Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area

The former Davidson Quarry, which owned Arabia Mountain in the mid 20th-century, created the lake in the by damming small Stephenson Creek. In 1972, the Davidson family closed the quarry and donated the land to the county. Concrete and metal remains of a quarry bridge can still be seen on both banks of the lake (visible, in the photo, in the background)

The land is now part of the Davidson-Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area...

...that encompasses natural, cultural, and historical elements to form a cohesive, nationally significant landscape. The area is due east of Atlanta and spans 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) reaching from the historic commercial center of Lithonia to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, including several sites in between, including Arabia Mountain, Panola Mountain, and the historic Flat Rock Community. The National Heritage Area was established in 2006 and is coordinated by the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area Alliance, which includes board members, representatives from the community and local organizations, and staff.

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Miles Davis: Boplicity.
Album: Birth of the Cool
Label: Capitol Records (recorded 1949; released 1957).

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Pic(k) of the Week: Catch a beat

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Catch a beat! Drummer in action during a performance by Atlanta-area musician Mandi Strachota and the Major 7s.

Oakhurst Porchfest: Decatur, Georgia, USA, 11 October 2025.

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Porchfest

Porchfests are annual music events held across the United States and in Canada on front porches. Started in Ithaca, New York, in 2007, porchfest events bring local musicians and neighborhoods together to celebrate and create a sense of community.

Since 2015, Oakhurst Porchfest [in the eponymous neighborhood of the city of Decatur] has been a grassroots community music festival where front porches become stages, yards become venues, and radical generosity and goodwill rule the day.

— Wikipedia.
— Oakhurst Porchfest.

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Mandi Strachota

Born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in the wilds of Wisconsin, Mandi Strachota is the product of southern roots and Midwest know-how, a potent mix of practicality and soulful dreaming. Mandi has become a fixture on the Atlanta scene, taking her music nationwide in 2019. She is known for her soulful vocals, but is a multi-instrumentalist who is quickly becoming known for her songwriting [...] embracing R&B, gospel, and soul, [...and] dabbling in jazz and blues, with a touch of grit and country sway.

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Mandi Strachota: Daredevil.
Album: Pictures
Label: CD Baby, 2020.

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Pic(k) of the Week: It's Time for a General Strike

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"Defend democracy. It's time for a general strike!"

No Kings protests took place nationwide in the U.S. on October 18, 2025, as part of a series of demonstrations against Donald Trump's policies and actions during his second presidency. The demonstrations, which followed the June 2025 No Kings protests, took place in some 2,700 locations across the country, including the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York City, [and in Atlanta]. Approximately two hundred organizations collaborated to coordinate the October protests, which drew nearly 7 million participants nationwide, marking it as one of the largest single-day demonstrations in American history.

— Wikipedia (accessed 28 October 2025).

In Atlanta, an estimated 10,000 gathered to listen to speakers near the Atlanta Civic Center in the historic Old Fourth Ward. Following the speeches, they marched, en masse, 1½ miles to Liberty Plaza, situated downtown in front of the State Capitol building.

More photos from the rally: here.

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Frederic Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated
Album: The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
Label: Vanguard, 1978.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Stone Mountain summit at sunrise

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It was 'blowing a hoolie,' at sunrise on the summit of Stone Mountain, that is, cold and windy!

A minimalist 'blue hour' silhouette in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA, on 10 October 2025 at 7:20 a.m. EDT.

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Thelonius Monk: Crepuscule with Nellie
Album: Monk's Music (Label: Riverside, 1957)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Old Grist Mill in early autumn afternoon

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A restored 19th-century water-powered gristmill in Stone Mountain Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.

Photo taken 10 October 2025.

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About the mill

The mill was originally built in 1867, operating along a creek in Fannin County in north Georgia (near the current town of Ellijay). It fell into disuse and was eventually abandoned.

In 1965, the mill was dismantled and moved to Stone Mountain Park. There, the mill and its milling equipment, including the mill house and millstones, were reassembled. Additionally, a thirteen-foot-diameter wooden overshot water-wheel and a stone millrace were replicated and put in place.
— Scenic USA.
— Stone Mountain Park.

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Photographer's Notebook

The mill is a well-loved spot in the park, easily accessible from the perimeter road. So, it took some time to capture the image without any visitors in the frame. Fortunately, I finished just as a large group of school children arrived.

The entire scene featured deep contrasts between sunlight and shadow. To capture the full range of tones, I took four separate exposures, blending them later during the editing process. Wind gusts were strong, and some of the foliage shows motion blur. C'est la da-guerre-otype!

Per Merriam-Webster, "gristmill" is one word; the park spells it as two.

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Weather Report: American Tango (Vitouš/Zawinul)
Album: Mysterious Traveler (Label: Columbia, 1974)

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