2021: THE CHURCH OF THE OPEN ROAD’S YEAR IN REVIEW

  

In the beginning it was all black and white.

~ Maureen O’Hara

 

 

Click on any picture to expand 'em all.  (Some might be deemed worth the effort.)

Mid-winter ride on the beloved Enrico, the Yamaha, little knowing his days would be numbered.

 

Nothing like an old barn and a good cloudscape…

 

…even a cloudscape close to home, to capture some emotion.

 

Springtime and mustard cover crop in the vineyards of the Napa Valley.

 

This bell seemed a little Hitchcockian…

 

…as did this tilting silo.  I don’t know why.  Perhaps it's because this is near Bodega...

 

 

I read that prior to the advent of color TV, 

most people dreamed in black and white.

~ Damian Loeb

 

Revisited some long-ago haunts…

 

… and some places we’d like to haunt again.

 

Perfunctory derelict tractor image.

 

Perfunctory wildflower image.

 

Perfunctory love note from Dad to Mom circa 1948.

 

Edward visits the trestle…

 

…on one of our many coastal sojourns where we see…

 

…breakers…

 

…beach bums…

 

…light houses…

 

…and smoke-choked sunsets.

 

Enrico’s replacement is an Italian varietal I’ve named Mariolanza, the Moto Guzzi.

 

 

A melancholy trip to Simpson Camp…

 

…scorched by the year-ago’s Mendocino Complex…

 

…leaving little but memories.

 

I wanted to be Amish when I was a kid. 

You just wear black and white - what could be better? 

One less thing to worry about. 

~ Anderson Cooper

 

Autumn leaves…

 

…a tune from Tony Bennett…

 

…a watchful guardian…

 

…a perfunctory old truck picture…

 

…and snow dusts the nearby Mayacamas for Christmas.

 

 

Shots of the year (as judged by me):  Third runner up ~ steel bridge over Butte Creek.

 

Second runner up: Damn! That’s a beautiful bike!

 

First runner up: Reflections in a walking path puddle.

 

Shot of the Year:  Live steam!

 

If everything isn’t black and white, I say, “Why the hell not?”

~ John Wayne

 

© 2021

Church of the Open Road Press