2.1.21Think Like a ProtonAs seen in Galactic Chicken while waiting on carryout.

2.2.21A Bird’s LifeThese starlings on a telephone wire looked pretty in the sun.

2.3.21A Stinky VisitorThese stupid stink bugs keep getting into the house and flapping around quiet rooms. I scoop them up and throw them back out to winter as punishment.

2.4.21TOOL WORLDI spend too much time and money at Lowe’s, but dammit, I love it.

2.5.21Winter SunsetReturned to the house I’ve shot twice for a real estate listing to get sunset shots of the city. This house has a great view of Downtown from the backyard.

2.6.21Back to BasicsI made a camera obscura today out of wood, a convex lens, and a piece of tracing paper. It was fun to see the science of transmitting an image onto a flat surface first hand in its most basic form. The viewing port is large enough to put my phone up to it and take a photo of the image it creates. The image is actually reversed in reality, but I flipped it in post to illustrate the scene.

2.7.21Don’t Look Behind You…We took a walk and checked out the high school’s track and field area. There was a mural of a tiger punching through the wall, so we had little Myrtle sit in front of it while we took her photo.

2.8.21OhI was building a bird house in the workshop for the last five hours. The window in there doesn’t actually let me see clearly outside, and since it’s been dark for hours, I wasn’t paying attention to what was happening outside. I came upstairs and BOOM—at least four inches of snow and continuously falling. Myrtle wanted to go check it out with me on the porch.

2.9.21There’s a Staircase Under Here SomewhereIt snowed an ungodly amount last night. We woke up to eight inches this morning. Everything was covered. Whatever work the plows did wasn’t enough. I got out early to shovel our driveway, alley, stairs, and sidewalk. While out there, I did the neighbors’ properties as well, and one of the neighbors and I tag teamed the public staircase that leads to Taylor. I was exhausted by the end of the morning.

2.10.21Pretty MarketWhile on a shoot near Findlay Market today, it started snowing again. This time I wasn’t at home to enjoy it. While the market was beautiful, it took me a half hour just to get from OTR to Bellevue because traffic was so slow.

2.12.21He ChonkThis massive icicle formed on the roof. Since there’s no gutter there, it dramatically grew in scale over night. I ended up shattering it later in the afternoon.

2.11.21MiamitownI went out to Miamitown to do a piece on an art studio and stumbled upon this beautiful, dilapidated building on my way back to the car.

2.13.21Dropping OffI helped three different friends accomplish projects today. The first in my list was Downtown. I made a friend a few things for his apartment above the Bayhorse, and while dropping it all off at the door to take upstairs, I snapped a photo of the scene. The back of the old Fort Washington Hotel has a great faded ad.

2.14.21Only Half ThereI’m tired of being at my computer. Despite building a nice desk and improving what I already have, I rarely ever want to be here. What was once my hub for creativity has turned into a place that represents irritation, stagnation, and a constant reminder of my own failings. I’m burned out on several things that keep me glued to this device to the point where I relish the chance to clean a bathtub or rearrange chemicals under the kitchen sink over spending additional time in front of these screens. I’ve said before how much more satisfying building with my hands is than anything I do on the computer, but it goes even beyond that. Literally any physical activity that keeps me away from this desk is preferable. I do not know how to rekindle or refresh my passion for what I used to do. Time off merely reminds me of how much happier I am when not working at this desk.

2.15.21A Surprising AdventureToday I did something that made me feel good. I left my home in Bellevue around 2:30 PM, walked Downtown, and spent the next several hours documenting the city under a level 2 snow emergency. Very few cars were on the road, and even fewer people were out walking. The city was quiet and calm, save for the frozen rain pelting me in the face the entire time. I took my Z6 and my iPhone and walked to Mt. Adams, then to Eden Park, then to Mt. Auburn and Prospect Hill, then to Over-the-Rhine, and finally to Downtown. Travis joined me for a while before heading home a couple of hours later. Ronny and Egypt said hello and walked with me for a couple of blocks, too. I visited many major landmarks: Music Hall, Fountain Square, GABP, and finally the Roebling Bridge, where I snapped an accidentally eerie photo of a woman who looks like a ghost trudging through the snow in the foreground. Without her, this photo would be less impactful, so thank you, random woman, for conspiring to make this image better. Overall, I walked about 9 miles over 5 hours. My beard was a solid sheet of ice by the time I hobbled up my front steps.

2.16.21Snow-CoveredJust a shot from our bedroom. Love the untouched snow on all the roofs.

2.17.21PersistentThis bastard has been my project all week. I knock him down, he re-forms. Repeat the process every day. Only rising temps will rid us of him.

2.18.21Landing ConfirmedWatched NASA’s Perseverance land on Mars while I worked this afternoon. Seeing the scientists and engineers erupt into excitement upon confirmation that it was safe on the surface was so fun to see.

2.19.21Snowy SunsetJust a nice winter scene in Bellevue.

2.20.21ReUse CenterWe went to South Fairmount today to get a couple of old metal cabinets for a project we’re putting together, and the ReUse Center is truly something to behold in person. I will be spending more time here in the near future.

2.21.21New Point of InterestYesterday’s trip to the ReUse Center was today’s DIY project. I stood these metal cabinets up and affixed them to two long 2x4s, which were then screwed into the wall. Then I made a little base upon which both cabinets sit so as to place all of the weight on the legs of the base instead of the wall. I raised the whole thing up off the floor to avoid it getting wet in the event the house ever floods. We’re building a stockpile of emergency items, such as a wind-up radio and water, in the event we lose power for several days like the people of Texas did this past week. I do not expect the entire cabinet to be filled with emergency items, but it’s a good thing to have handy in the event anything happens. We also put a ton of magnets on the front and sides of it to dress it up a little. We’re both happy with how it turned out.

2.22.21Bill’s FunwheelLocal 91.7 WVXU broadcaster Bill Rinehart has a catchphrase he frequently uses while doing the news in the late afternoon. He announces debris in the road when it impairs traffic in a signature way that many who listen enjoy. It’s become a running joke with listeners of the station, so I spent a couple days building a wheel with some of the things that could (and have) been in the road. I painted little illustrations on each pie piece and wood-burned his catchphrase into the base. Colored pencil was used to do the news chevron at the bottom, and a white paint pen was used to do the lettering on either side of it. I will give it to him tomorrow. Hope he likes it.

2.23.21Cincinnati WeatherA few days ago, you couldn’t walk on the sidewalks because of all the snow and ice. Nearly all of it’s gone because of rising temperatures. We decided to take the dog down to Darkness, drink a couple beers, and enjoy the mild weather while we have it. I didn’t end up taking a single photo with my camera because we lost light too quickly. Looking very forward to spring and summer when we can be outdoors more often.

2.24.21Around the BendHad to go get some exteriors of these apartments for an upcoming piece and waited until the streetcar rounded the corner to add a little motion to the otherwise static image.

2.25.21A Trip to the MuseumI went to both the Taft Museum and CAM today to photograph two different exhibits for an upcoming piece on Refined. Ericka met me there and is writing both pieces.

2.26.21Goodnight Moon RoomMonths of relentless nostalgic feelings led me to a truly remarkable quirk of NKY today. I should wait until the piece is up, but I can't help it: a bookstore has a room dedicated to Goodnight Moon & it's set up almost exactly like it is in the book. It's been here for 30 years. If I had children, I would take them here after reading them the book.

2.27.21Stop For CoffeeDeeper Roots opened a new spot on West Fourth Downtown, so we stopped in to get a cup before our eye appointments. I really can’t wait to spend time hanging out in here once COVID is no longer a constant threat.

2.28.21Keeping My Spot Warm For MeEarly this morning, at 12:49 AM, I went to get into bed and Myrtle was sleeping in my spot like a human. She was using my pillow for her head and everything. She knows the drill, though, so as soon as I made my way over to her, she got up and moved.