A Look Back at 2012

A few representative nature shots:

2012 in Review: NOT the Biggest Fish of the Year

This gizzard shad made my smallest catch of the year when it came in on the Roostertail I was casting to feeding white bass in Stockton Lake. What were they feeding on? Gizzard shad.

Statuesque Humor

Hey, somebody get this pigeon off my head. An otherwise distinguished sculpture in Padua, Italy. But, alas, a pigeon awaits every statue.

5 Years Ago Today

Five years ago today I took one of my favorite bird shots in Arizona. Cousin Dick Callender, whom we lost this year, was my guide in Arizona. Great Egret Fishing Ardea alba, in winter plumage, stalks the shallows of a small lake in Arizona. Someone asked if the water was really that blue. My response: Yes, I had a magical vantage point for this shot. Increased the contrast a bit, but other than that, that's how it looked. I was shooting a War Memorial at a lakeside when the egret cruised in and invited me to do a photo shoot. The actual experience was even better than the photo.

Last Year with Dick

One year ago today we were happily hiking in Arizona with Peggy's cousins Dick and Melba after spending Christmas with them, never suspecting it would be our last together. Dick, we all miss you. Dick Callender (1938-2012)

Remembering My Sis on Christmas

My first without her. My thoughts and prayers go out to her 4 wonderful kids and their families. This is a freshly cropped picture of Patsy on her eighth birthday, before I was around. I love you sis, and I miss you. Patricia Ann Horn Brown (1937-2012)

Traditional Site of Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem

This 14-point silver star marks the traditional place of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, in the Cave (or Grotto) of the Nativity. I saw it for the second time this November. It was disappointing both times. Visiting Israel is a must, but the level of ceremonial ornamentation at the traditional sites is not one of the highlights. The Church of Nativity is located in an area of the West Bank governed by the Palestinian Authority. The Church itself has been subdivided between Christian sects. This actual nativity area is officially neutral but co-administered by Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox (or Apostolic), which influences the ornamentation. Preparing for Orthodox Christmas in 2007, about 80 Greek and Armenian priests got into a fist fight, leaving several slightly injured, and requiring the presence of Palestinian police. All, ironically, at the traditional birthplace of the Prince of Peace.

Photo of the Day: St. John's Church

St. John's Church, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Oldest Catholic parish in Indianapolis, built in in 1867.

Photo of the Day: Charlemagne Statue, Notre Dame Plaza

Statue of the legendary King Charles the Great, in the plaza of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.

Photo of the Day: The Erechtheion, Athens

The Erechtheion (or Erechtheum), built c. 420 B.C., sports the porch of the Caryatids (or porch of the Maidens), architectural supports used as pillars and fashioned as women. The main temple was dedicated to the worship of the two principal gods of Attica, Athena and Poseidon-Erechtheus, in two separate areas. This is located across from the Parthenon.

Photo of the Day: Mars Hill, Athens, Greece

This is Mars Hill, or the Areopagus, where the apostle Paul preached the sermon on the unknown God in the book of Acts. (I shot this in November, 2005.)

Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, “For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Acts 17:22-31, NKJV

Photo of the Day: Cow Pie Walls, Tajik Village

Cow pies dry on mud walls in a village in Tajikistan.

Photo of the Day: Afghanistan After the Taliban

An Afghan villager stands in front of the ruins of his home, bombed by the Taliban. A neighbor boy jumped into the picture. From my 2006 trip and story.

Photo of the Day: Battle of Carthage Marker

(Most viewed on Flickr yesterday.) Jasper County Courthouse, Carthage, Missouri. "Battle of Carthage In memory of the men in blue and gray who fought here on July 5, 1861. Dedicated by the United Veterans of Carthage who fought side by side in four foreign wars, on July 4, 1961." The sign below is at the site, outside of town: Battle of Carthage State Historic Site

Photo of the Day

Eastern Cottontail Rabbit - Sylvilagus floridanus. Photographed in Springfield, Missouri.

Influential Reformer Oecolampadius

Protestant Reformer Oecolampadius died this date in 1531. He was the first notable person to suggest that laypeople have a say in their congregations. Clergy dominated before this. Some Reformers warmed up to his suggestion and a large percentage of Protestantism later embraced it. Oecolampadius also challenged clergy to be leaders, not tyrants. "Your mission is to evangelize, not to curse," he wrote to William Farel. "Prove yourself to be an evangelist, not a tyrannical legislator. Men want to be led, not driven." You can thank Oecolampadius for having major influence in bolstering the recognition of the value of laypeople that we enjoy today.

William Penn Cabin 1837, Everton, MO

Yesterday this photo received a one-day record number of views on my Flickr stream — 780. Not sure why. It's a photo of a historical cabin in a Dade County community I pass by on my way to fish Stockton Lake, my favorite fishing grounds. One day I went into town and found this great cabin. It is not the William Penn of Pennsylvania fame, but another. The cabin functioned as Dade County's first courthouse. Here's the info: "In accordance with the foregoing laws, Gov. Thomas Reynolds appointed and commissioned Nelson McDowell, William Penn and David Hunter as justices of the county court, and Asa G. Smith as sheriff of the county. In further compliance with the law, these justices met on the first Monday of March, 1841, at the residence of William Penn (on Pennsylvania Prairie), and then and there organized their court, and appointed Joseph Allen as clerk, and thus completed the organization of Dade County." From HISTORY OF DADE COUNTY AND HER PEOPLE From the date of the Earliest Settlements to the present time By THE PIONEER HISTORICAL COMPANY, R. A. Ludwick, Manager, A. J. Young, Editor-in-Chief Note the 2 fledgling American kestrels sitting in the window.

A Good Weekend for Football

It was not a good weekend for Bay Area baseball fans. So let's talk about football. The 49ers put in a dominating 45-3 performance over the Buffalo Bills. And the Raiders didn't lose. (It was a bye week.) Stanford made 2 crucial fourth downs to force overtime with Arizona and then won 54-48. Because of my time living in Oregon I became an Oregon Ducks fan. The Ducks dominated their foe, stopping the Washington Huskies 52-21.

A's & Giants Play Back to Back Today

Playoffs begin for Bay Area teams, both West Division champs of their respective leagues.

Stormy's Brief Stay

These pictures were taken 4 years ago today. Stormy was a hungry, abandoned kitten we rescued from the farm trail I walk. She would have had a great home for a long time but she kept attacking our other cat, Perkitty. Perky would have accepted her. Friends kept Stormy for a while, then we found a good home for her. We would like to have kept her.

Giants, A's Double West Champs

Both Bay Area teams take their respective West Division titles. Another Bay Bridge Series would be great.

A's Give Rangers One Last Jolt

A's sweep Rangers to win West on last day of season. First team ever to come from five games down with nine to play to take their division or league.

Oakland Is Back!

Incredible A's in playoffs with 18 rookies and lowest payroll in baseball!

Battle of Antietam—150 Years Ago Today

It was 150 years ago today. The bloodiest single day in American history took place during the Civil War near Sharpsburg, MD, and Antietam Creek. It resulted in 23,000 soldiers killed, wounded or missing—in a mere 12 hours of fierce combat. The Battle of Antietam brought the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North to an end, after which Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Peggy and I were privileged to tour the battlefield May 31 of this year. A few photos follow. My entire photo set can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/hornkl/sets/72157631559341335/with/7832238494/.

9/11 Memorial in Downtown Indianapolis

"Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America." President George W. Bush September 11, 2001

Forty-Niners 30 Packers 22

Sunset on the Ohio River, Louisville, Kentucky

Last night from my hotel room.