Saturday was free dog wash day at the Feed and Seed and this hapless fellow was waiting patiently while he was scrubbed by some local high school girls, no doubt thinking of where he could find the closest dead squirrel to roll in.

I’ve been thinking about why noone has uprooted this corn stalk. I think it has something to do with life and the will to live. Without getting too philosophical, whenever I see something like this, I think about the effort it takes to just get through the asphalt, much less survive. I don’t think people can bring themselves to destroy something that has put out that much effort. OK, so much for today’s lesson. Be sure to read the next chapter of “The Republic of Plato”. There’ll be a pop quiz on Tuesday.*Update June 29: Well, I guess I was wrong. I went by yesterday and the corn is gone. I guess man’s compulsion for tidiness trumps corn’s will to live.

Corn? On a city street? It brings a couple of questions to mind. How did it get there and why hasn’t someone pulled it up? I guess people want to see if it grows an ear.

We’ve been in Georgia this week visiting family. This is my brother and sister in-law digging potatoes in their garden as Mary supervises, martini in hand.

Walking back from dinner I passed this street violinist. She wasn’t the only musician on the mall. There was a banjo player and a couple of guitar players as well. Look3 is billed as three days of Peace, Love and Photography. Sort of like Woodstock, only without Hendrix and Santana. There are a ton of exhibits, workshops led by terrific photographers (David Allan Harvey, Bill Allard, Eugene Richards) and each year three photographers are honored. This year it’s Mary Ellen Mark, Joel Peter Witkin and one of the most brilliant photographers I’ve ever seen, James Natchway. How he can make such beuatifully composed, emotionally moving photographs under the conditions he does is beyond me.

I really admire an entrepreneur; probably because I’ve never been one. Yesterday was the first day of Look3, a photo festival that evolved from Nick Nichols’ backyard slide show for friends. Now in its 2nd year, it attracts 1000’s of photographers from all over the world. On my way to dinner I spotted this dog outside the restaurant and asked the owner, a young girl, if I could photograph him. She held out her hand and said, ” 50 cents. ” Her hands were purple, so she had just dyed the dog. What better way to make a few bucks than to dye your dog purple and put him in the middle of a thousand cameras. Look out Donald Trump.

I found these mushrooms growing on the steps into the cellar as I was rummaging around looking for an old window fan. I’m not sure what mushrooms growing in the cellar signifies, but unless you intend to grow them, which I don’t, I’m sure it can’t be good.