Laura Landen

FIREWORKS!

Laura Landen — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 00:52:04 +0000

I always enjoy fireworks, even though I don’t always go out to watch them. They do make me happy. These days, a little perking up seems to be in order. These images were taken in 2022, but they still can produce the desired effect. Enjoy, and be happy!

[See image gallery at www.lauralanden.com]

Henri’s Handiwork

Laura Landen — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 03:42:07 +0000

Tropical storm Henri hit Rhode Island dead center Sunday, August 21, making landfall over Westerly. That meant most of the state was on the windy side of the storm. Here, we got some bursts of rain and several very windy blasts. Around 1:30 or so in the afternoon, during one of those blasts, I heard a loud CRACK. Fortunately, it was not followed shortly by a crash. I looked around outside when the wind died down and the rain slowed to a drizzle, and found some of Henri’s handiwork. A tall maple tree lost half of its top. At about 20 feet up the tree branched into two forks. One split right off and landed in the yard. No other damage. However, I spent today, with help from Marcia Pena, a friend, removing the branch. You can see the tools of the trade–chain saw and loppers. Fortunately I live in the woods, so we simply dumped the pieces over the edge to let nature handle the recycling. You can see the damage to what’s left of the tree.

Three Quarters

Laura Landen — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 20:29:06 +0000

Every year I get calendars in the mail with beautiful pictures of birds and animals. The first thing I do is look at the picture for September. That’s the deciding factor for which calendar I keep, since my birthday is in September. This year’s birthday was a big one–75, three quarters of a century. Wow! I remember being in the fourth grade (or some other grade near that) and learning about the turn of the century that would occur in our lifetimes. We were the leaders of the 21st century, the teacher said. How old would I be when that occurred? A little math gave the answer–55 years old. That seemed a long way away. On this side of that milestone, 55 years seems a long way away, as well. The best part of life now is having wonderful friends. I was delighted to celebrate my birthday in many ways over several days, but the big event captured in photos was lunch at the Garden Grille in Pawtucket, RI. Here are some photos memorializing my celebration with Terry, Genie, Andrea and Chris. Genie, ever thoughtful, brought each of us little bags with 75 in glitter on them, containing things relating to diamonds, as 75 is the diamond anniversary. She also brought a lovely Lantana plant, which I am trying not to kill.

What Do You Think?

Laura Landen — Sat, 11 Apr 2020 17:45:41 +0000

Green Darner #40

With much help from my good friend Cemal Ekin (KeptLight.com), I have updated the appearance of my web site. Please leave a comment below to let me know what you think. Also, if you have not already done so, please subscribe to receive updates.

New Additions to Providence College Campus

Laura Landen — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 01:51:26 +0000

PC Science Complex

This new building, the Science Complex, opened with the Fall 2018 semester. Shown here in its night-time illumination, the building contains the administrative offices for the science departments, as well as new, state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories. One room that I use occasionally houses the confocal microscope, about which you will hear in a later post.

This torch sculpture reflects the significant character of the Dominican Order’s founding of Providence College. While pregnant, Blessed Joan of Aza, Saint Dominic’s mother, had a dream of a dog holding a torch. She understood this to signify that her child would light a fire across Europe with his preaching. Early saints in the Dominican Order include, of course, Saint Dominic, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Saint Albert the Great. Albert, for whom the Albertus Magnus science building is named, would have appreciated the following image of the torch and the waxing crescent moon.