An oldy but a goodie, from my east coast days

The titles of this and the previous image could easily be reversed - 'measure of time' or 'matter of time'. I did this one when i was first starting out doing darkroom photomontage.

The clock is what's called a travel clock, it can be folded up flat or opened to sit wherever. 

It's frame was wrapped in leatherlike the one above, but it was very worn in a nice warm way, made you wonder where it had traveled to. I found it in a desk drawer, my parents had two old windsor desks with lots of memorabilia, including an old Kodak autographic camera, and an Argus 35mm camera.

The Kodak image comes from a page on eBay - it's in mint condition, can be yours for $97.

This is what the Argus looked like, a little bit 'art deco', except it was an aqua color, with metal casing. Image found on etsy, many similar for sale, there are 'collectors' of just about anything.

I went thru 39 pages of google images of windsor desks, a very interesting search. There is definitely a dizzying array of choices, none of them look like what my parents had, but the way the desk works is much the same, w/ many variations. The most interesting feature is: Many small drawers and various filing/hiding/storage places/spaces. 'cubbyholes' is the term for them. 

All these items remind one how much times have changed. Your desktop? ..is now a computer monitor screen, your watch can be a multitasking health monitor, your phone is also your camera.

To return to the image, of course there's a bird in it - time flies!

Carpe diem, dear reader. 2016 will soon be history, the big ball will drop in Times Square, you celebrate in whatever way you wish. To quote a great songwriter, Warren Zevon:

"Time marches on, time stands still, time on my hands, time to kill. We contemplate eternity under the vast indifference of heaven'.

Don't let 'the vast indifference of heaven' slow you down much. Warren sure didn't.

'Matter of time'

Another image in the 'time' series

I could also title this one 'Measure of time', either title would be fine & fitting. 

The fog recedes long enough to let sunshine throw great sharp shadows from this half man-made / half nature-made time piece. A small root from some dunes grass spins in the wind, making concentric grooves in the sand, a compliment to the two hands of a clock. A small creature of some kind leaves it's trail. All the elements here are on different measures of time - circles on sand, trails left behind, a clock that keeps ticking, ticking, ticking relentlessly on, fog that has a schedule all it's own. And sand that is the end result of who knows much rock building and then grinding 'til what was once VERY large (perhaps covering continents) and heavy becomes the consistency of table salt. In one of John McPhee's books about the geology of the US, from east to west (a marvelous series of books, ending w/ 'Assembling California') he writes: The top of the Himalayas is made of marine shale - hope you didn't miss that - marine shale, made in the ocean, now at 25,000+ft elevation. Now that takes some time doesn't it?