Brunswick, Maryland, USA

Brunswick, Maine, has the Androsgoggin. Brunswick, Maryland, has the Potomac, lots of trumpet vines, and just one purple bench. Thirteen other states also have a town named Brunswick. So, what's a -wick? In this case, a settlement. And brun, of course, means brown. [2021]

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

"God Bless America" and every other country, too. We are all children of God. But, it's Flag Day, so let's honor the red, white, and blue, knowing that the events taking place on America's public square today are making the stars and stripes ever brighter. It's good to see democracy in action. [2020]

Huntington Beach, California, USA

Here be boys playing ball.

Better sports than boisterous brawl.

Each one of four, a partner has,

Analog images all crossing paths.

Total: eight. But only four

Will leave the shore. 

At end of day, at end of play, 

The analogs will fade away.

No echo of an: "Oh, please stay."

No! Brother Sol must have his way.

[2020]

Big Springs, Nebraska, USA

With one exception, wheels created Big Springs. First came wagon wheels (think: Oregon Trail). Then came steam-train wheels (think: spring water). Then came automobile wheels (think: Lincoln Highway). So, what's the exception? The Pony Express (think: hoofs, not wheels). [2019]

London, England, USA

Have you ever looked at a tree trunk as a canvass? First, look at the bark. London planetrees are best at mottling their bark. Second, look at the ivy. English ivy is best at turning the canvass green. Third, look at the shadows. Lamp posts are best at providing light, but in this case they're casting shade: enigmatic, just like art should be. [2015]

Sharkey, Kentucky, USA

How do you dress up a barn and please your neighbors? Add a quilt square to the sunny side. If possible, plan it so the shadows from a nearby hardwood add yet another layer to what would otherwise be a mundane element of the cultural landscape. [2017]

Andorra La Vella, Andorra

Skateboarders begin to hone their skills on sidewalks; they graduate to quarter pipes like this; they perfect their gravity-defying moves on vert ramps; and now they are going to the Olympics. Get ready for Tokyo in 2020. Heretofore, skateboarding has been a counter-cultural sport (see his hair?), but now it is going mainstream (finally!). [2005]

Nomini Grove, Virginia, USA

The roadside stand may be closed for the season, but the strawberry crop is already in the field and under the watchful eye of the old farmhouse. Garners is one of Virginia's 1379 Century Farms, which means they have been in the same hands for at least one hundred years. Stay tuned for spring! [2016]

Tlaquepaque, Sedona, Arizona, USA

Who's the mural artist here? Mother Nature, of course. She's working with shadows. Might shadows have been the inspiration for the world's first mural art 40,000 years ago? [2009]

Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Michelangelo, the artist not the turtle, observed that "a true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection." Does that apply to this snapshot of Geographically Yours? [2016]

Wemyss Bight, Eleuthera, The Bahamas

Someone outght to write a thesis on the geography of shadows. At the micro-scale, they exercise a demi-deterministic influence on daytime, out-of-doors population distribution. Shadows also shelter bats and what they represent:  in this case, rum! [2014]

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Here be some shadow friends. Fair-weather friends they are. They don't like rain; they don't like clouds; and they don't like night.  Sometimes, though, perhaps this very night, they will come out to play when sister moon sends them an invitation. [2011]

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

A shadow just doubles the aesthetic effect of a faux gas lamp. Design your night lights well for they may help brighten up the daylight hours too. Any evidence this lamp has roots in 19th century Danish design? [2014]

Urbanna, Virginia, USA

Street lights rise above the fray.
They are important night and day.
At night, they offer light.
By day, they play with shades of gray.
[2013]

Dalton, Georgia, USA

Shadows add action to otherwise inert landscapes. It's almost as if they are alive with a creativity of their own. Here a street light adds no light to a brick wall. Anyone need more evidence that there's a parallel universe out there? [2013]

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

In only a few hours, the new year will begin making its way around the world, time zone by time zone. For a brief moment, our planet will be divided between two different years. Then, even American Samoa will catch up, and 2013 will recede into the shadows. [2006]

Moab, Utah, USA

The shadows are closing in on 2013, and thoughts are now turning to New Year's resolutions: get more exercise, take a walk daily, eat less greasy food, end every day with ice cream, and make every minute count. [2013]

Gardner, Massachusetts, USA

The backdrop suggests work. The action suggests play. Let's not confuse the two. Work is work, and play is play, and never the twain shall meet. Then, again, this young scholar looks like he is working hard at play. [2013]

Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA

They're fire escapes, not balconies; necessities, not amenities; settings for calamities, not festivities. Yet, a little green and a matrix of morning shadow give everyone a reason to lift their eyes and restore their spirits. [2013]

Florence, Oregon, USA

There's money in the law. And historic preservation is richer for it. Attorneys often put their signature on local communities by rescuing signature architecture from destruction. Do you see the porch mural on this attorney's office? It's painted by the shadows, and in about an hour it will disappear. [2011]