Finger monkeys and other wonders

Honestly, I find their tiny little human like hands somewhat creepy but they're so cute in other ways. Like those troll dolls that were so popular when I was a kid.

Original photo from the album here.

It easy to forget when we spend too much time in front of the computer, and especially if you follow politics, that we're surrounded by wonders. I've witnessed such a murmuration of starlings as this in the meadows just outside of lovely downtown Northampton. Intoxicating to witness in real time.

As is, to me at least, this sparkling globular cluster in space.though it's been light years since it looked like this.

And another miracle of nature. This image has been haunting me since I saw it two weeks ago. A young boy leans his bicycle against a tree as he leaves for war in 1914. He never comes home. The tree waits for him still.

Of course there are manmade wonders as well. Love these long exposure light paintings. And vintage airline ads from the New Yorker magazine. And also, beautiful paper lace street art.

Finally, I'm so excited to learn unseen Hobbit art drawn by Tolkien will be published soon. And thanks to the twitter machine, here's a blog from the set of The Hobbit. Blogger is embedded with the crew as they're filming the movie. And direct from the set, The Hobbit Production Video Diary. I didn't know that this one was going to be in 3D. Don't know if I like that or not, but really looking forward to the release.

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]