Pic(k) of the Week: Hibernal narcissus

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

An obligatory annual photo of a daffodil.
— or —
I can't resist taking a portrait of a narcissus in late winter!

The large daffodil — white with a central white 'trumpet'— is an Ice Follies cultivar; the smaller are Jetfire cultivars — yellow with orange 'trumpets' *. All, I admired and photographed in a private garden in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA, on 3 March 2026.

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Lee Morgan: Ceora
Album: Cornbread
Label: Bluenote (Recorded: 1965 | Released: 1967)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Trout lily ephemeral

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Ephemeral beauty on a winter forest floor: a native wildflower, the trout lily, blooms on Arabia Mountain.

After a 13-kilometer hike on the mountain, I was less than half a kilometer from my parked car when I stumbled upon this cluster of trout lilies blooming on the side of the Mile Rock Trail. To say that I was delighted AND surprised would be an understatement.

This is a close-up. The blossom appears larger in the image than it did in 'real life.'

DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
28 February 2026.

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About the Dimpled Trout Lily

Erythronium umbilicatum — commonly known as the dimpled trout lily — is a species of perennial flowering plant in the lily family (Liliaceae), native to the southeastern United States, primarily in the piedmont and southern Appalachian areas. It is a spring ephemeral [i.e., short-lived] and its preferred habitat is forests.

Erythronium umbilicatum has green, mottled leaves that are up to 8 inches long (20 cm). The scape [i.e., long, leafless flowering stem] is up to 8 inches long (20 cm), bearing a single, nodding, lily-like flower on a 5 to 8-inch stalk (12-20 cm) with 6 petals, yellow on the inside and streaked brownish-purple on the outside, that recurve backward. The conspicuous stamens are brownish-purple in color. The flower blooms in late winter/early spring before the surrounding trees leaf out and cast shade.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Clifford Brown: Sandu
Album: Study in Brown (Label: EmArcy, 1955)

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Pic(k) of the Week: The Marksman

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The Marksman: Annchen (2009)

• constructed of PVC, Lycra, and Swarovski crystals.
• Artists: Viktor Horsting, Rolf Snoeren (Netherlands).

Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Statements, at...
The High Museum of Art
Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
7 February 2026.

Dutch fashion artists Viktor&Rolf originally created these costumes in 2009, for Robert Wilson's performance of a 19th-century opera, The Marksman (Der Freischütz). Wilson was a renowned American experimental-theater playwright and director.

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About Viktor&Rolf

For more than three decades, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have explored the connections between the worlds of haute couture and art. The self-confessed fashion world outsiders call themselves fashion artists, blurring the boundaries between clothing and art through their unconventional work. Viktor&Rolf are acclaimed for their masterful technical skill; their surprising, thought-provoking approach to design; and their deep knowledge of fashion and history.

This is the first dedicated exhibition of their work in the United States, as well as the first project sponsored by the Lauren Amos Fashion Project at the High Museum of Art. It features more than one hundred of Viktor&Rolf’s most daring and avant-garde works, alongside videos, sketches, dolls, and photographs that bring their process to life.

Their collections often begin with an abstract idea, and from there, each step of conceptual and technical development considers the final presentation—the fashion show. Rather than straightforward catwalk presentations, their shows tend to be true performances in which they act as storytellers, directors, and often participants. Thinking outside of the box, combining unrelated elements, and pushing the boundaries of the imaginable—together, this is what makes Viktor&Rolf’s designs so unique.

— High Museum website

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About Robert Wilson and "The Marksman"

Robert Wilson (1941 – 2025) was an American director and playwright of experimental theater. He also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video artist, and sound and lighting designer. He is best known for his collaboration with Philip Glass and Lucinda Childs on Einstein on the Beach, and his frequent collaborations with Tom Waits.

— Wikipedia.

In May 2009, Robert Wilson collaborated with dramaturge Wolfgang Wiens, for his production of Carl Maria von Weber's opera, "Der Freischütz," at the Pentecost Festival in Baden-Baden, Germany. The "Freeshooter" was Robert Wilson's second collaboration with the fashion design duo Viktor & Rolf from Amsterdam. They first worked together on the dance piece 2Lips and Dancers and Space (Luxembourg, 2004). The opening in Baden-Baden was conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock.

— Robert Wilson.

Der Freischütz (the "Freeshooter" or "Marksman") is a 1821 German romantic opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826), with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on an old German folk tale in which a hapless huntsman enters a pact with the devil and, in exchange for bullets that never miss, pays a gruesome price.

— Wikipedia.

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Philip Glass (composer), Robert Wilson (librettist):
Einstein on the Beach
Album: Einstein on the Beach (Label: Tomato Records, 1978)

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Pic(k) of the Week: A duet requires careful coordination

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DeKalb Symphony Orchestra cellist Rachel Seong (with fellow cellist Andrew Choi) performs the Cello Duet 1, op. 22 of German composer Friedrich Kummer (1797 – 1879). Theirs was the only classical music performance throughout...

Oakhurst Porchfest
City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
11 October 2025.

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About

First held in 2015, Oakhurst Porchfest is

a grassroots community music festival where front porches become stages, yards become venues, and radical generosity and goodwill rule the day.

Established in 1964, the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra

presents concerts of traditional and contemporary symphonic repertoire primarily in DeKalb County, Georgia, venues. The orchestra is composed of qualified volunteer musicians from the community as well as a cohort of paid professional musicians serving in principal roles. The orchestra is a member of the League of American Orchestras.

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Friedrich August Kummer:
Duet for 2 cellos, No. 1, Op.22 (3rd movement: Allegro Scherzoso)
Album: Friedrich Kummer: Cello Duets
(Label: Avie, 2007)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Light & shadow in the wood

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Eerie wraiths, deep in a winter woodland.

Mason Mill Park
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
12 February 2026.

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Eric Dolphy: Something Sweet, Something Tender
Album: Out To Lunch (Label: Blue Note, 1964)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Winter speedwell

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In deep winter, a tiny birdseye speedwell (Veronica persica) blooms during a 'false' (22 °C!) spring.

East Decatur Greenway
City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
9 January 2026.

This is a close-up. The blossom — maybe 0.4 inches wide (1 cm) — appears much larger in the image than it did in 'real' life.

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Walter Piston:
The Incredible Flutist (Tango of the Merchant's Daughters)
Album:
Piston: Symphony No. 6, The Incredible Flutist, 3 New England Sketches
(Label: RCA Victor Red Seal, 1991)

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Pic(k) of the Week: A Sunday kind of hawk

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A red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) perched in a tree: a wonderful find for a winter's Sunday stroll.

When I first noticed this handsome fellow, he was sitting in a marsh, far from my position and partially hidden from sight. I found a fallen bough to sit on and waited, hoping he might move closer for a 'cleaner' shot. Forty-five minutes later, he obliged.

And, for a moment, I felt like a 'birder.'

Decatur Legacy Park
City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
11 January 2026.

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Barry Harris: Ornithology
Album: Breakin' It Up (Label: Argo, 1959)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Ice in the Deep South

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In January 2026, a large winter ice storm swept the U.S., from southwest Texas to northeast Maine. In north-central Georgia, the temperature fell to -10 °C (14 °F).

Hawthorne Nature Trail
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
25 January 2026.

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Art Ensemble of Chicago: Dreaming of the Master
Album: Nice Guys (Label: ECM, 1979)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Sweetgum sunset

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Winter-dried fruits of an American sweetgum tree 'litter' a paved trail at sunset.

Stone Mountain Trail at the Avondale Railyard
DeKalb County (Scottdale), Georgia, USA.
21 January 2026 (6:17 pm EST).

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American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is one of the most common hardwoods in the southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. Stepping on the tree's fallen dried seed pods can feel like stepping on a toy Lego piece, barefoot or shod. This hiker was adroitly avoiding that fate.

The Stone Mountain Trail is one in the PATH Foundation's system of pedestrian trails in and around Atlanta, Georgia. It comprises nineteen miles of purpose-built paved trails and municipal-built sidewalks that connect downtown Atlanta (at Centennial Olympic Park) east to Stone Mountain Park.

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Francis Poulenc: Sonate pour flûte et piano (Flute Sonata)
Album: Bennett & Benson – Poulenc: Flute Sonata
(Label: Camerata, 1995)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Couleurs en fin d'année

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Couleurs en fin d'année: the glory of a tree in December.

Postal Pond in Decatur Legacy Park.
City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
23 December 2025.

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Betty Carter: Tight
Album: The Audience with Betty Carter (Label: Bet-Car, 1980)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Winter catkin

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Yellow catkins hang,

Crimson buds portend,

Winter shrub un-slumber'd.

Male flowers of a hazel alder tree (Alnus serrulata).

Arabia Lake in Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
8 February 2023.

A catkin is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated. It contains many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem that is often drooping. Catkin-bearing plants include many trees or shrubs such as birch, willow, aspen, hickory, sweet chestnut, and sweetfern. In many of these plants, only the male flowers form catkins, and the female flowers are single (hazel, oak), a cone (alder), or other types (mulberry). While the blooming months for catkins may vary due to factors such as climate change and latitude, the following are some general timeframes: hazel catkins bloom from January to March, alder catkins from February to March, silver birch catkins from March to May, oak catkins from April to May, and white willow catkins from April to May.

— Wikipedia.

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Phineas Newborn Jr.: Celia (composition by Bud Powell)
Album: Here Is Phineas (Label: Atlantic (1956)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Gnarly tree in winter

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Nature as artist;

Tree as canvas.

A winter portrait.

A January pine tree on Stone Mountain.

Stone Mountain Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
16 January 2017.

Looking back through the portfolio can occasionally reveal a hidden gem, such as this painterly arboreal portrait. Well done, nine-year-younger Thomas!

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Freddie Hubbard: Karioka (composition by Kenny Dorham)
Album: Goin' Up (Label: Blue Note (recorded 1960; released 1961)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Night hawks at the Food Hub

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Night hawks at the food hub: several 'restaurants' share a common kitchen for take-out.

Decatur Food Hub: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
23 December 2025 (7:54 pm EST)

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Gerry Mulligan: Night Lights
Album: Night Lights (Label: Philips, 1963)

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Pic(k) of the Week in 2025: a recapitulation.

I became a member of Flickr nineteen years ago, in 2006. Since then, I have uploaded a total of 25,810 photographs and images.

In 2009, I began to curate a selection of those photos, choosing one per week as something that, in my mind, evinced special merit. I called it the Pic(k) of the Week, totaling fifty-two images, of course, for the year. Since 2023, I have also paired each selected photo with a musical selection, typically jazz.

Here's a recapitulation of the fifty-two I selected for 2025. Clicking on the thumbnail will take you to the original blog post.

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January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

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DATA

When I first began to use Flickr, I employed the platform as a photo-journal of family, friends, and 'good fermentables.' In about 2018, I began to transform it into my photography portfolio and cloud backup.

Here is a category breakdown of the fifty-two selections in 2025:

	2025	2024	2023
Landscapes	24 (46%)	18 (35%)	21 (40%)
Flora	9 (17%)	16 (31%)	15 (28%)
Fauna	6 (11.5%)	4 (7%)	9 (17%)
Street photography / Portraiture	12 (23%)	15 (28%)	14 (26%)
Sky / Astronomy	2 (4%)	4 (7%)	5 (9%)
Food/Drink	1 (2%)	3 (6%)	6 (11%)
Culture	7 (13%)	4 (7%)	2 (3%)
Black & white	1 (2%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

(The image total is greater than 52 — and the percentage total greater than 100 % — because categories overlap and percentages were rounded up.)

In an upcoming post, I will detail the camera and lenses I used in 2025. (Spoiler alert: 99% of the time I shot with the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.)

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PREVIOUS RETROSPECTIVES

I began my Pic(k) of the Week feature in 2009; I didn't began collating image retrospectives until 2014.

• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021 retrospective (n/a)
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014

To conclude, I thank of all of you who continue to patronize my blog and I wish you health, safety, and fulfillment in 2026. Sveiks!

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