PBW: The Giglio, The Wasps, and the Butterfly

This week's Photo Blog Wednesday is a triple threat, curious Cloak-friends! As usual, some explanation is required to accompany my images. First up is a shot of a local Giglio tower, not to be confused with a Gigolo, and especially not with Gigli. A Giglio, pronounced Gee-Lee-Oh, is a handmade wooden tower, five stories tall, adorned with religious iconography with a section near the base for a band to sit. Used in Italian feasts, this construct is lifted by a crowd, band and all, and carried through the streets. As popular as they are in Brooklyn, I'd never actually performed in this kind of ceremony until once a few years ago, when one of my bands got a gig near Harlem. I had no idea what to expect, and the ramshackle construct of two-by-fours looming before me when I got off the subway intimidated me. Climbing up to the wooden planks was difficult, especially hauling a brass instrument. My friend Bill, a veteran musician, offered one piece of key advice. The lifts weren't so bad; the landings were the problem. He advised standing for a second, just before the statue was set down on the pavement, to avoid the potentially painful impact. It was excellent advice. My other concerns were phone and electrical lines, and while the lift was confined to a single block, we did get caught on some wires early on. Even more distressing, one of the handles actually snapped at one point, and they very nearly dropped us. Fortunately, the guys on the other side compensated and let their end down, so the whole thing didn't topple over. It was my first and last Giglio. None of the bands I'm in have been booked for any since, but I'd have to give it some thought before accepting again.

For the first time, one of these Giglios is taking place in a nearby town on Long Island. I've been passing the growing tower on my commute, and decided this past Sunday to get a closer look with my camera:











The tower swayed in the wind, unguarded in a large parking lot. I didn't press my luck with the law or the laws of improbability, and decided since it was a nice day and my weekend wasn't quite over, to take in a local preserve before dinner. In trademark MCF fashion, something as innocuous as parking a car in a parking lot led me face to face with a wasp's nest larger than my head. I ventured as close as I'd dare plus a reluctant few steps more, then let my 12X zoom handle the rest:






Miraculously, I didn't get stung, but the ferocious barking of neighborhood dogs that may as likely have been prowling the trails for Italian food as tied up in their owners' yards persuaded me to skip my constitutional and head home. However, the day before on Saturday, I did get some great shots without leaving my room. A majestic butterfly just outside my window provides some vivid color to conclude today's collection of photos: