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I make a homely photo each time I reformat the memory cart in one of my digital cameras. These are just quick snapshots - scenes around the house or out the window or in the garden. One shutter click and a quick peek to confirm that the card is working and that the image is the only one in memory.
This is a particularly nice homely photo because it has some personal treasures. The scene is the pendulum box of my grandparents' clock, where over the years I have collected this and that: a photo of Kate the dog in the yard on Cashio Street, a "genko" leaf print made by my young nephew, a now-cracked Pyrex custard cup that held a little kerosene when the clock hung in Grandma Jones's kitchen, the clock key close at hand, one of Alice's handmade angels bearing an American flag, a sheet of Saguaro National Park patches gifted by a dear friend. I don't remember how three 10¢ postage stamps appeared here but I suspect I just needed a place to store the surplus stamps and since they bear a clock face...
Each homely photo becomes my virtual backstop. On a busy day in the field, I can scroll through a collection of fresh captures and when I arrive at the homely photo, I know I'm home. Sometimes it's a klinker and just tells me to stop scrolling. But when the photo is a satisfying image, it becomes a comfort and I'm back home on Cashio Street.
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