Photo Fun at the Folkschool

Bonnie, Susan, and I joined four others for our Nature Photography class at the John C. Campbell Folkschool this week. We took two fieldtrips into the edge of the Smokies and the Snowbirds, as well as many hours of shooting around campus.


Here is a shot of the sunrise from near Winding Stair Gap. We left the school campus bright and early (5:30) to get there in time, but it was worth it. Look for more photos in the next day or two, after we get home later this weekend.

On the road....again

Bonnie and I are off to North Carolina for another adventure. We are meeting up with Susan at Vogel State Park and then heading up to the John C. Campbell Folk School for a photography class.

Over the next week, I will post a few photos, as I can. Not sure how often it will be, but should be able to get online some.

This photo is just east of there, as you cross Winding Stair Gap on US-64, between Franklin and Murphy, NC.

1st day of real heat

The weather today is the first real day of heat for the summer. It has been in the 70's each day for the past two weeks; but today, it zooms up to a high of 91 degrees! Add on top of that the fact that we got a lot of rain last night, and you get a hot and humid day today.

I work for the local school system to provide heating and air conditioning to the classrooms....so I know that there will be plenty of complaint calls today. Oh joy!

But the good thing, is that it is Friday! And best of all, I am off next week for a nature photography class in the mountains. So not only is it going to be a fun week away from work; but it should also be a bit cooler up in North Carolina.

But I have to head to work now. Freedom is only 8 hours away!

Wordless Wednesday - Turk's Cap

Wordless Wednesday
Turk's Cap Lily

Senior Prom

My sister-in-law sent me a few photos of my niece Brooke and her boyfriend Kendall at their senior prom. It is amazing to think that she will already be graduating! Amazing how time flew by!

Battle Scars

Ok, so this is an odd photograph....a photo of my rather round, furry belly and a plate of bacon. What you may also notice immediately is the large red patch on my stomach. Ouch!

Yes, that is a bacon grease burn. After fixing my skillet of bacon, I was pouring up the bacon grease, as I always do...to avoid it clogging the plumbing...when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the piece of crockery that I have used for years as a bacon dripping jar suddenly exploded in half, releasing a large splatter of very hot bacon grease onto the cabinets, floor, and more importantly....me!

Needless to say, I jumped back quickly. But not fast enough.

So here I sit, typing this blog entry. My stomach is still stinging from the pain and is now sticky with aloe vera lotion.

But on a more positive note, the bacon was delicious!

PhotoHunt - Purple

PhotoHunt's theme this Saturday is "PURPLE".

Flashback Friday

Ok, so I don't do the Flashback Friday thing really, but I didn't have any other new photos to post right away...so here is a shot of my great grandparents, John and Pallie Starnes, after a fishing trip. Looks like they got a nice stringer full of catfish!

The photo is not dated, but I am guessing it is from the early 1950's.

Wordless Wednesday - Sunset in St. Marys, GA

Wordless Wednesday


Sunset in St. Marys, GA

Forgotten Graves

I really am not on a death theme this week; but while out in the woods on a hike, I came across a long abandoned cemetery. Most of the two dozen graves were marked only by rocks, but a few did gravestones with dates well back into the 1800's. It makes you wonder how many other cemeteries have been lost to the ongoing march of time.

How are you? Not Baaaaaaaaad!

This little fellow just loves the new spring grass!

Happy Easter!

Here is a photo from yesterday's Easter Egg Hunt at Dauset Trails Nature Center. I was there for the Bluebirds and Bluegrass Festival, working an information booth. Despite the rough weather the night before, yesterday was a beautiful day.

Have a Happy Easter!

Another Cemetery Shot

This one was taken with a long exposure and I used a flashlight to "paint" the statue with light. I did it about 10 times and got two that I liked. This image is a merging of those two images.

Cemetery by the moonlight

Here is a shot taken by moonlight at Riverside Cemetery the other night. The Middle Georgia Arts Association hosted a full moon photo shoot there on Wednesday. Even though I was sick, I still enjoyed it a lot!

sick

I am battling a cold, and so far losing the war. Hopefully, it will subside soon. I really didn't have any business doing it; but after work yesterday, I attended a workshop on night photography at Riverside Cemetery...yes, at first, an odd location. But with the full moon, we were taking advantage of natural moonlight and creative lighting of subjects with a flashlight.

I got home last night about 10:30pm and didn't even transfer the images off of the camera. Hopefully will get a couple good shots that I can post in the next day or two. For now, it is time to go drain my sinuses some more.

Ripples in the Sand

Snowy Mother Nature

Brrrr. The temperture here has dropped 20 degrees in the last 30 minutes!

Ok, so that still makes it in the upper 40's, and not quite snowy weather...but it made me think about a ski trip a few years ago, where I snapped this HUGE snow sculpture of a wintery Mother Nature. Very impressive artwork so just being made of snow. It is about 12 to 15 feet tall!

Furnace restarted!

I am totally amazed that the furnace lit up right away after being underwater for 2 days. Thank goodness that it is a very old one, without any type of real electronics on it.

Just for a laugh!

Here's the way the men of GWS think of themselves!
Ok, so not really; but it is a really funny video (and yes, I even put myself into it)

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Flooding Under My House

This morning, I decided to turn on my furnace for a few minutes to knock off the chill of the morning in the house. When I did, nothing happened. I went over to the floor furnace and found that the pilot light was out. I checked my water heater and the gas was on without problem there; so I pulled up the floor grating to find that the metal pit that the floor furnace sits in had about 6 inches of water in it. As you can see, Callie the Cat was not impressed by the situation either.

Apparently, the half foot of rain that has fallen in the last week has so saturated the soil, that today's rainfall caused the flooding under my house.

Hopefully, when things dry out in a day or two, the furnace will re-light without problems. I am not realistically expecting that to happen; but it would be nice. And the rain is still falling. They say it is supposed to stop sometime early tomorrow morning. Fingers are crossed.

Hmmm, what is this that I see in the crystal ball? Ah yes, a very expensive repair bill, or maybe an even more expensive different type of heating system.

Guarding the Submarine

As we left Cumberland Island, our ferry was approached by a US Navy patrol boat. Apparently, we cut across the path of a nuclear submarine as it left Kings Bay Naval Base.

You can see the submarine just to the right of the patrol boat, as it was coming right toward us. Click to enlarge the photo to see the sub better.

April Fools of the Past

Back in 1957, they played a terrific looking documentary on tv that fooled hundreds of people in the U.K. into thinking that they too could grow their own spaghetti at home! Take a look at it here, and enjoy your own APRIL'S FOOL DAY!

Wordless Wednesday - Cumberland Island Live Oaks

Wordless Wednesday
Twisted Live Oaks