Fall photos, over many years

    I had planned to finish this post two weeks ago, but wonderful life kept me busy and preoccupied. Fall has always been my favorite season -- until, of course, I experienced April in the Appalachian Mountains -- and I love trees. So, to celebrate how nature forges onward season after season, no matter the politics, here are some trees I have loved.  [Almost every photo was made in October.]

    

at home

Cumberland Gap, on the Tennessee/Kentucky border

windshield wetness

 

 

black walnuts -- look out below!!!

light within, for Jean

pond at summer's end

pond again, always changing

 

Cumberland Falls, two days ago, showing the effects of the drought in the area

another viewpoint of the falls, a magical place

back home, this year, not yet peak colors

 

but pretty close....

and a last shot, from summer, a favorite tree of mine, at Gary and Mary Sue's

 

Kentucky barns, part 2 -- the last part, for now

            WHY DOES THE PRINT START OUT SO SMALL!  I have to trust that once again it will look normal once I am finished pulling it together.  I love working with my photos for each post, but I sure can get irritated (as much as I ever get irritated --- which, actually, isn't much) over digital idiosyncrasies.

         Four more photos of the old barn which has been part of what I called my home place for 45 years:

 

 

        

            and now some photos of Jean's barn that Jonathan rebuilt!  He lowered the roof a full story.

taking out a floor, I believe, and using the materials to make a newer barn

Jonathan likes horses -- and cattle!

    

 

Bravo, Jonathan!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

the barn in use

 

Then these beautiful sheep - in Vermont and not in Appalachia -- share a barn before one day being dinner....

    This has been fun and I look forward to offering other gathered images. Every two weeks. It feels good to be back at it!!!

    In the meantime, don't forget to vote soon!  Of course I support progressive ideas, so I'll just say it's insulting that men --- who don't get pregnant through no fault of their own -- are sometimes not able to accept the rights of women to decide their own health care needs.  But in any case, let's all vote and support democracy for every person. And try hard to imagine ourselves in the footsteps of other persons. After all, we share a single earth.

Exploring what I see by chance and unexpectedly

            Our last snowfall (6 inches here in northeastern Kentucky two nights ago) was unexpected, and, for some reason, it set me thinking about how much the unexpected is part of my photography. I notice things, I like working with available light, and I wonder at what circumstance so often provides.  I have been amazed so many times that I was where I was, that the light was right and, of course, that I had a camera with me.

            I looked through some of my photos to find images I had no idea I would get.  Some of these I have already shared over the past ten years and others may be new.   

            I actually love the unexpected in general. It's sort of like having a really good idea that someone would never have thought of otherwise.  

This view is close to home, so having my camera nearby is not that unusual.  However, a reminder: It never works to say "Oh, I will take that photo tomorrow when I have more time."  Ha! No way!

Guess what - this is all about the light, fleeting at best.  I was in Maine for a cousin reunion, last July.  I had stepped outside for a moment, but I quickly had to put visiting on hold while I got my camera... in a hurry.

This light looks simiilar, but it is near home in Kentucky, and again this just happened. I think my camera was nearby in the car --- i.e. I didn't plan the timing, but I was delighted.

This is a moment, but there will likely be others like it  --- though there's never a guarantee. I don't always need spectacular unusual light to feel engaged by something I see.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

This rooster is probably one of my best known photos. I had just happened to stop by the barn area belonging to neighbors, and this guy decided to strut his stuff. We didn't have an appointment, but I did have my tripod in my car  and made this photo -- back in the days when I used slide film.

This photo also started as a slide.  It was getting dark in the woods, but I wanted to show my daughter this nest on the ground that I had discovered.  I NEVER expected 1) there would be a bird on the nest or 2) that she would not fly away.  I only took 3 photos so as not to scare her away -- I later talked to a Fish and Game person who supposed she was protecting newly hatched chicks. She made it into the book Counting on the Woods, by George Ella Lyon. The bird is a worm-eating warbler who actually may not eat worms.

an unexpected gift!

I wasn't looking for a writing spider, but there it was, near the pond.

There is a car in that mini-pond -- this photo made it into the newspaper.  UNEXPECTED!

This fire tower is in Central Kentucky and I wanted to go see it. Since no one seemed to have time or interest in going with me, I went by myself.  I didn't know I had to climb  part of the side of a mountain to get there, and then no one was around.  So  of course I climbed up almost to the top to see what I could see. It was worth it, though I should have known better! 

 

                                     That whole afternoon was unexpected......!!!!!!!


          I think I'll stop this for tonight. I can already see that I want to do another unexpected post.....This has been too much fun.  Thanks so much for coming along --   Ann           

surprise, surprise --- mostly snow photos

 

                                                       SNOW AT LAST!  (photo by Rebecca Wright)

 
     Here in the other end of Kentucky from the terrible tornadoes, we have had two days of snow, and then last night and today lots of rain -- snow chasers.  I believe next will be some lower than usual temps.  So I figured I needed at least to enjoy the snow while it lasted and the photography that it provokes. (Those many people stuck overnight on I 95 earlier in the week have my total sympathy. How terrible and scary. I haven't needed to go anywhere for days, but my car is facing down the driveway, in case.)

    That first photo is wonderful. I love it, but I didn't make it.... Another bravo to my daughter.  They explored the icicles down by the waterfalls and, near the house, wore the snow out with the sled and two playful dogs.   

       SO here, barely in chronological order, are some other snow photos:

Well, this is an older photo, along Route 504, and it wants to be included even though it's an earlier storm...

The way to plow your south facing driveway is to get the mail carrier to drive up to the house to deliver a package and later have your son-in-law bring over some of his tasty stew and a dolly to move a file cabinet. By then the road snow will begin melting -- 

 

 

 

 

This is after she drove up and then out, apologizing for not being sure if she had driven on my driveway or not!  She managed better than some do even on a good day.

the end of the first day, still snowing at dusk, so very quiet everywhere (no wind), the pond not even frozen yet.

deer tracks, I think -  on the way to water

this afternoon, after the rain finally stopped

                 NOW, next, la pièce de résistance, a "movie" of the pond before the rain began:

         Please remember that it's possible to double click on any one of the photos, and they will then all line themselves in order at the bottom of the screen.  That way, they can be seen one by one.  Just sayin'.  I had some struggles today, which I hope don't show.  And I will be trying again in two weeks to make things work more smoothly.  It's hard to believe I've been doing these posts for over ten year and still have to learn stuff.  I love the movie this time -- I hope it works smoothly. 

    Let's pursue truth and not believe what doesn't make sense.  And while we're at it, as members of the same human race, let's sharpen our capacity for kindness.    (Voilà, that's my first political statement of 2022! )

tornadoes, winds, and rain

        I want to be clear -- the terrible tornadoes (T.Ts) of this weekend were not in my part of Kentucky. This state lies east-west, across two time zones.  Eastern Kentucky is all in the Appalachian mountains and hills, in the Eastern Standard Time zone. This weekend's tragedy took place in western Kentucky and along the Mississippi River, in Central Time.  Until now, we in the eastern part have few tornadoes, but the changing climate might shift all that.  We don't know for sure..  We just know that our climate is changing, crying out for help, feeling the effects of generations of humans acting out of heedless greed.  It's not like I'm making a mountain out of a molehill here, because if I look around, listen to scientists, and use common sense, I want to be loud, I want us to look beyond our noses, and I want to rejoice in the gifts of the earth. (That statement is not at all extravagant. It is what it is.)

 

 

       These two friends, Julia and Dick Roberts, visited me a while ago at my home in northeastern Kentucky. They live in Bowling Green, KY, where Friday night there were winds of 150 m.p.h.  I am holding them and everyone at WKU (Western Kentucky University) in my heart.  

        Also, I am grateful Kentucky has an outstanding governor in Andy Beshear. Besides all the Republicans eager to throw him out of office, out of spite, he has had the Pandemic to deal with and now the most damage ever in Kentucky from tornadoes. He deserves our thanks, our cooperation, and our continuing admiration!

        I still am amazed by this photo from quite a few years ago. I have shared it before.  While in Denver, with family, I was trying out what would be show up sharp if I made a photo of the Christmas tree bulbs on their tree.  This has become my best wishes photo, in hopes everyone can make the things work that they are curious about or care about!

     And here is a newer Christmas photo a friend sent. I really like the simplicity in this photo and the color of the every day door. It feels very welcoming.

         I am wishing for all of us to stay well and help each other. I was so heartened to talk with MaKayla in the grocery store tonight about all the items they were gathering to send to the tornado torn counties.  She is the Ag Teacher at Elliott County's High School and the granddaughter of my friend Sandy.  She says each eastern Kentucky county is trying to supply only certain things so the needs are balanced out among them. 

     Thank you for checking on my blog as we reach out to all those impacted by the T.T.s though, in fact, we are all impacted by what happened to many of us.   Ann

September! 2021! The world is being tested! Me, too!

    There has been one thing for sure -- a lot has been going on.  And there are strong feelings about everything.  

    Just for the record, I am distressed about many things, like school starting and there's not yet a vaccine for young children and yet some schools have faculty and staff who are not required to have gotten the vaccine! What are they thinking!  We wouldn't even be here on this earth if we hadn't taken the multitude of vaccines developed over the years. I'm old enough to remember not being allowed to swim in pools in order to avoid polio and an iron lung -- until the vaccine came along.  I was tested for our current virus this week, just to be sure about an incident, and all was well. It took 3 minutes.

    In many countries, many people have helped Americans do the jobs they were sent to do. Now many of them need a safe haven here in the USA. We are about to have our country enriched by what Afghans will contribute to our national life.  It must be wrenching to have to leave one's native land, leaving every familiiar thing behind.

     I don't understand why there is so much angst about a woman making choices about her own body.  Men do it all the time. It's very suspicious that it is mostly men who push for policies that don't apply to them.  Also, speaking broadly, I don't see much action or even concern about providing care for kids once they are born.  

    Then we have been reminded about storms that are increasingly fierce, and vast areas that are confronting drought and fires, all over the world, not just in the USA, while waters are rising from one shining sea and many others.

    Anyone who reads this probably knows every bit of what I have mentioned, but these past weeks many issues seem to have felt more loaded and interconnected.

    Enough of the tricky stuff of great magnitude, for tonight anyway.  I do have a few photos to share.  Doing this blog every other week now gives it a different rhythm, and it is takiing me awhile to adjust, after doing it weekly for the past 11 years. In any case, after this "big picture" stuff, I have a few simple details from daily life.

Cloud of the Week

Wildflowers (weeds) of the Week

Talk about a SPECIAL DELIVERY!

Olive Hill, Kentucky

    Recently, TOM T. HALL, a well know country singer and teller of stories in his songs, died in August. He came from Olive Hill, near where I live. It's not a fancy place, but there still some tributes to him in the downtown area. Our family has had some favorites by him over the years, mine being "Sneaky Snake".  I had made a quick visit to the Post Office and saw this then.  Next I went to the Mexican Restaurant, while I was in the "big city!"

 

    I also saw some cattails in a border planting near by.  Looks more like a hot dog to me than a cat tail, however, but what do I know!!  

    Then, at home, there was the repair project on the steps the previous owner of my house had made. Rumor has it that he loved working with the stones.  My friend Carolyn took on this task, since 1) she is kind, 2) she is very resourceful and grew up on a working ranch in Kansas, and 3) she likes to try new things.  The picture of her shows which step needed to be worked on.

 

 

I actually did this part, but not until the sun had gone way down..... We had 12 hours of rain ahead of us, so it seemed better not to drown the still wet cement on its first night out....


OK, now for a short video, during one of my evening walks on my deserted road at that time of day/night.  As always, I never feel confident it is going to work but it usually does.