As I noted in an earlier post, both of my grandparents’ homes were heated using wood stoves. While the homes were very livable, the use of a single wood stove did leave some rooms colder than others. In my maternal grandmother’s home, the living room and one bedroom were warmed well by the wood stove. The kitchen was usually warm from the cooking that occurred there, with a wood stove in my early childhood and an electric range later. This […]
Category Archives: Viewpoints
Jan
1
Dec
30
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Childhood Memories – The Black Belt
When I was a child, the world was different – not necessarily better, but definitely different. We were taught there were winners and losers (and opportunities for losers to try again to become winners); there were doers and idlers (and doers were what made things better); and if you did wrong, there was a price to pay. Some would say that there was a level of discipline then that is missing today and to a large degree, I agree with […]
Dec
29
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Childhood Memories – Wood Fires
While many people dislike the smell of smoke from a wood fire and open burning is prohibited in many places, I find both the aroma of a good fire and the atmosphere it creates to be enjoyable. It doesn’t matter if it is in a wood stove, in a fireplace, or in a campfire outdoors. This probably relates to my early memories of wood burning at both of my grandparents’ homes. Both heated with wood stoves as long as they […]
Dec
28
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Childhood Memories – The Sled
Earlier this year my wife and I visited Art Hill in Forest Park to watch people using their sleds, snow disks, snow boards, and other things (even just sheets of plastic) to slide down the hill below the Art Museum. Surprisingly, with the number of people trying to use a relatively compact area, there didn’t seem to be any arguments, disagreements, or serious collisions. The hill was used by people of all ages and sizes and all seemed to […]
Dec
27
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Childhood Memories – Green Tractors
Model D Model 730 All through my childhood and through my college years my father worked as a mechanic at our local John Deere dealer. In those days it was common for children to visit their parents at work and while we didn’t have all of today’s safety rules, I don’t remember anyone ever being seriously injured during these visits. Some of my earliest memories are of the used John Deere Model D tractors parked outside the dealership waiting for […]
Jul
3
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On Cropping and Other Things
A bit of diversion from my more common theme of posting one or a few photos with a short description on this morning before a holiday weekend. Yesterday morning I posted the image below of a Donald Duck stuffed animal. The posted image was cropped to a standard 2 X 3 vertical format. On this site the photo displayed with no problems – a bit squished down in the thumbnail, but accurately displayed either by going to “Read more…” or […]
Jun
28
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“Get Your Kicks…”
In October 1960 a tv series about two young men travelling across the United States was released. Originally to be called “The Searchers” the series was renamed “Route 66” because of conflicts with a movie released in the same timeframe. Route 66, from Chicago to Los Angeles, had been immortalized in a song written by Bobby Troup and originally recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946. While the tv series shared the name, according to one star very little, if any, […]
Jun
27
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Birthdays, posted 6/27/2014
My grandson turned six this week. A big moment in his life. Seems like only yesterday that he was the small baby in the image here. For most youngsters the sixth birthday is a big milestone. It marks the passage to “real school age” with almost all either in or preparing to start the First Grade. When I look back now I don’t really remember anything about my sixth birthday. Early August, in rice growing region of Northeast Arkansas, it […]
Jun
19
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Excuse My Absence, Please…
I’ve been a bit remiss lately in keeping this site current and posting new photos (with the exception of the last few days). Things have been a bit hectic since the first of the year and while photo opportunities have not diminished, the time needed to process and post them has been more limited. I’m going to try to get a better and post more frequently, sharing both images and a few comments or suggestions along the way. The photo […]
Jan
8
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10 Ways To Improve Your Photography In 2014, posted 2014-01-08
Chris Corradino offers some great tips on improving your photography in his blog at http://www.christography.com/blog/10-ways-to-improve-your-photography-without-spending-a-dime and the best part is there is no cost. Instead, much of the post is focused on changing your attitude and approach to photography.
