Sunday, October 16, 2011
Barn of yester-year
This is the barn that started my “barn daze”. I took this one back the end of July, it’s on the same road as the last barn, just a few miles apart. I’ve noticed that the cute little barns seem to be hidden away, if you are driving by most likely you’ll miss them. This one is tucked up amongst the trees. I was lucky enough to capture it in the sunlight the day I took these pictures; most of the time when I drive by it is covered in shade. The barn itself is a little on the plane side so I played with the coloring a little which gave it a more nostalgic look. I reduced the images so that they would upload faster to my blog, when I did I noticed the clouds in the next to last picture. The other pictures are clsoe ups to the barn, but the last picture I stepped back to include the fence so my focus whenever I've looked at this particular picture has been the fecne, but tonight I noticed the clouds in the background. Pretty neat. 
e
Friday, October 7, 2011
Peaking in
I pass this little barn just about every morning when I go to take care of the horses. From one direction it sneaks up on you, I’ve driven past it many times before I realized it was even there. There are a few breaks in the fence that is not grown over with vines. This particular opening makes you feel like you are peaking in on someone’s private moment. This is one of my favorite barns so far.
This second picture is of the same little barn, but I chose to focus on the fence that separated me from the little barn. I don’t believe I am done with this setting just yet. There are a couple other breaks in the fence that one can peak through and get another glimpse of the barn. One morning when I’m not in a hurry I’ll stop again.
This second picture is of the same little barn, but I chose to focus on the fence that separated me from the little barn. I don’t believe I am done with this setting just yet. There are a couple other breaks in the fence that one can peak through and get another glimpse of the barn. One morning when I’m not in a hurry I’ll stop again.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Barn Daze
I’ve always said I’m from the south. But I’ve come to realize that there are two types of “south”. Both “south’s” enjoy mudding, four-wheeling, hanging out around a bon-fire during the fall/winter months, football, deer hunting… but, where I come from we are “Southern Bells” as my cousin calls me. And, I have to agree. We have plantations, not ranches; swamps, not bayous; it’s a mixture of country and city, not country and backwoods. Southern hospitality was born and raised on the coast of Charleston. There is a beauty all of its own here; historical plantations, the coast, downtown markets, the bridges, the parks… It’s every photographer’s ideal setting.
Now the second type of “south” is much different than the first. And Texas has the landscape to match those differences. It doesn’t have the same hospitality that Charleston is known for, but the friendliness in the air seems much more real and open. Very similar to its landscape, Texas is very open with rolling hills and filled with pastures of cows, horses and barns.
In case you were wondering where I was going with this, the last of those has caught my fancy. I love the livestock, don’t get me wrong I would photograph horses and cows all day… but there is something about the rustic looking barns that fill the country side. They are old. Some are falling down or may have holes in the roof, the wood is faded and rotten but they are still bold and beautiful. I try to stop as often as I can to capture these bold Texas landmarks.
As always I am inspired by an old high school friend, whose work I really love; and another old high school friend who seems to have started something and I am truly interested in seeing where it takes her; I want to share my “barn daze” with everyone. I'm sure it will be a treat for everyone including myself. I've been photographing some barns already, but I'm not completely satisfied with the outcomes. So I will be re-taking some of the shots very soon and then I will be sharing them.
Now the second type of “south” is much different than the first. And Texas has the landscape to match those differences. It doesn’t have the same hospitality that Charleston is known for, but the friendliness in the air seems much more real and open. Very similar to its landscape, Texas is very open with rolling hills and filled with pastures of cows, horses and barns.
In case you were wondering where I was going with this, the last of those has caught my fancy. I love the livestock, don’t get me wrong I would photograph horses and cows all day… but there is something about the rustic looking barns that fill the country side. They are old. Some are falling down or may have holes in the roof, the wood is faded and rotten but they are still bold and beautiful. I try to stop as often as I can to capture these bold Texas landmarks.
As always I am inspired by an old high school friend, whose work I really love; and another old high school friend who seems to have started something and I am truly interested in seeing where it takes her; I want to share my “barn daze” with everyone. I'm sure it will be a treat for everyone including myself. I've been photographing some barns already, but I'm not completely satisfied with the outcomes. So I will be re-taking some of the shots very soon and then I will be sharing them.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Instructions
Instructions for digging a hole…A hole must be exactly three feet deep. The pole must be placed exactly in the middle of the hole. Only concrete may go back into the hole, no dirt is to fall back in. The three foot hole minus the diameter of the pole that is now directly in the center of the hole must be filled level with the ground with concrete. Dirt from the hole must be raked into a pile to be shoveled into a wheel barrel or a dump bucket on a tractor and then taken from the field and dumped on a dirt pile from other existing concrete holes.
I believe that if Ida, Louisiana is hotter than any surrounding area it would be because global warming is occurring on this 20 acre property that is full of concrete. I don’t know how many holes of been dug on this property, I’m not sure how many times they were dug and then pulled up and moved somewhere else…but these steps are to be followed E-V-E-R-Y single time!
Who does this you ask? Who uses two to three bags of concrete to make sure that an earthquake, tornado, hurricane, tsunami, atomic bomb will not all occur at the same time over this 20 acres? Who goes to such extremes that if these disasters were to occur at the exact same time in the exact same place that the only thing still standing would be these poles??? Yes, someone does this. These are not the only things that this person does to maddening extremes. He has two lawn mowers, a push mower and two tractors. One lawn mower is slightly larger than the other. The push mower is to be used in the back yard and for trimming around the fence and under swings hanging from the oak tree in his yard. The smaller of the two riding lawn mowers is ONLY to be used in the front yard and nowhere else. The large of the riding lawnmower is to be used outside the fenced in yard and may only be used on a low to medium setting. Just because this is a commercial lawn mower does not mean you can go even close to top speed, you will burn up the engine. The smaller of the two tractors, that is not enclosed or air conditioned, may be used to bush hog the big fields only when the grass is too tall and will bog down the larger lawn mower. The air conditioned tractor may not be used for…just about anything. It is only to sit there in the barn and look pretty.
If your child leaves the room you must follow him at all times, he might hurt something. Children are not to have rulers, crayons, pens or pencils they might right on something or scratch wooden furniture. They may not touch anything outside of the kitchen while in the house other than carpet, they may break something. They are children, accidents happen, they don’t mean to but it happens. Children are not to play in the house or get loud. It is ok for them to break their necks in the house, just don’t scratch the furniture doing it.
Just because you know what you are doing, and you have done it a million times, you have done it professionally or you have done it in the show ring…does not mean you know what you are doing. If you are not a qualified expert with references, you don’t know anything and therefore are not a reliable source. You may not do what you have always done because you don’t know what you are doing.
I believe that if Ida, Louisiana is hotter than any surrounding area it would be because global warming is occurring on this 20 acre property that is full of concrete. I don’t know how many holes of been dug on this property, I’m not sure how many times they were dug and then pulled up and moved somewhere else…but these steps are to be followed E-V-E-R-Y single time!
Who does this you ask? Who uses two to three bags of concrete to make sure that an earthquake, tornado, hurricane, tsunami, atomic bomb will not all occur at the same time over this 20 acres? Who goes to such extremes that if these disasters were to occur at the exact same time in the exact same place that the only thing still standing would be these poles??? Yes, someone does this. These are not the only things that this person does to maddening extremes. He has two lawn mowers, a push mower and two tractors. One lawn mower is slightly larger than the other. The push mower is to be used in the back yard and for trimming around the fence and under swings hanging from the oak tree in his yard. The smaller of the two riding lawn mowers is ONLY to be used in the front yard and nowhere else. The large of the riding lawnmower is to be used outside the fenced in yard and may only be used on a low to medium setting. Just because this is a commercial lawn mower does not mean you can go even close to top speed, you will burn up the engine. The smaller of the two tractors, that is not enclosed or air conditioned, may be used to bush hog the big fields only when the grass is too tall and will bog down the larger lawn mower. The air conditioned tractor may not be used for…just about anything. It is only to sit there in the barn and look pretty.
If your child leaves the room you must follow him at all times, he might hurt something. Children are not to have rulers, crayons, pens or pencils they might right on something or scratch wooden furniture. They may not touch anything outside of the kitchen while in the house other than carpet, they may break something. They are children, accidents happen, they don’t mean to but it happens. Children are not to play in the house or get loud. It is ok for them to break their necks in the house, just don’t scratch the furniture doing it.
Just because you know what you are doing, and you have done it a million times, you have done it professionally or you have done it in the show ring…does not mean you know what you are doing. If you are not a qualified expert with references, you don’t know anything and therefore are not a reliable source. You may not do what you have always done because you don’t know what you are doing.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Day care
I told myself that when he turned one he would start going to day care. I originally called the Methodist Day School, but they had a waiting list and the women I spoke to didn’t tell me that they did half days, she just told me that they had to go all week. And at the time I only wanted him to go a few days out of the week, not all week. BUT I would have settled with a few hours every day if I couldn’t have a few days. So I did not put him on the waiting list, which I regret. I decided a few weeks ago when I was job hunting that he was going to have to be put on a waiting list somewhere and job or not he needed to go. He needs to be able to play with other kids and start adjusting to a day care/school environment. And I need to breathe. I know that might sound awful, but there is no separation between he and I. 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I have had one baby-sitter spend the day with him so I could have a me day a few weeks ago. Up until a few months ago I haven’t known anyone around here that I could leave him with. Every once in a while I leave him with his dad for a few hours. His Nanny isn’t “allowed” to watch him, but she did twice over the summer because she didn’t have her husband to tell her no and she freaked over the thought of him going to a baby-sitter. So other than that the last time I left him with someone was probably a year ago or before that, and that was his Grammy. It isn’t healthy to not have space, even if the space is from your own kids. It leads to resentments and frustrations, short tempers and melt downs. Yes, I made the decision that he would start day care.
Andrew started day care Wednesday, Kidz-a-palooza. He was supposed to start Monday but because of all the snow and ice we had they were closed for two days. Wednesday they opened at 10am because of the school delay from the winter weather. I brought him to his teacher, took his coat off and hung it up. I gave his teacher his bag of diapers, wipes, his blanket for nap time, and his cup. I talked with her for a few minutes, gave him hugs and kisses, and reassured him that I would be back soon. I told him that he was going to play with other kids and have fun. I left. Now, the day care used to be several stores in our downtown area so there are big windows in a few classrooms. One such window would be in Andrew’s classroom. I had parked two blocks away and had walked Andrew to day care that morning, because I was meeting his dad at the hardware store, so I had to walk past his classroom window to go back to the hardwood store. I was doing good until I heard him yell “Mommy”, then I fought tears back until I got to the hardware store. By then I had regained my composure, so I thought. I found Shane down an aisle. As soon as he looked at me I started tearing up and then crying. Two blocks and I missed my baby boy! We left the store and I drove past the day care to see if I could see inside, but the windows are tinted dark so you can’t just see into the building. I met my husband at Tractor Supply, we walked around and goofed off then we went to Wal-Mart. I broke down in there and then again later when I was on the phone with my mom.
When I went to pick Andrew up from the first day I parked in front of his class. He saw me walk past the window and yelled “Mommy” in his super-excited voice! Everyone in the building knew his mommy was there, because he yelled “Mommy, Mommy…get me Mommy” until I went to his classroom.
Day two…day two it was ok to be at school as long as Mommy was sitting on the floor playing, but he didn’t want me to leave. That day when I picked him up, he didn’t see me. He was laying under one of the tables in his class playing a little piano. He was pretty into it too. I called his name, but he didn’t hear me. His teacher got his attention and asked him what he was doing, and then I asked him what he was doing. He jumped up from the floor and ran to me sobbing my name!
Day three… today was awful! I pulled up to the building and turned off the car. Immediately he began crying and saying “no Mommy, no”. I carried him into the building. The last two days he had walked in, but not today. He clung like saran wrap. I didn’t have to hold him, he had his legs and arms wrapped around me I almost couldn’t pry him off. One of the teachers took him from me and turned him so he couldn’t see me leave. I was so shaken by him not wanting me to go that I carried his jacket off with me instead of leaving it in his classroom. All day I fought the urge to go get him. Was I traumatizing my son? Was I doing more harm than good? If I went to get him now then it would be worse the next time. One of the points of going to day care was so that he could get used to going, so that I could get things accomplished and possibly find a part time job during the day. If he doesn’t go now it will be worse later on when I try to leave him. Today when I picked him up I could hear him upset from the hallway. I stuck my head through the door and said “Why are you upset?” He got real quiet for a second so I repeated myself “what are you upset about?” He came running to me sobbing again. His teacher said he saw someone else leave a few minutes before I came up and he got upset because he wanted to go too. (Not with them, just me come get him).
Monday is a holiday so he will get to stay home with me, but Tuesday he goes back to day care. I’m hoping by the end of the week he will have become more adjusted. This day care isn’t the one I want him going to permanently. I still want him to go to the Methodist Day School; it is more of a preschool, then just a day care. So if he doesn’t adjust in a few weeks I won’t be upset about taking him out of there, unless I have found a job, which is going to be paying for day care! But for now I have to fight the urge to go get him. Everyone keeps saying he’ll adjust, it won’t be so hard in a few days, soon he’ll be running off without even saying bye…we’ll see.
Andrew started day care Wednesday, Kidz-a-palooza. He was supposed to start Monday but because of all the snow and ice we had they were closed for two days. Wednesday they opened at 10am because of the school delay from the winter weather. I brought him to his teacher, took his coat off and hung it up. I gave his teacher his bag of diapers, wipes, his blanket for nap time, and his cup. I talked with her for a few minutes, gave him hugs and kisses, and reassured him that I would be back soon. I told him that he was going to play with other kids and have fun. I left. Now, the day care used to be several stores in our downtown area so there are big windows in a few classrooms. One such window would be in Andrew’s classroom. I had parked two blocks away and had walked Andrew to day care that morning, because I was meeting his dad at the hardware store, so I had to walk past his classroom window to go back to the hardwood store. I was doing good until I heard him yell “Mommy”, then I fought tears back until I got to the hardware store. By then I had regained my composure, so I thought. I found Shane down an aisle. As soon as he looked at me I started tearing up and then crying. Two blocks and I missed my baby boy! We left the store and I drove past the day care to see if I could see inside, but the windows are tinted dark so you can’t just see into the building. I met my husband at Tractor Supply, we walked around and goofed off then we went to Wal-Mart. I broke down in there and then again later when I was on the phone with my mom.
When I went to pick Andrew up from the first day I parked in front of his class. He saw me walk past the window and yelled “Mommy” in his super-excited voice! Everyone in the building knew his mommy was there, because he yelled “Mommy, Mommy…get me Mommy” until I went to his classroom.
Day two…day two it was ok to be at school as long as Mommy was sitting on the floor playing, but he didn’t want me to leave. That day when I picked him up, he didn’t see me. He was laying under one of the tables in his class playing a little piano. He was pretty into it too. I called his name, but he didn’t hear me. His teacher got his attention and asked him what he was doing, and then I asked him what he was doing. He jumped up from the floor and ran to me sobbing my name!
Day three… today was awful! I pulled up to the building and turned off the car. Immediately he began crying and saying “no Mommy, no”. I carried him into the building. The last two days he had walked in, but not today. He clung like saran wrap. I didn’t have to hold him, he had his legs and arms wrapped around me I almost couldn’t pry him off. One of the teachers took him from me and turned him so he couldn’t see me leave. I was so shaken by him not wanting me to go that I carried his jacket off with me instead of leaving it in his classroom. All day I fought the urge to go get him. Was I traumatizing my son? Was I doing more harm than good? If I went to get him now then it would be worse the next time. One of the points of going to day care was so that he could get used to going, so that I could get things accomplished and possibly find a part time job during the day. If he doesn’t go now it will be worse later on when I try to leave him. Today when I picked him up I could hear him upset from the hallway. I stuck my head through the door and said “Why are you upset?” He got real quiet for a second so I repeated myself “what are you upset about?” He came running to me sobbing again. His teacher said he saw someone else leave a few minutes before I came up and he got upset because he wanted to go too. (Not with them, just me come get him).
Monday is a holiday so he will get to stay home with me, but Tuesday he goes back to day care. I’m hoping by the end of the week he will have become more adjusted. This day care isn’t the one I want him going to permanently. I still want him to go to the Methodist Day School; it is more of a preschool, then just a day care. So if he doesn’t adjust in a few weeks I won’t be upset about taking him out of there, unless I have found a job, which is going to be paying for day care! But for now I have to fight the urge to go get him. Everyone keeps saying he’ll adjust, it won’t be so hard in a few days, soon he’ll be running off without even saying bye…we’ll see.
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