The Chosen Seven

For anyone who reads my blog, but doesn't see my Facebook page, here are the  photos (and descriptions of them) I used in the seven day, black and white challenge beginning with Day one:

The haymow after the north side of the barn on Mom & Dad's farm began to collapse. It was scary going up the ladder and stepping onto the floor of the mow not knowing how compromised it was from all the rains and snows that had leaked in, and I was very sad about the condition of the barn, but happy with the picture.

Day two:

The cell in Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin, Ireland where Countess Markievicz (Constance Gore-Booth) was held for her part in the 1916 Easter Rising. Her death sentence was later commuted to life in prison. She was released in 1917 in a general amnesty along with others who took part in the Rising.
I had been reading a lot of Irish history before my trip and felt very humbled standing there peering into that dark little cell. What courage it took for a woman of means to give it all up for her belief in a free Ireland.

Day three:

Ancient tree roots above the Yellowstone River, Yellowstone Park, Wyoming.

Day four:

When we lived on Tuck Corner (Holt Twp., Taylor County, Iowa), 1978-80, this old wagon ruin was out on the pasture hillside north of the barn.

Day five:

The remains of a log cabin near Drakesville in Davis County, Iowa.

Day six:

'Albert' the old 1947 International pickup on the Wooded Wonderland Campgrounds off Devil's Ladder Road near Galena in Jo Daviess County, Illinois.

Day seven:

Walnut Creek near our house in Valley Junction (West Des Moines, Iowa). This oasis in the city was where I went when I needed a respite from civilization. The photo was taken on a lovely, mild, January day.

Following The Directions

I remember a test given by one of my high school teachers, probably Mr. Harris. He was trying to emphasize the importance of reading and following the directions. He handed out the test, said, "Read the directions and begin." The first direction was: "Write your name in the upper right corner." The second direction was: "Turn your test in."
Many in the class did not understand when a few walked forward and put their papers on the teacher's desk only a minute or two after beginning. Those students got an A.

I've always been one to follow the directions. In so many instances you have to follow directions in the order they are given: sewing, cooking, putting together IKEA furniture; if not, the end product is not what was expected. But sometimes the directions are not clear or can be open to interpretation.

When I was invited to do the Facebook seven day black and white photo challenge the instructions read: "Seven days, seven black & white photos of your life. No people. No explanation. Challenge someone each day." 

I was looking forward to this, going through my photos, choosing seven that I felt were interesting, evocative, reminiscent, told a story, or were artistic. The first three days of posting photos passed and then I noticed something about many of the photos posted by others who had been challenged: they were of pets, food, stacks of toilet paper, etc. I read the challenge directions at the top of their photos and there was one word different: "everyday". "Seven days, seven black and white photos of your everyday life."

I had been doing the challenge wrong. I felt like a dummy. I really, really, really hate it when I am wrong. (Someday, maybe, I will get to the bottom of that. I'm sure it goes all the way back to childhood.) I was so upset that I decided not to post any more photos. Then I went back and read the instructions sent when I was challenged. They did not have that one word: everyday.

So I decided to go ahead and post the other four photos I had chosen. If I did the challenge wrong, so what? I have enjoyed, like Sinatra, doing it 'my way'. Looking through my pictures, changing them from color to black and white, posting them each day, has brought back many good memories, like the photo above of Charlie Taylor's water wheel with Bridal Veil Falls plunging into Clear Creek. I took that picture at Idaho Springs, Colorado the summer my Mom, my three children and I spent a week out there. Those indeed are some very special memories.

More B&W Challenge Contenders

Barn on the 'little house' acreage, 1980-84, Holt Township, Taylor County, Iowa.

Bald River Falls on the Tellico River, Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee.

Old cabin in Indian Cave State Park, along the Missouri River, South of Brownville, Nebraska.

Old water tower in Ohio. (Troy, OH, I think.)

Ash trees along the lane to Ash Lawn-Highland, President James Monroe's farm home in Ablemarle County, Virginia.

Water wheel, Old Tucson movie studio and theme park West of Tucson, Arizona.

Emily Morgan hotel as seen from inside the walls of The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas.

Midnight Special

"Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me
Now let the Midnight Special
Shine her ever-lovin' light on me"

(My photo; Bud's suggestion.)

Black and White Challenge 2nd Choices

One of the current 'things' on Facebook is something called the Black and White Challenge: For seven days post seven black and white photos, no people, no explanation. On the 1st of November my friend Julie challenged me. Just the night before I wondered, "Will anyone challenge me?" - because anyone who knows me knows how much a photography nut I am.
Choosing which seven photos to post was the REAL CHALLENGE! Here are my second seven choices, which I CAN explain. (No challenge rules here.)

This old dug out, sod cabin as it looked when I was on my 50th birthday retreat twenty-four years ago. I wonder if it is still standing? Located in Wesley Woods Camp and Retreat Center, Indianola, Iowa.

Wooden mill race, Mingus Mill, built in 1886. Located just inside The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee, North Carolina.

Baby ground hogs peaking out from underneath the corn crib on Mom & Dad's farm. Jasper Township, Adams County, Iowa.

A small park between the Cathedral of San Fernando and the River Walk in San Antonio, TX. A lovely, quiet spot for reflection with the gentle splash of a spill of water into a shallow pool. I was tamed, Rio Amanzado, to yield, to feed, to foster. Me nombraron San Antonio, who finds the lost."

Access path through the sand dunes from our hotel to the Gulf of Mexico, South Padre Island, TX.

Natural Bridge area of Rogue River Gorge, Siskiyou National Forest, Southwest Oregon.

Kilmainham Gaol courtyard where the rebels of the 1916 Easter uprising were executed. The small cross marks where James Connolly, severely wounded during the siege at the G.P.O, was tied to a chair and shot by a firing squad.

This black and white challenge has given me the opportunity of revisiting some of my/our favorite travel spots.

Harvest Time

Song of the Harvesters
  (By R. E. Form)

The long and sultry days have come,
  And June's bright sun is o'er us,
So we have left our homes and gone,
   To meet the field before us.

Not to the field of war and strife,
   Not to the field of longing;
But to the ripened field of grain
   We harvesters are thronging.

We meet no scenes of horror there,
   We drench no soil with blood,
And yet we do a nobler work,
   In doing what is good.

We blot no country's name with shame,
   We curse no woman's tears,
We fill no graves with human forms,
   No mothers' hearts with fears.

We do the work which God designed
   And gather Nature's yield;
We bind in sheaves the golden grain
   On many a harvest field.

And when the Winter's snow shall come,
   So we can reap no more,
We are busy beating out the grain
   Upon the threshing floor.

And many the mills that grind our grain,
   And many and many an hour
Shall the soft white hands of mother
   Knead into bread the flour.

And many a tongue shall bless it
   When evening prayer is said;
And many a heart feel thankful
   For our loaves of wheaten bread."
   (West Grove, June 21, 1880)

After a dry summer, just as the farmers were ready to harvest, the rains came. October was the 4th wettest on record with two times the normal rainfall. It has made this harvest season the second latest after 2009's wet October. 


I had to wait awhile to get the picture I wanted with the red/gold of the leaves, the white of the grasses and fence, the blue sky and the red combine at just the right spot. Bud joked that I was out there telling the harvester, "Stop there. No. Back up. No. Go ahead a bit."

November's Falling Leaves

"The falling leaves drift by the window
The Autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When Autumn leaves start to fall"

Autumn Leaves was a French song composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945. An American version, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, was released in 1947.

Roger Williams had a #1 instrumental version in 1955, which was one of my favorites. Many had vocal versions, of which Andy Williams' was my favorite.

Sunday when I took a photo of the above tree, it still had most of its leaves. Two days later almost half of them were shed. Seemingly, it happened overnight. There is a tree, the Ginkgo, which is said to shed all its leaves at once on a single night. It is called, Night of the Ginkgo. It happens sometime in November and, in some places, bets are made to guess the date it happens.

Welcome to November, the Autumn leaves are falling; soon we'll hear old winter's song.