I'll leave you with these....

I took the old dog for a short walk this morn down by the railroad and managed to get a couple or three photos that I really liked--the middle one shown here being one of them. These are supposed to enlarge....so keep your fingers crossed for me that they do because I have to get off here soon.
We were there once before but didn't get to do it justice so thought we would go back. We should be leaving here in a few hours...
You see, we will be celebrating. Come July 29th, this Tuesday in other words, we will be married 32 years. What is more, you won't believe this, but you can ask my brother Neal if it isn't a fact...we dated a month, decided on a Monday to get married on Thursday.

Roger and I worked at CBS, in different divisions and had actually said hi to each other about twice....that is no exaggeration. I thought he was sort of cute....and apparently he thought I was. I was dating someone else at the time. When we broke up, Roger asked me out. We have seen each other every day of our life since then with the exception of times he has had to be gone for work. And that hasn't been real often. The longest we were ever parted was for 3 weeks for his initial training for the job he just retired from.

I will sure miss seeing you guys...I will probably be back for SWF at the latest. I have photos I took a couple weeks ago that I haven't used. I have had other things going on or I could have had them scheduled but as you can see I am running out of time. And I haven't visited anyone hardly the past day or two.

From the archives

I can't help but wonder if any of these will enlarge....I tried to get the top photo on the previous post to enlarge last night as well as this morn and had to just give up on it. I have no idea what is going on and wondered did anyone else have trouble when uploading more than one photo.

I was looking through my older images and realized I forgot my kitties' first birthday...my daughter ask me what I would have done for them. I told her maybe take their 1st yr. photo, or maybe cut up a piece of lunchmeat just special for them. She seems to think they are spoiled enough.

Anyway, I did pause on their pictures but think I have posted a good portion of the good ones I have of them. So I kept looking and came across these three. And I looked at that top photo, and seen all the clouds and wonder what I was thinking cause I didn't take any showing off the sky!

Looking forward....

These are supposed to enlarge when clicked, but with the trouble I had with my other blog, I can only hope.

This top photo is scanned from a slide of early 1994, so it had to be the fall of 1993. It is one of my favorite barns in our area. I bet I have 50-100 pictures of it. No one is ever near it when I am there...if I ever see anyone there I am going to ask permission to look inside. The other side had storm damage this spring, not too terrible, but they are repairing it for which I am thankful.
This leaf was actually taken just a few weeks ago....on one of my cloud chasing trips. Seeing it sort of made me long for fall.
And this is from another slide--1998 this time. Isn't that tree gorgeous! I think fall is my favorite season. Just something about all the colors and things sort of slowing down. Kind of sad in some ways...yet it makes me look forward to staying inside and maybe sewing a little or settling down with a good book. Or something I have done since getting the internet a few years ago is to look up old diaries, journals, letters, and photos from the early settlement of this country. Reading and seeing some of those early times sure makes one appreciate the ease with which we heat, keep clean, cook, travel, etc.

For SWF--the sun going down

These photos are supposed to enlarge when clicked.

These really are best viewed when enlarged...you don't appreciate the sun until they are enlarged.
Sorry to post so many photos, but it was hard enough to cut the number down to these.
This is from Tuesday evening's ramble out to the strip pit area...I had to post that very first photo cause you can definitely see one of the many dragonflies that were out that evening.
The rest just show the setting of the sun....
as the clouds slowly cover it up...
followed by a couple or three of after the event.

To join SWF, please go to the Sky Watch Friday Blog. I know I am posting this even earlier than normal, but I am figuring I am going to have to reload some of the photos till they will enlarge. Almost every night I have reload at least one, especially if I have more than three photos. Also, I have started getting a lot of spammers commenting, so I am starting to moderate my posts again. I really hope that that will stop them but who knows.

Strip pit expeditions....

Click to enlarge photos.

All these photos were taken on Monday at the area of the photo in my header with the exception of the trumpet vine which was on the way home from there. Even after all the years of pulling it away from the apple trees at the orchard, I still think it beautiful. It should be my own personal enemy, but I can't help but love it on its own territory.

We not only went to this area Monday but went back yesterday evening...I could just sit out there and watch the sky all day. Not only that but there is just so much more to see as in the little yellow flowers as well as the purple one...along with maybe deer every now and then. And yesterday evening was amazing...I have never seen so many dragonflies in all my life. They were literally swarming....I bet hundreds of them. I got to watching and told my husband, LOOK!
Watch the other insects and watch the dragonflies....they were snatching dozens and dozens of insects out of the air. One can't help but hope that it was mosquitoes.

This was right before sundown and soon as the sun was gone, the dragonflies disappeared. I could not spot any anywhere...not on the weeds nor anything else. You may be sure we will be going back out there. And don't forget to watch tomorrow evening for Skywatch Friday's post...it will have views from out there. I am really having trouble deciding on which ones I want to post.

Flowers by the roadside

Click photos to enlarge.

Yesterday morn, I forget even why Roger and I were out, but I had him make a quick run out by the strip pits where the picture in my header is taken. Well, it is a back road we take to get to and from there. On the way home he noticed that the light telling us we had a low tire was on...and I got out and looked and it was getting rather low. We were kind of hurrying home when I spotted these coneflowers growing by an older abandoned house. I had to stop and take a few pictures, but didn't take a bigger view and wish I had. But it isn't too far out there so maybe I will get back out there in a few days.

A few more pictures from Sunday..

This is another of Parke County's covered bridges. This was taken in the middle of the day, so definitely does not make for great photos. But thought I would show it anyway...we thought it almost looked like it had been built in two sections, or else started at each end and worked towards the middle.

While at the bridge, I noticed all kinds of this flower. Actually, we seen it all along the way almost. I think any time I stopped, I could spot some of it. I have been looking for the name for it and having no luck, so if you know, please respond.Anyway, I know these are not great sharp, in focus photos, but I think the insects would have had to be dead to catch a good photo of one. I don't care what kind of insect I seen on them, they worked around the flower so quickly that it was almost impossible to capture even a half decent shot.
I don't generally care to get super close to bumble bees, but they are so intent when they are on the flowers they seem to have a one-track mind.
And I captured these guys, again, they were working very rapidly. I think this flower is made up of many tiny flowers...and they paused at each one for just a second before quickly moving around the head to the next.
Each photo is supposed to enlarge when clicked. If you want to see more from the Sunday drive, there are a few more on The Road Less Photographed.

I am late posting...we had storms start to move in around dark last night, so I unplugged the computer. I figured it would be one of the quickies that come and move on in short order. NOT last night. Lightning flashed all around for at least a couple or three hours--sometime seeming far away and others near at hand. With the thunder rumbling in the background.I fell asleep watching a quilt video, only to wake up in just a bit--sometime right after midnight and the storm was going full force. The power was knocked out before I could get up and do anything. And the wind was fierce....this is the second time I have been really thankful that we have those two big trees down.

I stayed up a while till it slacked off and started looking for my three cats that like to spend the night out. Mama Cat came almost instantly but I did not see Cougar, Jr. nor his sister. I went outside and called and called for them...no show. So finally I went on to bed. I wanted to wake early to make sure my daughter did not over sleep with us having no power. I got up bit before daylight, thinking I would go look for my babies, but Roger had already been up and they were in the house already.

I need not have worried about my daughter cause she was awake when I went to make sure she was up...how fun can it be to get up and have to get dressed by a flashlight and have no electricity to do anything like fix your hair. Her hair actually looked fine...she is lucky in that respect.

I talked to her later and she said there were trees down every where on her way to work....she said there were all kinds of tree limbs in the median that looked like they had just been sheared off. And she said down the side roads you could see trees on top of trees. One of the guys called her and warned her not to take her usual route to work cause the road was blocked off.

My husband called to check on a buddy of his and a tree had fallen on one of his vehicles...so Roger has gone to help him. He got almost to his house and called and said he was going to have to find a different route to get to him cause there was stuff across the road. He must have finally made it cause I have not heard from him and so far he hasn't showed up back home.

I called out to the orchard to see how they survived...as far as the orchard itself one old plum tree blew down. But a big limb had fallen on the hood of one of their vans, and there are two new, beautiful homes near them that were built right around 2005...I watched one of them go up the last year I worked there. Big old trees had fallen on each of them. And another girl I worked with that lives south of the orchard had trees down in her yard, but none had hit anything.

So what a night it was....

I'll take the dirt road.....

Click any photo to enlarge.

The song playing has always been one of my favorite songs...I have included the lyrics below. I got them off the web and the place that had them did not say who wrote them. I hate not being able to tell you who wrote it, and all I ever had was the cassette and it didn't tell.

Anyway, when I talk about going on a drive or rambling round, these are typical of the roads I like to travel down...at a very slow pace. If someone gets behind me I will speed up until I find a place to pull over till they can pass. These are some of the roads my daughter and I traveled over today...a couple were un-intended. We call that 'taking the scenic route' in our house. I have a girlfriend that she and her husband ended up on road with their car and the only others on it were people with 4-wheel drive trucks, etc.

The Dirt Road
Daddy worked hard for his dollar
He said some folks don't, but that's o.k.
They won't know which road to follow
Because an easy street might lead you astray

Chorus:
I'll take the dirt road,
it's all I know
I've been a'walking it for years
It's gone where I need to go
It ain't easy, it ain't supposed to be
So I'll take my time
And life won't pass me by
'Cause it's right there to find, on the dirt road

I have lived life in the fast lane
You gotta watch your back and look both ways
When it's said and done the time we have is borrowed
You better make real sure you're headed the right way

Chorus x2

On the dirt road

More moonlight rambles....

Click any photo to enlarge.

Last night this was the second place I went...the first one did not work out. I wanted something besides a tree in the picture with the moon. I went to a church that had an interesting outline but could not get in a position to get it and the moon. So on down the road is this little graveyard. So we pulled in there and here are some images from then. I like the last one simple because when enlarge you can clearly see an old jet stream.

As a side note, in this cemetery is a big tall headstone. I can't remember if all four sides has a name on it, but I know two sides do. One is someone killed during the Civil War while in Cumberland Gap, TN. Cumberland Gap was my mailing address for a big part of my life...we lived on a farm, though, not in town.
And on another side of this same headstone his brother was killed a couple days later in Tazewell, TN--that is the county seat of Claiborne County. My county. Really made me feel sort of strange to be from the place those two boys were killed at--even if it was over a hundred years ago.

Night rambles....

Click any photo to enlarge.

I have been watching the moon all week, and finally last night decided to take a stab at capturing it again. This was along about 11:00--I was out down there in my pj's with my husband helping me carry my tripod. And guess what, it was in a position to get it and Karanovich's funeral home together!
I have wanted to get them together forever but never seem to notice when the time was right. These certainly are not perfect, but I do kind of like the affect. I have done nothing with them...except the second one I darkened the background just a bit. I don't have a filter of any kind on--not sure why I got the star effect, unless it was keeping the shutter open a bit long than needed.
They are not the greatest, but for some reason I like them. Even with the 'hotspots' in them...I suppose if I could think straight right now I could use the photo software to even them out a little. I know when I used to develop B&W that I could adjust for spots that were either too dark or too light.

for Sky Watch Friday

Click photos to enlarge.

A couple photos from slides developed in August of 1994. I am not saying that they are pretty, but rather kind of strange. I did not alter anything cause I do sort of like how they look. I don't remember how the colors actually were so thought I might as well leave them as they scanned. And I think the water part is pretty well accurate, so who knows about the actual sky.

Sky Watch Friday is an actual blog that Tom and friends started just for our benefit. I am not sure who all was involved in developing it but I am thankful to them. So if you want to join, or just want to see some great pictures go to Sky Watch to find lots of links. You won't be sorry.

More from slides...

Click to enlarge photos.

I spent a good part of the evening scanning slides...when I first do them I think they are great. Then I come back later and feel sort of ho-hum about some of them. However, barns always find favor with me whether taken by me or someone else, so I am posting two or three views of this barn. And will post a different barn on The Road Less Photographed.

I know this one was north of here, I think still in Vermillion County, Indiana but not positive. I didn't have much choice on where I shot the picture from...it was a narrow, winding dirt road. But something about this barn just seemed so huge. I wish I could find it again to see if I still had that feeling.

Big Pine Creek

Click any photo to enlarge.I hate to see what this post turns out as. Everywhere I go I see that dreaded red x where photos are supposed to be. So while these appear now, I wonder if once I publish it if they will be there. If they are not, I am still just going to wait a while and see what happens.

The top two photos show a bridge over this creek--it is Big Pine Creek. When we used to take our daughters back and forth to Purdue University, we passed over this creek fairly often. Only on a well traveled road. Where we first saw it was right at the edge of a town called Attica, Indiana. It was way, way down in this gorge. We always wanted to investigate it farther, and hopefully fish it someday.
So last summer we decided to investigate farther, and found two or three places where we would have easy access to it. But this was one of the best views to be had of it. It definitely looks like a creek just waiting to be waded.

If life ever slows down, maybe we can try it later this summer. We sort of had plans to go fishing a while today, but last night our back door lock decided it would stay locked no matter what. So Roger has to get a new one and put in. I need a few other things from the store, so it doesn't look like we will be going anywhere very far from home.