Childhood memories...

This leaf was trying to float in the small amount of water in the stream that the covered bridge below spans. The second photo is the original...I was trying to make the water look more like what I remembered but then the leave has exaggerated contrasts. So try to picture something in between the two images and you will come nearer seeing what I seen.
This is the Marshall Bridge in Parke Country, Indiana. One of the shorter bridges--56 ft in length.
When we were kids, we had Gap Creek that bordered our farm in Tennessee. Every summer, well, it wasn't actually every summer, but at least 2 or 3 summers or possibly 4...my nephew that is the same age as me came down and spent the summers with us in Tennessee.

In my memories, we played in that creek every single day of the week, except maybe if it stormed and flooded. We turned over rocks in search of crawdads, hunted for fresh water mussels....not to eat or anything like that. It was just fun to search for them...and we did sometimes move them from their sandy spot in the water to a spot of our choosing...I don't really remember if they ever stayed or not.

I may have told about this before...so forgive me if I am boring you. These are just some of the happiest memories I have. I don't really remember our age, but we had to be up around 10 years old I think...just going by some of the other things we did.

On the other side of the creek a huge sycamore tree had been uprooted, I assume during a storm. It lay out over the neighbor's pasture--his cattle could walk under it with ease. The tree itself was so big around that we could neither have put our arms around it. Anyway, he and I would take such things as mustard and onion sandwiches and get out on it and sit and watch the cows and laugh and talk.

I don't remember if I had chores back then or what they were if I did....yet I can't imagine not having something I was responsible for. I know one thing I had to do and that was wash the supper dishes...mommy did the morning dishes, we both worked on the dinner dishes. (We always called lunch dinner, and the evening meal was always supper.) But other than that, I don't know what else I did.

Anyway, any time I am at a creek, it immediately brings to mind my childhood....or that of our own daughters. We don't have much of a creek near us, but there was a few years when they were kids that we went fishing quite often at Bridgeton and Mansfield. Roger and I fished, and they fished some, but they played more as we waded.

When we were doing that, we always got one of the hard plastic kiddie pools and kept in our backyard each summer, and they would bring home their treasures...crawdads, pumpkin seed bluegill, tadpoles, and some kind of bug that I can't remember the name of right now. But it was a water bug. I feel like I am forgetting something else but for the life of me I can't think what it would be. Now, neither of them have much time to enjoy the outdoors, but both still love it.

Camera Critters

I know it is kind of late but I thought I would share a couple pictures taken this week. I thought posting only one and about titling the post #49, but then that would make one think I had participated in Camera Critters 49 times and I think this is either my 2nd or 3rd time. And I think this is the 29th week for CCs anyway.

So I just posted both...if you want to join or just see more from the animal world, either click on the badge at the top or click Here.

Roger has been busy

If you are here for Sky Watch shots, please scroll on down. I just couldn't wait any longer to post these.
They are two of my husband's latest creations. The one in the top two photos is for a good friend that he worked with for years. This friend has not even seen it yet. The friend did supply the deer antler for the handle. He has had both the knives shown finished for a few days, but did the sheath for the top one day before yesterday.
(Don't you just love those kitty paws in the photo above????)
This knife in the bottom two photos was given to the son of another very good friend. Roger made the sheath while he and his dad were here visiting this evening and sent it home with him. I didn't think to get a picture of the sheath but it was simple made like the one above.
I really need to start laying a ruler by the knives or something till an idea of their size can be had. The knife in the top photo is quite a bit bigger than the second knife. I also need to develop all the views I want to take of the knives. I tend to get a little bit excited about things and I end up forgetting something.

Such as I wish I had taken a picture looking down the 'spine' of this...not sure what the correct term is. Roger did some file work on the edge of the back of the blade--it was his first time trying that and it turned out rather well. Just a little bit of cosmetic work.

I know I am a little bit prejudiced, but all his friends tell him he should sell his knives...they offer to buy them. I think it is amazing that he takes a flat piece of metal and makes a knife from start to finish. He usually doodles and comes up with the shape of the knife on paper first. He cuts the metal to shape himself, and does all the heat treating in his gas forge which he built himself, does all the sanding and grinding and buffing, makes the handles from whatever material.

As I type this, I realize I know so little of the process itself...so I am going to have to start taking notes when he tells me stuff. And maybe at some later date try to give a more accurate description of how he makes his knives.