Existing In BFE

I brought the wrong lens for the fireworks show.  I should have brought my little one that would have shown the whole area of sky where the fireworks were.  As it was, I brought the lens that zooms a bit.  Oh well.   These are shots of fireworks that came out pretty well.  I had done some homework before hand to find out the proper settings, and one guy wrote that I should have a 2 to 3 second exposure time,  I pared that down to about 1.6 and pretty much liked that amount of time.  And then I anticipated the moment of explosion.  Overall, fireworks are tough to get pictures of, and so I thought these, tonight, were successful.  The only drawback?  Instead of just being able to sit back and watch a dazzling show, one tends to be working the whole thing and probably missing out on whole experience.    The finale and grand finale were reserved for video, a...

It seems where people gather together traditions are born.  Since we have all been down here one such tradition has been to gather at the 4th of july fireworks show at Vinoy Park.  This year was no different.  As is also nature's tradition, storm clouds threatened the spectacle but once again, dodged the event.   Like always boats start filling the waters waiting for the show to start. Friends/lovers wear matching red-white-and-blue shirts. The ever-vigilant gulls waiting and then swooping for a dropped snack. There was plenty of blue sky and plenty of threatening clouds, but once again, the rains held off. The moon was a partner in the activities as you will see during the videos of the show.   The Vinoy fills up.  It is festive as people laugh, take pictures, light some sparklers and watch the dolphins cruise up and down the retaining wall.   Brendan doing his Brendan thing.  Which is basica...

1.  I'm busting out of this joint pretty soon and leaving this whacko state for a while.  I hope to do some old car shows and bonding with Miss Frump*, S'mores in Burgess, cold beer in BFE, and Budde's in G-Burg before they catch up to me.  Maybe build a house, maybe climb the grain bin, maybe swim across the Mississippi, but certainly have a Jerry's Pizza and look up some old friends.  Do they rent bikes at Nee's?  Seems I tried them once before but found out they don't.  Bummer.  It'd be nice to go riding with the BFE crowd.  Also plan on taking some pictures of the pristine night sky away from any city lights.  I'm thinking the old ball diamond at Seaton.   Grain bin in BFE that I WILL climb this trip.  Don't try to stop me.  OK, maybe one more beer. As of now, no firm return time, but Miss Norah has a mighty powerful siren's song.  She came up to me the other day and said, "I love you sooo much."  It...

Sometimes a painting just takes your hand and moves the brush for you and before you know it, free from much painterly anxiety, it is finished.  Sometimes every thing is tough and difficult, and stress inducing.  This was the latter, and more the norm.   When I was back in Northlandia I took some wintry scenes and this picture while not very wintry was kind of neat, compositionally speaking.  It is heading East on Mulberry at the Chamber's Street railroad crossing.  To the left is the Discovery Depot and to the right is the old locomotive at the train station.  The building on the right in the painting is Adams Pressed Metals building.     The preliminary wash is applied all over the canvas.  I used Terra Rosa as an underpainting and then applied the hand drawn diagram of the future painting.  It is all rather rough just to give it some clarity and this is the time when you make any changes.   ...

Continuing with the 10 year anniversary of my summer of 2004 when I put on about 7000 miles on my bike and my butt.  In these pics, I made it to Arches.  My goal was to get to Moab, Utah and Arches National Park.  They have a few of these overlook observation rest area along the road and in this one, I pulled the bike over and decided to get a couple of selflies and a shot of the panoramic vista.      I'm riding my trusty 1996 Kawasaki 1500, of the dead shark paint style (white over gray).  I need to say a few words abut that bike.  Firstly, we never had a single problem.  I thought we had a problem in Wyoming, but turns out I didn't.  More on that later.  Aside from that this bike handled me with extreme care - absolutely trouble free all summer long.  I think I said at the time, it took care of me better than I deserved.  I just cranked her up and off we'd go.  All I ever checked was the oil.  I shoul...

BFE REPORTER Here are some pictures of last winter for your amusement and edification.   These were sent to me by loyal BFE reader Tim Stage in North Henderson.   The next set were taken by me via the wonders of the Internet and campus cams at Iowa Wesleyan College at Mt. Pleasant. Enjoy your B-B-Q's, the smell of a fresh cut lawn, the breeze rustling the drapes on a cool, breezy summer night.  Lurking just around the next equinox is Winter.  One of these days, usually in August, the look of summer will change.  The light will be just a bit muted, a little darker, then, the sudden realization that it's just about over.  It's out there, just waiting. 

The world is enticingly full of mysteries.  My co-worker for many years at the Mary, and friend, Jeff, invited us to Tybee Island a couple months ago.  There I discovered Savannah's Candy in one of those cool weekend-roped-off blocks that some cities do.  Within this two or three block are downtown are restaurants, crafts shops and art galleries.   Savannah's has as one of their mainstay draws something they call a Gopher but is actually a Turtle.  You know, one of those pecan, caramel and chocolate snacks that expand the taste buds while it expands the waist.  I simply loved them and Jeff, bless his heart was kind enough to order some and had then sent to me in Shawshank.    After a couple days this arrived to my door.   They insist on packing the goodies in dry ice over the summer months, and I concur.  I leave this kind of thing to the experts.   As a kind of bonus, ...