Two Ships Passing In the Night

Longtime readers know that when I am back home in Northlandia that I like getting up in the wee hours of the morning and heading to the river to take pictures of barges plying the Mississippi. I like night pictures and the feeling of being the only one awake in the world beside that barge master. Night has a whole different texture - the sounds of owls that drift across the water, the sky with its starry, moving light show. I wonder if that owl can hear me breathing?

Oddly I only made it down a couple times and that was when my stay was nearing its end. I have two spots - New Boston and Keithsburg. If there are other places that would afford me better views I'd go, but these two sites give me what I like - especially New Boston since it gives you a head-on view until they have to turn with the river.

Experimenting with my settings is also a bit of a passion, so the quality varies according to my tinkering. Finding the perfect shot with the perfect settings remains a pretty elusive endeavor. But I'll keep trying. Didn't go sky shooting at all this last trip and hope to do that on my next. So here you have it - a beautiful summer night when all the world is asleep 'cept me and these barge masters.

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Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the facts of the murder and attempted murder are most unpleasant

Summer Swim

It's Monday and the start of another work week. Except for me. I have the week off because the parents of my daycare charges are taking the week off, too. This is one of those wordless posts I love on Mondays so I can put my laziness in full view of loyal readers. These pics need no words. Why muddy the waters? They were taken at the pool at Sinkhole Estates aka Death Valley. The nice thing about this pool is it is heated in winter. If one must find positives in one's situation, I suppose that is one. But, please, no more.

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida. There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife. In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride. He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much. He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A. But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here. If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying. He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed. Note the propeller

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