Friday 180° #3: Hat In Hand

Friday 180° is the day I post photos taken in opposition to one another. Today we're visiting Veterans Memorial Park where I also photographed my two newest 100 Strangers. You can see another 180° done by Bayside Life at her blog CT on the BAY.

Of all the statues in the park I'm most fascinated by the lone woman, a nurse, and felt compelled to start the series with her as the focus. Not only did she have notes from Veterans Day tucked under her arm like the others (if you enlarge the second photo you can see a glimpse of yellow paper between her torso and crooked arm), she was also given flowers, some of them to hold.

That little bit orange to the right of the pink flowers is actually concentrated light from the sun setting behind her that's flaring onto her hat.

I believe she's the newest addition to the park and represents a nurse from WWII or the Korean War. I have to wonder what the modern version of her will one day be - maybe a full-fledged soldier in addition to a nurse?

This time last year I was blogging about retired banners and billboards.

Momiji

"Frosting" on a Japanese maple tree in Gulf Breeze.

I've never seen leaves die back like this, it's very unusual.
I wonder if all maple trees do this?

This time last year I was blogging about Sky Watch Friday.

It's A Bird...It's A Plane...No, It's 100 Strangers #17 & #18

I met John at Veterans Memorial Park (which also includes The Wall South) where he was flying his remote controlled model airplanes. Originally from Australia, he now lives in Vancouver, BC, and drove 3,500 miles to Pensacola via California and Texas, arriving the same day we met. After watching him fly his planes for a while I asked if I could photograph him and he said that I could photograph his bird. Confused but wanting to look cool, I politely started photographing both of his planes that were now parked on the ground only to look up and see a bird sitting on his finger.

I was completely undone. How did this little lovebird named Scruff, such an unusual shade of green, suddenly appear? "He was inside my shirt," John explained. After I photographed them John put him on my shoulder and took our photograph. I think I look a little stiff, then again, I felt stiff and kinda goofy - I had no idea how to pose with a bird on my shoulder. I'm not sure but I think it might be a skill.

Soon enough a man accompanied by his young daughter showed up and he greeted John with a comment about his biplane. They obviously already knew each other and began some serious RC plane talk while Scruff, still sitting on my shoulder, talked to me.

(photographed by me, a lucky blind shot)

To my amazement, he strolled across my back to my other shoulder, a very friendly fellow this Scruff, and this is when John put him back inside his shirt. If you look closely at the photo below you'll see a "deposit" made on the left side of John's collar. I think only the best of friends can live with such an arrangement. There's also an arrow showing where Scruff hangs out, or in, I'm not sure what to call it.

John now sent his biplane high up into the air and began putting it through a series of spirals and loops when the new arrival turned to me and said that there was footage on You Tube of it crashing. From what I gathered the Waco had been rebuilt and repainted several times.

I photographed them for a while longer and then left to photograph the bronze statues that I had originally come to see. When I walked to my car the two men were still looking skyward, their planes flying through the sunset.

I don't know if we're supposed to count animals in 100 Strangers but I've decided to go ahead and include Scruff, he's such a handsome and special guy.

(on my shoulder, shot by me)

This time last year I was blogging about Through A Circular Polarizing Lens.

Sepia Scenes: Midweek Respite

I hate putting a watermark on a photo, so annoying...

Sepia Scenes is hosted by the fabulous Mary The Teach. You can see all the amazing sepias by going here.

This time last year I was blogging about A Dome Of A Home.

Scenes From A Marriage

Step into the garden...

where life is simple...

contemplate the quiet of an afternoon nap...

relax to the soothing sound of Sweet William Grey's purring and hear snide Miss Digit say...

"You deplete me...
and the grass still needs mowing,"
in the marriage garden.

This time last year I was blogging about The Ground We Walk On.

Mosaic Monday: Beach Life

These photos were taken about this time last year when we camped at Big Lagoon State Park and visited Perdido Key on the Gulf of Mexico.

So, which one do you like best?

Thanks to Miss Mary who lives in The Little Red House today is Mosaic Monday.
Knock on her door and take a tour of her amazing home.

This time last year I was blogging about our new rector, Neal Goldsborough.

Remarkable Sunday

My Sunday posting is a time for me to reflect on something going on in my life, to look at it more deeply and to find/rediscover God's living spirit. It seems that lately I've been seeing and hearing a lot about our connection to objects, how we with live through them, express ourselves by creating them and, in turn, are defined by them.

This object, my MRI, is my doctor's window into my innermost physical being. Seeing it reminds me of the first time I saw a sonogram of my child, saw an X-ray of my broken leg with a rod and nails in it, and how each time I found myself thinking that only God could have thought this up, what this technically lyrical snapshot can only hint at. Admittedly, this one is more on the "Alien" end of the lyrical spectrum...maybe TMI?

I got a chance to read the report that accompanied this image and was a little deflated to find that my vertebrae are unremarkable. I know that's doctor speak for everything is A-O-K but really, forget that it's my spinal column, isn't it just remarkable?

This time last year I was blogging about Long Hollow Park.

Friday 180° #2: Two Views Of The Blue Fountain, East And West & Shadow Shot Sunday

The second in my Friday 180° Series, photographs taken 180° from each other. Last week they were directly opposite each other. This week I'm shooting the same scene but from opposite sides. By chance, Vogon Poet's Livorno Daily Photo and Bayside Life's CT On The Bay also have Friday 180°'s. If you have one let me know and I'll put up a link to your posting.

This time last year I was blogging about The Garden Gate And The Gateway Arch.

I've decided to use this for Shadow Shot Sunday as well, International Time Zones affording such flexibility. Check out all of this week's shadowy goodness at Hey Harriet and meet Tracy, the host of Shadow Shot Sunday.

Sky Watch Friday: Going, Going, Gone...

This is a common site on the beaches here, guys in planes and helicopters buzzing the shoreline. We were out on Perdido Key, one of my favorite places to walk and photograph the beach, when I caught this guy having a great afternoon.



Fly here to see all the friendly skies of Sky Watch Friday hosted by Wren, Sylvia, Sandy, Louise, Klaus, and Fishing Guy, some of the hardest working people in memedom.

Taken At The Stop Light

Like the post two days ago I found this image when I was deleting photos to make room for new ones. I'm sorry to report I missed the revue and, therefore, all those photographs.

It's incredible how packed this place is on the weekends, there are cars parked up and down both sides of the highway and I would be very surprised to learn they aren't in violation of the fire codes...gracious, is that my lumbago acting up again???

Midweek Respite

It's been a rough week, the shootings at Fort Hood, the battle over health care reform, a threatening and then present, now past, Tropical Storm Ida. If you want you can enlarge for maximum relief. Peace.

Nervous Nellies

I've been doing some photographic housekeeping, deleting drafts of posts I'll never publish, pitching whole files of photographs into the recycling bin, sweeping out the old to make room for the new. One of the few drafts I kept is this one, cobbled together some six or seven months ago.

Back then I spent part of a Saturday morning photographing an exemplary plant nursery called Boo For You where we bought a whole wall of bamboo plants last year. Our Bamboo Curtain doesn't look as full as the one below but it's getting there. Why, by his time next year we won't even know if the "People Who Won't Paint Their House" have even changed their minds.

Back to the the Nervous Nellies. The shoot didn't exactly go the way I planned it, there were camera setting flub-ups, and there were guinea fowl instead of the usual elegant peacocks (they were vacationing in LA - Lower Alabama). After I uploaded the photographs I was initially feeling disappointed until I started looking at the pics of the guinea fowl: lots and lots of wide-eyed, shrieking, scurrying, spotted chickens, always running, always honking. And they start young, all the chicks are Chicken Little's in embryo. Or maybe they forgot to take their meds that day? Possibly their morning mediation/yoga session was cancelled? I'm not that scary. Or am I? I see it now, to a guinea fowl I'm an unholy apparition giving them the stink eye.

Finally, one of them settled down only to give me the stink eye right back...or maybe they were just embarrassed that I had noticed that silly jabot?

Mosaic Monday: Nosevember

Note: I forgot to use today's hyperlink so you may have already visited with me on an earlier post. So sorry!

Yes, it's that time of year, Nosevember! The little rabbit snout and mouth is the fruit of an invasive tree, the Chinese Tallow Tree, still, I like it. You can click on the photo to see more details.

Thanks to Miss Mary today is Mosaic Monday. She lives in The Little Red House, knock on her door and take a tour of her amazing home.

You Did That For Me Sunday

Sara Groves' song, "You Did That For Me" moves me each and every time I listen to it, takes all the rough edges off my faith, and humbles me in a way I can't explain.
You can listen to it here.

I don't have to cry anymore
I don't have to worry about what's in store
I've walked that road exhausted and poor
I don't have to cry anymore
And I don't have to know it all
I don't have to be so proud and stand so tall
I climbed that mountain only to fall
I don't have to know it all
You did that for me
Oh, you did that for me
You wore the chains so I could be free
Yeah, yeah
You did that for me
And I don't have to be ashamed
Hang my head or shoulder the blame
Wondering if my life's been in vain
I don't have to be ashamed
Oh, you did that for me
Oh, you did that for me
You wore the chains so I could be free
Yeah, yeah
You did that for me
Man of sorrows
Well acquainted with grief
Drug down to the city dump
Spread eagle on a cross beam
Propped up like a scarecrow
Nailed like a thief
There for all the world to see
You wore the chains so I could be free
Yeah, yeah
You did that for me
You did that for me
You did that for me
You wore the chains so I could be free