sunrise at the boneyard

 

My favorite excursion in 2016 was a trip to Georgia's Golden Isles - St. Simon, Jekyll and Cumberland.  We watched the sunrise at Driftwood Beach, better known as the Boneyard. I hope 2017 brings equally exciting adventures.

lookout mountain

 

From atop Lookout Mountain at Chattanooga, Tennessee one can see seven states on a clear day.  During 2016 I actually visited seven states -- including three of those states  viewed from Lookout Mountain.  There was Tennessee, of course; a great trip to St. Simon Island in Georgia and fall sightseeing in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.  There were work trips to Ogden, Utah and West Palm Beach, Florida.  Raton, New Mexico was the annual Memorial Day benchrest shooting match.  A long weekend was spent in San Francisco, California with Lou in January and I journeyed with Margaret to Toronto, Canada and used my passport!

 



"in tall cotton"

 

 The expression "in tall cotton" means "having it made" or "on easy street."  They stopped cotton stripping this weekend in order to take family photos in the cotton.  Great niece Ava was "in tall cotton."

 

Fortenberry Farms

Hale County, Texas

12.10.2016

boll buggy and pivot

 

Fortenberry Farms

Hale County, Texas

12.10.2016

harvest at sunset

 

Farmers don't quit at 5:00.  This crew may be stripping until midnight to get the cotton harvested.  The boll buggy, pulled by a tractor, follows the stripper, which dumps its load when full.  The boll buggy then transports the cotton to the module builder.  A completed module (on the left) contains 13-15 bales and a bale of cotton typically weighs about 500 pounds.  In case you didn't know, Texas is the leading cotton-producing state.

 

Fortenberry Farms

Hale County, Texas

auto abstract

 

Watermelon Festival

Plains, Texas

8.30.2014

greetings from the hughes boys

 

Alongside the interstate, near a small farming community, this Christmas display greeted passersby (who probably didn't make a U-turn and follow the access road to get closer!)  Other than "neat", I have no idea what this is -- 1930s truck, hay baler/spreader nor Hughes Boys had any hits.  Seasons Greetings from Swisher County (December 11, 2015)

too wet to plow

 

Great gallery talk today by sculptor Garland Weeks.  He discussed his works like "To Wet to Plow" seen here.  The "Balance of Nature" series depicts life and death through bronze skulls and indigenous animals.  His emphasis on design and composition is also applicable to photographers.  See these sculptures by a native Texan, represented across nationwide, through February 12 at the Buddy Holly Center.

 

Buddy Holly Center

1801 Crickets Avenue

Lubbock, Texas



street art

 

Clematis Street in historic West Palm Beach is filled with trendy shops, restaurants and street art.  The group Street Art Revolution installed this mural, immortalizing five departed music greats - Prince, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Bob Marley and MCA of the Beastie Boys.  (I just happened to catch the maintenance man). There will be an unveiling with free beer on December 10.  Too bad my time in WPB was limited; there was a lot I didn't get to see, including Sandie, a lighted 35-foot Christmas tree made of sand.

 

West Palm Beach, Florida