Archive
IN THE FIELD: Front Lawn Decor
There seems to be no boundaries when it comes to exhibiting objects on front lawns.
Some of the more common items seen around these parts are the retro pink flamingos, windmills, lighthouses, wishing wells, and gazing balls. And then there are the ceramic frogs and toadstools, and various critters from the forest. Small cement human figures holding lanterns, and concrete deer stuck in a pose that lasts an eternity make occasional appearances. Oh, and lest we forget the garden gnomes. I mean, what’s a garden without a few dozen garden gnomes?
And what’s with the two sections of fence at the end of driveways that seem to have no meaning. Are these supposed to tell others where the corner of the lawn may or may not be? Or was the homeowner intending on fencing the whole property and just quit right there? We may never know.
I wondered for about a minute whether geography plays a part in what one may see on front lawns. Apparently it doesn’t. This supersized Texas Longhorn skull is not exhibited on an expansive ranch out west where it would more likely be seen. Nope, it’s back East. This lawn ornament resides in front of a home in a residential area of a small town. Across the street from the home is an apartment complex and a block down the street is a grocery store.
A curiosity…certainly. Quirky….absolutely!
IN THE FIELD: Rural Road Sightings
A couple of weeks ago I took a drive to the city with my best friend. We decided to run the back roads rather than the major highways. Back roads are way less stressful than running on the amateur race tracks. Besides, by driving the back roads, if you see something of interest and want to stop and check it out, it’s way easier to pull over and explore. Try doing that when other vehicles are zooming past at 50 to 70 miles per hour.
We were only about 15 minutes from our destination, still on back roads when we crested the last hill and lo and behold was the sight you see pictured. This brought out roars of laughter and various uttered reasons for putting the bicycles in the tree. My friend had the funniest one.
“Well them there bikes are for sale and I just got tired of the gosh darn things constantly falling over in the front yard. So I just hung ‘em up in the tree.”
It just goes to show…you never know what you’ll see out there driving the back roads.
IN THE FIELD: Nap time
Another winter storm passed through the region yesterday and last night. With it came fluffy powdery snow, very cold temperatures and bitter wind chills of -17.
“Ya know…it’s hard to play and very tiring with ten inches of snow on the ground. We sure are glad our humans shoveled the snow in the back yard. Bet they are ready for a nap too!”
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IN THE FIELD: Winter’s Icy Grip
This morning we, as did most folks in this part of the country, woke up to a bitterly cold morning. I’m sure it is not as cold here as it has been in other parts of the world, but it sure is chilly. I really feel for you folks that have a much colder climate.
I did find it interesting to see the outside temperature hovering at 0. We don’t usually get to see that number on the thermometer. Even the inside temperature is on the chilly side. As a fellow blogger noted, it is odd dressing in layers while inside. I agree.
You can see yesterday’s outside high temperature had made it up to 44 degrees. And then the cold front came through. The wind started howling around noon yesterday and continued through the night. It’s still blowing relentlessly, bringing the wind chill to somewhere around -22…give or take a few degrees. I think I’ll look through the archive for some summertime photos.
IN THE FIELD: Bear Fever
There is a small town near our home where I can be found snooping around in search of new and interesting subjects to learn about and to photograph.
It is filled with architecture from the early part of the century and some buildings even date back further. Most of the older homes have stained glass windows and intricate scroll work on the window frames. In addition to all the interesting building designs is another charming characteristic of this town. It’s the town mascot. The Bears.
I have managed to photograph a handful of the bears that are situated throughout town, but I have a long way to go. Reportedly there are 61 bears of various themes waiting for me to discover. Good thing I have a map!
IN THE FIELD: Busy Busy Busy
Where’s David been ??? Well here goes…we have been getting ready for the “big move.” My wife and have built a new home. It is something we have talked about doing since we first met.
For the last year we have been renting a small house while our home was being built. During the last few weeks of October, we have been busy with settlement on the home, and moving all the stored items (80% of our belongings) to the new house. Additionally, we have been packing the remainder of our stuff, organizing various contractors jobs, shopping for necessities such as window treatments (we do have neighbors), a new refrigerator (have to keep food and beer cold), and new bed coverings (winter is on the way) along with other odds and ends.
I have even managed to free up some time and shoot 4237 photographs of the Autumn foliage all across the northeast part of the country.
Okay, so I didn’t shoot 4237 photographs of Autumn foliage. But I did manage to find a few minutes here and there to document the whole building process of the house and to photograph some classic cars and trucks. It feels odd not being out with my camera, but soon enough I’ll be out exploring our new territory and sharing what I find.
I do miss all of your stories and wonderful photos you include with them. My new office will be the perfect place to catch up and I look forward to seeing what all of you folks have been up to.
I would also like to thank you all for the likes and the follows…they are truly appreciated beyond words.
The final move is soon upon us….then we get to unpack.
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IN THE FIELD: Does Your Dog Have A License?
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IN THE FIELD: Sweets
I’m not a big fan of candy anymore, except for a good piece of chocolate now and again. But while in the checkout line at the grocery store the other day, I couldn’t help noticing the vintage-styled packaging of this brand of liquorice. There were several of these bags hanging amongst the other brightly-colored contemporary wrappers of candies and sweets.
Then I noticed the wording “soft eating” and wondered…what other kind is there? I had to get a photo.
Folks were curious, rather than annoyed at me for taking photos of the candy aisle while they were in line to pay for their goods. Probably because I mentioned the wording on the package. A man standing behind me said he had never noticed that before, but the candy was some of the best he has ever tasted.
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David Heilman 
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