100 Day Project 2021

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Scavenger Hunt Sunday ~ March 31, 2013


I can't believe it's Easter Sunday!
Where did the month of March go?

Our prompts this week for Scavenger Hunt Sunday were:

water
empty
fresh
weathered
ordinary




water
Rain water caught in the center of a bloom on my Japonica bush.
 
 

 
empty
An empty bench in an empty little park.


fresh
Would you like to go for a bike ride and get some fresh air?
 
 

 
weathered
Although the paint has weathered, you can still see the Coke advertisement on the side of this brick building.
 

 
 
ordinary

An ordinary gumball in a puddle of water.
 

 
 
I leave you with a wish for a wonderful Easter.
 



Thursday, March 28, 2013

A Walk Around the Town of Fordyce, Arkansas

 Dallas County Courthouse ~ Fordyce, Arkansas ~ built in 1907
 
I've started a photography project that will probably take me a long time to finish. I'm going to try and take a pictures of every county courthouse in Arkansas. I may never finish it, but I'm enjoying the journey. I've found courthouses rather tricky to photograph. They're tall, they're often on higher ground than where I'm standing, and I always seem to be there at mid day.  It's also difficult because so many people are around. I know people might add a real-life look to the picture, but I prefer not having them in my shots. At the last courthouse I photographed there was a crew from the local jail cleaning out the flower beds. It was very hard to avoid their bright orange jumpsuits. This time there was a sweet little lady in a bright red jacket sweeping the sidewalks. I walked around to another side of the courthouse to avoid her, looked up and there she was again. So, back to the first side I go!

There is a beautiful clock tower on top of the courthouse that  chimed on the hour. You can see if here if you'd like. After taking pictures of the courthouse, I took some time to stroll around town looking for historical homes,  other buildings, and just things that interest me. I didn't have any trouble spotting this pretty little house!
 
Mays House


I never know what the day will bring when I set out on one of my little adventures. It seems something unusual always happens and so far they've all been good experiences. I was standing on the side of the road taking a picture of the house above when a man in a pickup truck stopped and asked if I was interested in historic homes. Of course, I was. He handed me a small magazine with an article that he had written about this small town. He took the time to get out of his truck, look at my map, and tell me some of the other homes I needed to photography.
 
Amis House ~ built around 1900

 
Right across the street from the pink house was the Amis house. As I was taking pictures the owner of the house drove up. He is in the process of restoring this house and let me take a peak inside. As we were talking, he suddenly laughed and said "come on, I want to show you something that you'll want a picture of." I followed him around to an out building...a real out building...an outhouse.  There in the outhouse still sits the first flushable toilet in Fordyce!
 
 
 
 
He also pointed out another building on his property. It is the oldest schoolhouse in Fordyce. I would never have dreamed this was a schoolhouse. It just looked like another out building. Do you remember the pretty white doorknob in my last post? It's on this building, the door on the right behind the bush. I'm so glad I spent a little time talking to these two, kind gentlemen!
 
 

 
Knowing that I like historic buildings, they recommended that I eat lunch at Rock's Place in the center of town. Rock's place is in the former Home Life and Accident Insurance Company main office building. The dome was brought in from Holland and is made of metal and copper. The building was just as beautiful inside with decorative tin ceiling tiles, stained glass windows, three bank vaults, 18 foot ceilings, and 14 foot front doors. I showed the elaborate woodwork of one of the vaults here. I wondered about those three huge walk-in vaults. What did they keep in them? Did they have that much money or were their papers stored in them in case of fire?  When you opened the front door, it squeaked, an old-fashioned squeak. I love the sounds of an old building; the squeaking doors, the creaking floors, and the slight echo of a room with such high ceilings.
 
A. B. Banks Building ~ built 1904 - 1906
 
 
If I had lived in the early 1900's, I'm sure I wouldn't have lived in one the mansions built by the local businessmen. Maybe, I would have lived in a house similar to the one below. I have always loved porches and this porch with the rounded corners would be just my style. I could see myself sitting in that glider enjoying a beauitful day.
 


 
This house was my favorite. I love the style, the location, and the creamy butter color. This is the Wynne Phillips House; the home of attorney and former mayor, Thomas Duncan Wynne, his wife, Agnes, and their seven children. It is now a bed and breakfast inn owned and operated by Colonel James H. Phillips and his wife, Agnes, the youngest of the seven children.
 
Wynne House ~ built 1904

I find the time period of the early 1900's fascinating. I especially like the architecture of the homes and businesses. I love all the details and wood work and the large front porches. Come back on Sunday when I post Scavenger Hunt Sunday pictures. There's more to see of Fordyce, I'll give you a little glimpse of downtown
 
 
______________________________________________________ 
 
The town of Fordyce was established in 1845. By 1890 Fordyce was the largest town in the county and in 1908 it became the Dallas County seat.
 
The buildings that were erected to serve as courthouses are a symbol of the strength and prosperity of the citizens who paid for it and for whom it was built. This often resulted in the courthouse exhibiting the most elaborate and impressive architecture to be found for miles around. The vast majority of the historic courthouses in Arkansas continue to serve as the centers of county government. There are 75 counties in Arkansas with 85 county courthouses. One reason the additional ten courthouses were established was because there was usually a river that divided the county and access to one courthouse was not always possible. So far, I have been to 19 of these counties.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Walk and Click Wednesday ~ March 27, 2013

The images for today's Walk and Click Wednesday post are from the small town of Fordyce, Arkansas. I attended a funeral there yesterday and decided to check out the older section of town. I wasn't disappointed, there were several  structures dating from the early 1900's. Some have been restored and some were in very bad shape.  Today I wanted to share with you some details that caught my attention.
 
newer windows in an old frame

 
pretty doorknob on an old weathered door
 


faded windows and woodwork that are still beautiful


pretty molding around a money vault


turrets on a historic church



clay tiles slipping off the roof


sun rays

 
beautiful restoration

 
 
painted advertising on a brick wall
Dr. Tichenor's Antiseptic
 
 
textures galore



clock tower telling me I needed to head home soon

This is just a little sneak preview of the homes, churches, and buildings in Fordyce. I hope to share some more images later this week. Thanks for joining my walk! 
 
laf Custom Designs

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Scavenger Hunt Sunday ~ March 24, 2013


 
Scavenger Hunt Sunday seems to be getting more difficult for me. I think it's because I love to take photos outside, especially of nature, but it's been so rainy and windy that good shots are next to impossible! I can't remember a day when we haven't had wind this entire winter. Don't get me wrong I love for the wind to blow, but it sure makes outside photography difficult. So, here I am inside trying to come up with ideas for the prompts this week which were:
 
Asian
wavy
draw
soft
texture
 
 
Asian
A small Asian figurine given to me by my aunt in the late 50's.


Wavy
My necklace on a wavy background. Wavy totally stumped me this week. Next week I'll probably see wavy everywhere!


Draw
If I want to draw, all I need is a pencil and a piece of paper.


Soft
Soft baby booties that were made for my daughter when she was born.


Texture
We had one pretty day this week where I took off with my camera on a photo walk around a nearby small town. The effects of weather, including the wind, definitely added texture to this old building.

 
I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!
 

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Third Thursday Challenge ~ March 2013


If a photo speaks a thousand words then it's for certain that two photos can speak volumes. When you place two photos side by side it is called a "diptych." Last week Brenda who hosts Third Thursday Challenge showed us how using diptychs can be an effective storytelling tool. They're like little mini stories that are told in two photos.
 
I've used diptychs before to show examples or to save room on my blog, but I've never given much thought as to how they could tell stories. As I wandered this week I looked for photos that could be used in pairs.
 
Nature was the first thing I thought of since spring seems to arrived and with the warm days flower buds bursting into blossoms.  Of course, the weeds are bursting open too, like this dandelion flower and dandelion seed head. There's also  a second story here, the story of my point of view when capturing the image. In the first, I was looking down at the flower and then I looked up at the seed head!


I also wanted to try something outside of my comfort zone of nature. This week I explored a small town in Arkansas and discovered a historic railroad station. I took these pictures of a semaphore atop the building. My three year old grandson is obsessed with trains. He's the one that told me this signal is called a semaphore. I did a little research and found that a semaphore is one of the earliest forms of fixed railway signals. These signals display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. The ladder on the left is how the men climbed the pole to change the signal. Aaron certainly knew what he was talking about! Smart boy!!


I love the inspiration and knowledge that I get through blogging and the friends I've made. If you'd like to see more inspiring examples of how we challenged ourselves to learn something new this month, just visit Brenda by clicking on the button below!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Walk and Click Wednesday ~ March 20, 2013

Happy first day of spring!
 
It's been feeling and looking like spring here for a couple of weeks. Our temperatures are like a roller coaster though, up to the low 80's and then down to the mid 30's. We may see sleet tomorrow!  One big plus, the sun has been out more than it has rained! It's been a great time for walking and clicking!
 
Last week for Walk and Click Wednesday, Sarah at Paisley Rain Boots went home to the place where she grew up. You can read about it here if you'd like. I'm sure she'd enjoy your visit. Returning to capture images of her home, got me to thinking about where I grew up.  So, inspired by Sarah I decided to stay close to home and capture what it looks like now. I've lived in this community for over 45 years. My family moved here when I was eleven. Mr. H and I lived in another small town  for the first four years of our marriage and then returned and bought our first home.
 
 I live in the small town of Mabelvale that was been incorporated into Little Rock the capital city of Arkansas. We still have our own post office, zip code,  and "town proper". It's like we really don't belong to the big city, they just get our taxes and hmmmmm...oh we do get city trash pick up and sewer now. I guess we have benefited a little!!  Anyway, Mabelvale covers a lot of territory, but I'll just show you the main area. Main Street is only four blocks long. The entire center of town covers about ten blocks.
 
 
Mabelvale was established as small train station town.  I live about two miles from "downtown" and have driven across these tracks bazillions of times!
 
 
It's like any old town. There are some very old homes that have been refurbished and, of course, there are some that are falling down and rotting away.
 
 
The house below was in pretty bad shape before they restored it. It's the prettiest house in town now!
 
 
Many years ago this house was turned into a community center where meetings were held and where the local quilters all came together to quilt and gossip visit. It's since been abandoned and the quilters meet at the Methodist Church.
 
 
I know this building looks like a shack and that's what it is, a barbecue shack with delicious barbecue sandwiches. See the smoke coming out of the smoke stake. Oh my, our town smells good!! If you want to eat in town, this is your only choice! I will tell you that the inside is much nicer than the outside!
 
 
Our "town proper" has a car repair shop, a paint and body shop, a church, a model train store, a Masonic lodge, a car wash, a gas station, a couple of small businesses, a beauty shop, and a few more homes. Oh, and we can't leave out the  ball field. Not in real good shape, not big, but it's still the hub of the neighborhood during the summer.

I hope you enjoyed the tour through small town Arkansas!
 
Joining up with Lissa
at
laf Custom Designs
 

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Scavenger Hunt Sunday ~ March 17, 2013

 
I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of green today.
The Scavenger Hunt Sunday prompts this week were perfect for  St. Patrick's Day.
 
They were:
lucky
Irish
daylight
pot of gold
clover
 
Lucky
Do you have things that just stay around for years even though you  no longer use them?  I do! I guess it's the nostalgic side of me that has a hard time letting them go. I made this Lucky Leprechaun when my children were small. We hung him on a doorknob. I'll bet they still remember him.


Irish
My aunt send me this Irish handkerchief when I was a child.
 
 
Daylight
I thought these lovely weeds looked like they were singing praises for the daylight.
 
 
Pot Of Gold
Looks like Lucky Liam has found a pot of gold in the clover!

Clover
Every time my oldest grandson looks at a clover patch he finds a four-leaf clover. He likes to rub it in that I can't find them. Guess what, Jake, it was my lucky day! Gramma finally found one!
 
May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing

Happy St. Patrick's Day