I've decided I need to close my computer for a few days.

I'll miss dropping by your blogs and sharing with you on flickr!

I'll be back as soon as I can!

Pumpkin Picking Time!

It's the weekend again!

My, how time is flying right now!

It's time for my Weekend Walk post with Helen at A Flash Of Inspiration.

So, where'd I go this week?

Pretty much nowhere once again.

Last week it was the transmission repair that kept me without a car and this week Mr. H has been in a lot of back pain that resulted in doctor visits, MRI, and the bad news that he has a rather large cyst on his spine. He'll be needing some surgery, but we can't see the Neurosurgeon until late November. So anyhow, I'm home with him, he's not bed ridden or anything I just feel guilty going on a photo shoot when he's stuck at home and in pain. I guess I've said all that to say this...my walks will be very close to home for the next several weeks. I'll have to get really creative!

I was able to spend a very wonderful morning with my son and his family at the pumpkin patch. I never took my kids to the pumpkin patch. I really don't think I knew there was such a thing. We always picked out our pumpkin at the grocery store. I feel like they really missed an important part of childhood. It would have been so much fun. Well, they have their own families now and going to the pumpkin patch is one of their family traditions. Sometimes I'm able to go with them!

This is my son's family. His wife is holding their littlest, whose six months old, and my son is helping their oldest, whose four, find the perfect pumpkin.

Both of these boys just seem to absorb everything around them. They both look at things in a deep, concentrating way.

 

 

 

Isaac wasn't too sure about all those bright orange things surrounding him. He did finally relax and propped his arm up on the nearest pumpkin.  Of course, the pumpkins were all out in the bright sunlight, so it wasn't ideal for pictures; lots of shadows.

 

 

 

There was a large culvert with hay bales piled on each side so you could climb over it or run through it. This is my favorite picture of Aaron. I love all that motion and his happy smile! I lost count of how many times he ran through the tunnel!

Aaron loves all types of trains. It doesn't matter whether they're real or "fake" as he calls them. He's on the train with his cousin anxiously waiting to pull out of the station.

 

 

 

Aaron helped me look through the pumpkins to find one with  a curly stem. Most of the stems were cut off pretty straight and short, but he finally spotted one and it's perfect!

I also picked up some tiny pumpkins and gourds to put in my little blue doll chair.

 

 

It was a wonderful day with family and friends!

Lots of smiles and laughing!

Wonderful memories!

Finally Found It!

Watching the news one night I heard that a decades old sign painted on the side of a building had been uncovered in downtown Little Rock. It took me two trips downtown to find it, but I finally did. I knew it was on 7th street, but I had the wrong intersection. Ironically, I drove up the street looking for the sign, but turned around one block to early. The second trip, armed with the right address, city map, and accompanied by my sister, mom, and dad, we went right to it!  The sign is on the side of the old Dr Pepper bottling plant which operated back in the 20's and 30's. In the 1940's another building was attached to it enclosing the sign between the two walls. During the demolition of the added building the sign was uncovered. The sign has been preserved by the other building for years and reveals the  original color and details.

 

 

(Dr. Pepper sign located at 7th and Cross, Little Rock, AR)

The sign reads: "Drink a bite to eat at 10, 2 and 4 o'clock
Dr. Pepper in bottles Good for Life"

 

Ghost signs, as they are known, were the way products were advertised between the 1870's and the 1950's. The estimated date of this sign is in the 40's according to the soft drink's icons and slogans.  The tail sweeping back from the final "r" in the product's name  came along after 1923 and the period in "Dr." was dropped in the 1950's. During the World War II era the soda was advertised as a good between-meal snack, using the expressions such as the "liquid bite" or "drink a bite to eat."

 

The painters of ghost signs were called "wall dogs." Some say the name came from how hard they worked. Wall dogs were frequently expected to put up a sign a day and they spent many hours high on a building without the benefit of modern scaffolding or safety gear. Experts are pretty certain that this sign was painted by Robert Adair. He did all the Dr Pepper outdoor advertising signs in the1940's and 1950's and also a lot of the Coca-Cola ones in Little Rock. Adair began painted signs in 1923 when he was 12. Members of his family still live and work in Little Rock. I can imagine their excitement in the discovery of this sign.

 

It's sad, the painted sign will probably fade away since it is now exposed to the sun. There are new products available that structurally stabilize both the components of the paint and the masonry, but I don't see that happening here. Maybe the family will try to find a way to preserve it.

 

Linking with Kim Klassen's Friday Finds.

Unnoticed

Due to unforeseen difficulties I wasn't able to go anywhere for a photography walk this past week.  The transmission in Mr. H's truck went out so he had to use my vehicle to get to work.  Now, I don't mind at all being home all week, but I did have to get creative for my Weekend Walk. I walk the same road every day for exercise, so I decided to take my camera. My goal was to see what I could discover that would be unnoticed if I were driving down this road.

 

Here's the top eight finds of the week.

 

1. spider webs

 

 

 

2. bare limbs against a beautiful blue sky

 

 

3. playing card

 

 

4. muscadine

 

 

5. seedpod

 

 

6. pretty yellow flower

 

 

7. fall leaves

 

 

8. gorgeous light as I walked back up the driveway

 

Keeping my eyes open for unnoticed things made my walks go faster and they were less boring!

 

Have a great week and look for things that would normally be unnoticed.

 

"One can only see clearly
If one is going slowly
Quick motion creates a life-blur."

                          ~Terri Guillemets

Linking up with Helen's Weekend Walk at A Flash Of Inspiration.



It's All In The Persimmon

This is my first time to link to Friday Finds. I've seen it on several of my friends blogs, so thought I'd give it a try. Kim Klassen's Friday Finds "is a place to gather and share your finds with fellow creatives..."  Finds can be anything objects, thoughts, moments, or lessons. All you have to do is find something, post a picture, and write a little about your discovery.

 

I set out to find the weather prediction for winter in our area.

According to folklore, all you need is a persimmon seed.

First, you have to find a persimmon tree.

We happen to have one in our back yard.

 

 

Then you walk around the tree looking for a fruit you want to pick The green ones are not quite ripe. I'll warn you don't succumb to the temptation to take a bite out of the green ones...they are quite bitter.

 

 

While your looking up, glance down every once in a while. The ripe ones that have fallen to the ground are quite mushy and attract yellow jackets.

 

 

When they're ripe they turn a pretty light orange..

 

 

Find the one you want to pick.

 

Cut it open and dig out the seeds.

They smell really good, but they sure are messy.

 

 

 

You have to cut the small, hard seeds in half. I have tried to cut them open with a knife, but kept slicing my fingers, so now I use a pair of pliers to crack them. You must be careful or you'll mess up the inside of the seed that predicts the weather.

 

 

Predicts the weather?

Yes, according to folklore and The Farmer's Almanac the inside of the seed predicts the type of winter weather you'll be getting your area. Here's  my FIND...

It looks like we'll be having snow!!  Yea!!

 

 

Here's how this works...

When cut into two pieces, the persimmon seed will display one of three symbols.

A spoon shape stands for a shovel to dig out of the snow.

A fork shape means a mild winter and

a knife shape indicates a cold icy winter (where wind will cut through you like a knife.)

So far many spoons and some knives have been spotted in Arkansas.

 

 

In case you don't have a persimmon tree available and no local persimmons at the market,  there are other ways nature predicts winter.

•  If you have a corn crop and your silks are very abundant, then you’re going to have a cold winter because they’re protecting things.
•  For every fog on the mountain you saw in August, there would be a snow in January. (too late to check this one out!)
•  Look for a bad winter if: squirrels begin collecting nuts in mid- to late-September.
• Heavy crop of berries, acorns and pine cones or onions with many layers means cold winters.
•  Winter will be bad if there are a lot of woolly bear caterpillars around, and if the caterpillars have more black than brown. If the woolly bear is brown at both ends and orange in the middle, winter will be mild.

 

 

Of course, I guess you could just check one of your electronics for the weather forecast, but it won't be near as fun!

 

Picture Everyday ~ Week 3

Every day life...how's it treating you?

Do you rush through it or do you seek and savor the moments?

 

 

The class I'm taking with Big Picture Classes has helped me slow down and savor the moments. It has also shown me how to appreciate the little things in my everyday life. This week's theme was about places; where we go, what we see, and what we do. I don't have a fast-paced-explore-the-world-exciting life. I live a simple stay-close-to-home life and I thoroughly enjoy it.

 

Our first prompt was

 

DRIVE

I am bragging a little, but I have a new vehicle to drive and it's so fun! My old car was twelve years old and when the air conditioning went out, we traded. So, yeah, it's fun to go driving now!  In the console is everything I need, a camera, my wallet with cell phone, and my sunglasses. I live simply and rarely carry a purse.

 

 

 

 

DESTINATION

Sometimes when I take off on a drive, there's a specific destination. On this particular day, I had another destination in mind, but it didn't work out. I changed my plans and wound up at the Arkansas Art Center which had been "yarn bombed." It's was fascinating the way it was artistically arranged. I can't imaging the hours spent for this project. You can see more images here.

 

 

 

VISIT

I visit our public libraries quite regularly. I liked the fall colors in this book jacket. I'm ready to see trees full of color. There's a little color showing now, but not much. I heard that it may be the first of November before the color peaks here. When I uploaded the picture I noticed the words on the book behind it. Looks like that book is about a photographer. I need to get back and check it out; might be an interesting read.

 

 

EXPLORE

I love to take road trips and explore the back roads of Arkansas. I wish I had been able to go in an explore this old building. It was a general store in Chism, Arkansas. I was only able to take a peek through the door.

NEIGHBORHOOD

My neighborhood consist of woods and fences. The woods are my special tromping grounds, where many of my nature photos are taken. The fences, well, they don't hold anything in or out. They were useful long ago, but now they are just fun to take pictures of. That's our home on the left and barn in the background.

 

As  you go about your daily life and the places your go, pay attention to your surroundings and you might be surprised by the everyday beauty you've been missing. You don't have to be a photographer to appreciate the beauty of everyday.

 



Without Destination

 

 

 

Going without destination.

Walking only to see.

Discovering new and interesting pieces of Arkansas.

That's what I enjoy.

 

 

This week's walk found me in MacArthur Park located in the heart of  Little Rock.

It is the city's oldest municipal park, established in 1892.

The park was named in honor of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who was born in an arsenal building nearby.

 

 

 A quiet section of the garden honors Arkansas' missing children.

 

 

 A little further down the brick promenade is the Contemplative Garden that surrounds a lovely little pond.

 

 

 Around the pond there's quite a variety of ducks and lots of them!

 

 Ducks who like to stroll down the promenade showing off their brilliant colors and fine feathers.

 

For some reason, this guy liked me. The rest of the ducks just ignored me when they realized I didn't have any food. But this one, he followed me for quite a while. I thought it rather strange, but his wings stayed out all the time.

Even the littlest of the ducks were strolling along the brick walkway.

 

 

Following mom and dad to the wildflowers.

There were ten of these fuzzy little ones.

Quite fun to watch.

 

The ducks seemed to have more of a purpose than I did; to eat and swim.

Me, I just enjoyed the quiet stroll in a lovely park!

 

 

Linking up with Helen's Weekend Walk at A Flash Of Inspiration.

 



TEN

My sweet friend Sarah from Paisley Rain Boots nominated me for the sunshine award.

Part of the award includes answering ten question that she chose. So here goes...
 

1. Favorite Movie?

You’ve Got Mail

2. What are you reading right now? It can be a magazine :)

I'm always reading more than one thing at a time. Right now it's:

devotional ~ One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

fiction ~ The Best Of Me by Nicholas Sparks

inspirational ~ Cast Of Characters by Max Lucado

photography ~ Elevate The Everyday by Tracey Clark

 

3.Sweet Potatoes or Russet Potatoes?

russet potatoes and throw in a little fried ham

good old southern comfort food

 

4. Honey or Sugar?

it’s sugar for me



5. Favorite Weekend Activity?

working in the yard

6. What decade would you most liked to have lived in?

1950’s, I love how women looked so feminine

I always wanted to wear those cool hats, too

 

7. Makeup or a la natural?

Mostly natural…I stay home a lot!

it's a little foundation and blush if I'm going somewhere

 

8. Tea or Coffee?

I don't like either
my cup is empty
 

9. Sweet or Salty?

a combination of both
my favorite snack is white chocolate covered pretzels

10. Thing that you are most proud of accomplishing this year?

learning to use manual on my camera

and actual using it!

 

 

Thank you, Sarah, for thinking of me.

Sarah has a delightful blog filled with gorgeous photos.

She always inspires me to get out, wander around, and capture new and interesting things.