With the Grain

With the Grain by Andy Roth on 500px

Photo #63

This is one of those photos that looked much better in my imagination. Wood grain can be such a beautiful thing on something crafter like a table or a guitar. I'd hoped that on actual log it would interesting, too. What I got was this. Well, this and some nice flames, a satisfying crackling, the sweet smell of woodsmoke and some comforting heat. Yes, shortly after this picture was taken, I let the flame out of this log.

(Week 9 - Photo 4)

Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way?

Hank Williams. Besides being Lando Calrissian's uncle and Jimmy Carter's son-in-law was also famous for other things, including playing the guitar, singing, and standing in front of flags. He did a parody of "On Top of Spaghetti" which instead was about a mountain and was much less funny than the original, but you must remember this was a different time. (The title of this comes from Chuck Prophet's cover of a Duke's of Hazard song.)

Day 76 - The Frog in Repose - 25 Feb 2011

This little fellow is actually a musical instrument of sorts that we brought back from New Orleans as a souvenir for our son. Not shown is the stick that you can use to make a rhythmic frog like sound. It is actually a pretty neat thing, though in retrospect I wonder what we were thinking by giving him yet another way to make noise.

Day 53 - Pillar of the Porch - 2 Feb 2011

Groundhog's Day was uneventful to the point where I was hoping to not have to relive it. There came a moment in the late afternoon however, where the color and quality of the setting sun gave the ordinary view outside my window a special something that was worth noticing. Realizing this is step 1, trying to capture it is step 2. Fifty three days into this jaunt I am getting into the habit of doing both.

Day 45 - Comeback - 25 Jan 2011

One thing I've done to prepare for my life as an old man is to master the game of Cribbage. This photo odyssey caused me to notice my old cribbage board sitting lonely and neglected on top of a bookshelf. After bringing it down and cleaning it off, not only was it ready for its closeup, but it soon was discovered by my son who is now preparing for his life as an old man.

3d6

Day 361



For Christmas, I received a game called Shut the Box. This game consists of a box with a row of tiles, 1 though 9, and a set of dice. You roll the dice and push down some combination of the tiles that matches the value of what you rolled. I had this great idea to take a picture with the tiles spelling out the day. Unfortunately, I had this great idea on Day 360, which is one day too late, since the tiles are in order, and there is no zero. So instead, I borrowed one die from my son's new backgammon board, and took this shot.

Smoke 'Em

Day 354



In Fred City there is a British grocery store, and in yet another unexplained mystery, outside this store sits an Indian. Maybe they sell British cigars there? I don't know. I do know that they sell some tasty British beers there however, and on this day I stopped by to pick my old friend Sam Smith.

Many Colored Days

Day 312



"Some days are yellow, some days are blue. On different days, I'm different too." Both of my kids loved this book when they were younger. It has nothing to do with this picture, really, other than the title, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.

Opposite of France

Day 218



Another shot from Black Mountain, NC. This is a weathered old wooden bench outside of the local barbershop.

Magnet

Day 147



I think of this wooden refrigerator magnet as a Tiki statue, not unlike the one that caused so much trouble for the Bradys on their trip to Hawaii. I may be completely wrong about what this magnet is, but even so, magnet + macro lens = today's photo.

Mega-Picks

Day 142



A funny thing happened on the way to taking my shot of seven for the PhotoChallenge.org challenge. I took the lid of the container of multi-colored toothpicks, and saw this. Sometimes, seven is not enough.

Flame

Day 109



The weather was perfect for the first backyard campfire of the season. Under the moon and the constellations, the air was cool, the beer was cooler, and the fire was warm.

Turn a Square

Day 94



Continuing the entropy theme for April, I took this shot at a seemingly unused barn that I pass by all the time.

Dismantle

Day 92



For the month of April, there is a new challenge from PhotoChallenge.org . This time it is not colors, but rather it is "entropy". So, as best as I can keep up with it, look for shots this month that show disorder, randomness, and devolution. Today's shot is of our mantle, which is over 150 years old. It is rough and split, with random bits of metal that it acquired from its time as part of a barn.

Bear on Rock

6 January 2008



Frogs aren't the only wooden animals in the house. Here is some chainsaw art that we got last Oktoberfest.

The Edge

5 January 2008



This is one of the three wooden frogs in our wooden frog collection. Expect to see him again and the others in future shots. At least the glass that he sits upon is not blue.