The Oak tree in perspective

Here is a pair of images of the same Oak tree in my back yard................during a snow storm..........and reflected in the droplet of an ice cycle.

Snow storm on Dec. 26, 2010

For this day trip I stepped outside onto my yard to record a snow storm. We ended with 8 inches of snow.

Lunar Eclipse Dec. 21, 2010

Lisa and Mat

After a photo session with the whole family, Lisa and Mat agreed to indulge me and posed for a 50's photo setup. Finding the location and a car, along with exploring wardrobe.............all elements of the final results.

Beach trip with the family

This year's trip to the beach with the family was full of life as the three kids, Maddy, Ella, and Porter all had a great time..........Here are some images of their experiences. For all of us that have moments to relive about our first times at the beach...........let the memories flow.

B.J's country store

25 years ago Liz and I moved to our place in the country. The community store 1/2 mile down the road was your typical country store. They had all the basics in grocery's as well as hardware for your car, home, and garden. Locals would often gather to catch up on the neighborhood news.......all gossip with a grain of truth.
Best of all was the butcher. Robert's selection of meats and chicken had the reputation of the best in Wake Co. As Liz and I met people from Raleigh and told them where we lived, they would asked us if we lived near B.J.'s community store........they have the best steaks and chicken around.
Several years ago, the store changed owners and the store went downhill from poor management. Robert left....... and the store lost it's reputation. The most recent new owners have brought the store back to it's glory from the pass. The shelves are stocked again..........the locals are back with more neighborhood news......and best of all, Robert is back. Only in a country store will you find air dried sausage.......or a pack of fatback. Robert works on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. and will give you the cut of meat you request. They are......again.....the best steaks in Wake Co.

The little tree that could.

In 1990, I bought Liz this Japanese maple as a birthday gift. We choose a sunny spot in the yard where it would be prominent. Three years later, I noticed it was not growing and looking for the worse. After some research, I discovered Japanese maples don't like sunny places. It was burning up and would probably die. In 1996, hurricane Fran blew over a 70 foot cedar tree on top of this Japanese maple. Fortunately, there was a hole between two branches and the tree was not harmed. Two weeks later, a cleanup crew came through.........and as they were clearing the cedar tree away, it rolled onto the Japanese maple. The crushed and mangled little tree finally met it's match. By the next spring, I noticed it had some new growth. I cleaned off the dead broken branches and gave it some food and mulch. Every year, this little tree shows lichen growth on it's branches..........which indicates dead branches ..........but it continues to fill out with red leaves. This little survivor is twenty years old and the same size as when we planted it. I realized today that if this little tree can make it............so can I.

An event called "Flight of Honor" sponsored by Rotary Club 7680 in Charlotte, flew over 100 World War II veterans to Washington D.C. for a tour of the World War II memorial. Upon returning at the airport, they were greeted by over 300 flag waving, hand shaking, cheering, people consisting of family, friends and other veterans. I was moved to tears as one of the W.W.II veterans was my father.

Rocky Mount NC

The cup

About a month ago, my favorite drinking cup had a mishap with gravity and I needed another one. This cup was a piece of pottery from the Seagrove area. It had dented sides that fit my hand perfectly. I bought my other cup several years ago........... and to remember where, out of a couple of dozen potters in the area..........was going to be a brain squeeze. Liz took over camera duty so I could focus all my brain cells on finding the right potter. Liz, with her artistic eye, is an excellent photographer and all the images are hers.
I choose a country route through the rolling hills of the Uwharries which took us through Coleridge. Coleridge was a cotton mill community on the Deep river. The mill is no longer producing cotton products or a community....................only photo opportunities.
When we approached the Seagrove area, I knew it was going to be a hit and miss endeavor. Each potter store we explored, I quickly scanned for the cups while Liz was chasing light with her camera. After several false alarms, I recognized "Hard Times pottery" as the place I remembered..........except........it was closed.
I hesitated to leave and wondered, sense this was a private residence, the owner may be sitting in her kitchen......... watching us with binoculars.........trying to decide, are they buyers or lookers. I tried to look as disappointed as I could. I imagined I just found out I was adopted and my parents are from the South Bronx and has never had grits or fried bologna. After a few moments, a car pulled up........and it was the owner.
She had three cups left and one fit perfectly. On the way home, I was thinking that Liz and I just had a wonderful treasure hunt. I found two treasures.....a cup........and another........"remember that time".......with Liz.

Johnsons cheeseburgers

Liz and I took a day trip to Johnsons in Siler City for cheeseburgers. So you may ask, why go over an hour away and to, of all places, Siler City for cheeseburgers? The best way to answer this is to say...........just go............ and then you will understand. Johnsons is on Highway 64 in Siler City. Mr. Johnson opens around 10:30 A.M. for lunch only and stays open until the hamburger meat runs out. Johnsons was opened in 1946 by Mr. Johnson's father and only the prices have changed. The meat is still bought locally and prepared by Mr. Johnson from the processing to the grill. He tops his cheeseburgers with a generous portion of Velveeta cheese and all the fixins as you request.

Entertainment at Johnsons

Going to Johnsons for their cheeseburgers is worth the trip alone.............but the entertainment is an added bonus.
The show is a traditional southern event called "who are you?" and is often performed in small local diners, especially if you are from out of town..........you become the star of the show. As I stood at the end of the bar to take an overall photograph of the interior, the person at the end of the bar asked, Who are you with?........a newspaper or a magazine?..........My innocent answer was,"just for me, just for fun." Immediately, the person to his left threw an elbow into his side with the question,"what he say?" The elbows continued down the line until everyone sitting at the bar knew it was just for me, just for fun. I felt like I did when I was a kid and our family would go see our relatives after church on Sunday. I would have to go to the bathroom and prayed I wouldn't fart out loud.
Liz and I sat at the bar where the person on both Liz's right and my left asked,"Who are you?" Liz's friend grew up in Siler City, was in his late 60's and was the baseball coach at his high school. My bar friend was a middle age woman, moved to Siler City 30 years ago from somewhere else. Two years after she moved to Siler City, she lost her husband. He died on duty as a policeman on Christmas night. She is a regular at Johnsons and everybody knew her . She elbowed me(as a rule, always start with an elbow to the side) and pointed to a couple of motorcycle dudes and asked, I wonder who they are and where they are from?" I said, Why don't you go ask them?" She was off her stool before I could finished my sentence and in only a few moments created a group laugh with total strangers. There are no strangers at Johnsons.