Photo Blogging Challenge (November 2023): Enjoy Life

 

Enjoying life in November.

New to him ride for John. He bought it himself.

Ike's Chili, a Tulsa favorite.

Out standing in my field.

Fun with friends.

More field work.

Photo Blogging Challenge (October 2023): Experiences

October was full of very different experiences. For starters, we got a trial run of the total solar eclipse we will see in April next year. We were about 85% for the annular solar event.

Bonus pic because it's funny!           

We got the whole family back together this year to hit the State Fair of Texas and get the only corny dog I'll eat!

I saw the few remaining members of Queen perform with Adam Lambert!

And the F1 race was pretty good too.

We got a drought busting rain storm that brought our lake from 55% to a little over 100% in just 3 days.

Photo Blogging Challenge (September 2023): Simple

 Bear with me here. For this month's challenge, I wanted to do a bit more than my iPhone, even if the theme was Simple. Several of us went to a music festival in Kentucky and that's when it hit me. What can I do with a simple point and shoot camera at a concert. I hope you like what I produced as much as I do.

Billy Strings

Duran Duran

Scott Avett

This is probably my favorite of the weekend and one of my favorite shots ever. Tania Elizabeth, a member of the Avett Brothers band.

The Avett Bros

There's my five. I also kept this theme Simple in that I didn't have to write too much. Enjoy your October and hope to see you at month's end.

Photo Blogging Challenge (August 2023): Happy Place

Happy Place What is my happy place? Good question.

A little cat, er, dog nap rather. That's a pretty happy place. My lap is certainly Charlie's.

I've seen some fun races and great concerts at COTA, looking forward to being back this October.

In August, a cold movie theater is an especially happy place.

Spending time in the country with my dad. Glad he's still around. 

Anywhere that I am with this one! 

WAKE UP! ***b-b-b-bonus s-s-s-shot***

Photo Blogging Challenge (July 2023): Selfie

Selfie, Ussies, whatever the case may be. Here's a handful of photo's taken at arms length!

I've mentioned before that this has been the summer of Music. We've been to quite a few concerts through the year and some more coming up. We recently headed north to Colorado for a respite from the heat. The boys had never been to a show at Red Rocks and as fate would have it, one of my favorite groups, The Avett Brothers,  was playing. It was a great show!

We went back up the mountain to Dillon, Colorado. They have built this nice amphitheater on the lake. Another of my current favs, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, was playing. He brought out a pretty good sized crowd for a smaller venue. 

Still in the mood for cooler climes, Amy and I flew down to Grand Cayman and got in a little SCUBA diving. The mask makes me a little bug-eyed!

We were on a good sized dive boat but they only carried 8 divers so it wasn't too crowded. The cruise ship operations can really pack you on.

One more from Trinity Caves. This was our last of the trip and the 4th of the day. I pushed my NO DECO time to the limit but took a little extra time on the safety stop. These were pulled from video as I was having an issue with my GoPro switching between modes. 

If you want to check out these dives and other dives from previous years, check out my YouTube playlist. I could use some more subscribers! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNt4Kb90fLCFRKZ5Sc0cOp6xNjH9-TzU4

It's been a summer and it isn't over yet. Take a look at the other folks' photos at A lil Hoohaa  And come back next month for more.

Photo Blogging Challenge (June 2023): Where Will You Go?

Where will I go? Where did I go? We went to the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington to see the great Joni Mitchell play with Brandi Carlile and friends. It was a three night event starting with Allison Russel, Marcus Mumford, and Brandi Carlile the first night, the second Brandi Carlile opened for the special Joni Jam with Joni Mitchell, Wendy and Lisa, Annie Lennox, Sara McLaughlin and more. The final night was Tanya Tucker and The Highwomen closing out a music filled weekend.

This was my first view of the Gorge upon entering the gates.

The Joni Jam felt like a living room jam session. So much fun.

And a beautiful backdrop to the stage. The Columbia River.

The Highwomen are lots of fun. A supergroup started by Amanda Shires and Brandi Carlile, features Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby and just about anyone they pick up along the way.

Our Oasis home away from home for the weekend. No traffic to think about and no long drive back to the hotel.

You can check out the whole set in my flickr album. Or take a look at the other entries at A Lil Hoo Haa.

Photo Blogging Challenge (May 2023): Tell A Story!

This story goes way back, well before my time. My mom's father was killed in action in WWII two months before she was born. My grandmother worked multiple jobs during my mom's childhood to make ends meet. When my mom was a pre-teen, my grandmother sent her to New York to spend a year with my grandmother's sister and her husband. They lived in Brooklyn and were both writers. My great uncle was a novelist and my great aunt worked for Time and Life magazines. It was around this time that my great aunt and uncle started building a cabin on some property they had purchased in western New York. 

This summer, like most summers over the years, my mom is in the cabin in the woods. Both my great aunt and uncle have passed and having no children of their own, my mom inherited the property. She is now 78 and, while in great shape, isn't comfortable getting herself up there these days. This May, I got her up and settled for the summer.

It starts with a plane ride. Airplane rides are the best when they are uneventful. This one was very uneventful. 

 

We arrived in town a little after noon and were both hungry. However, when she turned her phone on she had a missed call from the company that was shipping her car. The year before last, we bought her a car for the summer, actually sold it for more afterwards, but it was a lot more work than we expected. Last year, she just rented a car but it's expensive and they only let you keep a car for a month, so she would have to go to town and swap cars. My sister found that for $900.00 we could get her car delivered via flatbead in 1-3 days. We met the drivers at a shuttered deli. Coronavirus took out several of the few places to eat in this small town. After settling up with the delivery guys, we quickly settled in and headed out for a late lunch. They know how to make a great slice in New York!

   

The cabin is tucked away down a private road with two other cabins. The owners of these are the same ones she grew up with when she was first here. So it's truly a special place for her.

  

My first plane ride ever was to Newark, New Jersey, the closest airport at the time. I remember a lot about my first visit here too. What still stands out the most was what my great uncle called the Birch John Society, the birch covered outhouse, as there wasn't a septic system at the time, that is still in use today. And the croquet court. You can see what remains of it in the center right. It's not as smooth as it once was.

  

I can't remember the last time my mom and I spent time together alone. We really didn't do much this trip but talk. And eat! After a stop at our favorite diner in Milford, PA, we took a walk through the grounds at Grey Towers. After a quick stop in Port Jervis at her favorite deli for dinner later, we headed back to the cabin.

We were there a little earlier than she is used to being there so a lot of flowers were in bloom still that she usually misses. Here are a few bonus shots of those.

After spending the morning talking and strolling the forest, it was time for me to head home. Back to the heat. It's not so green here. 

I've got a bunch of photos over the years with my boys and their cousins playing in the woods much like my mom when she was little as well as other wonderful views of the area here on my Flickr feed.

And I have to share these two photos of my mom taken in the same spot just a few years apart:

  

Photo Blogging Challenge (April 2023): You Do You

April was a month of music, art, and fun. I had a hard time just choosing five but did my best. Here's my five of You Do You, with a few bonus pics.

An old high school friend of mine has over 50,000 hours of musicians recorded on video. His Texas Music Cafe was once a show on PBS and is now a YouTube channel that probably only has 1% of his recordings. He's still at it and I was there for his latest.

I have to throw one in of the dogs. Charlie loves her Rosie very much, Rosie sometimes needs her space. 

I made a squirrel friend. This is Gwendola. Every day, she greets my friend as he comes home from work. Today, she let me feed her.

Back to the music, my boys (who are now men) and I returned to the Old Settler's Music Festival for the first time since the world changed. The festival got a little smaller but is still full of great music. I found a lot of new people to follow. This is Big Richard, they describe themselves as a Bluegrass Bachelorette Party.

April ended up in Los Angeles. We got invited (to buy tickets) to Willie Nelson's 90th Birthday party. It was star studded and great to see the Red-headed Stranger once again. 

That's my five. I took a bunch more in LA, we did so much in a short time. If you have the desire to check out Hollywood and some art museums, visit my Flickr album. Here's a little bonus taste!

Jurassic World, The Ride

TCL Chinese Theater

 Those of a certain age will remember the show Emergency! Imagine my thrill of seeing Ladder 51 in the wild.

 And another for those of that age, the Brady Bunch house.