Today is a collection of small folders with a just a couple images here and there, that I just wanted to get cleaned up and out of my organizational workflow.
Feels good to get some of those cobwebs cleared out.
A Little Fall Cleaning
Category Archives: Animals
Walnut Woods Bird Blind
I need to start today by wishing my cousin Sarah a happy birthday. Happy birthday Sarah!
I hope it is as amazing as you want it to be!
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Back when I was on vacation, one of the State Parks I visited was Walnut Woods in the Des Moines area. I’ve driven by the sign for the turnoff to Walnut Woods hundreds of times. It seemed like I should finally make that turn and see what it is all about.
I didn’t get to spend much time exploring Walnut Woods, but by far my favorite thing I found there was the bird blind that overlooked about a hundred bird feeders. The bird blind is closed because of the badly mismanaged pandemic, but you could still stand near the bird blind and enjoy the birds. I probably didn’t have the exact lens I would have wanted, but I still took a plethora of bird photos. Even took some I liked.
This trip to Walnut Woods inspired me to want to buy my own portable bird blind. I’m going to get right on that after I buy a larger external hard drive, 3 new monitors, and a new projection screen. Maybe a retired Iowa State football locker. It is definitely on the list!
All You’ll Ever Need
Today I’d like to share a collection of flower pictures I took in late June.
Still plenty of flower pictures left to curate.
Cervus Canadensis
On the second day of my vacation I went down to Walnut Woods in Des Moines to knock off a State Park I haven’t been to. But on the way there, I stopped at Jester Park, which is better than a ton of State Parks and not just because of the elk, but I did take pictures of elk. Have a look.
There weren’t any buffalo out when I was there, but the elk more than made up for that!
If You’re Looking for Hope
The inspiration for today’s picture collection was beautiful flowers. The inspiration for today’s “An Artist’s Notebook” journal title is from a for King & Country song entitled “Together”. Think we are all probably looking for a little hope after the sh!tshow that was the Presidential Debate on Tuesday.
This is for the busted heart
This is for the question marks
This is for the outcast soul
Lost control, no one knows
Sing it for the can’t-go-back
Sing it for the broken past
Sing it for the just found out
Life is now upside down
If you’re lookin’ for hope tonight, raise your hand
If you feelin’ alone and don’t understand
If you’re fightin’ in the fight of your life, then stand
We’re gonna make it through this hand-in-hand
And if we fall
We will fall together
Together
This is for the second chance
This is for the new romance
Sing it for the loved in vain
Overcame, it’s not too late
If you’re lookin’ for hope tonight, raise your hand
If you feelin’ alone and don’t understand
If you’re fightin’ in the fight of your life, then stand
We’re gonna make it through this…
It doesn’t hurt to read that with an Australian accent.
The flowers represented are hollyhocks, lilies, and gazanias. Might be a few golden retriever flowers in there too.
I could see one of these pictures making the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar. However, it can’t be all flower pictures, can it?
That Wasn’t Me
Every once in awhile, and it is a very rare every once in awhile, people ask me where I come up with the titles for my “An Artist’s Notebook” entries. The once that aren’t glaringly obvious. Frequently they are taken from quotes. But frequently they are taken from songs I’m listening to while either editing the images or while I’m typing up the entry.
For example. “That Wasn’t Me” is a Brandi Carlile song that has some of my favorite lines in it.
Hang on, just hang on for a minute
I’ve got something to say
I’m not asking you to move on or forget it
But these are better days
To be wrong all along and admit is not amazing grace
But to be loved like a song you remember
Even when you’ve changed
This is the opening verse of the song, and it crushes me every time I hear it.
Well any ways, here are some pictures I took in late June. Some are of the official bird of the state of Iowa being confused by its reflection. Or maybe it loves its reflection. It should get to know its Greek mythology better. Get to know the story of Narcissus.
The other pictures are of flowers from around my yard. Well one is from my Mom’s yard. One is from Stan and Noreen’s yard.
The bird harassing my Mom’s car, I’m taking that as a win for not keeping your car very clean. I’m talking to my car, which birds never seem to harass.
2010-04-08
The pictures from the folder 2010-04-08 are from around the Iowa State campus. I liked to stop around there to photograph the wildlife back then. I still like doing that, maybe not now with a pandemic going on, but you get it…
By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:
Wilder
Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve my birthday party invitations from 2010.
Town Sign Upgrade
As you know, I am a big fan of town signs. So much so that I’ve even created a project dedicated to my love for town signs. Part of this love comes from a sign I remember as a kid. It was up on Marion Street as you were entering Boone from the west from the Logansport area. I believe the sign was a guy fishing and the sign said something like “Try Boone. You’ll Stay”.
This could 100% be a false memory. I have never been able to find a picture of the sign. I don’t know that anybody else even remembers it.
What is beyond contestation, however is that Boone’s town signs have been less than stellar for years. Currently there are some boring brick sings on US30 that just declare “Welcome to Boone”. They aren’t well lit and sometimes the letters fall off. It is very disappointing.
Then the Boone Rotary Club stepped in and stepped up Boone’s town sign game. They raised funds to move a train from the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad out to the intersection of US30 and Story Street.
It ended up being more work than they thought. They had to split up the move into two days. On the first day they moved the coal tender and a passenger car. On the second day they moved the engine.
Here are some pictures from the first day:
The last two pictures are really connected to the movement of the train, they were just taken on the same day and I like them.
Kit
Last week the wind blew a baby squirrel of my Mom’s neighbor’s tree. I took a few pictures of the incredible cuteness.
The interwebs said to just leave the baby squirrel alone and eventually the mom would come back and get it. Sure enough, the little guy was gone in a few hours. The mom must have came back and got them. If you think anything else happened to the baby squirrel, that evil is on you!
If I Told You My Story
This is a collection of flower pictures I took in early June at my Mom’s house. Daises. Alliums. Clematises.
So many flower pictures! So many more still in the hopper!