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Archive for Canon Powershot

sojourn . Smoky Mountain Views

“Measureless mountain days… opening a thousand windows to show us God.” I love that quote from John Muir, the naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club who was so instrumental in advocating for the preservation of some of our nation’s most treasured natural lands. Last fall, we traveled back to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and this week, I’ve been enjoying inspiration from the images captured there. There is, indeed, so much about experiencing the mountains that seems measureless — the views, the heights, the colors, the distance. Our drive over the Newfound Gap Road from Gatlinburg, Tennessee to Cherokee, North Carolina offered great views of the vastness and great roadside stops and climbs to discover the view up close, too. Read More →

go . Opening Day for the Farmer’s Market

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This Saturday my daughter and I stopped by opening day for the Starkville Community Market, the farmer’s market for local growers and food crafters in our area. As I mentioned last week, I’ve been privileged to do some illustration and design work for the Market again this year, and it’s been exciting to see the pieces in place at the event. We had a great time hearing live bluegrass music from the Cedar Creek Ramblers and visiting some of our favorite vendors, including Baby Girl’s kindergarten teacher (and farmer’s wife!). We picked up some locally made wheat bread, baklava, pasta, glycerine soaps, pastries and spinach. It was a wonderful outing before a day of flower gardening and preparations for my nine-year-old’s family birthday party. It’s a pleasure to buy food and treats from folks we know. I hope you’re enjoying your Monday and maybe the farmer’s market season in your own community!

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Farm Days

Friday is here, and we’re all getting excited. Today, we’re heading back to the farm for the week of spring break. We haven’t been there since Thanksgiving, and I’m looking forward to seeing the changing light and landscape, and hopefully a little Spring in bloom. I was looking back at a few photos from our last visit. I hope I can share some of the same views next week!

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signs . Memphis, TN No. 2

Last night, I was looking back through some photos from our trip to Memphis last October. I love looking at signs — hand-painted and otherwise. I’m fascinated by how they impact the view of places attached to the sides of buildings and structures. Today I thought I would share some of the ones I photographed during our walks and trolley rides Downtown.

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[The Peanut Shoppe — a Main Street classic since 1949]

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[homage to the 1930’s William Len Hotel]

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[Hotel Chisca building through the trolley car window]

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go . Main Street Trolley

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I’m excited to share the first post of photos and images from our recent Fall Break trip to Memphis. We’ve visited Memphis several times, mainly to enjoy the zoo and Mud Island, but we’ve always stayed on the outskirts. This year, I decided I wanted to give the kids a little more of an urban downtown experience. So, I booked our rooms at the Marriott Spring Hill Suites right on Main Street at Court Square (I definitely recommend it). One of the big draws for me in choosing that hotel was the back door access to the Downtown Trolley. The backyard of the hotel is the Court Square park space — another plus, but I’ll share more evidence of that later.

The Memphis light-rail Downtown trolley system has operated since the 1993. The system runs as the last line of Memphis’ original streetcar system, which closed in 1947. The vintage trolleys are from around the world and are each over 40 years old, but have each been restored with brass seats, transom windows, antique fixtures and hardware. The restoration makes for a sufficiently rickety and ambient-filled ride through the Downtown area. We spent our trolley rides on the Main Street line moving up and down the thoroughfare with the sound of bells, wheel lurches and cranking metal. Dark wood, rotating seats, brass window latches and watching for our stop, it was enough like an old-fashioned train ride to intrigue the kids. When we chose to walk instead of ride, the fun came in watching for the trolley and trying to gain the driver’s attention to elicit a beep of the horn. We all cheered when several drivers obliged.

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