Frond?

Leaf #34

On a Sunday afternoon walk with my son, we found this cool leaf… .

Checking The Corn

Driving by the fields this morning, I noticed this guy checking out the corn. He was writing something ona clipboard, presumably something about the corn. When I left, he was headed into the combine, to finish the harvest .

In The Gutter

Downtown Edwardsville, IL, sitting on the curb, waiting for the Homecoming Parade to start. Looking down..... What more can I say??

Leaf #33

I found this leaf in the front yard this morning, from the Redbud tree on the side….

Blue Ridge Mountain Skies

There's an old man, sittin' in a rockin' chair
He's got the best beagle dog in the county I've been told
But his shotgun done got too rusty
That 'ole beagle dog he done grown a little too old
As he stares up into heaven, I'm sure I know the reason why
He's thinking about that promised land in them Blue Ridge Mountain skies

Lyrics are Marshall Tucker Band, Blue Ridge Mountain Skies. I was listening to this one today (from the Stompin' Room Only" disc), and thought of this shot, taken this summer along the Blue Ridge Parkway.....

New River Gorge

Some leftovers from the summer trip through WV. At least I don't think they've shown up here... These are all the New River Gorge. It had been raining for days when we got there, and the river was high. The river-rats loved it. Above is a couple of the guides, waiting for the rafts
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The rafts coming downstream, as seen from the little 1 lane bridge that crosses just below (a tad upstream) the iconic Rt. 19 bridge
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My son and younger daughter watching the rafts, while their mom pilots the minivan. This is the bridge from the top photo. There was no place to park right at the bridge....
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A kayaker shoots the rapid...

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eBay Again

I first joined the eBay community back in January 1998. My brother and I got going selling some of our old toys, after cleaning out the parents' basement. I made some surprisingly good money, and had some fun doing it. Later, when we opened our sewing maching store, I used ebay to sell old trade-in machines, and get quick "turns" on them. And to clear out selected overstock items.

Anyway, almost 4 years ago, I had 2 bad selling experiences in a row, and kind of got turned off. Since then I've bought things 1/2 dozen or so times, but hadn't touched the sales side.

Well, I finally broke down last night and posted 3 used CD's, just to get back into it. Just a couple of things that I've ended up with duplicates of... I woke up this morning to find one had soldt(Buy It Now, with instant PayPal payment)!! Yee Ha!! It'll be interesting to see how the other 2 items do, they're not "out-of-print"... Regardless, I'm pumped now, and need to start auctioning off some of the "stuff" from the store, which has been closed for almost 2 years. Maybe I can bring myself to part with some of my old vinyl records, at least the ones I've bought on CD.

Sunset....

A repost from last September, sunset’s almost over….…. .

Fire On The Mountain

Ok, I'm pumped. I just snagged a CD copy of Charlie Daniels Band's classic 1974 album "Fire On The Mountain" off eBay. It's used, but I'm feeling really good about getting it for $15.78 (including shipping). I started w/ iTunes, but they only have it partial, without the songs "Caballo Diablo" and "Feeling Free". That won't do.

So I ordered it on Amazon. After 3 months of waiting, they finally gave up this week, said they can't find it. So, off to eBay. This was actually the 2nd auction I bid on, snagged it with a last minute bid... Really, I'm thrilled, listening to my beat up vinyl even now.

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I'll always remember when I discovered this album, on a mid-teens trip to WV to see my old best friend (Ned R.) from my hometown (Charleston). He had recently discovered this album, and introduced me. IIRC I returned the favor by introducing hem to Skynyrd. Lots of playing pool, digging the tunes and just hanging out. Good stuff. I haven't heard from Ned in probably 15 years. Seems I've let most of the people from my youth drift away.... sigh.

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Believe??

Here's a quick dozen "believeing" songs, now playing on my itunes:
* Believe Me - Poco
* I Believe - Moon Dog Mane
* I Believe - R.E.M.
* I'm A Believer - Monkees
* I Believe In You - Neil Young
* I Believe In Music - Gallery
* Believe In Humanity - Carole King
* You Still Believe In Me - Beach Boys
* True Believer - Ozark Mountain Daredevils
* Stone Cold Believer - 38 Special
* And Don't Believe Your Eyes - Eddie & The Hot Rods
* What A Fool believes - Doobie Brothers

Can you think of any others??

About an hour before the previous post’s sunset photo, from the concourse at MSP airport. These flags were on top of the jetway. Which was broken. All three AA gates lost power to their jetways, and the departing jets couldn’t push back. The plane I’d be taking to Chicago (then transfer for St. Louis) sat out on the tarmac, waiting for a place to “dock”…. They got it fixed, and we all made it home. On a could and windy late afternoon, with Autumn in the air….. .

Sunset at 25,000 ft.

Flying home from Minneapolis last night, caught a cool sunset from 25,000 ft (-ish)…. The photo doesn’t do it justice. .

You're Magnetic Tape!

A got a letter not long ago from one of the credit card companies, notifying me (and millions of others, I'm sure) that computer tapes with our personal information were "inadvertantly thrown out". Frankly, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it, but I did do a quick (really-free) check of my credit reports, just to be sure. It's amazing how much "Stuff" was in there, going back years and years, including many accounts long closed. ANYWAY, it all reminded me of a song. Way back in 1969, the Moody Blues did a spoken poem called "In The Beginning". From the "On The Threshold Of A Dream" album, the spoken intro to "Lovely To See You":

I think….. I think I am….
Therefore I am!!
I think….

Of course you are, my bright little star
I’ve miles and miles of files, pretty files
Of your forefather’s fruit
And now, to suit, Our great computer
You’re magnetic ink!

I’m more than that… I know I am...
At least…. I think I must be.

There you go man, keep as cool as you can.
Face piles of trials with smiles.
It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave
And keep on thinking free...

Clouds

Watching my son’s 6-y/o soccer game this morning, and I happened to look up. The cloud patterns captured my fancy, so I