Photo Friday - Blue

Treated soybean seed

Child

My sweet Grandson, Zach when he was about 10 or so. We lost him on July 29, 2017 when he accidentally drowned while trying to get a child's toy that had floated away at the lake.

Photo Friday: LARGE

6 row cotton picker

Empty and Tired

It will soon be 2 years and 4 months since we lost James and I still feel so lost. I keep trying and trying but life keeps throwing bricks at me and I'm getting to be too old and slow to keep ducking them.

Over the long years that we were married I discovered there is the love, the friendship, and a good bit of mutual respect for each other, if you're lucky.  But most of all, and most necessary, is that it's about dependency whether we admit it or not.  We depended on each other in so many ways.  Some of them never even recognized until I'd lost him and was left alone. I see so much now and I know that a really big part of me is gone. I miss him.

This little map where James was born, where we live, the old dairy barn and cotton gin where he worked at different times in his life. And the cemetery where his ashes are buried. I think it's just over a mile across the fields from his birth place to his burial place. 

Every where I go there are reminders and memories, even to look outside my front door, across the field, to where he came into the world and lived for part of his life. His first job, when he was about 6,  was carrying water to the field hands in these fields.

 Lexa Baptist Church. James went to church and Sunday school here, was baptized here, we were married here, all of our children went to Sunday school here, and here is where we held his memorial service.

This is what is left of the old Dairy barn where James worked with his Dad for a year. He was in the 6th grade.  He'd get up in the wee hours of the morning to help with the milking, then go to school. After school he'd hurry home to help until 8 or 9 pm then start all over again the next day.

Later on they share-cropped with a farmer his dad worked for.  When he and his brothers weren't in school they worked the fields and on weekends the brothers mowed nearly every yard in Lexa.

 

This was our first home.  The door there was the entrance to a 4 room apartment that Mrs. Griffin, the house owner, rented out for $15 per week, utilities included. The kitchen was very tiny and had an apartment sized sink and stove. At the end where the two window are, was the dining part of the kitchen. A little table with 2 chairs fit there.  The bathroom was teeny, tiny with barely enough room for the commode, a sink, and a shower. It wasn't big enough for a bath tub.  After passing through the kitchen, about 3 1/2 steps, there was a decent sized living room and bedroom.  I remember the living room had red and black square tiles that I would wax to make them shiny.  Trisha was born while we lived here and we stayed until she was about 4 months old.  I remember that Mrs. Griffin had a little gold fish pond in the front yard.

North Creek Gin.  James worked sometimes as many as 19 and 20 hours straight at this gin. Even when he wasn't there he sometimes had nightmares about getting his hand caught and pulled off in the spindles of the stands.  It was a busy place in it's time and that gin yard would be full of trailers full of cotton waiting to be ginned.

 

Another picture of the gin looking at the inside where the stands used to be that pulled the seeds from the cotton so the lint could be baled up.  I guess they store hay in there now. The orb showed up only in this picture and I like to think it was James letting me know he was there.  The cemetery can be seen from this old relic, so maybe he was.

Here is Central Cemetery. I took this while standing in the gin yard so you can see how close it is to one of the places where he once worked.  He was the one who used to visit the family members here but now I've been going every so often to clear away leaves and limbs.

I guess that's it for now.  It has taken me a long time to get these words and images from my heart to my blog but it's finally done.  We have so much to learn, Zach and I, and more hurdles to get through.  We'll do it. We have to.

Photo Challenge: What I Love About Spring.

Ready for another quickie?  How about doing a list of photos showing some things that you love about Spring? Get your imaginations going and click the link below to get your name and site information on our list.  We all love to see all the beautiful images our fellow shooters compose.

Saturday, May 4th is the day.  I can't wait to see the photos!!

My new gazing ball and spider stand.

A waiting tractor.

Still Life Photo Challenge. My efforts are pitiful this time because I'm lazy and useless lately, but  please be sure to go to our photo challenge Blog to view all of the talented photographers who joined us in this challenge.

Number 1 My clock and a favorite figurine and Girlie pink.

Photo Challege: Still Life Photos

Change into your artistic duds and lets start looking around to get ideas to do a few Still Life Photos. We'll be posting our creations on Saturday, March 30, 2013.

Simple or elaborate, it's your choice. The main objective to our challenges is to have fun with your camera so get 'er done!  Here's  LINK to some tips for still life shooting that may help us but really, if we're having fun, whatever we do is right.  Right? Look below and click the blue link thingy and add you info there so we can all look at your creations on March 30th.

Photo Challenge: WORDS

I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted a new Challenge.  I have no excuse except that I've been feeling so broken of late.  I hope to do better if y'all will forgive me?

Put your thinking caps on and come up with some photos pertaining to WORDS.  Anything and everything is possible and I'm sure you'll each come up with some creative photos for us all to enjoy. 

Click the blue linkz button below and add your information and post your photos to your blog or website on Saturday, March 9th. 

I can wait to see what everyone posts!

Photo Challenge: Autumn In All Her Glory

I've tried to extend the time between challenges a bit this time because we are only just beginning to get a few reminders that Summer is over and Autumn is on her way here in the Arkansas Mississippi River Delta are of the state.  So, let's start shooting signs of Autumn's glorious frocks and petticoats.  Please have them posted on your blog on Saturday, November 10, 2012 and make sure you've added your link to the blue Inlinkz thingy below this post.

New Photo Challenge: My America

T

Time for a new Challenge and since we have so much going on politically right now I thought that it would be fun to take shots of our visions of our America.  Your state, your area, your ideals, your disappointments, or whatever Your America and Your imagination takes you.  Get to shooting and be sure to click on the blue inlinkz thingy to add a link to your blog entry where you'll post your photos on Saturday, September 29th.

What do you say?  Have fun with your cameras friends!

Photo Challenge: B&W Self Portrait

I'm giving us a little more time for the next Photo Challenge (for folks like me who let time go as it may) and I think it's time we did a little Self Portraiture, what do you think?  So the challenge is to do a few self portraits, faces, toes, smiles, fingers, whatever suits your fancy,,,as long as it's Of you and Taken by you and you do it in Black and White.

The date for posting our challenge Photos will be Saturday, August 11, 2012.  Please take our challenge and have fun with it. Anything goes except for nudity, I don't think we're old enough for that yet. :-)

Put your link information down below using our Inlinkz thingy so we'll be able to find you on Challenge Day.

Happy Shooting!!

July Photo Challenge: Books and Reading

Here we go again!

 Reading is a relaxing and fun. It can calm you down, take you away from it all. You get to get into someone else's skin for a little while leaving yourself behind. You learn about new things, subconsciously improve your vocabulary, and even form new opinions, although you may not realize it at the time.  It can provide information, be fun, exciting, scary, funny,,, anything you want it to be. I love it so much that I wish everyone could feel the same anticipation that I do when I open a new book for the first time and the same feeling of sadness when a good book is coming to an end.

 I now, also, own an e-reader. Mine is a Kindle and I really love it too, but it will never replace the smell or feel of a book in your hands and there are times when I need that.

So, here we go.  Our new Photo Challenge will be Books and Reading. You can interpret it however you wish,,,maybe photos of a library, or a bookshelf, or favorite books, newspapers, magazines, your e-reader, people reading, where ever your camera leads you that is where you should go.

Now grab your camera and go out and have fun with this new challenge. Get to snappin' and shootin'! Click the little blue inlinkz thingy below this post to sign up so we'll know where to go to see your shots.  We should be done and posted so everyone can view them on Saturday, July 14, 2012.

Photo Challenge: Childhood Memories

Do you often come across items, or events, or places, that remind you of your childhood?  It was a time when most of us didn't have a care in the world except for school. Once that was over for the day, or even the year, we had loads of time to plan and plot out our play time and those were the best times.

SO, lets let our memories guide our cameras back to our childhood. 

Have fun, shoot and show as many photos as you need or want to, and most of all,  don't forget to take your camera everywhere!

We'll set Saturday, June 23, 2012 as our date to have our photos posted so we can all take a look at the fantastic memories and imaginations that I know are going to be flowing.  Click the blue link down there and add your link information, just be sure to have your challenge post up on the day we chose to share them.

Happy Snapping!!

Photo Challenge: Antiques

Are you ready to do it again?
Still got your cameras dusted off and warmed up?
Ready to get your thinking cap on to make this challenge the best one yet?

Ok my friends, lets get ta shootin' some old stuff.  It can be items you own, items other family members have. You can browse the local Antique shops or junk stores,,,who knows where you might run across things to shoot for this challenge? Might just have to get yer old boots and gloves on and go digging in an old shed or barn or something.

We're going to post our challenge photos for everyone to see on Saturday, June 2, 2012.  I hope that works for everyone and gives us all time to do our shootin'. Click the blue button below and add your link to where we can see your photos on June 2nd.

Have fun!!

Photo Challenge: Temptations

What do y'all think of Temptations for a new Photo Challenge Topic?

Maybe you'll choose a variety of tempting foods.

Or some other, any other, little, or big, something that is tempting to you.

The time to post our Temptation photos will be early on April 28, 2012.  I can't wait to see what everyone thinks up for THIS one!  Have fun!! Put a link to the site where you'll be posting your challenge photos below.

Photo Challenge: A Little Bit of My World

I must stay busy today so I've been doing the planning for our next Challenge.  I'm giving extra time for everyone to think on it with plenty of time left to take their pictures.  Get those cameras ready and let's take pictures of what you see around you every day.

Pick your own little spots in your part of the world and start snapping.

Maybe you'll choose your house,,or your yard.

Or maybe just a room, or two.  Perhaps where you buy food, or clothes, your neighborhood, or town, or in the countryside if you live there.  Whatever you choose, have fun with it, that's the only rule for this challenge.
Then have your shots ready for us to view on Saturday, March 24th.  Click the blue link button below and add your site information to make it easy for us.

Happy Shooting!!

Photo Challenge: These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Favorite Things Photo Challenge

Let's do it again, get on a roll and do another challenge so we can warm up our cameras before Spring gets here,  just 43 days away if I've been keeping count correctly.

You know the rules, take at least two or three shots but more than that if you like and post them on your blog and provide the link to your blog below by clicking on the blue linkz thingy.  These challenge photos will be due on Saturday, February 25th!

Ok, let's get started!!

Photo Challenge: Memories 2

Yep, I forgot the link thingy would expire, so here's a new one. I sure hope it's not too late.  Please feel free to post your photos up until late tomorrow evening.  I promise to try to do better when I can get my head in the right place and my mind on what matters.

Click the blue link and add the location of your challenge photos. Let the fun begin!

ATTENTION!!!!

The Memories Challenge is postponed until NEXT SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4th....Brenda's Hughs Net is out! SO sorry guys...We'll try this again next week!
Thanks!
Donna
Made in Heaven

Photo Challenge: Memories

Almost anything is allowed for this challenge.  New photos, old photos, scanned photos, edited photos, altered photos, doesn't matter as long as you took them yourself.  Due on January 28, 2012 so let's dig up some Memories and share them with our challengers.  Get your thinking caps on!

Be sure to click the blue link thingy at the bottom and put your information in when you have your photos up.

Thank you so much for waiting for me to be able to get back to the Challenges. It's such a sad time for us but we'll continue to take things one day at a time and I know I would never have kept my sanity without the love and support of my online friends.  I have been blessed!