Graveyard Art Close-Up

Dan and I love textures..looking beyond the big picture.  These next pictures once again demonstrates the beauty of the cemetery.

Is it ironic that living things are gracing the stones of the dead?

There is a poetic elegance to the growth.

Many times it enhances the beauty of the carvers intent.

The Wife of Mr. Barrett....I pondered why they never said husband of Mrs. Barrett.

Dan and I had great fun walking among the marble markers this day.

Laid to Rest

I have this fascination with cemeteries. They are such an amazing history of an area. So today, Dan and I went to two cemeteries in Highland.

I

As we read the stones, the names are a familiar part of our everyday lives. Many of these same names  grace area road signs, store fronts and lakes.

There are stories of families...some very sad and some seem much happier. Big families where everyone lived long lives together and yet others of little children who had but a day on this earth.

 Dan and I took these pictures together. The next few post will be dedicated to our cemetery shoots..I hope you enjoy them and see why we find great history, beauty and art in them. 

Corn

Growing up in corn country, my family often measured the season by corn. In the spring, the fields always smelled of fertilizer and often we would all hold our noses and grumble as we passed the farms. (Our farming relatives told us it was the smell of money). In the summer "Knee high by the fourth of July"  was the saying as we measured the progress of the corn. In the fall, the fields would stand ready to have the last ears picked and be made into feed for the livestock. And of course, in the winter...the field lay barren with the promise of a new crop the following year.

Corn reminds me of growing up in Illinios. 

Corn reminds me of my own seasons...right now I am in the early fall of my life, watching the seeds I have planted begin to blossom on their own.

May your fall harvest take you through the winter of life happily and content and with a full pantry.

Migration South

We always know when winter is breathing it's icy breathe onto our necks when we see the birds gathering for their flight to warmer weather.

 We will miss you feathered friends but the feeders will be filled and ready for your return in the spring. 

Welcome Fall

Fall has graced us with it's beauty, the promise of cool weather and it's wonderful bounties. We celebrated with some wonderful squash soup and a drive seeking out natures first brushes of color. 

A Virginia Creeper weaves it's way up the trunk adding a bright splash of color to the hard bark.

The colors of this vine are so vibrant.

This was taken in fairy light which adds to the beauty of the colors...very soft and magical.

Is there anything more captivating than the colors of fall?

Even as these leaves die, they give us a memory that holds us through the long winter...with the promise of bright green spring drives

Last Day of Summer

On the last full day of summer for 2010, Dan and I decided not to hop on the freeway but take a quite ride into work. Along the way, I spotted these teasel plants and grabbed the camera and took a few shots. I love the contrast of the soft morning light with the plants.

I love finding beauty in things that might not be considered beauitful.



There is beauty all around if you take the time and observe it.

Dan and I love morning and dusk light, we call it our "fairy" light.

I hope your last summer day of 2010 was as lovely as ours.

Milford Light Painting

Sometimes we see a place everyday of our lives and we forget to celebrate how truly beautiful it is. In this beautiful series of shots by Dan, he explores how the camera can add an additional element to the scene using time lapse. My role on this one was simple…I had to keep driving through the shot with the car to add more light!

Main street Milford.

Light dances in the night.

Water adds a wonderful dimension.

Pure energy

Remembering the love that lasts long..these leaves are stories

Today we went for a drive in cider mill country and happened upon this beautiful memorial. Though it was apparently there for a while, you could see someone lovingly attended to this memorial frequently. What I loved most was the stark comparison of the dead tree to the memorials nailed lovingly to it. I was most engrossed by the cupid doll that was very weather worn but still held the smile painted on its face. There was a serene feel to this memorial tucked among the woods and corn feeds. On a windy day, the wind chime must play a lovely melody.

The trunk is strong longing to hold on, just a little more this place is the one where your time on Earth faded Hear my heart sing you are missed immensely. 

Someone cared for this spot for a very long time. 

The wreath had been there for a long time even a poem was on the trunk. 

Weeds were now covering a good portion of the memorial. 

We found this roadside memory near Parshallville.

Start Me Up!

Welcome to our Joy Rides! This is a blog about what we refer to as a “joy riding” in our family. This started long ago when I was a mere child. I grew up in Freeport, Illinois a small Midwest town where the sidewalks were pulled up at sundown. But, one of the simple pleasures that was part of my youth was called the “joy ride”, which simply meant we all piled in the car and drove, never having a particular destination…the destination was in the journey. This was a family tradition and the ride might include looking for deer, trying to spot the first red tree of fall or seeing how tall the corn had grown since our last joy ride.  Sometimes the rides might even end in a trip to the Union Dairy for a root beer shake!

When I married my husband Dan, his family used to go on joyrides too but they were under the guise of collecting hickory nuts, his grandparents would pile the kids in the car and drive out in the country looking for "shaggy bark trees" as we used to call them. Some of our favorite restaurants, fishing holes and cider mills have been found on one of our many journeys. Our daughter Nancy was a little harder to sell on to this concept. Thankfully, iPods were invented and now a joyride with her usually includes her singing along to her favorite show tunes as we scour the countryside, looking for the beautiful and unique.

So, since everyone can’t enjoy our rides with us, we decided to make a blog sharing our stories and pictures along the way. Dan is really the avid photographer, as you will see, but occasionally even I pick up the camera.

We hope you enjoy reading the blog as much as we enjoy our rides!