Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails.....

First I have to say so much for me playing “keep up”. Now it’s once again time for catch up!

Did the title get your curiosity going? Well.I did a photo shoot of with my great-nephews; yes that’s right great-nephews! They are so adorable! Let me introduce Bryson LeRoy Waterhouse.

He was born on June 6th at 11:59pm weighing in at 8lbs. 6oz, 21” long. What a bundle of joy. He was only 5 days old here so I’m thinking I have a cute little macho man to shoot for a longgggg time. My other hunk of joy is Chase, now he’s a smart kid, in order for me to get him to smile and pose for me, I had to bribe him. (what kid can’t be bought out with ice cream!) We had a great time shooting here are some of the shots I captured.

Now moving along with photo shoots and models, I have 2 gals that are willing to model for me for some fun shoots. One gal I work with but only for a short time then she will be leaving the firm. We are going to do a heirloom, Southern Belle, fun type of shoot with costumes and all!! Stay tuned for that it will be a blast! The other gal will be participating in a Urban style shooting, once again stay tuned for what I believe will be 2 great sessions!

So back at the beginning of Spring I found this chair sitting on the side of the road screaming out my name. I stopped loaded it up and walla- a prop! Since my 365 has been kind of slacking with self portraits I thought I would come up with something different and use the chair. This involved getting "cow-girled up" in the 90 degree heat!, then carrying this monster of a chair to the field. Whew, I did it! Then I plopped down and snap, another self portrait out of the way.

Whaddya think? That’s it for this post, I hope you have a great day! Next post - we had a picnic at the home of one of the men that works for me ! I will get that posted tomorrow....I PROMISE !

Character
Your true character is revealed by the clarity of your convictions.
Hold strongly to your principles and refuse to follow the currents of convenience.

New & Exciting !!!

ALL THINGS ITALIAN
ART WALK
FAIRFIELD,IOWA
JUNE, 6 2009

Rick’s on a hunting trip in Colorado so I thought why not hang out with some friends after work. I was so excited to be going to my first ever Art Walk in Fairfield. A little background info on Art Walk -

Fairfield 1st Fridays Art Walk started five years ago as a way for people to discover local artists’ hidden “treasures”. Since then, area residents have gathered on the first Friday evening of each month to learn, appreciate, enjoy, socialize and shop together on the Fairfield Square. As the word has spread, the crowds have grown. During each summer month this year, over 2,500 people sampled new foods, listened and danced to new sounds and participated in a variety of activities. With culturally diverse themes ranging from “All Things Italian” to the “Bark in the Park”, Fairfield put together three summer festivals which also gave visitors an opportunity to interact with Fairfield’s growing artistic community.
To make sure this monthly signature event remains an important part Fairfield’s economic community throughout the entire year, the newly revitalized Board of Directors is finding new ways to contribute to the success of the art galleries, vendors and downtown shops while attracting participation from the entire Fairfield community and surrounding areas.
With their continued growth has come a desire from the Fairfield business community to get involved and help make the Fairfield 1st Fridays Art Walk an even greater success. With advice from top business leaders, a new Art Walk corporate sponsorship program has become available. Now the opportunity exists for a company to financially sponsor a specific Art Walk, but also its employees to volunteer to help coordinate the implementation for that event as part of their service and civic engagement.
“We are so thrilled so many businesses want to be a part of this wonderful monthly Fairfield celebration.” says Janet Joyce, the new President of the Fairfield 1st Fridays Art Walk Board.
If you have questions about how you can be a part of what’s happening at the Fairfield 1st Fridays Art Walk, contact us at our new offices at 109 E Burlington (just off the East side of the square) or call us at 641-233-8883.
This article was taken from http://fairfieldartwalk.org/ please read more.

SO last night was All Things Italian – WOW, first I need to say oops to Weight Watchers. I love Italian food and it was everywhere !!! The lasagna was sooooo good ! I did try a canoli and anise cookies but wasn't crazy about either. Entertainment everywhere as well as tons of camera shooting the event. They have a photography contest that pays over $200 in cash prizes. I have to say if you have never been to Art Walk in Fairfield and live close enough to go, take the time and do it !!! You will not be disappointed.

Vacation Time!!!!

Rick and I took off for our yearly vacation back home to Tennessee ! Y’all know that’s where I’m from right? The place that we use buggies at Wal-Mart, wear toboggans in the winter instead of a stocking hat and have no clue on directions that say go North 2 miles then turn West, heck tell us to go to the big Oak tree and turn right then at the pond go left , we'll find you'ens then !!

We had a blast! Visited a friend on the way in Indiana, stayed at my dads, went to the zoo in Knoxville, went to Paint Creek in the Cherokee National Forest, ( so Rick could get in a little trout fishing ) went to a HUGE flea market (Lana you would have loved it, lots of antiques) and stopped at Cumberland Falls in Kentucky on the way back. While at the zoo dad was buzzing along on his scooter while Kassidi set back for the ride in the stroller. I’m thinking about getting me one of those segways that way I can save the soles of my shoes!! We did get to see a lot of animals but about all of the big cats were sleeping so no good shots of them. I think we got the best shot on the ride through Paint Creek. A timber rattlesnake!!!!! Yikes, I was not going to walk around in the woods after seeing that monster. The bad or I should say STUPID thing about this was that there were a couple teenagers poking around at it with a stick !! Can you say moroooooon!! I too would have liked to had the rattlers but no way would I have poked it with a stick, I would have backed up and tire mashed that sucker, over and over again !

I did get to see most of my family but no time for friends on this trip we stayed pretty busy.

Dad has made some Dulcimers and is learning to play. So what did I do, got back home, signed into EBay, and bought one! Dang it dad, my trip cost me extra money! I think hobbies are hereditary. I may post some videos of me trying it out when I get a little better than dad, gotta try to out do him right? You can see some of dad playing if you go here - www.youtube.com/harleypass

My nephew Eli rode back with us to stay for a couple months, we didn’t talk much since he IS the quietest 13 year old I have ever seen. We did stop in Kentucky at Cumberland Falls, just outside of Corbin. They call this “Little Niagara” , it was very nice. During a full moon this is the only place in the Western Hemisphere that puts off a moonbow, interesting. I did get a nice shot of the rainbow.

Well we get back home and it’s welcome to the real world – cook, clean, laundry and mow the yard or should I say the hay field !! Now I’m working on getting the pool ready so I can kick back and enjoy. If only I didn’t have pool guests all night!!






Maryann we are coming to see you next!!

Barges for Julie

Time for some catch up ! I will be posting all weekend to get you caught up on what’s going on. This post will feature the winner of the Canna bulbs & flower seeds.

Julie Weidner was the lucky one and now it’s up to me to blog about barges on the Mississippi. Let’s see where do I start…….

The barges do amaze me with their size and what they accomplish. When Rick and I go over to Illinois via Fort Madison, Iowa we have had to stop on the drawbridge a few times for the barge to go under. That’s an eerie feeling. I myself have seen a couple situations in Fort Madison on the great muddy Mississippi. A barge was stuck after a bridge collapsed during heavy rains last year. We were there to get a shot ! BUT we couldn't get to close due to the rising waters. Then one day while visiting the Old Fort in Fort Madison I saw a barge being pumped out after taking on to much water.

I have copied a section from an article I found on the web so you can get a better idea and learn of an upcoming travel experience.

Barges are a common site on the Mississippi River were fleet of barges are seen carrying perishable and non-perishable goods. Barges are seen floating on the river carrying various types of goods from one port to another, making the river strategically very important. May it be middle Mississippi river, upper or lower, the barges are seen carrying loads of goods. Apart from using it for transportation purpose people have come up with more novel ideas, in the form of Barge Cruise.
The river barge definitely sounds unusual and very few are available for service. Those who provide this have turned their barge into a small floating hotel with open lobby, dining space, indoor viewing areas, library, office, guest quarters equipped with bath plus shower, music system & television. The Mississippi Barges are soon gaining popularity for its unique experience, similar to being on a cruise. Boy wouldn’t this be exciting especially more up North.

OK, I’m not sure what else I can say since I’m not originally from the area and didn’t grow up on the Mississippi.

OK Julie, I hope you enjoy your flowers. You have now got my curiosity up more about barges so I think this summer I'm going to see if I can go to Ft. Madison and get on one, who knows maybe they will give me a little tour and tell me more. If so I will definitely post about it then.