...On Honor's Bright Crest

 "They are dead; but they live in each patriot's breast, and their names are engraven  on honor's bright crest."
 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Thank you to all who serve and have served so that someone like me can state my beliefs and thoughts to the world without fear ...

...That They May Move Forward

 Well here I am, back at it on a Monday night. So sorry that I've missed a couple of  posts but I've actually been pretty busy with photo shoots and of course the editing process that accompanys  these events. I did the engagement photo shoot of Ashley and Jacob that I mentioned last ...uh, time(was that last week?) and yesterday I did a shoot for a promo pic for my friend Eddie's band which, by the way, is called Last Days. They are a Christian/ blues trio and I believe that they're on their way.
 I've got two weddings coming up in a couple of weeks so I'm starting to feel somewhat like a professional these days.
 All that aside, I've been watching the news on the tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri which is, for those of you that aren't familiar with the area, about an hour west of us here in Springfield. These clouds are what I believe to be the remnants of the storm as it moved east into our area. I won't ramble on any further. I'll just ask for you to pray for the victims and the city as a whole so that they may move forward and get this behind them.

The Cuts Are on the Floor...

Recently, I was honored to be able to do an engagement photo shoot. I say that I was honored because as I stated before, I'm always honored when someone chooses me to capture their special moments. But this time I was especially honored because the bride to be was at a wedding that I did last summer and actually saw the photos I did and still wanted me to do her photo shoot! (I thought that was pretty awesome) I know what you're thinking but the wedding will be in Minnesota so I guess that I lost out on that one.
 At any rate, we decided to do the shoot at Close memorial Park- a very beautiful park that I sometimes go just to see what there is to see and named for Cephas Major Close who is an active volunteer at the arboretum there. [ahr-buh-ree-tuhm] - "a plot of land on which many different trees or shrubs are grown for study or display." There's a little dictionary lesson for those of us that are just a tad behind.
 So while we were shooting at the park we decided to get some shots here at the Gray/Campbell Farmstead located in the Nathanael Greene Park section . I guess that it"s technically two different parks separated by the Japanese Stroll Gardens ( pretty cool in it's own right...).
But I just thought that the idea of being newlyweds in a one room cabin (or actually a log kitchen as it turns out separate from the main house) would make for some pretty good shots.
 I'll be finding out soon enough, I guess once the editing is done and the cuts are on the floor...

Happy Mother's Day !

Although there are probably hundreds of stories I could post  that showed my mother's love for me I'm not going to talk about any of them. I kind of feel like that might take something away from the other stories I hold so close to my heart and really no matter what the story might be, a mother's love is no less or no greater in any given situation. I still see it today in my mother with me and all six of my siblings and in Brenda with Brendon and my older sons Dustin, Brandon and Dillon. Some days it might not be more than a gleam in her eye but it's there and I'm proud to be the recipient or even just to witness it. I shudder to think where I might be today without it all these years. I love you Mom and Brenda for your mother's love. Happy Mother's Day...

Bring On the Flying Monkeys...

As many of you know, hiking is not all sunshine and daisys. More often than not, hiking can be a very dangerous pastime. Now I won't say that I never get into any tight spots because occasionally I do. But not of the white water rapids - cliff hanger type of situation. As a mater of fact it's been years since I've gotten myself into anything that was more than an uncomfortable situation.
 Three or four years ago when we vacationed in the Smoky Mountains I had the opportunity to hike up the mountainside to view a particular waterfall and let me tell you, that got real uncomfortable real quick. I wasn't really used to hiking straight up! Even there alone in the woods on the side of a mountain hundreds of miles from home the closest I came to any sort of danger was of the imaginary sort. You know bears, mountain lions, rock slides (I even gave a quick thought to the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz)- none of which ever materialized outside of my imagination.
 Mostly I only have to worry about slippery rocks that might lead to my backside getting wet, poison ivy, mosquitoes or spiders. And particularly spiders that tend to make their web across the trail that I've chosen to take a nice relaxing hike on. There's nothing more unsettling than to be trekking along when suddenly you find yourself with a mouthful of cottony web and a spider skittering across your face only to disappear somewhere between your eyes and the closest branch! As much as it gives me the heebie jeebies, once I've convinced myself that the elusive arachnid is far from my person I can't help but laugh a little bit at what I must have looked like walking along only to suddenly break out into the herky jerky! Personally, I'll take the bears, mountain lions and rock slides over a spider in my hair any day. And oh yeah, go ahead and bring on those flying monkeys too...

Where It Needs To Be...

 To be honest, I had reservations as to whether or not I should post anything (even remotely) relative to rain, storms, clouds or any kind of precipitation but these clouds were too magnificent to pass up.
  We've just had torrential downpours all across the U.S. and if that weren't enough there have been record numbers of tornadoes that have resulted in hundreds of deaths.
 The weather systems are changing . I think probably for good. This seems to have been the norm for the past two or three years and actually it seems to be getting worse each year. I fully expect it to happen again next year and the next after that and the next after that. I would like to be wrong on this but I just don't feel wrong. I can only hope that we can somehow get better prepared.
 There are those that are quick to say that we are in the End Times and maybe we are- I sure don't know nor do I pretend to know. I've read that the prophesies of the Bible have been showing themselves for hundreds of years and for hundreds of years people have cried out that the end is near. That's a debate that I don't care to get into. I am a Christian and I follow the Christian belief as best I can but I won't try to predict the end, I'll only prepare myself for ever life brings by having my heart where it needs to be...