feed bag

i was excited to find this recycled "feed bag" at whole foods.  with the purchase of 1 feed 100 bag there is a promise of 100 school meals for hungry children through the UN World Food Program (WFP)

this is much more than a cool bag (to add to your collection of recycled bags)...it's an opportunity to join a movement, to connect with something bigger.

for more information on WFP or to make a donation visit:
http://www.wfp.org/

national dance day

today is national dance day.....put on your dancing shoes
and have a good time!!!
ONE DAY ONLY!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJm4QW7Vgr0

schneider's mill

having grown up in the midwest farmlands, i am drawn to barns, farm equipment and the countryside.
i used to pass schneider's mill every day on my way to work, and again upon my return home.
i was never sure exactly what the mill did, but i think it was a processing place for livestock feed.

up until a few years ago, schneider's mill was a bigger operation than now.
unfortunately, i waited to photograph the mill until it was in a declining state.

as i continued down the road i looked forward to seeing a big red barn.
a few years ago, the barn was sold and taken apart, but the footprint is still there and i can still see where it stood in the grass.
somewhere in my vast files, i have photos of that process.  but even if i can't find the photos, the imprint of that barn will live in my memory.

the lesson here:  always take photos of what you love
(and preferably at the golden hour)
don't wait.

in memory

today i had a day without structure, 9 hours in a hotel
with not much around except eateries, and not any interesting
diners among them.
so i decided to walk around, and found an old cemetery.
when i took the cap off my camera lens, it was still cold from the hotel, and very hot and humid outside.  
it was appropriate that i was using tombstones as my subject as the results were mysterious and lovely, though short-lived.  
once the lens adjusted, i moved on to the interesting mold/moss
on the stones, in various shades of gold, yellow, green and pale blue.

food for thought

on my way to the airport i picked up a small book called "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan

in it, he explains in simple terms that eating doesn't have to be complicated
and advice on how to distinguish real food

these are some of my favorites:

-don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food
(i.e. Go-gurt)
-avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.
(i.e.  etholxylated diglycerides)
-avoid food products containing ingredients a third grader couldn't pronounce
-avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not
(i.e. imitation butter -aka-margarine)
-don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
and finally:

-if it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.

lingerie models

headlines read:

MODELS SHOW INTIMATE WEAR

CHICAGO, ILL.---

Pretty mannequins at the merchandise mart exhibit the fall season's cutest offering in negligees, nighties, and abbreviated underthings in a revealing parade of fashion.

harmony

HARMONY

"Things that accord in tone vibrate together.

Things that have affinity in their inmost natures seek one another."

-I Ching

anticipation

the anticipation mounts
as i wait for MAD MEN
to begin.
season #4 starts tonight

illusion of control

this is funny to me, since i do try to stay in "control"

brian adreas is one of my favorite artists,

he created "storypeople"

 primitive and youthful drawings from 

such an immediate and spontaneous place  

plus a mature wisdom that goes with them.

his sense of wonder

puts a big smile on my face

 every time i turn a page of his book.

one quote that i especially like:

"Are you a princess? I said 

& she said 

I'm much more than a princess, 

but you don't have a name for it yet

 here on earth. "
— Brian Andreas

1935 twins convention

1935    TWINS MEET IN CONVENTION
Warsaw, IND.---Four hundred sets of human doubles, ranging in age from three weeks to eighty-six years, engage in parades and other festivities in connection with their fourth annual meeting.

in august, there is a twins convention in twinsburg, ohio.  i hope that i can attend.
http://www.twinsdays.org/

sights and sounds along the road trip

road trips are overrated.
i just completed a 1600+ road trip
and don't plan to do it again for a long time.

within a couple of hours
i left behind the "scourge of the south"....
fields of kudzu.
kudzu will cover a house or a car
within days, so the secret is to keep moving.

kudzu becomes the kud"zoo" in its
creations....trees and landscaping become
unrecognizable grotesque shapes.

early morning cicadas warn of another hot day ahead

as the sun rises higher in the sky and

shadows become shorter.  

tin roofs in the countryside reflect the noontime sun. 

i wish i could stop to save the image.

the other side of the road is in gridlock

i am happy that i am heading north

rest areas beckon and i stop to stretch

in the hazy distance a city skyline appears.

i reach the farmlands of southern ohio, flat as the mississippi delta

walls of corn lining the highway, 

i reach my destination, as far north as i can drive,

and now i can relax

for a while, i won't think about the long return trip