Fall, falling down, and ferrous oxide redux

This is a ’54 Oldsmobile which could burn some serious rubber back in the day. Click on the care to see our original post and which includes another shot of the old Olds.

Back in November of 2011, we set out on an adventure from Heber Springs, Arkansas, generally northwest, south and northeast back to Heber Springs. That neck of the woods is generally ripe with fine photo fodder manifested as tattered artifacts of a bygone rural culture.

We  were not disappointed. Our suspicions were true and we and saw a fine collection of old cars, old barns, and a lot of other neat stuff you stumble across “out in the country.” We ogled a fleet of rusting 50s automobiles, a three-legged tractor, a side hill barn and more.

Click on the collapsing corn crib to see our original story and pictures.

This week we are sending you back to our  original 2011 post, to the corresponding Corndancer dot-com article and to a photo gallery that lets you see all of the pictures from that trip in one fell swoop.

I did add one shot to the story and gallery that originated closer to home here in Pine Bluff, an old Chevy bob-truck.

I had eye-balled that truck for years and finally decided to shoot it as a part of this epistle. Though the geography was off by 80 or 90 miles or so, the subject matter was spot on. When you see it, I am sure you will agree. The truck was brand spanking new when I was no more than three years old.

Thanks for dropping by,

Joe Dempsey

Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind.

http://www.joedempseyphoto.com/
http://www.joedempseycommunications.com/
http://www.corndancer.com/joephoto/photohome.html

Vertical snow and ignored posie

This weird snow storm blew in so hard it did not have time to deposit its load of flakes on the ground, only to trees which stood in its path. This is the area known as “the park,” at Davis Life Care Center in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

A couple of days after Christmas 2012, here in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, we were on the business end of a mini-blizzard. I use the word “blizzard” with tongue deeply imbedded in cheek. To those who regularly experience real blizzards, this event would hardly raise an eyebrow if it was even noticed. Around here however, when the temperature plunges, the winds pipe up to tree bending conditions and there is snow, it’s a blizzard. And the stores run out of milk and bread.

Click on the field to see the lucky picture.

The winds were so strong, there was little if any snow accumulation on the ground, but there was an inch or so plastered to trees in the path of the wintery blast. All of which translated to photo-op. The timing was key to this image. A couple of hours or so later, the snow had melted and we were back to the default, snowless, winter scenery.

The key to this picture was being there at just the right time. That’s the subject our discourse and pictures on the Photo of the Week page at Corndancer dot-com.

Equal time

For those of you who have followed these pages for a while, you will agree that one of my favorite, and perhaps most worn-out diatribes, recurs when my favorite front-yard red camellia blooms. If you haven’t followed long enough to be assaulted by the camellia stories, stick around. You will be.

This week, I am giving equal time to our previously ignored pink camellia. It is a glorious posie and I should go stand in the corner for ignoring it. Hopefully this exposure will be sufficient amends.

I have previously ignored this showing pink camellia in favor overkill showing of our red one. Can’t explain it because I have always believed that real men do like pink.

A profile view of the pink camellia.

Along the previous lines of “just in time,” the day after I shot these flowers, a riding mower converted them to smithereens.

Though there was little if any spectacular news or deep insight to reveal in this edition of Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind, I do appreciate you reading this far.

Thanks for dropping by,

Joe Dempsey

Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind.

http://www.joedempseyphoto.com/
http://www.joedempseycommunications.com/
http://www.corndancer.com/joephoto/photohome.html

Things are about to get ugly

Enjoy it while it lasts. This American Lotus (aka “water lily”) will drop its petals and assume its more pedestrian and less attractive role as a seed pod in just a day or two. From there, it’s all down hill. Life expectancy, as ordained for the lotus, from this point is short. The process has already started as evidenced by the brown freckles of a few of the petals. Yesterday, the complexion was probably pristine.

As I considered the pitifully short active life cycle of the American Lotus, (erroneously aka water-lily), my recall mechanism took me back to 1971. It was then that the late Jerry Reed, a talented and energetic musician and actor, came forth with a country classic, When you’re hot, you’re hot. At one point in the song, as he rolls out his story of success and a quick plummet therefrom, Jerry bemoans hearing a judge say “Ninety-days, Jerry-boy, when you’re hot, you’re hot.” Few terms could better describe the life and times of the American Lotus.

Click on the lotus for more blooms and comments

In these parts, the Lotus begins to seriously stir around the first of June when buds first appear. A few days later, the lotus engine is running at full-throttle.  Huge, absolutely spectacular blossoms spring forth from the buds. Once that happens, think belt-fed buds and blooms. The colony is hey-look-me-over, bloom-city on steroids. Enjoy it while you can. It won’t last long. Ninety days later, the colony looks like a lotus slum.

However, you can enjoy a really up-close and personal shot of a peaked-out lotus and its attendant bug, plus a couple of additional lotus pictures on the Photo of the Week page at Corndancer dot-com. We’ll wait here while you look. It’s worth the trip.

Meanwhile back at the pond, precious few weeks after the lotus onslaught, the plant goes about its serious intent of surviving to make a repeat performance the next year. So far, so good. Ancient Egyptians revered the lotus seed as a sacred object and included them in the booty with which they populated their most highfalutin tombs. Horticulturists say they have planted and raised plants from these seeds. Needless to say, the lotus family has perfected the art of survival.

Here’s how the neighborhood looks after Mother Nature’s survival instinct overwhelms the lotus beauty contest. What were once blooms are now seed pods. The blooms you see aren’t far behind.

When the lotus nursery mode kicks in, petals drop and the once spectacular bloom becomes a gnarled and pimpled seed pod. It gets worse. The seed pod opens and it appears like a dastardly space monster with a dozen or so beady eyes staring ray-gun holes in your soul — in preparation of having you for dessert — after it just ate Kansas City. Not to fear, they are just seeds in a lowly pod. And they are edible, as are the roots.

This is not a space monster and it is OK for children and the elderly to view. It is a humble lotus pod showing you it’s edible seeds. Yes, I have not sampled the lotus largesse. The green pods will soon become like the brown ones.

As the neighborhood goes downhill, the once impressive “lily-pad” lotus leaves, having done their duty to nourish the new generation commit hara-kari in favor of the new generation. The leaf to the right has completed its grisly task. The one in the center is a work-in-progress.

Whodathunk that a plant could give us a lesson in humility. We rise, we fall, we come back. Thank you, nelumbo lutea.

Thanks for dropping by,

Joe Dempsey

Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind.

http://www.joedempseyphoto.com/
http://www.joedempseycommunications.com/
http://www.corndancer.com/joephoto/photohome.html

PS: These images are from my favorite lotus colony in a pond at south of the junction of South Hazel Street and I-530 in my headquarters city, Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

A lot of night music

Drummer Tim Dickerson with the Brian Austin Band offers some drumstick gymnastics as additional entertainment to his rhythmic skills as a percussionist. The band is playing at the August 2, 2013 “Music on Main” concert on Main Street in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

Click the pic to see more of the band and event

A group of enterprising downtown business and property owners in my home town of Pine Bluff, Arkansas decided that music just might be a good draw to bring folks downtown that had either lost the habit, or never developed the habit of “going downtown.”

The result of this line of thinking was “Music on Main,” a monthly free concert featuring quality musicians and entertainment. The events are always on a Friday evening and are always free. Speaking of free, you can see more “FREE” pictures of the band and event on the Photo of the Week Page at Corndander dot-com. Go forth and see. We will wait here.

The boys in the band. The Brian Austin Band, set up and ready to rock, awaits the nod from the event producer to begin their performance. From left: Ronny Dickerson, bass; John Good, guitar; Hisself, Brian Austin, and Tim Dickerson, drums.

On this night, Friday, August 2, 2013, the humidity was high and the blues from the Brian Austin Band were as thick as Delta “buckshot.” (A word of explanation here for non-Delta readers, “buckshot” is a favored nickname for the thick, gummy, sticky, gumbo soils that are prevalent in some areas of the Delta).

The program included three bands. The Brian Austin Band was first up and is the source of the pictures and comment here. This is not the first time we have photographed the band. They are performers at Blues for a Cause, an event we are always pleased to attend and shoot.

John Good on guitar and Ronny Dickerson on bass are in snyc and grooving as they belt out the blues on a humid Delta evening.

The darker side of Brian Austin.

Brian Austin, a multi-purpose musician wails away on the harp.

See more pictures from this event in our Music on Main gallery.

Drummin’ after dark. Tim Dickerson gets on down with the blues.

After a while, one can no longer stay seated when the tunes are right. This was one of those times, so this couple got up and started jukin.’ And rightly so.

During the performance, one of Brian Austin’s youngest fans wanted an audience with the leader. Austin, being a man of understanding, granted that request.

As should be expected, music fans of all stripes brought their lawn chairs and thirst for good, live musical entertainment. The audience was a good slice across the demographic grain of our community — which as I understand it — was the whole idea in the first place.

Music is the universal language. You either enjoy it, or you don’t. If you seek out or discover a venue favorable to your tastes and preferences and show up — in all likelihood you will enjoy what you see and hear — and have reasonable expectations that those who attend with you have the same uncontaminated intentions.

Click the pic to see our Music on Main gallery

But wait — there’s more!

We’ve created a gallery of 21 pictures from this fun event. See our Music on Main gallery and feel the sweat and music from the comfort of your own screen in air-conditioned comfort. It’s not quite as good as being there yourself, but it’s close.

Thanks for dropping by,

Joe Dempsey

Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind.

http://www.joedempseyphoto.com/
http://www.joedempseycommunications.com/
http://www.corndancer.com/joephoto/photohome.html