Check out my Spidergirl on my photoblog!

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Sorting through the pictures I took this week I found this seemingly random shot. Looking closer, I realize that the details paint a small picture of me: the Lowepro CompuDaypack totes all my camera gear and is my close companion; the lens cap gives evidence that the camera is in use; bottle of sweet green tea; Dean Koontz’s Odd Hours, my current read; High Museum of Art “Louvre Atlanta” bookmark; MacBook Pro (oops! I guess that’s a figment of my imagination - what a tease!).

I have another WW on my photoblog!

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Driving through town yesterday I spotted a bear driving a motorcycle (and I believe he was wearing a headset microphone). Fortunately my son was driving, enabling me to frantically grab my camera bag from the back seat and get a few shots when we reached a traffic light.

Here’s the bear waving at another car:

Here’s a shot of the trailer he was pulling, that interestingly enough said “Please Stand Clear” on the side and had a stuffed Tigger peeking out the window.

This isn’t one of those everyday kind of shots (at least it isn’t for me) so I’m glad I had my camera!

Please visit my photoblog for a WW on the life cycle of the magnolia.

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Please don’t leave because of that lame title. I really am glad my husband planted these gladiola bulbs for me last summer.

Please visit my photoblog for another Wordless Wednesday!

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordless Wednesday for more Wordless Wednesday participants.

I’m normally very wary of insects, especially ones with stingers on their backsides. The quest for a good shot seems to have deadened my instinct to flee, and instead I find myself pushing in as close as possible, ignoring the buzzing around me as the bees and wasps circle my head, moving from flower to flower. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a macro lens!

Sign up for my Twisted Silver jewelry giveaway this week!

Visit my photoblog for another WW, with easy Photoshop tutorial included!

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I got such nice comments about the coloring on the Wordless Wednesday photo I posted on my photoblog yesterday, that I’ve put together a Photoshop tutorial for it. Please stop by and let me know if this is of benefit to you or if you’d like to see more like it in the future. I posted it on the photoblog because that’s where that particular WW was posted, and also I can use larger images there.

I read about Wordless Wednesday with a Twist at Andrea’s blog today. I love WW anyway, and I thought it might be fun to participate with a theme. Unfortunately, finding out about it so late didn’t leave much time for scouting vintage objects to photograph. What it does give me is an opportunity to feature some interesting images from our recent visit to the Smoky Mountain National Park.

I had an amazing high school English teacher. One of our assignments was to make a grave rubbing, the older and more unique, the better. This involved taking a large piece from a roll of white paper, holding it across the front of the headstone, and rubbing a crayon, pencil, or piece of charcoal across the front to make an imprint. Mine was made somewhere in Louisiana on a family trip, and I’ve been fascinated with old headstones ever since.

While visiting Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountain National Forest, I found this tombstone in the cemetery behind the Primitive Baptist Church:

The history of the incident can be found here, a tragic story of a father and son who found themselves on opposite sides in the Civil War.

The park has areas designated as “Quiet Walkways.” Our family spent a delightful afternoon on one of these. At one point our thirteen-year-old son climbed a small hill and veered off of the trail. When he rejoined us, he told me that he had found two graves. I really can’t describe the feeling when I topped that hill, but as I later told my husband, it was intense. Two gravestones stood in a clearing backed by a low stone wall. Upon closer inspection, however, I realized the clearing was full of small, unmarked stone headstones.

A Google search turned up this page about Vance Newman, so now I know the cemetery we found is called Cole Cemetery.

I also posted a new photo with vintage style on my photoblog.

If you subscribe to this blog, I’ve had some feed issues lately so please check your subscription. It totally disappeared on Bloglines.

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordless Wednesday for more Wordless Wednesday participants.