Milestone

I passed a mini-milestone Friday last; I made my 10,000th photo with the Pentax DSLR. It took less than 13 months. That would have been about $1,460 in film cost alone. Professional processing would have been at least another $2,500. My reusable memory card cost $25, the software for computer processing was $50, and batteries have cost about $120 over that time span. Even though DSLR's are more expensive than film cameras were, the savings overall are tremendous by going digital. You've earned a well deserved pat on the back, Ken. Thank you, Ken.

I make a lot of shots because I figure if I make enough, at least one will come out decent. Shooting in the wild like I do is not like shooting in a studio where things are controlled. Camera light meters do a good job, but they cannot average out everything. Since I began shooting one-half stop under-exposed, I've been able to reduce my total shots at the same subject because I know more highlights will not be blown. I would like to have a handheld light meter, but the cost is prohibitive. I still sometimes use an 18% gray card to set exposure on some closeups.
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The Depression seems to be deepening; maybe the bottom will come soon. Chrysler is filing for bankruptcy as consumer spending declines once more. New jobless claims are lower, so that could be a sign the worst may soon be over ... but don't bank on it.
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The fat guy washing his truck in the photo is my friend Mouse whom lives down the street. It is obvious he is bored with retirement.
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I see where an eight-year-old Saudi girl has filed for divorce from her 50-year-old husband. I thought those kind of convenience marriages only happend in my neck of the woods; Appalachia.
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Tree sex

Pollen is driving me NUTZ!!! Can't sit on the porch or even open a door without becoming enveloped with sneezy yellow dust. I wish trees would practice safe sex and wear a condom when they ejaculate pollen!
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The weather held good last evening and I managed to get a couple of decent photos in and around Fall Branch. It is a good chance of rain for the next five days ... so they say. It is supposed to be doing so now, but the sky is sunny with a heavy haze and no rain yet.
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The snow blower manufacturer I spoke of yesterday will lay off 100 people and "consolidate" their northern factories. I understand through the grapevine that all manufacturing operations will go to Canada. Most likely and sooner or later, they will transfer those operations to China.
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Local hospitals are still cutting staff. If the pig flu hits as hard as they are predicting, most will soon be called back. Right now would be a good time to invest in health care and mortuary stocks and hope you live long enough to collect dividends.
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How many will have to die before they begin distributing the vaccine? If I die without getting a dose, I will surely be pissed.
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Stock car legend Richard Petty will enter a speedster for Indianapolis 500 qualifying. It will be driven by a man with another legendary racing name: Andretti; John Andretti. Hail King Richard and Prince John.
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What the heck is Dancing With the Stars and why should I care if some nobodies named Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough are kicked off of it? It is difficult to believe that tv has sunken to unprecedented lows with these so called "reality" shows. Is America so desperate for entertainment that we need to see and hear this type hogwash. For god's sake—and your own sanity—read a book; take a walk, go for a bike ride; make photos of bumblebees; do something that will keep your brain from withering away completely! When Chris moved in and took the den for a bedroom, I purposely left a three-year old Samsung 50" high definition tv in the room. She has a good tv, but I decided anything I want to watch can be seen on our bedroom Visio.
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Pig Flu Blues

Pig Flu Blues


Well I'm goin' down to Mexico
catch me a dose of pig flu
Yeah I'm goin' to Mexico
ain't got nothing else to do
My woman up and left me
ain't got nothin' else to lose

Man on tv says we all gonna die
He say God is spoke and we all gonna die
Jus' send him some money
He'll pray for our lives

Well I'm goin' down to Mexico
catch myself a dose of pig flu
Yeah I'm goin' to Mexico
ain't got nothing else to do
My woman up and left me
ain't got nothin' else to lose

Pig flu is spreadin'
Tain't notin' to do
Pig flu is spreadin'
Ain't nothin' to do

Goin' down to Mexico
Drink tequila 'til I'm through
Catch me a senorita
Give her some too
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©2009 Ken Anderson. All rights reserved

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Politician changes stripes from polecat to skunk

Not much to talk about today; I have to take Carolyn to Fall Branch and Boones Creek this evening. This morning was spent sitting on the porch in perfect weather conditions for that particular pastime. A few non-artistic photos were taken, mostly distant birds and squirrels.
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Arlen Specter is changing his stink from Republican to Democrat. His stated reason for doing so is that the Republican Party has become too conservative but we all know that his home state of Pennsylvania is growing more liberal and he dearly wants to keep his job. He is very old—even by my standards—and has cancer, so I don't know how much longer he will be with us anyway. At least he seems to be on Obama's side when it comes to the economy.
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I wonder how many tributary workers will lose their jobs, and how many small businesses will go under because of General Motor's mismanagement?
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A local factory (Douglas Dynamics) that manufactures snow blowers is shutting its doors and many people will lose their jobs. They are not going out of business; just moving to another country!
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CitiCorp—my mortgage holder—and Bank of America—Carolyn's business bank—are asking the Feds for more bailout money; grab the grease, spread those legs, and bend over a little further, Mr. and Mrs. American Taxpayer.
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We've had some lovely—and hot—weather for several days, but rain and colder temps are supposed to move in by this evening. Figures! Every Tuesday when I take Carolyn to Fall Branch, the weather has been so lousy I couldn't make photos of any of the old and abandoned buildings. Well, last Tuesday wasn't bad but I had my camera on the wrong setting and screwed up nearly everything. It is a common occurrence for people whom will not leave their camera's settings well enough alone. My excuse was I cleaned the camera's exterior and forgot to turn the anti-shake switch back to "on".
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Pa for now!

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GM "r" Us

Flickr is so screwed up it has become near unusable. I said it when they allowed the videos to be uploaded; they do not have enough up-to-date servers nor enough bandwidth for the short movies. It has become increasingly worse over the past year as Yahoo looks for someone to bail them out. I would hate to be the person in charge of their network!
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General Motors is wanting to shed itself of the Pontiac brand. I can remember when the top three brands in order were:

1. Chevrolet
2. Pontiac
3. Ford

I've always liked Pontiac; one uncle had a '55 and another owned a '57; both were Star Chiefs.
Failure to change with the times has all but doomed GM. In most cases Ford—and in some cases Dodge—has overhauled them in quality, innovation, and sales. Are you old enough to remember when the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am was "the car" to be seen in if you were young and could not afford a Corvette? I suppose the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit had a lot to do with its popularity.

Looks like we taxpayers are going to be stuck with nearly all of GM's putrid stock; c'est la vie!

Oh, yeah; the company is going to lay off 21,000 workers and other people.
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Tweets

Yesterday was a bad day healthwise; Carolyn's and my RA was flaring up. We went riding to Dennis Cove and on across Walnut Mt. and back down to Watauga Lake at Fish Springs. I made but few photos, and nothing of particular importance. At least the conversation was interesting. While parked overlooking the lake, Carolyn asked "How do lakes form?". "This one?", I replied. "Yes", she said. "The TVA built a dam across the Watauga river", I said. We have visited and picnicked at the dam many times! Then she asked "Do you reckon there are sharks in the lake?" "No, I don't reckon there are", I said. "I've never heard of anyone seeing one or being eaten by one." She said "You never know ... ." I said "Let's go swimming; you go in and check the water temperature and if it isn't too cold, I will join you. She exclaimed, "Hah! You just want me to be eaten by a shark!"

Sometimes life is so lonely.
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Chris is moving in with us today. She cannot exist on mimimum wage and live alone. I wish she would get her barber's license back; she had a good clientele and was doing well, but one day she just quit.
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A friend of ours from back when has died at age 53; cancer. She was a nurse at the hospital, and a very sweet person. We will miss you, Jildo.
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Remember a few days ago when I said I didn't want another Twitter account? My friend jikido-san sent me an invite to tweet at him, so I am. Thanks, my friend, but be prepared to have yourself bored silly because I have very little to tweet about.
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The Smoking Gun's Mugshots of the Week!

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Property tax ouch

Got my shot.
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Last evening I was sitting on the porch watching the coeds stroll by, and I couldn't help but notice I was pretty well surrounded by wood boring bumble bees. Our deck is looking like new wood after JJ pressure washed it, and they were looking for a home. Being a little bored myself, I thought I'd try to get a shot of one of the critters, but I knew it would be difficult because they did not hover in one place more than a second or so. The biggest problem is focusing on the little fellows; manual focus is out of the question so I had no choice but to use the camera's auto focus. It took a lot of tries before I got one I thought might be suitable, and it turned out ok.
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Got our county property tax assessment a couple of days ago, and it has increased by one-third. The first 13 years we lived here, the rate went up by 10%. They are apparently punishing us because a wheel tax referendum was voted down. Another reason is due to the large influx of geezers from places like New Jersey and Florida whom have made a large financial commitment to live here just to see their home values fall due to ongoing bank mismanagement. They have extra liquidity put away for a rainy day, so the county wants it. The hell of it is the rest of us whom have lived here many years must grab the Vaseline and bend over, too. I expect the city to follow suit and put a big increase on us..
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Flickr in black and white

Those group pools on Flickr are sometimes so frustrating. I will tell the ones that once allowed black and white photos but no longer do so: If you cannot appreciate the beauty of grayscale photos, then you cannot appreciate the art of photography in particular, and any other art medium in general. I once joined a landscape group that had some very nice grayscale photos, but now they do not allow them. Everything there is beginning to look very similar, mundane, and with little collective creativity. It is not the fault of the photographers, rather it is the narrow mindedness of a few administrators and members. A good black and white landscape is much more dramatic than any color photo.
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This morning squirrels were hanging on both my sunflower seed feeders; the one pictured seems to be nursing babies. I need a few more fuzzy-butt tree rats to feed. I generally plink them off the feeders with a well placed shot from my BB pistol, but today I allowed them to eat their fill. I am such a good guy!
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Not much going on here except Carolyn is preparing the den to be returned to a bed room. She is also collecting "stuff" for a yard sale she will have within the next few weeks.
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Dogwood winter

We seem to be going through our dogwood winter, but I have yet to get a shot of dogwood blossoms this spring. They are in full bloom here in the lowlands (1750'/533m) and hopefully they will be enough flowering in the mountains for a few photos come weekend when the temps are supposed to rise close to 80°f (26°c). The trees that are blooming seem to be fuller than the past two springs. After dogwood winter passes, we should have at least one more cold snap when blackberries bloom, and it seems there is another chilly time but I cannot remember what my granny called it or when it should be happening.
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Not a lot of goings-on here in paradise today; Carolyn has gone to her hairdresser and the drugstore. If someone would invent a drive through hair salon, she would be one of the first customers.
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The political world is just too quiet; something more sinister than usual must be taking shape in Washington.
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A Freddie Mac big-wig has killed himself; maybe it will start a trend among such types. One can only hope. Maybe in the next giveaway package something like that where the top company officers must commit suicide will be included as a condition of receiving funds. It should somewhat appease the populace. I know I would be tickled.
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Looks like Twitter is the big rage in the geek online communications world. I tried it but could come up with only one follower and that one soon left me hanging, so I canceled my account. Does everyone need to know what everyone else is doing every minute of every day? Ever? I can see where the service could be handy, especially for companies and for people that really do need to share their whereabouts and happenings with others, but as a social tool, it pretty much sucks. To tell the truth though, I like Twitter better than Facebook and Myspace. The only social service online that I use is Flickr, and when you share a photograph you at least have something to talk about. I tweet no more!
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Docs and Cops

When your wife comes out of the doctor's office mumbling "255", do not ask her if that is how much she weighs!

I took Carolyn for her doctors appointment, hoping to receive positive news concerning her knee, but none was forthcoming. The knee has arthritis and possibly bone degeneration, so she has to see an orthopedic specialist in June.

Speaking of knee doctors, the gentleman I referred to a while back, the one whom works everyday and does not have any insurance and has never had to pay a doctor or clinic or hospital any money, had his knee replaced just recently. It pisses me terribly, but this is America at its best. I suppose everything evens out in the long run; the money he saves by not having to pay for health care quickly enters the economy via beer brewers.

The "255" Carolyn was grumbling about is her cholesterol level, but I had to open my big flap-trap mouth and ask about her weight! When it comes to women, I am constantly in trouble! Even at that, I remain one of the beautiful people!
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While Carolyn was visiting, I drove over to the Gump Addition, an area that used to be and maybe still is the most exclusive (read: expensive) in our little city. I was looking for blooming dogwoods to get some pictures, and I as I slowly drove along a city police car quickly came up behind me so fast and close it startled me and I about ran the Escape onto the curb. Taking his hint, I exited the place and headed back toward downtown, and he followed me for awhile, but at a safer distance. Later, I read that a guy was taken into custody just before I got there for threatening to kill some people in the wealthy community. I suppose someone living there was freightened by my poking along the streets and called the police. Being a nosy photographer is a risky occupation, even for someone as docile as I.
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What is it with people and mobile communications devices? Have they become so hooked on being seen and heard that they have dedicated every waking minute to staying in touch with "contacts" they may or may not know? Today I saw a man driving while animatedly talking into a phone which he held in his right hand and was smoking a cigarette and drinking Starbucks using the left one. I do not know what this happy gentleman was using to turn the steering wheel, but I sure would like to have one like it!

I sometimes use the cell phone that I've owned for four years, but I wouldn't even have it except it is handy for emergencies, and most of the places I go to shoot photos is out of range of cells. I go out to get away from such silliness as internet ads and television commercials. I have never used "text messaging", I have never emailed from the phone, and I have never "browsed the net" from it, even though it is capable of all that nonsense. I damn sure didn't pay for a DSLR and a point-and-shoot pocket camera so I could make photos with a cell phone, which mine cannot do anyway. Yes, I am a bah-humbug, but I am a lovable one!

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Dreary Monday

I was up at 6:00 this morning, and that is a little early for me. It has been raining and is dreary out, but I have a few things—such as preparing and sending out invoices—to get done indoors.
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Yesterday I cleaned the sensor in the Pentax; a job I do not like to do because there are so many ways to ruin a camera during the process. This was a make-up cleaning from the first time I tried it as I did not get it good and clean then. There have been a few tiny spots showing up on all my photos that included sky, and I have been cloning them out with PsP. I used alcohol instead of cleaning fluid this time, and hopefully everything is ok and I saved myself nearly $100 from having it done professionally.

I change lenses fairly often; like today I would put the Pentax 50mm f/1.4 on if I was going out because of the overcast. All these flower shots I did Friday last were made with the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens, and my normal lens for sunny days is a Pentax 18mm-250mm f/3.5-f/6.3 zoom, but it is a heavyweight to carry around; the lens itself weighs 16oz sans hood, and the camera weighs 24oz without batteries and memory card. Add a filter to the lens, batteries, card, lens cap, hood, along with neck strap and I am lugging about three pounds which seems like a lot more after an hour or so. I would also like to have a wide angle lens, but that kind of glass is way beyond my means.

Before buying the Pentax a year ago, I handled a Nikon D60 and A Canon Rebel, and The Pentax felt more solid and than these two, and the big plus is that any lens ever made for a Pentax SLR or DSLR will work on all Pentax and Samsung DSLR's. Ebay and camera clubs have some good deals on used lenses. With Nikon, Canon, Sony, Minolta, and Olympus, you must purchase a lens dedicated to their DSLR's, and some of them even change that convenience every few years; it can become very, very expensive. Except for protective "haze" filters, I use one large filter size and step-up rings for adapting them to other lenses. I only have polarizer and a ND filters, and seldom use them.
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Carolyn is now up and making coffee ... extra strong!
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The photo is of my oldest son Jerry and his pal Nick. The tall one is Jerry.
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While we were out cleaning buildings yesterday, we drove to Watauga Point on Watauga Lake. We saw a sea gull and a Canada Goose, but mainly we saw a lake filled with water for the first time in many, many months; in fact it was up in trees in places. It was raining fairly hard, but there were still sailboats on the water.
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Riding

Carolyn's knee was giving her a fit yesterday, so we went riding in the hills instead of getting out to places where we would have to walk. I stopped in Jonesborough and made a few photos of a small, country-style store I used to frequent in my youth, It has been converted for use as other businesses over the years, but the owner has kept the original look as much as possible. It is now empty but rentable.

We went on down to Dry Creek and took Jerry some bell pepper plants for his first little garden; JoJo the farmer! I visited a junk yard just for slumming purposes.

We continued on down to Clark's Creek but there were so many horses and horse people we could not find any photo ops. There were a few pretty wildflowers, including trillium, but the wild iris has yet to make blooms. The cool spring has some things flowering late, but the wet spring has others blooming early.

From there we drove to Erwin and on back home. I didn't get too many phots, but one or two of them I like pretty much.
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Carolyn is boiling creasy greens with fatback, and we will have October beans (shelley) and cornbread. Country fare at its best! Later I will drive her to Piney Flats and Elizabethton to clean the buildings.
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Just about every grave in the above photo contains the remains of one of my relatives, including my mom and dad. The open area just in front of my camera is filled with unmarked graves. They used to be marked with a simple piece of wood or field stone, but the wood decayed away and vandals removed the stones. Click on the photo to view it larger.
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The Smoking Gun's Mugshots of the Week!

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I understand that some higher Texas powers are suggesting the state secede from the United States and revert to its formal self; the Republic of Texas. I have only one thing to say about that or to any other state that desires to not be a part of the whole; Goodbye!

The right of limited Federal government and the basis for strong state government was given up during the last secession. You good ol' southern boys recall that fiasco, don't you? Seems like the Blue Coats gave you a sound thrashing and put you back in the union by force. You may not be so lucky this time; the rest of us may not want you to return to the flock. Maybe Mexico would like to annex you and have you back as a state. Adios!
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Today has been spent mostly on the porch soaking up sun; sometimes life seems worth living. I have on shorts for the first time this year, my legs are corpse white, and I feel pretty good.
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I have a lot of flower photos to post; I took the macro lens out for a spin around the flower vase yesterday and made a few decent shots. The blooms are still here from Easter. This one is for you, Alice.
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Well, I'm now off to Flickr to look at my contacts wonderful photos; I wish I had just a little of the artful skill these folk have.
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Kroger 's hairy soup

JJ opened a can of Kroger brand Cream of Mushroom soup last evening, heated and began eating it and found two hairs in it. What are you having for lunch?
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Today is a rare one for this spring; it is sunny outside and is supposed to be this way until Sunday. This has been the coolest and wettest spring we have had in a long time; probably 15 years or more. The TVA is saying they will raise the local lake levels to full pool by June, but I expect it will be sooner. It will be nice to see the water when it is not rimmed by red clay banks.
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Yesterday, Carolyn had her blood work done for her pending doctor's appointment come Tuesday. It went well and her veins did not roll as they almost always do. She is usually bruised and sore after the procedure. I hope they can help her with her knee because she will not be walking much longer if something isn't done. Hopefully they can draw fluid from it and maybe it will be easier on her for awhile. Losing all the work that she did in the first quarter caused her to give up what health insurance she had, so surgery or anything else that is major in nature is out of the question.
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Chris is supposed to be moving in with us the first of May. We are trying to reconvert the den to a bedroom.
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The new washer/dryer was delivered and installed last evening; at least I can now change to clean bloomers; the other one was getting a bit aromatic. It still hasn't been warm enough to go to the creek for a decent bath.
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I thought I was done with taxes. Yesterday Ashley brought a W-2 that had a total of $28 income and with forty-six cents withheld for tax. I filled a return for her just in case there is some kind of stimulus payment forthcoming; I had to furnish her with a stamp and envelop.
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I am on the verge of changing over to Ubuntu Linux on all three of my computers and totally dumping Windows. All these updates that cause me to have to restart the machines each time one is installed is aggravating, and occasionally the patch causes problems with other software. Linux has updates too, but generally the only time a reboot is required is when there is a change to the OS kernel. The best part is that Linux pc's are much more secure than Windows or Macs, and Ubuntu is a very good operating system and very free of cost, as is all the software the average user will ever need. There is no buggy Internet Explorer to try to keep patched on Linux, and I can still use my Firefox browser.
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Quandary

This is a photo of some of the weather damage being done to the Glenwood Union Church; note the missing gutter. Other than local history, another reason the building should be saved is a legal paper from 100 years ago when the land was ceded to the community by the owners for the sum of $1.00. The document reads that the property—including the small cemetery—would stay with the community as long as the church building was being regularly used for worship services. If the church is not used regularly for such services, the entire property reverts back to the original landowners or their heirs. The church members are also to provide for all upkeep to the graveyard and building. I have a lot of kin and people I knew from my youth buried there, including my mom and dad, grandmother and grandfather, and great grandmother. Since the church was first chartered, another family (Lige Gouge) gave an adjoining strip of land to the community, and it now has several graves on it. Another family (Romeo Sifford) whom owns adjoining land has begun a small family cemetery adjacent to the the original, but did not cede land to the community.

If the church building should somehow be destroyed and not rebuilt, the land could revert to the original owner's heirs. For many years now, a preacher from Johnson City and his small flock have been using the building for services, but there have been no members of the community regularly attending since Theodore Jones died about eight years ago. This puts us whom have kin buried there in a bind. The present congregation is using the few remaining burial spaces for its own use, even though they are not members of the community, per se. They do a fair job of mowing and keeping the land clean of debris, and have added bathrooms and a new roof to the building, but its infrastructure is decaying.

I fear for the future for my kin, friends, and neighbors whom are interred there. I can foresee a possible time when the old cemetery and church will be gone and a house or such will be built on the original property, leaving only the little family graveyard and the Gouge strip of land as a memorial to all of our dead.

The quandary of it is, my aunt, her daughter, and myself seem to be the only ones left from the old community whom cares, and we don't have the resources to repair or remodel the building. When the present congregation moves on, I fear the community I once knew will forever depart with them.
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Yesterday: Filed our taxes; paid our estimated taxes for 1st quarter; finished Chris's taxes; began and completed taxes for Jerry's in-laws. It all took several hours, but it is over with. Afterward, I donned my normal guise of mild-mannered janitor and went to work at Fall Branch and at Boone's Creek. I found time to eat during the day, and I had a cup of strong coffee, a cold pot roast sandwich, a Clementine, two cookies, and a banana. Today for some reason I feel a bit hungry.
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Speaking of taxes, I see that Mr. Obama shall speak today about restoring fairness to the tax code. I hope he at least has the gumption to say his speech on the Comedy Central channel with the rest of the stand-up farceurs.
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Not much

Bell of Glenwood Church


It is blue Monday and the thirteenth; bad omens!
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As best as I can recall, the last time I heard the above pictured bell ring was in August, 1972 on the day of my grandmother's funeral. The building now has a new roof, but they failed to repair any of the supporting structures beneath it. In several places the attic is open to the weather and the wood is deteriorating dramatically. Most of the guttering has fallen off and the water is seeping under the church and causing much damage. There are less than 20 members of the congregation at present, and only about half of them regularly attend services. I hate to see the place falling apart, mainly because it was a big part of my life many years ago when I was raised nearby. I remember going to Bible School there around 1950 when it was still called a Baptist church, and having my first cup of Kool-aid.
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Everyone seems to have post-holiday blahs and there isn't much going on in my world today, so I may as well be quiet until I have something to say.
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Happy Day

For those of you whom celebrate Easter as a religious holiday, I hope you find even deeper meaning and peacefulness in the sacrifice which you hallow.
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Happy Sunday!
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The Smoking Gun's Mugshots of the Week!!! These people must be considered dangerous as they are armed with tatts and attitude!
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Water, water everywhere

I took a couple of sick days off (literally), but hope things are getting better. The RA caused a huge buildup of fluid, so yesterday at noon I ate a fluid pill and passed (and sweated) nearly three gallons of water by this morning. I will take another pill today, and attempt to remove the remainder. I am drinking quite a bit of water just to keep from becoming dehydrated, and also eating bananas to keep potassium controlled. Aging is such a joyful experience, but I do remain adorable through the trials and tribulations. A slice of Maggie's rhubarb and strawberry pie would be great tonic.
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Carolyn went to Home Depot and bought a new laundry pair. It is a mid-line GE set, and I do hope they last much longer than the Maytags. The store was pushing Maytags, but she told the sales person about our experience with that brand, and she told Carolyn that Maytag had so many problems with their washers and dryers that Whirlpool has now purchased the company and is doing the manufacturing of them.
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Even though I felt bad Thursday, the warm weather called me out and I went to the Headtown cemetery and I made a few pics. I got two I really like, and a few more passable ones. I forgot to take apples for the horses, but one of them posed anyway.
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I've tried to get on Flickr tor the past two days, but I cannot get past my photos; my contact's photos would not load and I could not get my Flickr messages, and I couldn't answer comments on my photos. Yahoo needs to sell Flickr it they cannot maintain it, but I would hate to see Micorsoft end up with it.
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My grandson is in from Atlanta. so I will shutup for awhile ...

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Maytag junk

Got my weekly fix.
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Three and one-half years ago we purchased a new Maytag washer and dryer to replace an ages-old set of Hotpoint units. Hotpoint is General Electric's cheaper brand, but we always had good service from them. We looked for Hotpoint when we bought the Maytags, but they were all special order at Lowe's and Home Depot, so we ended up with a mid-line set of Maytags. Last month the dryer went bad and the price to repair it would have been nearly $300, which is way more than it would be worth if it was fixed. Carolyn strung a clothesline in the back yard and all went well ... until today when the washer went bad. We are now facing having to buy a new set, but you can bet your last nickel it will not be branded by Maytag or any other brand they make. At the time we bought the Maytags, I did not know that China owned a huge interest in the company and was supplying Chinese made parts for their assemblies. Anyone have any suggestions as to which brand to buy?
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Carolyn recieved junk mail from AIG today wanting her to buy insurance from them.
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We should have a decent weekend weatherwise.
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The above photo was made Tuesday evening.

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Happy happy; joy joy

Happy Happy; Joy Joy!!
Our income taxes are finally finished. At 12:02 pm this day, I scratched my butt and picked my nose for the last time while looking at our 2008 Federal tax forms on the monitor! To clarify, I have our taxes done; I have yet to do Chris's 1040 and possibly one other person's. but the biggie is over with.
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Congrats to the University of Connecticut women's basketball team and coaches. You are the best ever; period!
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Some folks whom like to allow the government to hold onto their income tax money for a year so they can receive a big refund are crying about the Obama tax cut! It means they will get back less next year. All they have to do is file a new form W-4 with their employer and have extra money withheld from each paycheck. Personally, I do not want anyone controlling even a little bit of my already sparse funds. As a sole proprietor, Carolyn has to estimate her taxes each year in April, and adjust them each quarter as income fluctuates. When I figure her estimates, I try to get them as close to even as possible, and usually within $200 either way. I've found that getting the huge refund like some folk do is akin to attending a huge orgy once a year; a short period of ultimate intercourse and then having to do without for another year. I'll take mine a little piece at a time, thank you!
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When are nations going to begin protecting their maritime assets from Somali pirates? Place a few US Marines aboard each vessel that goes near African waters and have them shoot first and ask questions later. Let the vessel and cargo owners pay the US for these services; it should be much cheaper than losing an entire freighter to the bastard pirates or to pay a hefty ransom just to have it again boarded and hijacked the next time it ventures close to Africa.
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Just the facts, lady

It must be pretty cold out, but I'm sure not sticking my head outside to find out, at least until I have to drive Carolyn to Fall Branch and Boone's Creek this evening. I awoke to a smidgen of snow on the ground this morning, and we are to have a hard freeze tonight. It will probably ruin the hostas for this year, but hopefully they will recover. The squirrels are staying busy carrying extra leaves to their nests and the small birds all have their feathers fluffed to conserve warmth.

I hope I will be able to drive to the work places this evening; the RA has me by the neck, literally. Although there are other places that hurt worse, the stiff, sore neck aggravates me more than anything; there is no getting comfortable. The years of pain and despair have served to make me that much more adorable.
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I won a few bucks on the championship game last evening. I don't understand why I do so well on the college basketball picks and so sorry on everything else.
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I understand the schism between the Republicans and Democrats has widened a lot because of Obama's policies. It is about time the Dems are standing together; they were so lame and wishy-washy when Bush was in office that it was pathetic to see them place their "reserved" seal of approval on everything he wanted.

Here are some interesting facts about our US congressional members:

• 36 have been accused of spousal abuse
• 7 have been arrested for fraud
• 19 have been accused of writing bad checks
• 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
• 3 have done time for assault
• 71, repeat; 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
• 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
• 8 have been arrested for shoplifting
• 21 currently are defendants in lawsuits
• 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

God bless America!
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I still haven't finished the taxes!
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Redbud winter

This week seems like it will be taken by "redbud winter". We are to have cool to cold temps for the next three days with rain and snow, but it is not unusual for the season. We should have another cold spell when dogwoods are close to full bloom, and another but milder one as blackberries bloom. A lot of folks say these cold periods are just coincidences coming at the same time as certain plants make blossoms, but I know for a fact that over the many years I can remember, there have been very, very few springs that the timing was off or that the cold did not come at all.
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The missed RA shots are now taking their toll as I am barely able to walk, and it is a major effort to stand upright from a sitting position. It will get worse for a few days, and then the medicine will slowly kick in and I should be as well as I'm going to be in a couple more weeks. Yesterday was the prettiest day of this young spring season so far, and I was unable to go out shooting. A big portion of the photos made at Cades Cove on Saturday last were shot from the car window. Even in misery, I am still very lovable!
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If the UConn women win the NCAA National Championship in basketball, I will be the first to say it is the best female team ever assembled. My hat is off to the coaching staff that recruited these great players, and to the young women players whom leave it all on the hardwood each and every game.
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Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church
Established 1827
This structure built 1887
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Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church
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Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church
This church building is a bit unusual because
there are pews facing the pullpit on each side
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Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church
A closer look at the pew arrangement
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Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church was organized in 1827. This is the oldest established church in Cades Cove and was originally in a log building until 1887. Names from most of the families who first settled in the cove can be found in The graveyard behind the church; Oliver, Gregory's, Shields and more. Noticing the dates infants deaths were not uncommon reminding us of some of the difficulties of living in those times.
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All photos were made with the camera handheld and at ISO 100
Flash was not used

Cades Cove

Homestead barn

Dan Lawson homestead

View of the valley floor

Methodist church

The long planned and many times missed trip to Cades Cove in the Smokies was undertaken yesterday morning. It is said that more than two million people visit the cove (a cove is a small valley between two ridge lines that is closed at one or both ends), and I had the impression that most of them were there by noon on that one day! It was so crowded that we got little done in the way of sight seeing and making photos. The cove road is a one lane loop and is 11 miles long as it skirts the the valley. In many places, there was traffic bumper-to-bumper along the way, but even at that, there are numerous pull-off places. This was the first good weather weekend of the season, and people from many states were taking advantage of the natural beauty. I saw auto license plates from most of the southern states as far west as Texas and Arizona, and one all the way from Alaska and states in between. There were several from Canada, and most of them were from Ontario.

We stopped at only one of the three churches we passed, and it was elbow-to-elbow, but I managed to get some not so good photos of the interior of the Primitive Baptist church. I went inside one old barn, but none of the homestead cabins were entered as they were laden with visitors or too far from the road for us to walk to. I wanted to visit the Cable Mill and homestead, but there were so many prople there it was and improbable task. I think every person east of the Mississippi river that owns a bicycle was either at the mill or on the narrow road out of the cove.

Advice: If you ever visit Cades Cove, do so on any weekday except Wednesday; never go on a weekend! Wednesday and Saturday mornings are reserved for handicap tours, etc. Thanks to Dolly Parton and her theme park Dollywood, the small villages of Sevierville, Pigen Forge, and Gatlinburg are one continous traffic jam and tourist trap on Saturdays and Sundays.
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The latest installment of The Smoking Gun's Mug Shots of the Week!!!!!

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