Sky Watch: A Sunset And An Orange Moon

Sunset Round The Bend

October 13, 2008

An Orange Moon

October 18, 2008

Happy Halloween Everyone!

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Sepia Scenes: An Old Gas Station

While on a drive last Saturday this old gas station beckoned from the side of the road. It practically oozed Sepia Scenes. You can see the 'Black Pearl' wasn't about to pull under the crumbling overhang but stopped a few feet short of where a guy probably once pumped your gas for you. A sign on the door showed that at one time a post office occupied the left side of the building.

Looking up at the overhanging eave you can see that it was once covered with clay tiles. The gas pumps once stood near the pole you see. Did you notice the lights on the ceiling?

Don't they look like they should be inside the station?

Click on the badge at the top of my post to join our hostess Mary and view other Sepia Scenes or to sign up and join us in this fun new meme!

Watery Wednesday A Sentimental Journey

Monday afternoon while out on a drive to catch a little autumn splendor before it was all gone I found myself on a sentimental journey. My Grandfather was an avid fisherman and he and Grandma used to take us to the river swimming and fishing. I hadn't been to the spot in over twenty years. The ride out the long road was like going back in time. Not much had changed. Until - I came to the river. When I came to a huge bridge I knew my 'spot' was underneath. It was hard to find a place to park so I managed to pull just off the road and start my walk. This first shot is looking down on what remains of the old road we drove across, walked across to go swimming and sometimes fished from the top of. I was heartbroken.

A little further down the hill you can see just how high the new bridge is above the riverbank.

When I walked across what remained of the old bridge I took a picture where the road ended and looked at some of the pieces left behind in the dark murky water. The grey clouds reflected in the water seemed fitting to the hurt I felt inside. So many happy times had been spent here with family and friends; but especially with Pap and Grandma.

The rushing water over the rocks seemed to correspond with the jumbled thoughts and emotions swirling around in my mind.

I stood at the end of the jagged bridge and looked upstream and imagined all those years ago. Where the left pillar of the bridge stood was once the sandy beach where we played and waded out into the river under watchful eyes of loved ones - where a group of friends frolicked that last summer before college.

Turning to walk back across the crumbling bridge I stopped to 'see' Grandpa fishing from his favorite side of the river if he wasn't sitting in the corner by one of the culverts that let the water flow under the bridge. My brother and I often walked that side of the river and often came upon dead snakes. We knew they were there and most often smelled them before we saw them. To this day I'd know that smell anywhere. At the top of the bank I can barely see a road. Signs say it's posted now. Many times Grandma and I would walk a worn path and look for 'greens'. She always had to help me find the right ones to pick. I guess it was our 'poke salad.'

Before leaving I took one parting look down the river and sent whispers of love with the wind.

Be sure to click the badge at the top of my post to join our hostess at Eyes Mind Heart for more Watery Wednesday participants.

My World #2 : Fort Boreman Hill

A couple of weeks ago before My World began I had posted some photos from atop Fort Boreman here in Parkersburg, West Virginia. (here) Most of those dealt with the Ohio River. Today I'm going to revisit the site and tell something about the site itself. Fort Boreman is the site of a Civil War fort on a hilltop overlooking the scenic valley formed by the confluence of the Little Kanawha and Ohio rivers at Parkersburg. Built by Union troops to protect the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad terminal and the key commercial river facilities in the valley, Fort Boreman was named for West Virginia’s first governor, Parkersburg citizen Arthur I. Boreman. The Fort Boreman site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Looking Down The River

This is looking upriver and over historic downtown Parkersburg. The Ohio River is to the left in the photo and the river under the highway is the Little Kanawha. Looking across this river to the hill on the other side you can see a cell tower. This hill is known locally as Quincy Hill and was thought to also be used as fortification of the rivers; but no evidence of that has ever been found. I will make mention again here for readers who didn't see my previous post that if you look closely you can see the floodwall that surrounds the city to protect it from the flooding river. There is a more closeup photo in my previous post if you have time to visit it.

In my earlier post I was able to catch a sternwheeler on the river and just as I was leaving the other day I waited to get this photo of a barge carrying coal down the river.

From high atop the hill I could look down and zoom in on the local television station and it's array of satellites.

As I hiked around the hill I found an opening to view the Little Kanawha River as it flows toward the mighty Ohio.

Hope you have enjoyed your visit to my little corner of the world today.

Wherever You Are Enjoy Your Day!

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Ruby Tuesday: A Red Barn and Autumn Tree

Happy Ruby Tuesday Everyone!

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Today's Flowers: A Bee On The Sedum

This is a photo of the Sedum that bloomed in my flowerbed a few weeks ago. It is the last photo I have of the flowers in my yard that I haven't posted. I have so enjoyed the Today's Flowers meme over the last few weeks and hope that other flower opportunities will arise so I can still participate from time to time. I hope you enjoy seeing the pink Sedum and the bee visitor who was probably enjoying it the most.

Please click the badge at the top of my post to visit Luiz and Denise and all the other's who posted flowers for today's meme.

Sunday Blessings

Buffalo Church

Circa 1878

Palestine, West Virginia

Photo Taken October 19, 2008

(Be Sure You Click to Enlarge)

The view from the front yard of the church.

Sunday Blessings Everyone

A Note: Thanks to everyone who came by and left a comment on yesterday's post about our beloved Smokey. My daughter Cindy adopted him when she was eight years old from a second grade classmate. Cindy too, has been reading your comments. She and I and the rest of our family thank you for your kind words at this sad time. Please know we appreciate you.

Camera Critters: In Loving Memory

SMOKEY

1990-2008

18 1/2 years

Rest In Peace Gentle Friend

It is with a heavy heart that I make this post today. Smokey has been a member of our family for so many years. These past few days haven't been easy and it is so hard to let go. From kitten to wandering Tomcat who loved to explore his surroundings to the affectionately called "Old Guy" he was a loving and loyal companion and will be missed.
I wasn't sure I could post his picture today; but his longevity and loyalty deserve a little place in the spotlight one last time.
I thank all who come by today and share in his remembrance.
If you have a pet and haven't hugged them today give them a gentle hug for me and Smokey.

Be sure to click the badge at the top of my post to visit Misty and all the other Camera Critters participants today.

God's Been Painting My WorldA New Meme: Sepia Scenes

Today is the beginning of a new meme hosted by Mary/The Teach at Work of the Poet. We are posting images with the look of old photos. The sepia tone adds a sense of class and timelessness. My photo today is of an old furniture warehouse here in Parkersburg long ago gone out of business. Though abandoned and crumbling it still stands by the well used railroad track as a reminder of days gone by. These past few days color has been in abundance wherever I look. Soon it will all be that brown sepia color that sets in before winter. Along with my sepia image today I'm also sharing the color in my little corner of the world.

On a Sunday drive down a sun-dappled roadway I could see God's handiwork on the leaves of the trees and the mass of fallen ones that lined the road.

Closer to home one lone tree on the sloping countryside burst forth in golden color underneath the grey skies overhead.

Standing looking off my deck God whispered that I really didn't need to leave home at all. He had brought his handiwork to my own back yard.

Wherever you are today take time to enjoy your view!

Watery WednesdayMallard Ducks Bathing

Dripping water makes a big puddle.

A place for ducks to bathe.

Can a guy get some privacy here!

For more Watery Wednesday participants please visit our hostess at Eyes Mind Heart by clicking on the badge at the top of my post.

Welcome to West Virginia

MY WORLD MEETS RUBY TUESDAY

Today is the launch of a new meme hosted by the same wonderful folks who bring you Sky Watch Friday. This new meme is for everyone who has a photoblog! With it you become a virtual tourist guide, showing all of us your part of the world: your celebrations, your landmarks, your home and neighborhood - your world! Since it also falls on Tuesday I will be combining a Ruby Tuesday post today where participants post a little bit of red or a lot of red.

So - here goes!

What better way to welcome you to my part of the world than by beginning at a West Virginia Welcome Center. This one is on the state line between my home state of West Virginia and the adjoining state of Ohio. When I took this photos one minute the sky was bright and the next it was cloudy.
This weathervane atop the center is the outline of the state of West Virginia. Not many straight lines here folks. We definitely have distinctive boundary lines! Wild and Wonderful West Virginia will be the focus of my My World posts in the weeks to come.
Today I'll start in my own neighborhood. This is a photo of a neighbor's beautiful red wagon decorated for the Halloween season. Regular readers might recognize it from a July post when it was decorated in red, white, and blue.

I hope you've enjoyed my little part of the world today. My virtual vacation of sights and scenes from around the world is waiting. Some of them will be of things red! If you'd like to tag along be sure to click the badges at the top of my post.

Today's Flowers: My Mom's Vincas

These vincas are the last of my Mom's potted plants for the summer. The Autumn season has left our flowerbeds and gardens void of the beautiful blooms of spring and summer. The leaves on the trees continue to turn and fall gently to the ground. Their brittle shapes crackle underneath our feet as we walk across them.

I hope you all find a little color in your world today!

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Sunday Blessings

Todd's United Methodist Church

Stockport, Ohio

Established 1894

Have A Blessful Sunday!