Sepia Scenes: Are You Thinking Spaceship?

Every time I see this structure I think I'm going into the bowels of a spaceship! I imagine being drawn in slowly to the darkness and the doors closing behind me. In moments the silent takeoff is barely noticeable as I'm being whisked away to another galaxy. Somewhere in the darkness Richard Dreyfuss will be waiting to accompany me on this interplanetary travel. Ahh, such are the daydreams of a Sci-fi fan.....

I'm brought back to reality as my cat weaves in and out of my feet purring gently to let me know she needs to be fed.

In reality this massive structure is the entrance to the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel. It is a 4.6 mile-long crossing for Interstate 664 in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States. It is a four-lane bridge-tunnel composed of bridges, trestles, man-made islands and tunnels under a portion of the Hampton Roads harbor where the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth Rivers come together.
The tunnel is named for the two ironclad warships which engaged in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads on March 8–9, 1862, during the US Civil War. The battle took place between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. The latter ship had been rebuilt from the wreck of the USS Merrimack. The site of the battle was within 1 mile (1.6 km) of the bridge-tunnel structure named by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a memorial.

Hubs and I lived just down the road from the tunnel when we lived in Virginia. We still go through it when we visit our daughter.

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Coreopsis In Sepia and An Announcement

I have some coreopsis growing by my little yard pond. The day was hot and humid and the resulting image looked washed out so I converted the shot to sepia and used selective coloring to highlight the yellow bloom.

An Announcement!!!!!

This little sepia peanut is our next Grandbaby! That's right. I am going to be a Grandma for the third time and I couldn't be happier. Our son and lovely daughter-in-law are expecting their first child in November. AND....it's going to be a boy!!!
Yep, a Grandson to go along with our two lovely Granddaughters. All of us couldn't be happier!!!! For more Sepia Scenes join Mary by clicking here.

Sepia Scenes: Railroad Bridge

This is only part of a railroad bridge that crosses the Ohio river at Gallipolis, Ohio. I had the wrong lens in my camera yesterday to capture the entire bridge so I settled for this small section as I sat waiting for the Hubs to get us some cool drinks from the service station. It was a hot and hazy day which only added to the ambiance of the old steel structure. I'm always amazed at the stone supports holding up these old bridges. One would think they would have crumbled long ago and this one is well over a hundred years old.
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Old Mill In Sepia

Going through some old memory cards Hubs found this photo we took of an old mill almost five years ago. This was long before my foray into this photography passion I've possessed for the last couple of years. Enlarge the photo and you can see what I mean. The quality is way below my current expectations of myself but the sepia saves an otherwise just point and shoot attempt. It's the memories behind the shot that make it as beautiful as any well executed photo shoot.

This was taken on a trip with Hubs to the Smokey Mountains. It was one of the first trips there without children. We were alone for the first time in years and we had a great time. Getting ready to head home we decided to search for all the old mills we could find on our way out. We had some literature naming a few. As I recall we found about seven or eight that day. This was probably the best. We were on what could only be described as a one lane road and the mill was across the stream. I so wished it could be mine. At the moment I can't recall exactly where it was. I'm sure we were still in Tennessee and not far from the Smokies. There seemed to be some work going on that day so I feel sure it was being refurbished and is still standing today.
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Sepia Scenes: Sweet Shrub Bush

(The Original)

This is a pod from my Sweet Shrub Bush. This shrub is native to the Appalachian stream banks of the Smokies. Thomas Jefferson recorded planting Sweet Shrub at Monticello on March 7, 1778. He gave them as gifts to fellow gardeners and included them in a box of American plants shipped to Madame de Tessé in Paris. Sweet Shrubs have deep maroon flowers with sweet fragrance similar to strawberries in late spring and glossy, aromatic, leathery, dark-green foliage. Flowers are quite fragrant. At the moment this bush is sticks and pods.

The day I took the photo it was overcast and pouring down snow. The little streaks you see in the photo are snowflakes whirling by.

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My Dad

This is a photo of my Dad as a young boy. He is 15 years old as he sits on the old tree stump which would mean the original black and white photo was taken around 1941 or so. Dad grew up working hard on his family's farm and farms of others as well. This doesn't appear to be the old homeplace where he lived so I think it was taken on one of the farms where he often stayed and worked in his youth. With none of his five siblings in view I think it's fair to say this wasn't taken at home.
I like this picture of my Dad. It shows he was tall and lanky. He never lost that lush head of hair and it didn't turn gray until he was way up in age.
It will soon be fourteen years since my Dad passed away. It's hard to realize that many years have silently gone by. This coming Sunday the 17th would have been Dad's 84th birthday.

Love and miss you Dad.

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Noah's Ark - Say What?

"This steel skeleton occupies a sun-drenched hillside along Interstate 68 in the mountains of western Maryland. Reaching three stories high, its concrete foundation stretching the length of one-and-a-half football fields, the structure is an oddity -- as incongruous as, well, a boat on a mountaintop."
Hubs and I pass this monumental structure on our way to our son's home in Virginia. Research tells me that ground was broken in April of 1976 -- before the interstate was built. Now 30 years later it is still just a shell. It was the idea of Pastor Richard Greene who had dreams over a three month period in 1974. The Ark was to be constructed to the specifications of Noah's original Ark--450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
To read more about the Ark's beginnings and to see an architectural drawing of what it would look like upon completion click here.

My original photo.

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A Bench In The Forest

I found this bench along the path to the overlook for the waterfall that I posted on my photoblog yesterday. (You can see the waterfall here.) I visited the waterfall many times with my family when I was a young girl and hadn't seen it in many years. The sepia tone helps suggest an earlier time and seems fitting for my memories.

I wanted to post the original image as well because I thought it was such a peaceful looking spot with the sunlight coming through the forest behind it and the soft light dappled on the fallen leaves. I might add that since it was only about 50 feet from the precipice of the gorge I could hear the roar of the waterfall enticing me to continue rather than to sit.
Besides Sepia Scenes I'm also posting this for RunE at his Visual Norway blog. He posts a bench shot on Friday. It's all very informal at his place. Just post your photo and leave him a comment.

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A National Memorial

This is a section of the 56 pillars, each 17 feet high that helps to comprise the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. Each pillar is inscribed with the name of one of the 48 U.S. states of 1945, as well as the District of Columbia, the Alaska Territory and Territory of Hawaii, the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The columns are adorned with two types of wreaths that alternate in their facing. Wreaths of wheat represent the agricultural strength of the nation; while wreaths of Oak represent the industrial dynamism of the nation, supplying not only our own troops but also our friends and allies.

The U.S. Department of Defense has compiled estimated service numbers for 20th-century wars. It is believed that somewhere around 233,985 West Virginian's took part in World War II. One of those brave men was my grandfather.

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