Round and Round

All was quiet upon the playground today at Five Points Elementary. Usually, the yard is loud with laughter. I suppose in light of school shootings, things are subdued. Even the front gate was locked, causing me to have to find another way in.
The round about with the tricycles reminded me of the time in Monticello third grade PE. The coach said we were going to play ring around the rosey, pocket full of posey, ashes, ashes, we all fall down.
The only problem was, the last person down would have to tell the name of his girlfriend or boyfriend.
I was terrified at the thought. I made certain I was not the one to fall last, for I did not dare tell of my secret liking of Deborah Daniels, and it never occurred to me that I simply did not have to tell, or say, I have no girlfriend, which I didn't, only the shy thought of one.

I am Eighty

The fellow at Five Points was in the wheelchair coming across his yard pulling himself with crutches. It was a laborious effort as he skied my way. We talked awhile of the state of things, of the general discontent with this land. Told him I liked his rebel flag on the porch, but he said he lived in the trailer in the back yard. He had his little refrigerator and burner. I can only hope for as much when I am eighty and wondering how quickly I got across that yard.

Upon Triple Run

 

One of two entries in the upcoming Member's Show of the North Florida Art League. This was taken last week on Triple Run Road. The camera used was the Canon S100.

Hidden One

I am certain that the same forlorn look upon Nathaniel's face is upon mine as well. As the days turn to weeks, we can only wait patiently for the day when he visits again.

Wrought in Cedar

 

The Ring of Life

Long after the branch is gone
Smooth worn the chiseled stone
Under a tree of life a song
Ringing round that heavenly throne

One of my favorite "haunts" is old cemeteries. The contrast with the granite and grass. The old cedars that cut into the wrought iron fences. The ornate and overdone stones of the forgotten wealthy. The humbly simple stones of the remembered meek.
When I was young, it was a place of fear, a place of spooks, to be avoided. The older I grow, it seems more a welcoming place, like old friends, many of whom reside there.
I stroll from stone to stone and ponder the lives lying beneath me. I often wish that we could chisel more of our lives upon the stones, something of who we were, what we held dear, how we died, how we lived.
But 'tis all a mystery, like death itself. We all know that one day we shall come to this place, yet
like little children, we feign dwelling with the spooks.

Missing Transfiguration

The ordinary into the extraordinary?
Expectation of transformation
should be in our every thought
That nothing in this life should be
considered common or ordinary
when we consider the invisible hand
that wrought this
marvelous expectation to reality.

Total Loss

 

The call from Jordon came Sunday night. We were thinking at first he was joking, as he usually does. He said that he and Ben wrecked the truck, that it was totaled. Melanie and I were at the Huddle House, just finishing a breakfast supper. We drove across town down Pinemount, then down Birley Road to Johnson Road, where we found the truck off the dirt road, over a fence. Ben was driving with Jordon and two girls in the passenger seat. They said they were not speeding, but heading down the dirt road when the back brakes locked up, they went into a spin, flipping three times,coming to rest upright over the fence.
By a miracle, no one was hurt, the air bags did not deploy. There at the scene was Ben's parents and the Pope's, whose daughter was with Jordon and Ben. We called Trey and he bought his 4 wheeler and pulled the truck off the fence. We had to change the front tire which was off the rim. The truck cranked and Russell and I drove it slowly back to the Popes house. Two days later the insurance adjuster came and totaled it out, cutting us a check. The next day the salvage company came and got it.
That little truck drove many a mile with Landon over to St Augustine and back and all over. It was a good truck and a crying shame to lose it.
But, it was a big blessing that no one was hurt.

Grand Magnolia

The frost did pass by these Spanish Magnolia's. The sky was a clear,crisp blue, the temperature in the mid-sixties, and I was quite content to be on the Gum Swamp Road.

Upon fields of Frost

On Kayak Court, the sun was just coming over the trees and the frost from the nights freeze was yet upon the ground. I paused and took this photo, attempting to balance the brilliant white with the morning sky. My ground was a bit darker than I wanted.

Planter Garden

I came upon this nice planter garden off Voss Road. I want to build planter boxes like these and create a backyard planter box garden. But since the truck was totaled, I am out of a way to get the eight foot boards I need to haul them.

Double Run Home

My home continues to progress along. I've added a front door. Next the steps.
Windows were too expensive so I will just have to stay out more if I want a view.
I've placed it in a field so there is no danger from falling trees.
I wish to live a life of unquiet desperation, free from the confines
of a desperate city.