Caretaker place

on Cline Feagle Road the caretakers place.

feagle beagle

the beagle would give me no quarter, following me barking the entire way through the Cline-Feagle road.

cotton oak

heading southward behind Lutheran Crossroads looking toward Providence behind Baileys.

tobacco row

home,shed and two tobacco barns,revealed by the cutting of the trees.

in them fields

round bales here, square bales there, i do think i prefer the round bales.

Homecoming

The old homeplace next to Mt Tabor cemetery on Cline-Feagle road.

Arky Tree

Saturday morning before travelling to Williston that afternoon, I first rode the route I used to cycle, in the foggy morning, looking for scenery. There was much scenery out there. Imagine that.
Well, aesthetic scenery took a little lining up and composing to make it reveal itself, but it was there.
Did I ever mention that foggy mornings are my favorite time to photograph next to late, late evenings about ten minutes before sundown? We'll I am telling you now.
Yesterday afternoon following church, meme, Crede and I rode to Allison's to pick up Pearce and my sister Paula to travel down to my brother's church, Westside Baptist, in Gainesville for their Christmas program.
We met my brother there with the tickets and we enjoyed the production, complete with live camels,horses, donkeys, etc. Very well done.

Williston Today

Melanie and I are about to travel back down to Williston. Paula and I were there this past Thursday, meeting Lewis at Norm Fugates to work out some unfinished business concerning my fathers estate.
Afterwards, we went out to Frog's and had BBQ. Paula and I rode over to Orange Hill to check on the grave site, then out to Montbrook to see Mrs Agnes and Miss Emelia's resting place.
Last evening Melanie, Jordon and I, Allison, Meme, Helena, Pearce and Carson traveled over to White Springs for the Christmas parade. We saw Karen there, Nikki's sister in law.
Billie Earl, Melanie's mother is  having a difficult time getting over Melissa's death on December 14th last year. Melanie will help her with some decorations.

Riverside Ascension

Of the three, I liked this one best. Again, for the approximately four second exposure I hand held the camera and used the flash. The streak to me represented the spirit of Mary Martin leaving the Cemetery, even forming a bird or the letter M in the process. I do not know how I got the streak, it was one of those mysterious exposures one gets at times. Or was it?

gently into goodnight

this is more of a straight forward interpretation. I sat the camera on a post for the 8 second exposure. It was looking back at the Dees Tent where the attendants were busy sealing the grave of Mary Martin in the Riverside Cemetery.

Beyond Riverside

This is an 8 second exposure handheld walking from the Riverside Cemetery in White Springs after Mary Martins burial Sunday evening. It conveys to me the feeling I was after. It is not always tripod sharp and mega-pixels on the most expensive camera. As is, these days I seldom even carry the Nikon D3100 which would render the scene in a similiar manner I am sure, but the camera is just too large and I like to have the little Canon S95 on my belt for easy access.

Archer Barnstorming

 

On our journey from Williston, as we left Raleigh we soon entered Alachua County. Nearing the town of Archer, this side of Blue Pete Lake, we slowed and pulled off US27. In years past, when we would pass through this area, usually on a week-end,  the roads on both sides would be lined with vehicles. In the field, complete with uniforms, a large gathering of  people would be cheering on a baseball game.
The field was toward Archer next to a row of three buildings, the blue building or "jook" called "Boobies" closest to the field. Ann Hipp Mckinley, who for years has lived next to the field on the banks of Blue Pete Lake, said she  missed hearing the sound of ballgames wafting over from the gatherings.
In the early South, before segregation in the sixties merged black and white leagues, the African-American communities had leagues spread throughout America, semi-pro and pro, even a World Series.
Walter "Rev" Cannady of Lake City, an infielder and pitcher in the old Negro leagues, listed in his obituary, just a few of the many teams he played on: Columbus Buckeyes, Cleveland Tate Stars, Homestead Grays, Dayton Marcos, Hilldale Daisies, Pittsburgh Crawfords, Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns and the New York Cubans.
The nearest semi-pro team closest to Archer were the Jacksonville Red Caps, with many other Barnstorming and semi-pro and "minor" teams in the Florida West Coast league, including the Tampa Grays, Miami Giants and Ethiopian Clowns. There was even an all white barnstorming team called the House of David that often traveled with and competed against the Giants and Clowns in exhibitions, much like the Harlem Globetrotter and Washington Generals.
It is entirely plausible that one of these barnstorming teams passed through this little hamlet.  Lost in Florida trust's there is someone out there who perhaps recalls and will report the information.
But, like the old Negro Leagues, the buildings will soon be gone, the leaning backstop and outfield perimeter fence soon fallen and plowed over. We will have no reason to slow as we once did.
The "colorful" nicknamed players Fats, Satchel, The Ghost, Dobie, Mule,Tubby, Double Duty, Chino, Big Ed, Candy Jim, Cool Papa and Rev lost along with their memory as few survive.

the three remaining buildings

the remnants of the old dugout

 sunset over the field

the field looking from home plate toward the outfield.