Photography has opened my eyes to nature's colors and their durability.  Here in Georgia, once Spring sets in in mid March, the colors abound until the end of Fall.  Each week Mother Nature proffers up a new colors, textures and scents for our enjoyment and allergic misery.

 I spend a lot of time on the Chattahoochie.  It is a very nice  river.  Numbingly cold, it fogs up in the morning and evening.  I cross over it every day that I work and I marvel at the mysterious fog.  There are lots of preservation parks all along its muddy banks.  The 'hooch is a deep slowish moving river with steep banks, so it's not exactly a swimming river.

Forest City, Iowa. 

Abandoned homes abound in N Iowa as well as in Georgia.  This is a collapsed barn.

 Inside the collapsed barn.

Inside the abandoned farm house that sits on the same acerage as the collapsed barn.

 Oil filters at my dad's shop in Forest City.

It's amazing what people will leave behind when they move out of a home.

 These fall off the trees in Nebraska, and apparently, repel roaches. 

 Back rubbers at my sister's house.

 If I'm not mistaken, this is a working co-op.  Talk about run down.  I don't know for sure if is, though, so dont' quote me.

 The oak tree species up in N Iowa are classic Halloween!  The oaks here in Georgia are still in leaf. 

 I used to climb on this WWI tank, used as a veterans' memorial in Lake Mills Iowa, as a kid.

 A statue of a statue in Old Town Omaha.  Visiting Omaha helped put into perspective exactly how large Atlanta metro area is.  There is also something about Midwestern towns....their wholesome-ness?  their quaintness?  Their complete homeliness?  It's hard to pinpoint, but I really enjoyed getting back to the midwest.

 Gryffins have uber appeal to me and I would love to have this one for my very own.

 It is difficult to capture the mercurial and mutable beauty that is a camp fire with a camera.

Bride's Maids at my cousin's wedding.  Their creativity and orginal, unique style made me a lot reminscent and cognizant of the indominable passage of time.  I used to be very similar to them:  a maverick, an eccentric.  I'm much more mainstream now and that saddens me.  To the point of wanting to go out and get bright red streaks put back into my hair like the old days.  Hey!  I'm an "artist" so it's cool, right?

Vala's Pumpkin Patch is nothing short of astoundingly amazingly cool.  It has such a fantastic energy of activity, youth, laughter and family togetherness that  I am already planning next year's visit.