Photography

[Detroit Dan]

Hey Scythe,
My first cousin is one of the worlds greatest divers.
Lately he has been where no man has been before in some caves in the jungle of the Philippines.

[Scythe Matters]

(03-09-2012 01:20 PM)Detroit Dan Wrote:  Hey Scythe,
My first cousin is one of the worlds greatest divers.
Lately he has been where no man has been before in some caves in the jungle of the Philippines.

Extra cool! I'd love to see some of his pics if you can share....

I don't think I'd be good with diving in caves, though. Something about that scares the beejeezus out of me.

[Boomer]

Ok I know these aren't much.....just thought I'd share. Went on a ride today to a little known spot in western Iowa called Freedom Rock. This is a really dinky little rock sitting right next to the road. The rock is repainted every year as a tribute to the veterans of Iowa. Some idiot on a blue Harley kept getting in the way!


Freedom Rock


This mural contains ashes of the remains of the soldier named in the mural.


In honor of those SEAL team members who perished in the skies of Afghanistan, and for those who died in the attacks of 9-11.


In Honor of Sgt Salvatore Gunta, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor.


Preparing to depart for home.

[Fireman]

Nice. Freedom isn't free.

[2Beers]

Very nice. thanks for sharing Boomer.

[knitterbookbinder]

Nice pix, Boomer, and a lovely day from the look of it. When I was out yesterday, I spotted someone out on their machine: pretty gutsy, given how much gravel is on our roads from the winter.

[Scythe Matters]

A LITTLE rock?? Very nice pics and impressive paint job, too.

[Jetrow]

Those are so cool! Thanks for sharing.

[Rey]

Some nice pictures there Boomer, nice to see this thread come back to life. Here is a photo for you all, and I'm going to tell a little story about this one too.



As Lori and I were taking a drive out in the country last summer we came across this house. I have seen these before, and I have named them a “House that Nobody Wants”. This one is a good example of an American Foursquare, probably built in the early 1900’s, and in this rural setting, a classic prairie farmhouse.

So what happened? Looking around provided a few clues. The mailbox by the road had the names of a couple on it, and was itself the model of a little house, probably built by the owner. Now it was smashed off its pole and hanging precariously above a little flowerpot. Maybe these names were an older couple that had lived in the house? Maybe they had passed on, leaving the place to heirs who didn’t care much for an old farmhouse? Whatever the case this house was now sitting empty and neglected. They don’t last long empty like this, and within a few years a house can become uninhabitable and beyond being able to save it.

I have a little daydream of finding such a house, one that nobody wants, a nice farmhouse out in the country, and fixing it up as a nice little place to live (hopefully complete with a barn out back for various Red Barchettas). This one didn’t seem too far gone yet, it seemed like there was hope for it, and I wrote down the address to try and look up some information on it later. Of course, not really ready to move just yet, I ended up forgetting about it.

Recently I remembered the house again and decided to drive by and see how it was doing. And it was...gone. Just like that. Vanished. I had to check that I was in the right place, but yes, this was the spot alright, and looking closer I could see the filled in spot where the foundation used to be. And this really bothered me. In this age of McMansions and crammed, look alike subdivisions, that a house like this, a house with some history, some character, would just be considered surplus to society and of no use. Give it to me for a good price and I would have fixed it up. Oh well, another one gone, there are not too many of these left in this area.

-Rey

[NWoBHM]

Blimey Rey - Dont you have preservation orders in the US? In the UK, anyone can apply for a property, even a tree, (we have an Oak with a preservation order on it - which means no-one can touch it), to be "Listed". Our old house was a Grade 2 Listed, which means you cannot modify the fabric in or out of the property without permissions.

My MIL lives in a Grade 1 listed Cider Mill (some of it dating from 1656) - and when one of the gables went (oak beamed) the preservation boys (and girls) came around to ensure that all the materials going into the repair met traditional specifications (i.e. Oak, wattle and daub etc).

In fact (if you are interested there is a picture here of it from Worcester Walks, and a historic review of it -



And story here -

Barrow Mill