3-07-2012- freedom

     

      i had the chance of watching a couple guys fly as i stopped to take pictures of a waterfalls in new york a couple of years ago while i was sightseeing and carving near amsterdam, new york. they were more than eager to jump in cold water above the falls. it was late june but still you are getting up in mountains there. this river runs into lake sacandaga , and that lake drains a good portion of the adirondacs. its is nice and peaceful there without ugliness we sometimes associate with the city. it is more rural with farms growing rocks a landscaper would be envious of and rock walls along pasture fields and roadways. like here , if you know where to look , one can also find a dirt road still. it is sometimes nice to see the dust well up behind you once in awhile. quaint shops catering to the lake crowds adorn this area. in the wintertime it is snow skiing with lake placid a mere 60 miles away to the north. civilization started in the northeast section of our country and history seems to prevail here. sara toga downs also offers horse racing close by. a great place to visit and plan to return some day. 

      a lot of what i write about on the blog is mainly about the pictures i use. i either tell a story about them or with them based on my subject that night. why should tonight be any different as in stead of telling one cohesive story , will tell different stories based on the individual picture. this  a picture of 4 baby barn swallows who were raised one spring while i would watch in garage. at first i watched as the ma and pa swallows would check out existing nests. it appeared that the woman was definitely in charge as she knew that old nest would never do and soon they set about making a new one of mud and sticks . i was really quite amazed at how quick that went . i would go out and just sit on the tractor at first and they would check me out to see if i meant harm . then they let me watch as they built their nest and before long were sitting on eggs. from the time she appeared to lay her eggs till they were hatched was about one week i would say. never went close to the nest. 

      soon these 4 little mouths appeared above the edge of the nest and a flurry of activity for the next four weeks culminated in this momentous event as shown above. they finally got their sea legs or wings and was ready to leave the nest and in fact had already done that when the picture was taken. i remember watching them forever as they would flap their wings as if to make sure they were going to work before heading over the edge. i imagine this helped build up their muscles and confidence . anyhow i watched all 4 go through all this learning to fly. at first it was short bursts from here to there and over shooting the stop, and ending up on the ground . but somehow they would make it back up to perch on this timber before dark. this was one of the last time i saw all 4 together after this. as they to had moved on.

       well one day while selling vegetables i had bought down south in marietta area , and was selling them up north as there growing season can be a month ahead of ours. in the course of selling or vending you run into some strange colorful people who appear to come out of nowhere and head back there as soon as they talk your ear off. the owner of this car was that guy. a friendly soul who never let the air be still as he was always flapping his tongue and running his mouth. he showed me his audi or vw diesel that he converted to run on french fry grease. to illustrate his point and fear of not being able to start it. he left it running so we could inhale the aroma of green power. to be honest it smelled like french fries. he tried to sell me the saw off the top of his car , introduced me to his girlfriend , who never managed to get a yes or no out to affirm or deny, before the tongue flapper moved us on in conversation. figuring he was going to have to raid a fast food place to get home and knowing he had  his life history i had not heard about yet , put his mouth into high gear. words spewed from him so fast i thought he was a lawyer but then again , he made sense . i was speechless as he handed me a coat way to small but had ford emblazoned on it , and he was off with a shudder and his girlfriend looking back at us as if to say. here we go again. but  i had time to take a picture before he left. only in ohio. 

 just a nice pic of one of my carvings.