Early Magnolia Blossoms

Watercolor

Manipulated trees reflected on the river.

Eye of Blue

Beauty can be found anywhere if you take the time to see it.  "Just a rock" that I super saturated.

Graffiti Face

Local graffiti spotted on a walk near the river.

Give Me a Shout Out .... Where Are You in this Broken World?

Canada Geese at Taughannock Falls State Park - Ithaca, NY

Fuzzy Pics of Canada Geese - But I Like the Effect

More Photos Posted at DEAD SNAKES - Much Thanks Stephen!

Lovely Firespray Tulips from My Garden

Old Buildings Still in Use

Binghamton, New York

Owego, New York

Firehouse (photo by - my son - Dan Harrington)

More Signs of Spring

Regal Greeting

Dead and Dying in My Little Town

Another, old cornerstone of town is being brought down.

Robert F Allen - Tactile Painter

I am a very "tactile" girl .... I just love to touch everything. I would be THRILLED to go to one of this man's exhibits.


Click for Link

John Bramblitt - Blind Painter

Click for Link

Rhododendron - Labrador Tea

Angel's Goofy Self

My goofy, little girl,

Contemplation

My big, lazy boy soaking up some sunshine.

Taiwanese Artist Lo Chan-Peng Oil Paintings

Amazingly realistic paintings - Click for Link

Blooming Fire

Bulbs that were planted last fall are looking amazing! These beauties are Firespray Tulips.  They truly shine in the sunlight.

Once and Nevermore School

Another forgotten building.  Built in the late 60s - early 70s.  Replaced by modern architecture to house our growing population of children.

Broken and Beautiful

This is one of my favorite shots; an old, broken window at one of our local, abandoned factories.

April 20, 2016

A moment of reflection from this blogger. Today would have been my mother's 68th birthday. A woman who never smoked a day of her life was taken from this world by lung cancer in August 2013. She had fought, and won, a previous battle with cancer in 1985. A long, scary stretch of time for a 17 year-old girl. I witnessed my father's emotional struggle; saw the tears that he never shed, and cried for him and myself. He was not with us when Mom passed on as his heart failed him two years prior, so my siblings and I served as her caregivers during her final weeks. Still miss them every day.

Promise of Spring

Wooden Grave Marker Dated 1837

Yes.  This grave marker really is carved in a plank of wood. Unbelievably, it has withstood the elements for 179 years. The only trace of evidence that this 2 year-old boy once lived. I can't help but wonder if his father labored over this piece of wood, chisel in hand.

Shortness of Life

The pine trees that dominate the entrance to this cemetery are a stark example of how short our life truly is. When marble headstones or ashes in a jar are all that remain to prove that we existed, we need to make our moments matter.

Goliath

We, as humans, are so small and young in comparison to the world around us; as evidenced by this old giant of a tree.

Beauty in Wild Growth

In the eye of this beholder, even skunk cabbage can be beautiful.

The Art of Free Will

When humans practice their right to do as they please. Creating a trash heap along a peaceful stretch of road.

Windows Perspective

I find windows to be very expressive - the eyes to our world - especially from old, used up buildings.  These are from a local school built in the early 70s; flooded and long abandoned.

Honored to Have Photos Posted at Dead Snakes

Abandoned Car in the Woods

This was quite a surprise! Came upon this old, beat-up car in the middle of the woods one day last fall. We were about a mile from any semblance of a road.

Broken Windows

How many people looked out of these windows over the years?  What were their aspirations?  I'm sure they never dreamt of a day when the factories would sit empty and decaying.

Remnant of Pride

Progress

A railway which once carried the products vital to our industrial home to consumers.  Progress .... disrespected by a community of jobless families.

Sign of the Times

Possibly a car dealership at some point.  Now a vacant lot advertising nothing.

Old & New

Once a bustling factory. Like so many others in the area, closed and run down. Overshadowed by newer, smaller, locally owned businesses.

Cornered

An intersection of unused buildings in our local neighborhood

My Oil Pastel of a Crow

the bleeding horse, avenged - Poet John Sweet

Crows are Amazing Birds - Link to my Pinterest board:

Past made Present

Evidence of a once vibrant community, when Coca Cola was an American icon.

A Day in Corning

Truly a wonderful day in Corning.  The very beginning of spring in Upstate New York.  The sun was shining with a bit of a chilly nip in the air.  A somewhat dismal photo in contrast to the actuality. 

Dying to Be Beautiful

This photo serves as a reminder that sometimes we need to sink to our lowest level to discover our hidden beauty.  Caught the last, dying days of this bee balm in my garden.  Though dried up and withering, the seeds have dropped promising new life in the years to follow.