Texture Tuesday On a Spring Day

Hello my friends and welcome spring.  I'm a bit late in welcoming the gentlest season of the year, but better late than never as the saying goes. Last week was a stunner with temperatures in the 80s and glorious pink sunrises...

Yes, the sky was streaked with clouds as the sun cast a pink glow over my corner of the world.  I lived along this country road for over 20 years and passed this barn every time I headed west.  I don't know who lives there now, but I'm calling this the Boynton Barn in remembrance of the elderly couple that kept this farm in perfect order.  Here's another view of the sunrise.

 All of nature seemed to be on warp speed last week. Flowers bloomed, trees blossomed, and leaves burst green nearly overnight.

A pretty little farm cat that lives down the road sat in the evening sunshine peering at me while I photographed the magnolia tree in the yard, her spring green eyes echoing the color of the grass. 

And oh the magnolia....

stretching its twiggy arms to the sky praising spring and all the possibilities.

Per my usual Tuesday I'm linking up with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday.  This weeks theme is all about pink and at least one of Kim's textures.

The top photo, Boynton's Barn: A layer of Kim's texture shine, a texture from French Kiss, and some fiddling with levels.

The second photo of the sunrise is pretty much SOOC except for cropping,  minor levels and hue/saturation adjustments.

I'm quite sure the blossoming tree in the side yard is a dogwood.  The dogwood photo processing began with a new layer set to soft light, opacity 67%.  Next came levels and hue/saturation adjustments.  A layer of Kim's texture, be still with a layer mask to remove the texture from the blossom followed by a layer of another KK texture called embrace finished the photo. 

The next photo I call cat eyes was simply processed with a few adjustments of levels, contrast/brightness, hue/saturation and of course, cropping.

The final photo looking up at the blooming magnolia was processed to create a soft spring aura.
After desaturating the photo, I used a Coffee Shop action: soft and dreamy and added two layers of Kim's embrace texture at 66% opacity and 100% opacity.  One layer of distressed jewell's texture 3 was added at 42% opacity. Finally, the text was added and there you have it.

Please stop by

and be amazed at the beauty of talented photographers everywhere! 

Abandoned

When I visit my brother and sister-in-law, I drive past a wee patch of land, abandoned years ago leaving behind the deep scar of a house and the gentle presence of past lives. I’ve no doubt a farm once graced this corner and I wonder what caused the demise of so charming a place.  Could it be the railroad that slices through farmland like two,  never-ending  silver swords or was there some other catastrophe that befell the living, breathing homestead? 

Amidst soft bird calls and the wind whispering through pines there's signs that someone once surrounded their home with the simplicity of country life.

Apple trees were planted that brought white petals falling like snow in May

I'd like to think that the freckled look of cherry trees blooming pink brought smiles of contentment and thoughts of cherry pies

I'm sure someone opened a window of the long-gone house filling it with a clean, sweet fragance from lilacs growing nearby.

The only structure left standing are the skeletal remains of a windmill that once upon a time, caught Ohio breezes with paddles whirring echoing a song over plowed fields.  

There's something romantically haunting about abandoned houses, barns, and farms that invites wool-gathering moments.  In my mind's eye I visualize how it might have been with chickens scratching, cows lowing in a nearby pasture, freshly laundered sheets billowing out like sails on a sea of green, and the laughter of children as they swing higher and higher, almost touching the sky.

The dandelions are reclaiming this bit of earth, but I'll be back for lilacs in bloom and another peek into the past.          

Into the Country

On Sunday, my brother and his wife accompanied me on a country photoshoot.  We traversed the backroads in search of Fuji foto ops.  I vowed a couple years ago that I would seek the beauty to be found in rural northwest Ohio and the search continues.  Come along with me.  Let me show you my corner of the world...

"Can you imagine an America without a barn on the landscape? Is that the America we want?"

~ Rod Scott

From B & J's back yard I could see this old, tumbling down barn, so I zoomed in and snapped a shot.

This old barn sits within a small country park called...Opdycke Park.

We journeyed down lettered and numbered side roads. Don't you agree...

"Horses make a landscape look beautiful."

~ Alice Walker

An old country school sits on the corner across from Opdycke park...

"School days, school days, dear old golden rule days

Readin' and writin' and 'rithmetic, taught to the tune of a hickory stick." 

~ Lyrics to School Days by Will D. Cobb, 1907 

What's a trip to the country without stopping at a farmhouse?

My nephew's daughter looks absolutely angelic holding one of the three kids born three weeks ago.

A race to the top...

"O for a horse with wings"

~ William Shakespeare

"I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand."

~ Leonardo Da Vinci 

In case you're wondering...Yes I tweaked every photo and some I added a texture or two.  I'm still experimenting, playing with, and vastly intrigued by the effects created by textures.

Happy Spring!

Country Traditions

A tumbling-down barn

These are the things of a rural life and Thanksgiving. 

Clyde lives on my sister and brother-in-law's farm. I'm sure he's thankful he's not a turkey!

One of my favorite dishes belonged to my grandmother, my mother, and who knows who else. It'a  rustic Bennington dish that always comes out in the fall. 

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving.  I cook like my mom did, everything from scratch.  I want turkey on my table with all the trimmings of potatoes mashed smoothed with velvety gravy cascading over the mound.  Unlike most of my family I prefer dressing to stuffing, but it must be fragrant with lots of sage and onion.  I want sweet potatoes laced with brown sugar and butter.  I don't care what's on top, pecans, marshmallows or nothing at all.  It's all good.  Homemade rolls heaped in a basket waiting to play host to a pat of golden butter, and pies...apple, pumpkin, and oh how I long for a pie filled with rich, homemade mincemeat. I'm the only person in my entire family that adores mincemeat pie, so it's just not worth making.  *sigh

I'm looking forward to entertaining family for Thanksgiving.  I have my To-Do List ready for today and tomorrow is grocery and baking day.  The scent of apple and pumpkin pies and my mom's cloverleaf rolls will mingle together in a spicy-yeasty fragrance. Then there's creating a Thanksgiving tablescape, getting out the dishes, platters, and bowls needed, and oh so much to do!   

Have a wonderful day!