Tag: landscape

Crafts of Ansted

Local shops and businesses to visit

Hello Friends and travelers! I just wanted to let my readers know about Crafts of Ansted. It is located in the old Blue Smoke Salsa building in Ansted West Virginia. (Directions found on the Facebook page in the link) I have prints for sale at at this wonderful little shop . Some which have been published here on my blog and others which have not yet been featured.

However, you already know about me. I wanted to let you know about all the other wonderful things that you can find in the gift shop.

Artists from the local area have produced an awesome array of art in different media. There are quilts, crocheted items, books, tie-dyed tee shirts, paintings and more! Since a picture is worth a thousand words and that’s my main media here’s a short essay about what can be purchased here. 😍 When you’re in the area visiting the New River Gorge Bridge, Hawks Nest State Park or a fishing trip to Boley Lake at Babcock State Park it’s certainly worth stopping by our little co-op for some hand made souvenirs 😁

Little Boys and Dirt Roads

Color Photography, West Virginia

I have often said that my highway to heaven is a dirt road. Dirt roads take us to places unknown and seldom seen. We enter another world where a good ATV ( commonly referred to as a 4 wheeler in my part of Appalachia) or your own feet are the best travel options. When I was a kid we would head out on an old dirt road like the one in the feature image ever chance we got. These roads often contain mud holes that more akin to ponds than potholes. In the spring and summer they’re normally full of tadpoles and newts. My brother and I would escape the heat of the mobile home by finding one of the largest holes we could back under the canopy of the trees to play in. We’d come home covered in mud after riding our bicycles through the mud as hard as we could. We were pretending to be motocross racers. We’d slam the brakes in mud and throw it out as hard as we could. Whoever could make the biggest splash was the winner. We’d play Evil Knievel too. (For those too young to remember he was the most famous stuntman of my youth. You can read about him here). My poor mother would have two boys who looked like mud monsters by the time we were done.

Later in life I would walk these dirt roads at a slower pace while stalking deer or just out exploring. Walking a road like the one in the feature image is kinda like being on a treadmill with people throwing mud, rocks and tree stumps at your feet. The mud settles in low spots and it’s a perfect way for a beginner to find animal tracks and learn about tracking.

Today necessity keeps me on the nice pavement. I walk through a world of concrete and asphalt. But I still long for an abandoned dirt road with a huge mud hole and a good off road bicycle.

Crossroads

black and white photography, Thoughts and Musing

The symbolism of the crossroads is well known. A person stands at the intersection pondering a decision wandering which way to turn in order to reach a goal. Crossroads are everywhere in life. I have observed a certain amount of anxiety associated with life’s crossroads. But, isn’t a crossroads as much an opportunity as it is anything else? It’s an opportunity to change your course, continue ahead or, for some situations it’s a place to turn around and correct a past error.

The most probable cause of the anxiety is not knowing what lies ahead. There are resources we have access to. Maps, compass and the knowledge of those who have been there. For life’s crossroads I turned to the Bible and church elders.

There’s no need to be anxious about coming to a crossroads. It’s really all a matter of perspective and planning.

Enjoying a few minutes at Kanawha Falls.

black and white photography

I revisited the same little clump of trees that photographed a couple of months ago during a winter flood. ( This spot floods almost every time it rains.) I wanted to get Spring version of the spot under simular conditions because I wanted to do a series that shows seasonal progression of the same spot. This one has the hydroelectric power plant in the background. I’m told that plant provides electric power for the foundry just a few miles down river. This is also a popular spot for fishing because the walleye wait for smaller fish that are stunned by the falls. For me it’s a great place to stop and catch a few moments of peaceful contemplation occasionally. I hope everyone has a little place to quietly sit down and decompress. Life is short and the rat racing is best left to the rats.

Avalon

black and white photography, Fiction Story

I have taken a lot of pictures from this spot in Glen Ferris West Virginia. It’s not really an island but the Kanawha River makes it look like one. In my imagination the mountain becomes the mythical Avalon. Perhaps if I wandered down into water’s edge I would notice the glint of steel beneath the surface. I reach down to lift the magnificent blade from the murky water. The hilt is exquisite. The sword feels like an extension of my body. I look up to her. Dressed all in white and standing on the other side of the lake. She doesn’t speak. She simply acknowledges the fact that she knows I’ve seen her and she begins to ascend up path into forest. She doesn’t bid me to follow, she dares me to. As I ponder the choice a boat glides silently to my side. The bearded old man in the stern gestures for me to take my place in the bow. I climbed and took a long look back at real world as it faded away into the mists. Perhaps there’s time to slay one last dragon before dinner. Perhaps … just maybe, the real secret to eternal youth is to never pass on a chance to dream.