Doctor HP Flowers

Gillum's Store

 .



© r0771-32  Gillum’s Store
  Madison County, Virginia
  Saturday 26 November 1994



___


.

Green with Trust

 

.

     There seems to have been a common desire, when stores and service stations closed for business, to leave the gas pumps standing.  As a reminder of place and times.  As a reminder the clerk did not need to question my statement of gallons and cost.




© 0765-17  Gas Pump
  Dinwiddie, Virginia
  Dinwiddie County
  Monday 12 November 1994



___


.

Painter of Light

 

.

     Three hundred and fifty years ago French artist Claude Lorraine began to brush warmth and atmosphere into his many landscapes and became known a the Painter of Light.  Artists before his time, and many since, considered the landscape to be merely a stage backdrop behind other dramatic activity.  Never the raison d'être.

     Did it ever occur to him, as he fulfilled his lucrative commissions, that a errant backroads photographer, three hundred and fifty years later, would believe for a fleeting instant that he was Claude’s second coming.  The correct answer is, of course, no.

     Many of his paintings made a permanent trip to the Hermitage courtesy of Catherine the Great .  Check some here.




© r0886-37  3 Springs Farm
  Appomattox County, Virginia
  Tuesday 21 November 1995



___


.

Sign Off...

.

What ritual act of resignation
Do you perform
That signifies, that punctuates
The end of another day.




© d100611-043  Campfire
  North River Camp
  Augusta County, Virginia
  Friday 11 June 2010



___


.

"Have a taste Dude"

.

     "The man … laid his hands on him and after a while examined his feet and legs, then pinched his foot hard and asked if he felt it. He said ‘No’; then after that, his thighs; and passing upwards in this way he showed us that he was growing cold and rigid. And then again he touched him and said that when it reached his heart, he would be gone. The chill had now reached the region about the groin, and uncovering his face, which had been covered, he said — and these were his last words — 'Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius.’ The attendant uncovered him; his eyes were fixed. And Crito when he saw it, closed his mouth and eyes."

     This is Plato describing the poisoning of his mentor Socrates.  And yes, this stout specimen by the fence is, indeed, Poison Hemlock chock full of coniine which disrupts the workings of the central nervous system. Ingestion in any quantity results in respiratory collapse and death.  The USDA classifies the plant as Noxious Class C meaning, “kill as much of it as you want.”  Surprisingly, it’s easy to find and prolific in places. I sometimes wonder if I should tell somebody, then realize that the USDA must have this one covered. 




© d100607-022  Poison Hemlock
  Conium maculatum
  Old Rich Valley Road
  Smyth County, Virginia
  Monday 7 June 2010



___


.

"Up Scope!"

.

After tunneling for weeks
Thru hard packed snow
Direction finders erratic
Batteries squandered
There was only one thing to do.
“Up scope!”

    


© r0315-17   Corn Stubble
  Orange County, Virginia
  Friday 24 November 1989



___


.

Easy on the Tongue

.


    Say it, “Penstemon.”  Peh, Peh, Pen-STEM-on.  Easy on the tongue right.  After all, some Latin names are more attractive and lyrical than others.  Try for fit:  Verbascum thapsis or Tragopodon pratensis or Elephantopus tomentosus.  See what I mean.  This beauty - the Hairy Beardtongue, Penstemon hirsuitis – prefers disturbed soils and dry banks where it can display and show off without serious competition.  Works for me.

    


© d090531-023  Hairy Beardtongue
  Highland County, Virginia
  Sunday 31 May 2009



___



.

Must've Moved

.


     A sunny drive Northwest from Lebanon seven miles to Cleveland then three miles west, I noticed an unassuming road that dead ended by the railroad yard in Carbo.  Curiosity often pays dividends and did that morning. This solitary red caboose tickled my interest and aroused my prospects.  On the spot I instructed my agent to negotiate a deal with the railroad authorities to allow me to use this caboose, here, as the place to write my book.  Photo impressions of rural backroads.
     Several years later I found time to revisit my iron wheeled garret to reenergize intentions to elevate my work to the next level.  Sadly the yard was empty, the caboose was missing.  Somebody must’ve moved it.

    


© r1006-33  Caboose Waiting
  Russell County, Virginia
  Thursday 5 June 1997




___


.

The Rusty Roof

.

Simple, sentimental
Everyday and unsophisticated
Contemplative atmosphere
Balanced for clarity

Country way of life
Metaphor uncelebrated
Anonymity of place
Untainted by modernity

Remnants of tradition
Conversation with the past
The rusty roof motif
”What else can I say.”


    

© d060210-010  House with Sedge
  Madison County, Virginia
  Friday 10 February 2006

___

.

100,000 Hits

.

     Today, this site recorded its 100,000th hit.  One-by-one, since April 2005.  But for a mere thimble full, all were anonymous.  Each following an image search.  International nomads pausing here for a momentary sample of rural heritage.  Then, with a click, departing for sites unknown.

    


© r0724-11  Shot Up Sign
Craig County, Virginia
Monday 6 June 1994

___

.