Happy Halloween

Whazzat?

Here's a daguerreotype I made last week. Anyone recognize this structure?
(A daguerreotype is a photograph made on a sensitized silver surface. it was the first practical form of photography--introduced in 1839.)

Grokfeast at AMS

There's a nice account on a website called Mark's Daily Apple about a "Grokfeast" at AMS that was held back in September. The website invited folks all over the country to send accounts of their Grokfeast, these were put up for a vote; the prize was a cow. Well, all the meat that was once a cow, to be exact (this website is about "primal living"). According to to terms of the contest, a Grokfeast is a "primal feast" and has to involve "primal fun." AMS had a meal featuring local foods, some people wore funny clothes, and they played zoogle and boulder toss.

You can see more pictures, read all about it and see some videos of the games at Mark's Daily Apple.
(I stole this picture from that website.)

Brooklyn in Celo

To my mind, one of the best things about the Celo Ten Thousand Things food co-op is the bounty of items from Sahadi's, Brooklyn's specialty and fine foods importer. Here Saturday storekeepers Theresa and Bruce marvel at the new shipment of hearts of palm, cherries, roasted peppers, smoked paprika, jams and dressings.

Goin' off the rails (literally)

Have you ever wondered what happens when a train goes off the tracks? I never had until I was headed for work the other day and drove across this. What happens is, it makes a big mess. This event, according to the CSX guy I talked to, involved just two cars and two sets of wheels (on either side of a coupling). This is the spot where Penland road crosses the railroad right near the post office.


Which makes sense, if you think about it. I mean, if the engine went off it would drag the whole train with it and end up in a big pile--it wouldn't keep, um, tracking like this. And I would guess that if three or four whole cars popped off somehow, there wouldn't be nearly this much left. It would probably cut all the way through the ties or mince them to bits.


So now they've got a lot of new ties lying around this section of track. I don't know if they've started repairs yet because the damage extends out of sight in both directions. But they definitely have some work to do. Someone told me that the trains have been running very, very slowly through this section lately.

Robin flies a kite

Robin prepares a kite.


Robin flies a kite.

Jeff flies a kite

And what about the turkeys?

Well, they just wanted to get to the other side.

Why did the cows cross the road?

Careful herding.