Fuel Crisis

My pulse quickened as I glanced at the indicator on my gas gauge, sitting in the red just above the big E. I had overshot the greenhouse I'd been looking for, and now, I realized, I needed to find a gas station. Soon. It wasn't like I was in danger; it was full daylight on a well traveled stretch of highway in north central Arkansas, in about as friendly of a place as you would ever find. Still, who wants the inconvenience and embarrassment of running out of gas? Before you start recalling blonde jokes, let me mention that the last time I ran out was about 1987.

I estimated that the town ahead of me was closer than the one I'd left behind, so I pressed on, praying that my fumes would carry me to Gassville. With a name like that, I figured they ought to have plenty of gas stations.

It wasn't long until I saw one. I rolled in on fumes, put more gas in my car than I thought it could hold, and got directions to the greenhouse.

On the way back, I stopped to take pictures of a dilapidated barn by the side of the highway. It shared the shade of the nearby oak trees with the cows that grazed nearby. Apparently, this old structure ran out of gas quite a while back.

Linking with Rurality Blog Hop.

Thanks to Kim Klassen for her texture, Pourvous.

Morning Barn

At the west side of town, 

back from the highway and nestled among the trees, stands an old barn,

 not as active as it once was...

but still useful to its owners, who are friends of ours, for the storage it provides...

  the memories it holds...

and the views it frames--

 of leafy green trees...

and a grassy field, stretching to distant hills on the far horizon.

Inside, the hay is soft underfoot

and on this particular day,

light streaming in through windows and cracks

draws my attention upward.

Should I be on my knees?

"Certain thoughts are prayers.

There are times when,

whatever be the attitude of the body,

the soul is on its knees."

-Victor Hugo

                                      

Linking with Barn Charm.

Why Do I Photograph?

Chores

I love photography.  

I love words, 

and for me, words flow better when I have something to attach them to.  

Photography helps me tell a story.

Helping Hands

I love capturing a unique moment in time,

something that would otherwise be lost forever.

Passion Flower

I love passing on a thing of interest or beauty,

something in this creation that reminds us of a loving Creator.

Lifted Hands

In its finest moments, my camera becomes an instrument of praise,

an extension of my heart, an outpouring of gratitude.

Linking with Deep Roots at Home

Kat Sloma's e-course, Finding Your Eye, begins by asking this question: "Why do you photograph?"  Above is my answer.

Winter Barn

An Ozark barn stands quiet among the winter trees.

Old tools, retired with honors, decorate the front of the barn,

and inside, the accumulation of years

precludes any possibility of a cow entering.

There's another barn for that purpose.

It's here that the cows are milked,

where cats, striped by the sunlight 

survey their domain,

and Cracker, the border collie,

makes sure that nobody gets out of line.

Textures by Leslie Nicole

Linking with Weekly Top Shot

A Friendly Garden

My friend welcomed me to her farm this week,

 where sunflower sentries stand tall over the garden...

where beauty springs from the soil,

to be encased in pods and husks,

 wrapped with lustrous silk ribbons...

 and fading flowers hold the promise of abundance.

You crown the year with Your bounty,

and Your carts overflow with abundance.

Psalm 65:11

      

Also linking with Favorite Photo of the Week

Devotion

This old barn was built on a homesteaded farm near Longrun, Missouri, in the mid 1890's. I found it to have a certain appeal, in spite of its patches, and the encroachment of bushes and vines.  Even more appealing, however, are its current owners, the grandson and wife of the original homesteader.  Their love of the land, and of each other, is clearly evident.

I'm sharing this with you, and also with my photo friends at 

The Creative Exchange and Barn Charm.

If you'd like to see their photos today, click on a button.

Chores

Roy Porter, 86,

pauses in the doorway of his weathered barn after milking his cows, 

as he's done almost every morning for the past 37 years.

To view photos of other barns, take a look at Barn Charm.