Stories from the Farm - A New Year's Eve Buggy Ride

composite photo done with techniques taught by Fine Arts photographer  Stephanie Laird

So here's the story. Once upon a time there was this couple named Matt and Mary. Their 34th wedding anniversary was coming up. 

Matt asked Mary which restaurant they were going to go to celebrate and Mary replied, "If you really cared, you would take me for a ride on a horse and carriage for our anniversary." 

Apparently she had been saying the same thing for every anniversary for the past ten years. "I don't even know anyone who has a carriage," Matt helplessly told his buddy Dale at work. "How am I supposed to arrange this?" 

Well, Dale happened to be Ben's and my neighbor. "I think I know someone who might be able to help," said Dale.

So early in December, Dale brought Matt over and introduced him to Ben. Matt told Ben come rain or shine, he wanted to take his wife on a buggy ride the day of their anniversary, December 31st, 2015. It was to be a surprise.

Throughout the holidays which were rainy and cold, we kept wondering if our passengers would really show up.

"I sure hope she's not expecting fancy horses and a fancy carriage," said I. 

"I sure hope the weather's decent," said Ben.

But Matt kept calling to make sure we were still on and sure enough at four o'clock New Year's Eve he brought his wide-eyed bride to our place where Ben and Rodney (another neighbor) had the mules brushed, harnessed, and hitched up to the Ben's home-made surrey. Matt's buddy Dale appeared with a thermos of hot chocolate and attached a camera to the back of the surrey to record the event. I brought out a basketful of old blankets still warm from the dryer for all to use and off they all went for a ride around the block - which is about 4 miles in the country or an hour's ride for Kate and Annie (who are no speed demons). The day was dreary and damp and cold as could be, but when Kate and Annie pulled the wagon back into the driveway, the happy couple still had stars in their eyes. 

Happy Anniversary, Mary and Matt, and Happy New Year to All!

JuneBug

How to Bring Out the Story in your Casual Photos with Photoshop Filters

I've been wanting to attempt an article for the scrap-booker or casual photographer (folks like me, in other words) to share how I get the most story-telling "bang" out of my casual photos. If, on your quest toward becoming the expert photographer who always takes the perfect picture, you're like me and can't afford really high-end camera equipment with larger sensors, or if you just don't quite have the on-the-spot photography skills to meet the demands of every memorable moment you encounter, you may end up with a lot of bad, so-so average, and merely "okay" photos. (I'm not saying, by the way, that becoming a better photographer is a bad ambition). In fact sometimes even your really good photos may not quite reflect the image you stored in your mind's eye when you pressed that camera button; and if you're like me, you're always seeking ways to make your photos look even better. But good, bad, or ugly, the photos you've already taken are your reminders of the memorable events or scenes of beauty from your life. They're too good to throw away, yet somehow they remain pale, distant cousins of the actual experience - and you desperately want to breathe life back into them. So what I want to discuss in this article are ways I've found in Photoshop CS5 to change my so-so images into the image I hoped I would get when I pressed the button on the camera. These techniques may also apply to Photoshop Elements and Light Room.

Stories from the Farm - The Adventures of Kate and Annie among the English

Or an impromptu tour of our neighborhood through the eyes of Kate and Annie ...

Monday evening around 7 pm, Benny was finishing up a fence expansion for the mules, and I, accompanied by my cat, had just plunked down on the white adirondack chair on our infrequently sunny back porch of late. With a glass of blackberry wine in one hand and my laptop in the other, I was ready to relax after a rugged day of landscaping, cleaning the carpets, and preparing for a flight to Dulles the next morning for my brother's surgery. I had barely taken the first sip from the glass when our neighbors Mike and Jacci pulled into our driveway. They climbed out of their Suburban to inspect the latest additions to our family, Kate and Annie - a team of Belgian mules who used to work for the Amish.

Meet Kate and Annie

In my previous post, I said that I had unexpectedly entered job search mode again - after a successful two and a half years in my field and then taking a new job. But in every life along with a little rain, the sun must also shine. :)

It's spring! And while I lost my job, it's been wonderful to have time to catch up with friends and family and work on spring-cleaning the house and landscaping the yard - which have been so seriously neglected since the job hunt, job transition, and a couple of family illnesses involving prolonged travel and hospital stays over the holiday season.

I haven't had this much uninterrupted time at our new home since - well, ever! (we moved here 4 years ago.) So I'm giving her the old white glove, while I have the opportunity! Of course I'm job-hunting too.

Benny was so excited when I got my new job this winter that he finally decided to pursue a life-long dream. Ever since we've been married, he's talked about owning a team of draft horses or mules. He acquired an antique wagon several years ago that he's refurbished and we've used to advertise his antique refinishing on this corner. So this late winter/early spring he set about building stalls in the pole barn and putting up fence - and the opportunity came along to buy a team of Belgian draft mules from our neighbors complete with harnesses for a really good price.

Kate and Annie are 18 years old and still in wonderful shape. They pulled Benny's wagon to Stockwell yesterday. They worked together for the Amish their first six years of life and have been owned by 3 families (including us) since them. Actually they were separated when the Amish sold them to the next family. The second family reunited them and then our neighbors have owned them for about 6 to 8 years.

Even though I lost my new job, I told Benny I sincerely hoped he would go ahead and buy them. His brother died of a brain tumor at age 65 - the same year Benny had his open heart surgery. And last year his sister died of cancer at age 74. I told him he'd better be doing some of his dreams while he still has the health to enjoy them. I have hope we'll be able to financially maintain - even if I have to work in part time retail or part time factory again. Like Kate and Annie, I'm hoping I still have enough of my wits, skills, health, and vigor, that some employer in my field will still find value in me. Whether they do or not, we are still blessed.

So without further ado, meet Kate and Annie!




JuneBug