So what do you do on a slow Saturday? Why not go to the 1st Annual All America City Beard and Moustache Contest. The contest was held at Somerville’s Union Square at the Precinct Bar and Grill. The participants completed in five different categories: natural full beard, freestyle full beard, freestyle partial beard which includes goatees and sideburns, free style moustache and best fake beard. From the images below the contest was a big hit to all participants and the large out pour of the community who came to watch the contest.
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This could the most interesting cemetery in America. On the banks of the Wilmington River, just a short drive from downtown historic Savannah this former plantation is peaceful, quiet and mesmerizing all at the same time. The monuments erected are a testament to those that they mark and those artisans that have created them. Made famous to the world with the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” Bonaventure Cemetery is lined with century old oak trees draped with the Spanish moss that is so famous for Savannah Georgia. Since 1846 these grounds have been the resting place for the colorful citizens of Savannah which includes Civil War soldiers, politicians, poets and songwriters. It took me an entire day on foot to walk the cemetery and the one thought that reoccurred in my head was the big difference between modern cemeteries of today versus the cemeteries of yesterday. Today we bury a friend or family member and we throw down a slab of granite with the date of birth and death and we call it a day, walking though Bonaventure you notice how the family and friends would incorporate the “character” of the decease in their final resting spot. This is differently something I feel we have lost in remembering the past, I personally would be very honored for someone 200 years from now taking a few moments in front of my grave and be able see my character and wonder out load about my life as I did to so many here at Bonaventure Cemetery.
Little Gracie Watson was born in 1883, the
only child of her parents. Her father was
manager of the Pulaski House, one of
Savannah’s leading hotels, where the
beautiful and charming little girl was a
favorite with the guests. Two days before
Easter, in April 1889, Gracie died of
pneumonia at the age of six. In 1890,
when the rising sculptor, John Walz, moved to
Savannah, he carved from a photograph
this life-sized, delicately detailed marble
statue, which for almost a century has
captured the interest of all passersby.
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These photos capture the different stages rice goes though from the planting in the water paddies to harvesting the rice for market. In most countries rice is their life blood and when I took these photos I was looking to showcase the process that half the population of the world go through to get their daily nourishment. Rice can be grown practically anywhere; most farmers grow rice in water paddies because rice is tolerant to water and the water in the paddies prevents weeds from overtaking the seedlings. Over the four months that the rice matures, the paddies change from green to golden yellow to the color of dry straw. When the seedlings reach near maturity, about 30 days after the plant has flowered the stalks are three feet tall and the grains of rice dangle in their husks. At this point the plants are cut half way up their stems. The harvested grains are then threshed to separate the grain from the stalk and the enclosing husk, this is usually done by bashing bundles of rice stems on a stone or other hard surface, or by shaking or tossing the rice on meshed wire. The grain then falls onto a mat and the husk, chaff and dust are carried away by the wind. The grain is then dried in the sun, until it is ready for hulling or transport to the mill. A typical acre of rice will produce 8,000 lbs of rice 3-4 times a year. But remember rice is life for half the population in the world, 680 million tons are consumed every year and with the increase in population in the world and the decrease of land used for growing rice the need for better ways to grow rice is needed ASAP.
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I spent 4 weeks on Camaguin Island in the Philippines and every day I tried to take this little boy’s picture. His mother would cook our meals in the mornings and evenings and every time I pointed my camera towards him he would run, duck or run behind his mother. On this peculiar day it was very hot even for Philippines standards and I gave him a sprite to cool off and he let me take his picture finally.
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While traveling along RT 100 in rural Vermont I noticed a small sign along the road “Vermont Icelandic Horse Farm next right 3m”. Being inquisitive. I took that right turn and headed up a mountain dirt road for 3 miles. When I arrived at the farm over looking the scenic Mad River Glen, I was greeted by the owner Karen Winhold doing the daily farm chores. Karen explained to me that the Icelandic horses are the purest and oldest horse bred in the world. The reason for this is that they were bought over to Iceland by the Vikings and ever since those days Iceland has quarantined itself. For many years, nothing and no one came to Iceland. Even today the flow of live animals and plants is forbidden or strictly restricted. One of the results of this quarantine has been that Icelandic Horses have never been cross-bred with other horses. They have remained pure for over a thousand years. If interested in visiting the Farm you can find that same sign that I did in Fayston, Vermont along RT 100.
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I went to the Scott Brown Rally hoping to catch in photo’s the grassroots sprit that has been building in his campaign for the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat. The excitement 3 days before the election was evident in the crowd.
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It’s New Years Eve in 1903 in South Boston and you are sitting around the pub with your buddies from the members club having a few drinks. The conversation centers on if 36 year old Boston Red Sox player Cy Young will come back for one more season after beating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series. After a few more rounds the topic changes to New Years Day and you all reflect about the past year to determine what you will do differently this coming year and then one of your buddies dares everyone to take a dip in Boston Harbor on New Year’s Day. With the liquid courage working you all agree to meet the next morning at the L street beach for a winter swim in the 30 degree ocean……106 years later that tradition still lives on. The L Street Brownies on January 1st of every year meet at that same beach and take that same dip in the frigid waters of Dorchester Bay, it has turned from a local dare in a pub to 600 strong members of the L Street Brownies taking the polar plunge…and yes for those who were wondering, I also took the traditional plunge after taking these photos!
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