Weaving the Blackstone...

Last week, Greg, Olive, the pug, and I went down to Pawtucket, Rhode Island (USA), to take a look at an art installation called Weaving the Blackstone.  This project is the work of sculptor, Donald Gerola.  It consists of colorful polyester, nylon, and polypropylene cords that are stretched across the Blackstone River in the area where the old Slater Mill sits.  It is a tribute to the city of Pawtucket and pays homage to the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution and the textile industry that began there in 1790. 

I realize that art installations like this one aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.  But personally, I envy the person, in this case Mr. Gerola, who can look at a rushing river in the shadow of an old mill and imagine something like this.  And I admire even more the ability and stamina to carry it out.  The article from The Boston Globe states:  “It took two archers with high-powered bows - normally used to hunt bear - to get the cords from one side of the river to the other. Vandals cut them twice, forcing Gerola back to the drawing board. He says he spent countless hours with a machete and chain saw clearing brush and trees along the river to make the installation possible.”  Now, that’s dedication to public art, which is so important to our humanity. 

My photos don’t do it justice because I couldn’t get a good shot of the scope of the project.    So my suggestion is that if you find yourself in Pawtucket, RI, take a ride down to the Blackstone River and check it out.  I’m pretty sure you won’t be sorry.

The  cords are woven at three spots in the installation through over-sized heddles in order to emphasize the weaving theme.  Heddles are the part of the loom through which all threads pass.

Looking across the Blackstone River to the Slater Mill

Drive by shootings: Red Barn Red…

If you gave a kid a box of crayons and told him/her to draw a barn, I imagine that the kid would draw whatever barn is the vernacular in the area where they live.  Like the low metal roofed barns that TexWisGirl shows us from Texas or the white barns in Southern Pennsylvania that I posted last week.

But when I was a kid, if someone had handed me a box of crayons and told me to draw a barn, I would have drawn a big, square building and colored it in with whatever the closest crayon to red barn red was.

 

I love that color.  Red Barn Red! I even talked Greg into having our house stained a form of that color from the dull brown it was when we moved in.  I sometimes think of barns when I drive up our driveway.  I like to imagine some goats grazing nearby because goats are my farm animals of choice.  It takes some imagination though because we do sort of live in the woods and I’m not sure the goats would like that.  I actually know very little about goats, but I like them and I think about what fun it would be to have goats around now and then.

 

Here are some of the red barns I collected on our recent trip to Roanoke. For me, they are just the right kind of barn.

I used texture from Nancy @  A Rural Journal in this last shot.  Thanks, Nancy.

I'll be linking up to Barn Charm.

Sunday Scavenger Hunt: The results are in…

I made the commitment this week not to reach into my archives for any of the Scavenger Hunt photos. These were all taken within the last week.

Facial Feature:  Olive, the pug, and I went to visit the horses this week.  They are funny creatures, I think.  Even if they are way across the field, they have to come over to say “hi” to us.  I think this little blackish horse is very handsome and he posed very nicely while I took some pictures of him.

Shadow:  Well, you have to have light to have shadow.  This week I was either outside with my camera when the sun was behind the clouds or inside when it was bright and sunny so I didn’t get a very good shadow pic.  You were right, Debbie.  I should have saved my shadow picture from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Spicy:  Greg and I took a ride down to Rhode Island last week to see an art installation on the Blackstone River called Weaving the Blackstone.  I was very impressed and will be posting some pictures from that later in the week.  On the way home, we stopped at Sam’s New York System & Restaurant and had a couple of hot dogs.  Please don't ask what "New York System" means.    I have no idea.  As long as it doesn't have anything to do with the Yankees, I'm ok with it.   Not terribly spicy but a little spicy.

Gold:  Of course, you can tell that these aren’t really gold nuggets but are actually Jelly Bellies.  

Fabric:  I like taking yarn and looping it around itself until it makes fabric.  This is a scarf I just finished crocheting for my daughter, Carrie, whose favorite color is orange.

Fence Friday: Take me home, country roads…

On our recent trip to Roanoke, Virginia (USA), we got off the highway and did a very nice stretch of road in West Virginia (WV State Rt. 259, I think) before we got on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I saw lots and lots of fences along the way on that road and on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I’ll post the ones I like best today.

 

The John Denver song “Country Roads” kept going through my mind as we traveled down through West Virginia.  He calls it “almost heaven.”  They call it “wild and wonderful.”  I just call it beautiful.   There is another place I need to get back to with my camera and time to spare.

And, of course, the Blue Ridge Parkway is just one of the most extraordinary country roads in the whole USA. 

So here they are…fences along some country roads.

Either in Virginia or West Virginia

West Virginia

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

I'm cheating.  This one is near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

Linking to Friday Fences.

Cruising the Blue Ridge…

One of the nice things about driving south to Roanoke, Virginia (USA), is getting off the highway and onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I could wax eloquent, blather on and take lots of poetic license describing this beautiful drive, but since I’m a thoughtful and charitable type of person, I will not waste your time and will let my photos speak for themselves.

It became apparent why they are called the "Blue" Ridge Mountains.

Standing tall on top of the world.

Drive by shootings: White Barns in PA…

We passed through part of Pennsylvania on our way down to Roanoke, Virginia.  I noticed that there were a lot of white barns in the area so I started snapping away.  I took all of these from the car racing 70+ mph down the road.  (Don’t worry.  I wasn’t driving.)  And I had to delete many ludicrous attempts at capturing these old beauties while barreling down the highway.  Here are a few that passed and remain safe on my computer.

 

I always say that I just want to start going with no destination in mind and actually stop when I get to one of these beautiful old buildings and take my time with my composition, exposure, etc.  But it hasn't happened yet.

  We may be retired but it doesn't mean we don’t have to be someplace at a specific time.  Oh, well…

Linking to Bluff Area Daily:  Home of Barn Charm.

My Sunday Hunt Finds...

We were away last week.  Greg, Olive and I took a nice ride down to Roanoke, Virginia, where we wandered around and saw things.  I have tons of photos from the trip…so what else is new??  But I haven’t had time to really look at them.  I thought I should pick out a few for Scavenger Hunt Sunday but I also had to reach into my archives for a couple.  Here they are:

Strike a Pose - Here's the pose that pug Olive strikes when she's trying to tell us it's her turn to drive:

Footwear - Someone is missing a pair of sneakers:

Hobby - I crochet when I'm not taking pictures:

Afghan complete with pug hairs.

Shiny - What's shinier than a Hot Dog King's crown?

Roanoke, Virginia

Color me green - Also found in Roanoke:

http://www.ashleysisk.com/