The Windmill

 

I've always had a love of windmills, just one of those things I was fascinated by when I was a kid.

A lot of my Mom's family lived in rural Georgia, some were farmers, and had windmills on their property. For those who have no clue as to what a windmill is, or does, let me explain.  Back in the day, folks had wells for their water supply. Some our relatives, as well as other country folk, didn't have electric pumps for their wells. Some of the family we regularly visited had wells with ropes and buckets to get their water.

Some had hand pumps.  My Great Aunt Lou and Uncle Frank at one time had a pump at the end of their porch, with a basin and big ladle near by. The big tin basin was for washing your hands, and the ladle was for drinking water.  Everyone shared.

Some of the more affluent folks had windmills to turn a pump which brought the water up from underground.

The pump filled a tank with the water. This was a great time and energy saver. 

Windmills were also popular for city folks, or I guess folks living closer to town, to have old windmills they had transported from the country onto their property for the aesthetic value of having a windmill in their yard. 

This windmill is alongside Georgia 96 where it has been standing for a while now.  Another thing I have often passed and thought "I need to shoot that puppy," and just drove on down the road. Yesterday the way the light hit the vanes really caught my eye.  I turned around and went back for the picture.  I played with it today and came up with this final image. My own aesthetic windmill.

Another thing from the past that is slowly going away.

Raindrops and Flowers

 

I have gone out to shoot these dandelions several times in the past week, and didn't get the inspiration I needed, not sure why. Today I had to run some errands and decided the rain should make for some cool images. I was right.  The drops of water on the dandelions really made a difference. 

 

The top photo was with the fish eye, for the rest I used the macro.  I continued my search for water drops and found the tiny drop of water stuck the the little vine on a rose bush. It was less than half the size of a dime.

 

 

The camellia looks like it is coated in ice, but just rain. Not too bad a collection for a rainy day.

Camellias

 

The camellias are full of buds, some blooming already. It was an ugly morning weather-wise, but the light made for good images, both shot with the Sigma 70-300, my old "flower lens."

The Stormy Sky....

From The Cloud
By Percy Bysshe Shelley



   I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
         And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
         I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
         The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
         Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
         And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
         I arise and unbuild it again.