Who is that kid???

Well....the human kid is Marcy and the Goat Kid is ..ummm... actually I am not sure we were introduced!

Sheep and Goats

Do you recall in the Bible where it says (para) "He will seperate the Sheep and Goats"...OK this is not it! :) Actually this is a shot from the Clay Center Livestock Sale Barn. That was a fun experience!

Quit monkeying around!

Our little bitty tiny zoo in town was blessed with the birth of this little cutie. We recently got a bear too!

It takes 8 seconds to become a real man

OK....I better not say anymore on that one! This is a shot taken at the longford Rodeo.

"I love me some cowboys"

Actually, this was really my first rodeo...I was in a band years ago that performed for a Rodeo...don't recall much about that one. But this is the Longford Rodeo. I had a lot of fun, thoroughly enjoyed the "all American" feel of the event.

Life is like a patchwork quilt

If there is one thing Kansas women know, it is their quilting. I am glad to see it is not a dying art.

Demonstrating the Combine

This farmer was showing us the intricate workings of the Combine....we have so enjoyed getting to know the "field to table" aspect of farming. Our farmer friend is always very willing to get us out out there to experience this new life in Kansas.

Price of bread going up?

Most of us never stop to consider the work the farmer does and how he labors and worries over his crop. This Clay County farmer was lamenting the poor wheat harvest this year following a very warm spring, followed by freeze and flooding.

Sparks Fly in small town

Ya know, we never really think about how things are done, do we? I never thought about the fact that people "practice" tearing cars apart...so that if they need to tear one apart with you inside...they can! Rescue workers in Clay County practiced with this car..... my husband is on the squad and had a lot of fun helping tear this car apart during a traning session one night.

A sign of the times

In downtown Clay Center, next to what was once known as the Duckwalls store, (now Common Ground Ministries) is an alley way. At the entrance to the alley is this gorgeous sign....repainted in recent years. "refreshing" to see such things still appreciated isn't it?

The Idylwild School Bell

In an old school house on a dusty road in Kansas, this school bell reminded children for some distance that class was about to begin...and they had better be in their seats on time! Can you picture them scurrying along the rolling prairie?...the bell beckoning, it's sound dancing on the wind, carrying it along. Little girls hear it, and run to school, anxious to see their friends, the boys hiding amongst a clump of cedars to tease the girls-hoping they liked them too....and hoping the teacher would move them closer to that special girl that day.

My friend Jamie's grandmother once taught at "Idylwild" school, I imagine Mrs. Anderson rung this bell, holding on to the rope. Can you see her?--- tugging and greeting at the same time. Perhaps collecting apples from children as they arrived, patting their heads, or shushing them along as they told of forgotten homework, or a cow that got out the night before...spending hours chasing it and not having time to do the assigned task. It was fun imagining what life may have been like in the old school.

It will soon be torn down and the wood used to build a cabin for the family of the man that won the sealed bid...a whopping $200 for this piece of history.

The value of bell alone or the hardwood floor in the building far surpasses the amount he paid.

But the pieces that make up the Idylwild school will see new life, taking on a new shape in the form of that cabin....creating new memories for the gentleman that bought it. He and his siblings had attended school there. He knows it's value far exceeds the dollars and cents in the hardwood, weathered siding and the bell that once beckoned.

I listened as he re-lived school boy memories. But, even with all that-I know that the granddaughter of the Teacher wishes that the little building could stay there on the prairie forever, like a friend waiting for you to come visit one more time....beckoning in whispers carried on the wind across the Kansas prairie.

Fall Brilliance

The sun was coming through these leaves, the darker ones are simply those that are overlapped with others...neat huh?

The warmth of fall

I love the look of the sun coming through the changing leaves

Baby owl peering at me

There were 3 baby owls in the trees at the town square last spring. I caught this one looking at me

St. Michael's Cemetery

The sun was setting when we took a drive in the countryand visited St.Michael's at Kimeo, KS.

A church all alone on the prairie

St. Michael's Catholic Church sits all alone out in the middle of nowhere....well, it is somewhere to the people that live nearby! Nonetheless, services are rarely held there now, but it is well kept and is truly a beautiful sight sillhouetted against the sky. It is situated in a little community called Kimeo.

Newborn Baby.......BEANS!

I knew Kansas was growing on me when I got excited at the site of these young bean plants. I have no clue why! But aren't they pretty?

A face with character

This Abe Lincoln looking man was happy to oblige a photo, during the pony Express Festival.

Fresh country churned butter and homemade bread!

At the Pony Express Festival they had a lot of demonstrations...this one was yummy!

Total Eclipse of the Moon

This is a total eclipse of the moon. I took this shot very early one morning recently...then went home and got ready to go to work!

It did not look this pretty in real life. I left the lens open 5 or 6 seconds to gather enough light and it gathered more of the red that was only slightly evident that morning.

History Re-Enactor

This gentleman is a school teacher who moonlights as 3 different historic personas. He didn't know I took this photo. At the 150th anniversary of the Pony Express Station in Hanover, KS. he was dressed up and doing a re-enactment. I interviewed him for a story on the news, as he later appeared here in Clay Center at the Pioneer Festival.

Cool guitarist photo

This is the son of some friends of ours, named David. I did some cool photos of him with my light and backdrop set up. I liked this one a lot.

I appeared in a commercial for our County

Our County is doing some marketing and this TV commercial is one of the results. Enjoy!

A Glamour Shot?

I have been experimenting with lights and backdrops in my basement.