Alabama Monument

The Alabama Monument in the Vicksburg National Military Park is one of the least appreciated monuments in the park. Many people don't take the time to go down the south loop to view it and that is their loss. I love this monument for the surprise it has in store for those who take the time to see it up close. Curious? Just go around to the back of the monument!

First Baptist Church, Vicksburg

The spire of First Baptist Church in Vicksburg. It's a beautiful structure, don't you think?

Rambling

Here are some shots I took this weekend while rambling through the Vicksburg National Military Park and along some railroad tracks that run along Washington Street.

I have to tell you this: I have taken some pretty photos in my time, but nothing can compare to the beauty God created in one little bluebird. I love the simplicity of these shots and the vividness of the feathers of the bird as he sat upon the wheel of a cannon in the park. I will take a bunch more photos in my time on this earth, but I will never come across something that is more beautiful than this little fellow. What a sight!

I love the photos of the banged-up buckets holding railroad spikes that I stumbled across. And the Illinois Memorial was beautiful in the morning light. The golden glow of the eagle atop the memorial really made the bottom photo, too.

Cedar Hill Cemetery

I seem to be drawn to Cedar Hill Cemetery. The mystique of the place just calls to me with the haunting artwork that dots the landscape. I found myself there once again in early March right after a rain. The water makes the colors so much more vibrant. Being at the cemetery so early in the morning, which is when I usually go because of the lighting, is almost a reverent pilgrimage to a time long past. I never fail to find something new. This time, I started thinking about Cedar Hill itself and started looking for cedar trees within the cemetery.  I also stopped to think about why someone would put a fence up around their family's grave and then have a doorknob with a lock to enter the space. Is the lock to keep someone out or, superstitiously, to keep something in? That's the kind of things I ponder sometimes. I like the old fence with, I believe, to be Masonic symbols. It's an extremely elaborate fence that has braved the elements for decades.

No, I am not morbid or anything. Cedar Hill Cemetery is a history book. I just like to go in there every once in a while for I know I will never read the same page twice.

Dogwoods

What a glorious weekend this was! I love when it rains for it makes some photos just pop with color! Such is the case with these dogwoods taken at the Belle of the Bends early Saturday morning. I especially like the last photo with water droplets hanging off the flowers.

The dogwoods are gorgeous now. I will post some later this week of two of my favorite trees in the area, the pink dogwood on Washington Street and the old dogwood tree in the Vicksburg National Cemetery. I took photos of them on Saturday and Sunday. I also went to Mint Springs again and am glad I did. It had a lot of water flowing over the fall and that's always a sight to see.  You'll see them all later this week, so please come back and, as always, keep telling others about this site! Thanks!

Tucker Road in Warren County

The lake on Tucker Road that is split by the road is a gorgeous lake that I pass by often. The trees are too tucked around it to get a sunrise or sunset, but it is still quite picturesque. I am sure someone has told me the name of the lake, but I can't recall it now. I go real slow whenever I cross the bridge, much to the irritation of those driving behind me. The top photo was taken last year during the day and the bottom photo taken when a fog had rolled in. It was quiet that morning, very serene. 

The sights of Redwood

Redwood Waterfall

Redwood Swimming Pool

Redwood Road has two pretty spots along it that I go to often. The first is the waterfall just past the fire station. It's absolutely beautiful there in the fall, when the leaves are scattered everywhere. The other is on up the road — the Redwood Swimming Pool. The Vicksburg Post ran a story on this sometimes in 2008 and going there now, I can just see kids jumping from the side of the pool and from the wooden board that dotted the pool. It's a real peaceful place.

Long may she wave...

I photograph the flag atop the Hwy. 80 bridge across the Mississippi River quite a lot. Like other subjects I shoot multiple times, however, I have never taken the same one twice. I like what our flag stands for and I am always proud when I see it flapping in the breeze.

The four photos here have been taken recently. 

• The top photo was taken during a fiery sunset. 

• The second photo is a different photo — it was taken of the flag at sunrise; the early morning sun gave it a whole new look. Usually I shoot the bridge at sunset when the flag is backlit. 

• The third photo is different for me, because the whole photo is pretty gray, except for the colors of the flag. It really stood out on this day.

• I love when cloud formations obscure part of the sunset. I can't resist taking a photo then. Throw in a fully unfurled flag and the picture is perfect!

Geese on the Levee

[Click on the photos to enlarge them for better viewing!]

I ventured over to the levee on the Louisiana side Sunday afternoon and I am so glad I did! I don't usually shoot in the bright afternoon sun, but I may have to change that way of thinking. Driving down the levee, I didn't see anything spectacular until one time I turned around and it was unbelievable how blue the water in the borrow pits was! The sun was hitting it just right and with the wind blowing it seemed like there were scores of different shades of blue dancing across the water. Throw in some geese and you have one happy photographer! I can't say the same for the geese, for they were surely not happy to see me interrupt their afternoon paddle. The closer I got to them, the louder they honked. Then it only took one to start flying to send the whole flock into the air. 

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P.S. The sunrise this morning was spectacular. Saw some of the pre-show on the way into work around 6 (with the crescent moon in the sky among the wispy clouds) and I envy those who got to see it bloom across the sky full of God's Glory! I hope those clouds hang around in the morning, so I can devote my entire Saturday morning shoot to it!

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Friday Bonus: I am meeting so many new people through this blog! From Florida to New York and all areas in between, I have had correspondence with some of the nicest people. One of my biggest supporters is Sheila at http://thequintessentialmagpie.blogspot.com.

Go visit her; it will warm your heart!

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I have been reminded many times this week what a great God we have. Forget diamonds and sapphires. God's jewelry is sown across the lakes and ponds that dot this great region of ours. We're rich!

Sunset on the Mississippi River: Part II

I guess the part I like about taking sunsets at the Mississippi River is that I have never taken the same one twice. They are all different, each having its own identity, it own characteristics. Some days there are no clouds, some days the sky is boiling with them. The water's up, the water's down. Boats come and go.

I wish you could have been with me the day I took the bottom photo. It looked like giant spotlights were situated behind the bridges sending brilliant orange colors into the sky. It was if God was saying, "Ta Da!" And I timed it. That one little scene was gone in less than a minute. I thanked God right then that day for the show He put on, it seemed, just for me. I am glad I can share it with you.

Go watch a sunset today — they are free, yet priceless.

Sunset the Mississippi River: Part I

Know how moths are attracted to the light? They just can't seem to resist its charm. That's me with the Mississippi River. I love watching the sun reflect off the churning water. I am mesmerized each time I watch tows cutting their way underneath the bridges. My wife and family know that if they look up in the sky and see that the sunset is going to be a pretty one — and I am not home yet — then I will usually be perched somewhere on the river to capture God's Glory. God does an exceptionally good job of ending each day with an array of dazzling colors that so many never take time to see. Not me, brother. I'm there if I can.

The pictures you see here were all taken in the last week. They were shot from the new parking garage tower of Ameristar. I appreciate the casino building me a photography stand with seven different levels. It's nice. I love the third picture the best — it seems like the river is fire!

But these pictures, however, can't do the sunsets the justice they deserve. They are just too pretty to be captured adequately by a camera. The colors change so fast, the clouds breeze by so quickly, the sun sets so quickly. But give me an A for trying. I'll show you some more tomorrow.

Expressions: Part II

Here are some additional shots from my time in Cedar Hill Cemetery this past weekend. The top photo is a metal statue of Jesus on the Cross, located in the area of the cemetery where the nuns and priests are buried. 

I took the photo of the hand and believe it belongs in this group of photos because it stopped me in my tracks when I found this particular monument. The symbolism of the hand holding the rose, almost like it is going to drop, is so poetic. It is such a delicate gesture and full of expression to me.

People sometimes are surprised when I tell them I like wandering around old cemeteries. But I connect with the history of the people who are buried there. I consider their lives and the lives of their children and how they may have impacted the community in which they are buried.  I dwell quite a bit on the people who made the actual statues and monuments as well, because some of the monuments  — such as many in Cedar Hill — are so elaborate you know it took quite a bit of time and effort to make them. Devotion to doing the best they could shows all around. I like that. 

Plus, I like the hidden "jewels" I sometimes find. Saturday I ran across a grave that had fallen over. Below the ground line of the tombstone were the words "Erected by his mother." The words would not have been seen when the tombstone was erect, but were laid bare by time. There's a story there, a sad one perhaps, that I will just have to ponder in my heart for a while.