Saturday morning I found myself at a local model railroad show. I grew up around trains and my father
worked for the Frisco Railroad for forty-two years. So, I just had to snap this photo of a Frisco switch engine. I am not a model railroader, but I do love looking at this stuff and there was plenty to look at.
There were several fully operational layouts on display. By the way, this attracted kids from 3-83! Everyone loves model trains. There is something for everyone.
There were all sorts of toys and collectible items. There even items from real trains, like signal lanterns and dishes, playing cards, and matchbooks. I've got some of these items. I'll share them with you a little later.
There were a number of model builders present. Some of these guys are simply phenomenal. I have never seen such detail and realism. I cannot imagine the number of hours that it took to construct this building. These builders have techniques for aging things that must take years to perfect. As an architect, who has built a few models in my day, these are simply amazing. I think I could get into this side of model making.
There were also several different scales represented. I don't know what scale these figures are, but they are much larger than the first building. Still, they are very nicely done.
Somebody's doing a little early Christmas shopping. Like I told ya, everybody loves model trains. They bring out the kid in all of us. Happy Ruby Tuesday everyone.
This past week-end I spent a couple of hours at a local boat/outdoor expo. I found this in the main room of the exposition. You have NO idea how much fun the grand crew and I could have with this.
The only problem with these sunsets is that I rarely have time to truly enjoy them. Well, I rarely TAKE the time to truly enjoy them. I take the time to pull of the road, compose and take a few photos, then continue on my way home. While I spend a little more time than most people spend, viewing the end of the day, I still have other things to do, places to go and people to see. So my time spent capturing these images is limited. Most of the time, the real fun starts when I get home. I can download the files, pull them into PhotoShop Elements and then just play with the images to my heart's content.
This morning I was reading a fellow bloggers entry, regarding the decision to simplify their life. The decision was made to eliminate Twitter, Facebook, and several other social media from their daily routine. In fact, these things have apparently been totally eliminated from their life. Congratulations. I have never signed up for Twitter or FaceBook and this is the only blog that I manage. There are times when I find this to be more than I want to handle. The other blogger made a very valid point. We often spend a great deal of time socializing with people we have never seen or met...and probably never will. In the mean time, we neglect the opportunity to interact with friends and family that are right in front of us. That is sad, to say the least. It is also very true. Countless evenings I have found myself in front of this monitor, interacting with people I don't know, while my wife is watching television in the other room. The problem is, I enjoy the computer. I like surfing the net. I like working in PhotoShop Elements, and I like reading the entries of other bloggers. I just have to limit the time that I spend doing so. After reading the entry this morning, I went back and read the very first entry I ever posted on my first blog. Here it is.
April 15, 2007
Welcome to the first edition of BrainFreeze. I have no idea where I am going with this blog or where it will lead me. I've read a few blogs on various subjects, so I thought I might as well take the plunge and claim my place in cyber-space, capture my 15 minutes of fame, or just provide a place to vent my frustrations about the world around me and dote on the grandkids. I guess it's also a place to chronicle the events in my life that I wish to recall and share with God only knows who will be reading this. That should cause me to think twice about which events I share and just how much information I am willing to share with the entire universe. So much for the introduction, I'll be back when I have something I feel compelled to write about. Have a great day.
Now, nearly four years later, I find myself re-evaluating my purpose in blogging. I know that, at some point, the blog morphed from mostly the written word into a primarily photo blog. People like pictures and I like taking and sharing them. The question now is, "Have I over stayed my welcome?" and "Do I need to move on?" I don't know. Spring is just around the corner. That means baseball and soccer photo sessions, but you've seen that before. I don't know. I guess I'll continue to ponder the future of Driller's Place. Until then, you can expect that I will continue to post when I have something that I feel compelled to share with you...like this week's inspirational song. I have had last week's selection in my head all week long. So, I give you Casting Crowns again. This time, singing "The Voice of Truth." Enjoy.
Lately the skies have been gray, and filled with snow. Just look at the previous post to see what our weather has been doing. It truly makes me appreciate the sunrises and sunsets when they look like the one above. It is also a reminder of the inspirational song for today. One of the most popular contemporary Christian groups around is Casting Crowns. The song, "Glorious Day". Enjoy.
Parts of Northwest Arkansas woke up this morning to what would soon be the biggest snowfall in the history of the state! We got about 12'-15" at our house, but further south, the accumulation topped 24". Needless to say, I stayed home. The snow plow did make it to the street at the top of our hill this morning, so I will probably go to work tomorrow. In the mean time, here's how the day went.
About 8:30 this morning the grill on my back deck looked like this. No smoked pork loin tonight. I wonder how the front yard looks.
Oh, this isn't good. I guess I better get out the snow shovel a little later and start digging out.
Well, I got the driveway clean. I have a neighbor who usually brings his lawn tractor down, with a blade on it, but the snow is just too deep for that. However, he did come down and furnish some manual labor to help me finish. My wife stepped out into the garage to snap this photo of me as I was about half way through with the driveway cleaning.
The birds were certainly happy that I reloaded the feeders. When there is 15" of snow on the ground, they don't mind sharing the food. Today, there was quite a variety of feathered friends. That big rascal on the right is a Pilliated Woodpecker. As you can see, he is huge! He looks like the original prototype for "Woody Woodpecker".
Tomorrow, I'll attempt to make the 14 mile drive to the office. Wish me luck. There should be more photo opportunities then. Stay safe and stay warm, where ever you are.
I try to keep a digital camera with me at all times. You just never know when a sunset like this will present itself. I was driving home from work and looked to the west. I could tell that the sunset was going to be a good one, but I had no place to park. I was about two miles from the Subway shop in Pea Ridge, AR. The great thing about the parking area around this Subway store is that it has an unobstructed view to the west. As the sun set, I took several photos. I will be sharing a few others in the weeks to come. Have a great Skywatch Friday.
I keep a camera with me so that I am ready when a photo opportunity presents itself. Life is like that. There will come a day when Christ will return, and those who are prepared to step out and meet Him will spend an eternity in a place prepared just for them. The Bible tells us that no one knows the day or the time when God will tell His son to step out and gather His children. It could be a Midnight Cry. Are you ready? Ivan Parker and Gold City sings this great Gospel song for us. The video is from around 1987, but the message is timeless. Enjoy.
This fellow showed up at my feeders this past week-end. Normally, that is a sign that spring is just around the corner. However, by tonight this robin, and his friends, will be covered in twelve inches of snow. We are in the midst of the heaviest snow storm to hit Northwest Arkansas in many years. Schools are closed, businesses are closed, and I am sure that many roads will soon be too dangerous to travel. I brought my laptop home, so I will be working from the house, just as soon as I finish this post. Later today, I will probably be reloading the bird feeders and spreading a little deer corn. That will provide some additional photo opportunities. Happy Ruby Tuesday everyone.
See! I told ya it was going to get cold and snowy. Right now there isn't much snow on the ground, but it is cold and there is more on the way. I took these two photos about 7:30 this morning. I'm staying inside and staying warm. You do the same.
8:45 a.m. Update! I didn't even have to put out fresh deer corn! Sorry for the image quality, but I'm shooting through, the window, through the snow and through the forest. Stay tuned for more images tomorrow.
There are three of the animals here. Can you find all of them?
