Iron Rooster

Jim and Carol came down to Springfield so that I could photograph his latest sculpture.

Not the best timing as my main camera is FUBAR at the moment. Fortunately my compact is a very nice camera too.

04 November 2009 | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman

Lunar Corona & Flag over the Brentwood Library, Springfield Missouri

Unknown to me when I took this shot, the camera’s shutter had jammed – fortunately on the left side of the frame. I had to post process the picture to remove its shadow.

I had better (sharper) shots but the shutter was too obvious, and post processing wasn’t really an option.

02 November 2009 | Lunar Corona | Brentwood Library, Springfield Missouri | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman

Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri

We had to ford the creek at the end of the hike. The creek bed was stoney again, so I went ahead and got Ginger’s sandals from the van. Of course that meant I crossed the creek four times, while one couple got a horse ride across.

01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman

Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri

Cutting wood with Tom on Saturday I noticed a state park on our way back. I did some investigating and found we had some details in our hiking guides. Sunday afternoon, waiting for the bus with the Youth Group kids (and Katie) to arrive I was chatting to a friend who had visited the Park the previous week.

It took a bit to persuade Ginger to give up a Sunday afternoon nap for a hike, but I succeeded and off we went.

Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area is 18 miles south of Springfield, so it’s nice and close. Recent rain has washed out the bridges so we had to ford the creek – no problem for me in sandals, but as Ginger had to take her hiking boots off, she had problems in her bare feet.

The best of the fall color is gone and the leaves hid the trail in places the red blazes made it fairly easy to keep on track. There were quite a lot of people on horse back – which was useful to some as one person ferried a couple across the creek.

The hike was a bit long for Lanie, but Ginger and I enjoyed it. we’ll be going back.

01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman

Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri

We should have forded the creek here, where there is a rock creek bed. Instead we opted for a place where the banks weren’t so steep. The stoney creek bed caused Ginger a lot of pain.

Crossing the creek at the end of the hike, I went ahead and got Ginger her sandals from the van.

01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman

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Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri

It is surprising how quickly the trees have shed their leaves. this time last week the trees were full of leaves.

01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman

Glade Top Trail

I pulled off of the trail to take a couple of pictures, a few minutes later the White truck arrived. This is one of my favorite pictures from the afternoon.

24 October 2009 | Glade Top Trail | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman

Glade Top Trail

24 October 2009 | Glade Top Trail | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman

High School concert

Tonight we watched Katie take part in her first High School orchestra concert. It was very impressive, and the children are to be commended on their achievements.

22 October 2009 | Springfield Missouri | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman

Breakfast Flickr meet at Aunt Martha’s

Jim detoured down to Springfield to say hello on his way home from a wedding shoot. We left the girls to do their choir duty and set Jim up for the drive home with a hearty Ozark breakfast at Aunt Martha’s. Our plan (successfully executed) was to go back and surprise Lanie after Church.

I’ve known Jim via Flickr and Facebook for over two and a half years. It is great to be able meet the people I’ve be-friended online in real life.

18 October 2009 | Aunt Martha’s Pancake House, Springfield Missouri | Map | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman