Kasodi

BEST OF 2007

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:17:38 GMT

Though this entry is titled "Best Of 2007" not all the pictures were taken then. When I started out, it was just going to be "Best Of". A mixture of some of the best of my photos from past years. However, when I stated going through pictures from 2007, I realized the entry would be way to large if I didn't put some sort of limits on it.

All of the pictures here, were chosen either because of form, content, or subject matter. Some have been in other entries, like the few from the County Fair. Others have not been seen by anyone but me. I will try to introduce the pictures in groups, by subject, or where they were taken. Interspersed between groups are scenic shot's that I've taken this year. Only the first two were taken before 2007.

#1 I took this picture as a simple picture of my cat Willow, but when I saw it, it was SO much more. The depth of it, with the reflection in the glass impresses me. It's one of my favorite pictures.

#2 This is Guido the one eared hamster. Guido died of old age a couple years ago, but I love the irony of this picture. It kind of puts the world in perspective.

#3 Is a dream catcher I made last year. It's all hand done, from wrapping the hoop with leather, to weaving the web, and decorating it. Though I haven't made any lately, I do enjoy making them.

#4-16 + 19-22 were all taken at the Wayne County Fair 2007

#24-31 are from my friend Jon's farm.

#73-84 were taken on July 4, 2007. My Aunt Sissy, and I took pictures of the seagulls swooping, and diving for the rolls we through out for them. The two of us were side by side taking pictures, and laughing like idiots. We laughed so hard we couldn't stand up. Sissy had never taken fast action shots like that before, and had a hard time following the birds, while looking through the view finder. She got some spectacular shots that day, but I still laugh, thinking about that day. "Where are they? I can't find them?" she'd say. I'd laugh harder, and tell her "They're right there." Truth be told, I'm not sure whether we couldn't stand, for laughing, or because we were dizzy from following the birds through our view finders.

#89-100 were taken at the Agricultural Fair 2007. The horses are all Belgian Draft horses, from Honey Locust Farm. I don't know who owns the mule, and donkey, but I love the picture. It's just perfect with the statue.

# 109-111 were taken at my friend Roger's farm. The animals in # 114-115 belong to Roger's brother-in-law.

#116- 125 are all from my Uncle Dan's farm. When these were taken, he had three dogs, who love to play together. They sound like they are going to kill each other, but they never hurt each other. Makes for some dynamic pictures though. He now has one more.

I hope you have enjoyed this little trip into the past year, and as always, I invite you to leave your comments on this journal. (Note; If you use the "View Larger" option the photo's look better.)

New pictures

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:11:38 GMT

Well it's official. Lazarus attended the second fire call of his life the other day, and when I asked the Assistant Chief if that made him a firefighter, he said it sounded good to him. So, the first 3 pictures are Lazzy the fire cat!

All these pictures were taken this year. There is no particular rhyme, or reason to the way they are displayed. I did try to group pictures of like subjects together though.

# 8 - 19 were taken at my Uncle Dan's farm in January.

# 25 - 41 are my goats, and sheep. The twins were born on the first day of spring, hence the name Spring Thyme. Her Sister Wisdom named herself. I was reading out loud to them, and she responded to the work "wisdom." There mother is White Moon, and there father, Alex. TC is their full brother, born last spring. He takes great pride in caring for his Sisters.

# 42 - 47 + 49 - 51 are all pictures of ice on the trees. It's funny, we have had ice storms in the past, but this one, while the ice was thick, did very little damage.

# 52 - 56 are a tribute to a brother Firefighter. Tom was active in the Ambulance Corp, as well as the Fire Company. He will be greatly missed. The fire truck staid out day and night until the funeral. A light snow fell the first night, and melted to look like tears (54) The melting snow left icicles on the cuff of his turnout gear. (55)

Controlled burn

Sat, 14 Jan 2006 23:44:48 GMT

This entry is very confusing, as I no longer have control of the order they are shown. I tried to arrange it in as coherent an order as passable. Now with pictures of charred ruins, changing to a fully intact house, this entry looses character. Please don't hod it against me. I tried!

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Thankfully, the above mentioned problem has been solved.

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As always, the house in this entry, was donated to the fire company, for the purpose of training. Unlike any other house we have used, this one had burned before. Several years ago, we were called mutual aid to a fire at this house. That is why there were gaping holes in the roof. There were also holes in the walls, but most were made during other training sessions.

Of all the pictures in this entry, the first one, is one of my favorites. It is refreshing, to look upon a peaceful, and pleasant scene, like this. Especially, when you know there is controlled chaos behind you.

#10-11. You may notice, that I have a passion for taking pictures through windows, and doors. It can get me into trouble sometimes, but the results are impressive.

# 13-17. These were taken through the same glass doors, about a minute apart. It just goes to show, that it doesn't take long, for fire to get out of control.

# 26. Even at scheduled fires, things can go wrong. Just before we burned this building, the gas, and electric company came to make sure the utilities were turned off. The problem was, that the gas had been shut off, during the initial fire, and was inadvertently turned on. No problems arose from the mistake, but it could have been very dangerous.

#39-40. I love these two pictures. A father, holds hands with two of his children, while his wife stands nearby.

#41-44. There is always time for fun! A friendly snowball war, is just the thing to break tension. Except if your caught in the cross fire. Besides, the idea was for the house to burn to the ground.

There are three fire companies in this town, and we work together often, whether on calls, or training. We also work with the ambulance too. It is not a part of any of the fire companies. The last few pictures show equipment from each of the companies. (I like the yellow ones best, though I am biased.)

Fire Photos

Sun, 16 Jan 2005 04:36:57 GMT

Though we are again able to use the old format, I left this comment, as an explanation.

The new format that AOL has thrust upon us really ruins the character of this entry too. There were reasons I put photos in the order they were, and some make little sense out of sequence. Also, the picture I chose for the last entry of the fire photos, had a savage finality to it. though no human was injured in it's making, it had an almost tragic human element. It's position held great meaning.

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As some of you may know, the fire company is an important part of my life. I grew up going to the fire hall with my Mom, and Dad, who are both fire fighters. I started going to training fires, and taking pictures when I was still in school, and joined the Fire Company, when I graduated.

Most of our training, is in the form of general care, and operation of the equipment we use. Live burns like these, are rare, and are most times shared with more than one company. (Usually "Mutual Aid" Companies. Companies that would be called in to help at a real fire.) All of the buildings we use, are donated, and are sometimes used for several training cessions, before we burn them. We often set, and extinguish small fires first. Some places, we use for search training, and practice methods for getting a fallen firefighter out of the building. (#35-38, The Ambulance Corp. trains with us, and practices removing air packs, and equipment from a volunteer victim.)

Pictures 26-30 show, we do have a lot of fun sometimes. These pictures were taken at the annual "Parade of Lights" in a nearby town. All the fire companies, Ambulance Corps, and the like, festoon there equipment with holiday lights, and have a winter parade. Some companies plan there decorations all year, Just for this parade. There is standing room only, all along the parade route. Afterwards, awards are given, and hot cider, and chili are available. It was a great time!!

I have been a fire fighter, for almost 9 years now. In those years, I have had a lot of fun, and plenty of grief too. I have been to a lot of calls in those years, including a fatal car accident, and several building fires. (The neighbors house among them.) I am glad to say, calls like these, are in the minority. I would not however trade this life, or the growing I have done in the fire service, for anything.

The Fire Company is a real family, in more ways than one. While I consider most of these people my brothers, sisters, and in some cases, Uncles. There are quite a few sir names repeated in our rolls. We (our fire fighters) are also close to those in the neighboring companies. They are family as well. Picture # 4, is a tribute to a fallen brother, in our Mutual Aid company.

I would like to invite anyone who looks through this journal, to leave there thoughts, and comments, about the entries I have made. I enjoy hearing from you.

Newest pictures

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 04:11:48 GMT

:~))

The New Lambs

Mon, 07 Mar 2005 01:38:36 GMT

Pictures 1-4 were taken when the lambs were about 3 hours old. They each weighed under 5 pounds. They were born February 24. (There was a full moon that night.)

Pictures 5-10 They were 2 days old. By the time these were taken, Matty could stand up on her own. Until that time, she could not stand, even when set on her feet. She hasn't slowed down much sense.

Pictures 11-16 were taken when the lambs were a week old. Matty, is wearing splints on her front legs in these. Her front legs were very weak, and would sake, when she stood for any length of time. at one week old, Marla was 7 1/2 pounds. Matty was 9 pounds.

Both lambs are doing fine now! they run, and race together. The splints are no longer needed.

Spring Pix!

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 23:47:36 GMT

Titan & Tullulah

Thu, 08 Jan 2004 00:00:05 GMT

1 & 2 Titan. 3-5 Tullulah. Titan is Tullulah's lamb, born in April 2003. He is a cross between a Romanov, and a Katahdin. Both breeds are hair sheep, and do not require shearing. They shed there hair in the spring, much to the delight of the local birds. Tullulah is a Romanov sheep, who stole my heart. Titan is our flock's ram. He looks like his Daddy.

Friends That I Have Lost

Sat, 10 Jan 2004 05:26:15 GMT

1-3 Cassie. Cassie was a rescue sheep, that graced my life. She was with us for only two years, but I will love her forever. All she wanted in life was to be loved 4. Chief was a challenge for me. He had never been handled before I got him. I couldn't even touch him. 5 Ruth & Dodge, the first sheep I had. An interesting pair. 6 Larry, named for a fellow firefighter. When I got Larry, he hadn't had any shots, and was sick. At least he had a good life, for the month he was here. 7. Two angels who died way before their time. 8-9 Trisha Poe, A birthday present to my Mom. A real good friend of mine. 10-11Whisper. Her full name was "Whisper on the Water". Also the title of one of my favorite books. Always ready to accept a hug. The first one to the gate in the morning, and never left my side. This short entry, can not do justice to there memories. They all touched my heart. I would do anything, to hold them just once more. There are many more babies I have lost, and there will be more, I know. They all mean something to me, even though there pictures may not be here.

The Cats That Share My Life

Sat, 10 Jan 2004 16:49:33 GMT

1-7 Harry, aka. Harry Monster, "Harold" When he is bad. Harry is a "cool" cat. We got him from a friend, as a kitten. He was supposed to go to someone else, but they didn't want him. Harry grew up with me, and is my hairy little Son. When I was in school, Harry would lay across the back of my neck, and ""HELP" me with my homework. He would always reach down, and steal my pen.

8-11 Mikey Joe Bob Bubba. Most of the time, he is just Mikey, or Mike. He is a rather large cat, with a large purr to go with it. He is a very talkative cat, though not very loud. 12. My two boys get along well, though they don't like to share there mother. 13. Cricket. Cricket always sat in the window like this, waiting for me to come home from school. I miss him. 14. Mikey was actually little once:~)