Blogger Block?

I think this must be a record of sorts for me - the longest I've not blogged . . . I really was missing it.  But we've either had extreme heat or thunderstorms, both of which will sometimes cause extreme headaches for me.  It's been a miserable week!

Tomorrow is going to be a fun but challenging day for me.  I am going to be shooting a wedding for one of the aides at Mom's assisted living facility.  I was honored when she asked me, but terrified of the responsibility and pressure I put on myself to do a good job.  Then, I had an absolutely fabulous idea to ask a young photographer to do the wedding with me.  And her name is Joy!  She has been through the local community college's photography program, and has worked with her uncle who is a professional photographer, so she brings the experience in posing and editing (about all I do for editing most days is cropping) that I sorely lack and was most concerned about.  Whew.

Yeah, the bride and groom are getting dirt cheap rates and will get great photos.  We'll get some great experience and a chance to see if this might become something we want to work together.

Tonight we went to the rehearsal, and I got a few pictures.  No, I'm not posting any of people - just  some of the decorations they'd already set up.  The wedding and reception are going to be in the same hall, which will be handy in some ways.

I was on my way back home after the rehearsal when I saw a GREAT opportunity for some more pics that I don't often get a chance at - construction equipment left unattended!!

I want to learn to run these kind of machines.  I also want to drive a Zamboni (I've ridden on one, and that was a blast!).

I must go on record about one of my pet peeves after working six years in Construction Management . . . you do not walk on a cement sidewalk (or swim in a cement pond).  Cement is an ingredient used to make concrete (for those practicing for SAT/ACT type tests, cement is to concrete as flour is to cake).  The finished product that is mixed and poured is concrete.  I've also been told by what I assume must be construction aficionados the even more correct term is concretus, and it is placed, not poured.  Getting off soapbox now . . .

Surely there's a hose around the construction site to clean out the scoop and tires on this machine (above and below).  I'd say they've both seen better days and easier treatment!

Rebar (above and below) . . . and I don't think they carried either group in the drink carrier above! It just kind of made me chuckle to see it there . . .

And of course, since I've been obsessing about clouds lately, I have to throw in some pics of them as well!  They were awfully pretty today.

And the final image that saddens me to see at my high school.  Really?  Police need a spot of their own to park in?  Just how often are they there?

I'm thinking there's no blogger block, even after almost a week off.  More like blogger diarrhea . . . ceremony, construction, clouds, and cops . . . working the alliteration angle!

No, I will not be posting wedding photos tomorrow unless they are artsy type photos - and Sunday I'll be working with the other Joy on selecting and editing photos from the wedding.  I hope to find time both days to get some pics taken.

Seriously??

If y'all thought I enjoyed the demolition of a neighborhood house last night, today's clean up was even better!

I took my time before moseying up the street to see what progress had been made, and most of the demo from the house was already cleaned up by 11:00 a.m.  I didn't spend a lot of time right then (had an appointment at 11:45), but wanted to get some shots in.

The guy who was running the machine was really good and a lot of fun to watch.  

Honestly, I think I could stand up in the mouth of this thing and not touch the top of it (yes, I know I'm short, but it's HUGE).  And this is one of the smaller pieces of equipment for demo work.

The stickler in me wants to ask where the road work ahead is because there was NO roadwork.  It bugs me that they didn't have a sign that indicated what was going on.  Honestly, the only time it was an issue was when one of the big trucks had to back in to be filled (they "only" filled about 8 of them before they tore up the footers).  The street wasn't busy at all, but a couple of cars stopped and people said they were glad it had been torn down.

Couldn't quite tell if this was a fan or motor from inside the house, but it's one or the other!  The operator was pulling out all of the metal so they could get it recycled.

I think most of this stuff came from the shed out back.  In the 45 minutes I was gone, he got the shed completely torn down and a good bit of the contents into one of the trucks.  I can't help but wonder just how a glass jar manages to withstand the demolition process though.

Copper??  I was surprised there was any of it left in the house after they'd said the kitchen was gutted.  There wasn't a whole lot, but it didn't go to the dump, either.

And how does an outlet and wiring survive demolition?

I thought it was kind of funny to see these basketballs . . . but there was another surprise later . . . 

This was the side of one of the "trash" trucks . . . the pattern came from the sun casting a shadow through the step of the cab . . . a very unexpectedly feminine look on a definitely masculine looking vehicle!

The sign's down, but I'm guessing we'll still be seeing it quite often.

When I saw this shot through the viewfinder, my first thought was so extremely bizarre it almost made me laugh out loud.  For whatever reason, my brain flashed to Tienanmen Square when the student had the stand-off with the tank in protest.  Humanizing that bowling ball into staring down the mechanical beast in front of it was pretty much insane.  The next thought was that I was really looking forward to watching the operator pick up the bowling ball in those huge jaws of death.


Never did get to see him pick it up; the driver of the "trash" truck picked it out for his own artistic use (seriously!).  Bummer.  Can't say I blame him though - it was a pretty color . . .

Yup, I was "taken" with the plight of the bowling ball.  I found I could relate to it in so many ways.  If you don't know, round IS a shape, just not the preferred shape for healthy human beings.  Love the blue on the ball, not that it matches my eyes, but I like it anyway!  This poor bowling ball got tossed & moved around by the jaws of death (sorry, but I like that name for it), yet rolled with it, and ended up being rescued for artistic endeavors.

Most of the time I do a decent job of rolling with what's come my way via the Goliaths of the world, but every once in a while, it overwhelms me.  Maybe if I just rolled a little more and had fewer pity parties I'd make it through a bit easier.

THIS is when it started to get FUN.  He started breaking up the footings.  He just got the teeth of those jaws under the bottom edge of the concrete and lifted it.  The concrete broke and got moved into a pile for when the next "trash" truck got back.

Yes, that IS a piece of concrete being lifted up.

Hmmm . . . concrete, PVC pipe, re-bar, tree root, and lots of dirt.  What fun!!

Yes, I was, as my West Virginia kinfolk would say, in hog heaven (maybe not as much as in a bookstore or camera store, but pretty close!).  It's really hard to imagine that in less than 24 hours, there is no sign of a house being on the property.  I don't know if they got the grass planted today (I'll have to check it out tomorrow afternoon), but it has to be a safer lot now.


Here's to a new beginning for the lot.  Hopefully the kids will get to enjoy it, and eventually someone will build on it.  I'm thrilled I had the opportunity to capture new adventures.  Seriously!