A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
One of my goals for 2022 was to paddle at least 10 new venues. Between weather, family obligations, and other conflicts I just hadn’t been able to to get started on that goal. Lake Monticello is fairly close and I’ve explored the general vicinity many times, but I had yet to explore its waters. With … Read More “Paddling Lake Monticello” »
I love ghost towns. I love seeing a place and imagining what must have been there, the lives lived, and activity of commerce that must have taken place. But even living cities have their ghosts. Some of these are obvious – abandoned buildings, forgotten cemeteries, old rail beds, and stairs that seemingly lead nowhere. Some … Read More “The Remnants of the City” »
As mentioned in my last post, I’ve played in a lot of different jam sessions over the past few years, in different genres and different settings. I’ve gotten a feel for what works and what doesn’t. I keep fantasizing about starting my own sessions, but that’s not going to happen. Regardless, I thought it might … Read More “How to Have a Successful Jam Session” »
I’ve been playing in lots of music venues lately. My standard two have been the Pickens Flea Market and Gramling Opry House. I finally got around to visiting the Oolenoy Bluegrass Jam, both on New Year’s Day and on their regular Friday night session. Table Rock has also started back up with their bluegrass sessions. … Read More “Local Music Session Round-Up” »
This past week we received word that Tony Arrington passed away on Sunday. He had been in declining health for the past several years and dementia had robbed him of his once great intellect. Tony was 82. Tony was one of Laura’s colleagues in the Chemistry Department at Furman University. He was also an alumnus … Read More “Remembering Tony” »
I felt like I had been cooped up for far too long. Two weekends in a row I never left the house and I was starting to get cabin fever. I posted the following on Facebook: I think today I’m going to toss a banjo, camera, and metal detector in the car and just see … Read More “W. L. England’s Wholesale Groceries” »
Alan Russell and I usually do a photo trek on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As educators we usually had the day off and it made for a great mid-winter escape. Now that we’re both retired we can go pretty much any day we want, but we still try to stick to our annual tradition. … Read More “Calhoun County MLK Day Ramble” »
In 1985 I had gotten settled into my teaching career and was starting to accrue a bit more money beyond simple survival. I had one small keyboard, a Casio CZ101, but I wanted something with full-sized keys. I made a trip down to a huge music store in Atlanta and purchased a Korg DW-6000. On … Read More “An Old Synth Comes Full Circle” »
Let’s face it. The past two years sucked big time. I didn’t do as much blogging, but how do you summarize life in a pandemic? We coped as best we could, with sickness and death all around us and political instability and division threatening everything else not touched by COVID. Despite this we’ve led a … Read More “Anxiety-Free Goals for 2022” »
I have a love/hate relationship with the song “I’ll Fly Away. I sing it at just about every jam session I attend and, quite frankly, I had gotten a bit tired of it. During the pandemic I sang it at one funeral and heard it at two others. Every time we do it at the … Read More “I’ll Fly Away Redux” »