Fluorescent Flower

I love my Microsoft Digital imager, I took an old picture and made it more colorful, added some fluorescence to it.

Froggie

I used this one in my fairy tale story about Autumn, but thought I'd add it since I was on F.  When I was little I wasn't crazy about Frogs, I loved to watch them grow as tadpoles to frogs, but my sister Dena loved them.  She would pick them up and play with them.  Autumn loves them too.  But she's not to crazy about picking them up.

Flower of Forgiveness

Well it's Easter Sunday, what a special day.  The day He rose again, after he had died for our sins.  I'm sitting here listening to Celtic Woman, its got some beautiful songs on it, some of the most beautiful I've ever heard almost angelic.  This flower is my flower of forgiveness.  I took it back when I was first learning to forgive.  Myself and others.  Today this flower means some of the same things it meant for me as it did a long time ago.  I've been reading about second chances.  I've had my share of those.  But I have been forgiven. Through His love and mercy!

Farm from the sky

I've spoken of this farm where I had all these adventures as a child.  Where every Friday and Saturday I would spend with Mema and Papa, where now my dad lives and Dena lives in the "Little House on the Pond" right beside it.  Well this is a picture I took of a picture that hangs in Mema and Papa's.  I mean Daddy's.  It was so fun growing up here many adventures.  That's the pond I took Autumn out in a couple weeks ago.  There are some beautiful sunsets overlooking the pond.  I miss my Friday and Saturdays out there.  We used to joke about making a commune out there.  This picture is kind of funny because you can see my reflection of me taking the picture of the picture.  

Elephant

I took this in New York at the American Museum of Science and History, I've got plenty of pictures of real elephants, but for some reason I love this one cause it looks like I'm right there next to it.   Plus I lost most of my pictures I took of elephants from the Jacksonville Zoo when I lost all my pictures on my old computer.  Had to throw an elephant in here, E will always stand for elephant for me.

Eloise Eula (Joiner) Veal and my sister

Well I'm back from Mema's twin sister's funeral.  Eloise Eula and Louise Beaula, I know they are together now, with their husbands, and lots of others they havn't seen, one person being the mother they don't remember since she died when they were only three.  This is one of my favorite pictures I took of Mema, cause I got her smiling, which was rare, she didn't like smiling for pictures.  But crazy me got a smile.  It's really good of Sherry too. 

Deer

I took this picture also in Cades cove, it was a diffrent deer than the one in the graveyard, I kept seeing something on the side of the car in the woods walking around, so I got out and started following the sounds until I came up to her.  What a beauty she was.  If anyone ever has a chance to go here, do it.  It's a one of a kind spot, that will change you somehow.

Delilah Paulk Harper(my great grandmother)

Something about that old church reminded me of my great grandmother Harper.  I never knew her, but from what I heard she was good woman.  I've heard stories of her washing clothes on a rock in the river, making homemade soap (lye)  the best teacakes around.  I'll have to get the story again, but I think my mom says she was the area midwife, and she made with herbs medicine for the sick, and ailing for all the children and tennant farmers that lived on their plantation.    I'll write more about her later, because all that comes to mind is her father died on a train.  I have most of these old stories written down.  I know she died of cancer and was bedridden for a long time, but on the day she died, she jumped from her bed, and began speaking in tongues, and then died.  I wonder if the beautiful blue eyes came from her, because in all the paintings of her, they always made her eyes very blue, and my Pepa her son, had those blue eyes like Autumn.

Daisy

I put a picture of Crickett under the C's well had to put Daisy under the D's.  These were the two dogs David and I had years ago.  Daisy is still alive and well and living up in Atlanta with David. she loved David, she would sleep under David, and Crickett would sleep under me.  Seems like a lifetime ago.  I love this picture I took of her, she was so tiny, but actually looked quite large in this picture.  She was quite a sweetie, loved attention, and loved to pester Crickett, Crickett was the queen, and Daisy was the baby.  Hope she's doing good!

Deer in the graveyard behind the Church

Cades Cove was beautiful, this old church was wonderful, I went inside and imagined the voices of the past, sermons and old time hymns.  Then I walked out to look at the graveyard and this deer just walked up, so I took some pictures of him/her, not sure.  But I followed it all around the graveyard, didn't seem the bit scared of me either.  Wonder if the wildlife  has always been that way there.  Just think that deer was feeding in the graveyard, finding life among the departed.  I was finding life at that time too, still am.  Funny though I never thought of it until now, I took this picture years ago.

Dehydrated Derek

Yes, after running the 15K I was a bit dehydrated, and it seemed to take me an hour to find water.  These were my last few steps before hitting the finish line.  Then Mike got these of me after I finished.  The one on the bottom was me when I saw him. I really had a wonderful time, the day was perfect, the weather beautiful, I was 4 minutes slower than last year.  But oh well I had fun and enjoyed it.  The course is unreal.  The last bridge the Hart Bridge all I can remember saying is "It's all for you Jesus", help me make it Jesus".   I did.  I'm still recovering, my legs are sore and but I'm feeling great.  You can check out more about the gate river run on http://www.1stplacesports.com/rr05res.htm  Here's my cheering section, my Mike and my good friends Randy and James.

Crickett

I've had many dogs over my 37 years, and loved many.  Crickett was a special dog.  I remember the first day David brought her home.  She was so sweet.  She loved me so much too.  I think she knew how much I loved her too.  She would sleep right up beside me every night like a little baby.  I think out of all the dogs I've ever had she probably loved me the most.  One day I think she will be waiting for me if there is a doggie Heaven!  I do believe in Doggie Heaven! 

Cousin Christy

Christy is another cousin we grew up with, Sherry and her were the same age and she and her brother Wink were a regular part of the family, we actually grew up together, they lived two houses down from us growing up.  Couldn't leave the C's out without her.  She probably took more torture from me than anyone, I'm not sure why I was so mean to her when she was little, I used to hold her nose when she was little.  I don't think I did it too many times, cause most of the time I was a good kid.  Now Sherry and her would get in some good ones, Christy has some fingernails and she scratched Sherry up pretty good.  I'm sure Sherry was no angel either.  But all in all they loved each other.  They are still best of friends today, and even work together.  Taylor married a good man Bobby, and they have a beautiful little girl named Taylor Grace.  Some of my favorite memories are spending time at her grandmother's, she called her Gain, I loved all the old pictures she had and the stories she would tell me about her and my Papa, it's time I took a visit to see her.  I don't even know if she knows how much I've always loved her.  Aunt Evelyn or Gain wasn't always kissy, she was a very independent woman.  Still is!  Anyway I love her and miss her.  Not to mention Christy's mom Marie.  There's never enough time when I go home to see everyone.  I'll have to post a picture of Marie and Taylor Grace soon.   Love you Christy!  There are many fun memories of our adventures, the time Sherry and her lost the ring in the deep ditch, the times they took my car and it ended up in some ditch somewhere and they would call me to come get them.  But one of my favorite memories was when she got married, she was so beautiful and so happy. 

Our Cousin Coley and Caia

When I was little I always looked forward to seeing my cousin Caia, my dad's sister's daughter.  She always made me feel special.  I remember how she would draw stories on poster board and we would go into the closet with a big flashlight and she would tell me a story.  She had a sweet loving way about her, I bet she's a great mother.  I see so much happiness in her eyes, just like I've always seen in her mother's.  One of my favorite memories of a child about her, well there was two, one was during the sweet potato parade, she was a lead majorette, and when she saw me in the audience she ran over and gave me a big kiss.  The second was every time she saw a turtle she made sure she would turn it to point in the direction of the closest watersource, which was one of our ponds.

Cades Cove Log Cabins

I've always wanted to travel back in time, well my trip to Cades Cove, up in Tennessee, brought me back to the way they lived.  I still would like to be a stranger showing up in these beautiful area, I know it was hard work. but something made me feel like I belonged there or had been there before.  Deer would just walk right up to you, I saw one in the graveyard, I have a picture somewhere of it, and this one just came right up to me.  It was a magical place.. 

Chicken

When I see a chicken, the first thing I think of is my Nana, she loved them, she had a big chicken coop that she built herself. She never had to go to the store for eggs.  I liked the chickens too.  I liked collecting the eggs for Nana, putting them in my shirt.  Those chicken coops sure did smell though.  I took this picture last week at the petting zoo in Green Cove Springs.

Cathedral

I took a lot of pictures of Cathedral's when I was in Innbrook, this one was one of my favorites.  I'm not sure why, I wish I'd written down the names of all of them.  I remember this one was in the middle of the square, I need to do a yahoo search of all the cathedrals in Innbrook, to see if I could find them.

Christ on Cross

When I was in Innsbrook, Austria, I took a day for myself to just walk around the city in the Febuary cold, and I mean cold, it was the coldest weather I've ever been in.  So much beautiful snow, not what I was used too.  But it was a beautiful day, no clouds in the sky.  So I walked and every time I would see a church I would walk in.  The churches were the oldest standing churches, some built in the 11th century.  I think they were called cathedrals.   I wish I'd written everything down back then, but I didn't.  But I do remember the feeling I had when I walked in this one.  As soon as I walked in the cold disappeared and I felt a warmness and had to take off one of my layers, then glowing and pulling me close was this Jesus on the cross.  I don't think the picture really captured my feeling in my heart.  But it was a moment.  It was one of the highlights of my day.

Cow baby

Growing up everyone always asked about my last name.  It's Veal.  How could anyone eat something so cute.  The turkey, I could eat.  We grew up around cows and pigs, and chickens.   The flies always drove them crazy.

Beauty in Blue

Well the last picture was a Beast, so thought I'd throw in a Beauty, this is my sister Dena, I took this on a trip, Sherry, Mark, Dena, and I took years ago.  I changed it to black and white and left the water behind her blue, and changed the colors scheme.

Bull

This beautiful creature, lol, was at the Highland games,  makes me think about all the Bulls my Papa had, boy was I scared of them.  They would chase you, and we'd jump the fence to get away.

Beach Boy

This is my friend Amy's little boy Kendall, we took him out on the beach right around sunrise to get a few shots.  I thought this one was cute.

Butterlady

There has always been something magical about butterflies, havn't seen any in a while but know that time will be coming soon.  This was from one of my earlier journal entries.  Something beautiful about all dainty and delicate she looks.  I could almost picture her as a woman with wings, hmm maybe an idea for a painting.