Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring

Carly's assignment for the week is Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring...

It's a pretty simple one for this week folks... just grab your camera and say GOODBYE WINTER or HELLO SPRING! Show us what you enjoy the most about either season, or maybe even show us a picture that you feel accuately illustrates the changing seasons.

This pretty much sums it up...

Round Robin Challenge: Up to Five Miles Away

The latest Round Robin Photo Challenge is Up to Five Miles Away...

The idea is to get in your car, or if you prefer a bike or your own two feet, and show us something in any direction you choose, up to 5 miles from your home. For a little added fun, tell us when you sign up for the challenge, in which direction you plan to go. Let's see which direction gets the most attention.

Just a few days before this challenge was posted I had ventured just east of my home to take some photos of the old abandoned rock quarry.  The quarry was in operation when I was a kid and I could occasionally catch a glimpse of the hole they were digging and could see the trucks coming and going.  As the years went by, I realized that this hole was getting mighty deep.  Too deep as it turns out.  Not too long ago they finally dug down to the water table and the hole quickly filled with water, creating a mighty deep lake.

I could always catch glimpses of the quarry from the highway, through the fence and the trees.  Finally, after ignoring a few "no trespassing" signs, I saw the quarry up-close and personal...




Here's a swampy mess that is also on the quarry property...



Here are a couple of older pics of things within five miles of my home.  A birdhouse...



...and a view of Lookout Mountain.

Check out the Round Robin Challenge blog for more information on this challenge and a list of links to the other participants' entries.

Missionary Ridge -- a Picasa Web Album

Missionary Ridge:  A Picasa Web Album

A collection of photographs centered on Missionary Ridge which runs through Chattanooga and into north Georgia.  Missionary Ridge was a Civil War battlefield, the site of the climactic Union victory in the Battles for Chattanooga, and contains many National Park Service reservations surrounded by prime Chattanooga real estate.

Click on the photo below to enter the web album...

Missionary Ridge

Cross-posted at my Civil War blog, Civil War Meanderings

The New York Peace Monument

This year marks the 100th anniversary of a Lookout Mountain landmark, the New York Peace Monument, located at Point Park near Chattanooga. The monument was dedicated on Nov. 15, 1910 to commemorate the Civil War's "Battle Above the Clouds." The real battle took place on the slopes below.

Conciliation was a major theme and the statue on top of the monument is the only one I know of that has a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier shaking hands.




Here's a view of the whole thing.

Several hundred veterans of both armies attended the dedication and the notorious Daniel Sickles was a featured speaker.

Cross-posted at my Civil War blog, Civil War Meanderings

Round Robin Challenge: Look Up/Look Down

The Round Robin Group's latest photo challenge is pretty straightforward: Look Up/Look Down. Apparently, the perspective is up to me...

Look Up



Look Down

Visit the Round Robin blog to participate and to see the entries of the other participants.

Racing Through Turn Three

I attended Sunday's Sprint Cup race, the Kobalt Tools 500, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. I finally managed to go through my photos and add a set of 34 of them to Flickr. Here's a sample...




This was the first NASCAR race I ever saw in person and was my second trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway -- I saw an IROC race there many, many years ago. I had a great time and would recommend attending a race to anyone who is even the slightest bit interested in NASCAR. It's a vastly different experience from watching on TV.

The biggest problem was finding a good place to take photos. My sight lines were obstructed by the catch fence and there was no place to get around it without breaking a few rules and getting thrown out of the joint.

Bloggers' Community Photo Challenge: Trees

"This month's challenge is TREE or TREES, whether it is one unique tree or a small grouping, find an image that includes trees. The tree or trees should be the main subject."