July 2011 – Page 3 – tim mcmurdo

ted’s dry run

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

When I woke up this morning, the weather was nasty. The temperature had already reached 80 degrees and the rain had filled the air with with moisture. I took a deep breath and it felt like I was drinking water from a glass. After letting the cat out, I headed to the kitchen to make some coffee and put together some toast. This was part of my morning routine and my body could go through the motion on its own, while my brain wandered. The hot and humid weather reminded me of another time right after I got home from the war.

The summer of 1947 was a terribly hot summer and everyday that it would rain, the humidity would come out fighting just like it had this morning. If I remember right, it was a Saturday morning and I had nothing planned. I decided to head on down to the pond with my fishing pole. I didn't really care if I caught anything, the idea was to sit on the edge of the pond and dangle my feet in the cool water while I enjoyed the shade. So, I got my pole and tackle together and headed for the watering spot out near Stanton's Farm Road.

It wasn't long before I was settled in, watching my bobber floating on the still water. Soon, I caught sight of a turtle on a log. From where I sat, he looked like he was stuck in mid air. His feet were flying but he wasn't going anywhere. He looked likable enough, so I offered to lend him a hand.

"Mr. Turtle, can I offer you a hand into the water?" To my complete surprise, the turtle answered me back!

"No thank you" said the turtle, "that will not be necessary." Holy cow, a talking turtle!

"You can talk!"

"Yes, I can speak he said" between gulps of air. All the time, his legs never stopped. They just spun and spun like a whirligig. "It is a curse."

"A curse? It seems like a blessing to me, Mr. Turtle." By now, I had put my pole down, I wasn't interested in fishing anymore. "Why would it be a curse?"

"Well, now that I can speak, my big mouth keeps getting me into the worst of trouble. I just bet the catfish that I could cross the pond to the other side."

That threw me for a loop. Of course he could cross the pond, he was a turtle after all.

"Mr. turtle, that seems like a sucker's bet to me, of course you can cross the pond, you are a turtle."

"Oh no" said the turtle. "And call me Ted"

"Ok Ted, it is. And what seems to be the problem, you will surely win that bet."

Ted just turned his head and looked at me with a worried expression. "I can't swim and the catfish knows it!" His legs were still turning as fast as he could make them go. "But I got a plan!"

With that, Ted rocked his way off the log and into the water. I gasped, he could drown! But it wasn't to be. Ted's legs were spinning so fast that as he hit the glassy water, he shot across the surface like a skipping stone. Ted skipped eleventy seven times, enough to land him into the cat tails on the opposite side of the pond. I had never seen anything like it in my entire life!

I stood up to see if I could see Ted on the other side but, I couldn't spot anything other than some movement in the tall plants. I was a little disappointed. I wanted to congratulate Ted on winning the bet.

Unfortunately, I never saw Ted again. I just suppose that is the way it should be. Still, I give a chuckle when I think about Ted flying across the pond. Sometimes, I just bust out laughing to myself. When that happens, my wife looks at me like I have lost my mind. She doesn't know about Ted and his bouncing flight across the pond. She has no idea that what really makes me bust out loud is that, though I never found Ted again, I did see the look on the catfish's face when Ted skipped over his head and won the bet.

meet walter doogan

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Uh oh, after some research, I think that "Walter" is a female stag beetle.

Walter Doogan was a different kind of Beetle to be sure. He liked classical music, knit caps and sandals, while the rest of the bugs his age were listening to rock and roll and dressing like clones of each other. His mother called him eccentric but the rest of the world just called him odd.

His friends liked the way he marched to his own drum and were able to look deeper until they saw the generous and loyal friend that he was. To them, he was brave and unique in his willingness to be his own bug and ignore current trends. While he was being teased by others for not conforming to the current norms, his close knit group of friends admired the audacity of his difference.

Even so, his friends did think his penchant for climbing was a little strange, even for him. Walter would climb anything that was tall and towered into the air. He seemed to see the sky scraping heights as a sort of personal challenge. His conversation would revolve around his latest target for days ahead of a big climb. The building excitement always insured that Walter had an audience to cheer him on. The actual climb seemed to last forever as Walter raised one leg at a time and pulled himself up the vertical surface. moving onward at a slow and deliberate pace.

You have to wonder what drives Walter upwards? What inner fire motivates him in his quest to conquer the heights? We may never know the answer. We can guess that this is yet another part of the beauty that makes Walter different.

dancing in the streets

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Yesterday was the Urbana Street Fair and for the fourth year in a row, my wife and her friends danced on the court house steps. I thought you might want to see some of the fun that you might have missed if you were not there.

In my humble opinion the girls get better and the crowd gets bigger every year. During the festival season, they manage to dance a dozen or so shows. Some events are fairs, some are galleries and some are for charity events. All are fun.

Bonus points for those who can figure out which of the camera shy girls is mine.

the threshing meal

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Earlier this week, I promised to share some images of the threshing meal at Carriage Hill Farm. Traditionally, the hosting farm would be responsible for preparing and serving a midday meal for the threshing workers that were working hard in the fields. The ladies of the farm would begin preparing the meal days in advance and worked hard to impress their guests.

Fifteen minutes before the meal was to be served, the bell was rung to give the men time to come in and wash up before they ate.

The first order of business was to get something to drink. They had plenty to choose from:

Ice Water

Lemonade

Raspberry Shrub

Iced Tea

Coffee

After grabbing a glass of their chosen beverage, the workers migrated to the table and found a seat.

What was served at this threshing meal?

Fried Chicken

Green Beans with Smoked Bacon

Coleslaw

Bread

Cucumbers and Onions in Vinegar Water

Apple Pie

Berry Cobbler with Whipped Cream

Watermelon

Not a bad meal at all. The men were served under the giant catawba tree in the back yard. With the good food and shade combination, they got to relax, cool down and recharge before they went back to work.

While the field workers filled up, the farm staff waited patiently for their turn at the dinner tables. These are the folks that had prepared and served the huge meal to the hands.

my morning walk

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

I have a friend named Deb that takes regular morning walks with her dog, Ash. Sometimes she shares a bird sighting, a favorite bloom or some kind of wildlife story. While I was walking by the lake and meadow this morning, I thought that this was a Deb kind of morning. The sunrise was spectacular and I hope this panoramic image gives you some sense of the color in the clouds as the sun rose.

This gorgeous mystery bird greeted me with it's call. I love the vivid yellow and red on the tips of its tail and wings. If you know what kind of bird this is, let me know. (I have been informed by some very kind and reliable sources that our mystery bird is a Cedar Waxwing).

I noticed this bird house overstuffed with large feathers. Did some kind of over achieving bird try to stuff her nest with big feathers? Was this some sign of domestic dispute? Surely these feathers must be large for the bird that fits inside such a small house? Usually I see small swallows living in these homes.

My last bit of interest was being scared silly by a huge deer as it leaped out of the trees and crossed my path, white tail flashing. I was so surprised, that I didn't have any sense to bring my camera up and take a photo. Next time I will try to be a little more prepared.

And that my friends, was my morning walk.

event horizon

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Event Horizon, June 2011

This is one of those images that surprised me when I saw it through my lens. My original idea when taking this photo was to see what the underside of Queen Anne's Lace looked like. I got my trusty long lens (thank you again Uncle Eddy) out of the kit bag and laid on the ground. What I found was that the edge of the flower blooms was really interesting and the underside wasn't nearly as impressive as I had imagined. So, I took the shot of both just in case, but took a few extra shots of the edge of the flower to be sure that I got it right.

Back at my desk, I performed some basic tone and contrast adjustments and converted the image to black and white in Aperture. I then cropped to 1×3 (one of my favorite crops) and called the image finished.

Exposure	0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	280 mm
ISO Speed	200

Here is a picture of the entire bloom, just in case you forgot what Queen Anne's Lace looked like.

Have a great day folks.

raspberry shrub

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Have you ever had a glass of raspberry shrub? Blackberry or strawberry shrub? Any kind of shrub? If you are like me, you have only thought of shrubs as plants someplace between grass and trees. In reality, at the turn of the last century, shrubs were as tied with lemonade as the most popular drinks.

Here is how you make a shrub:

1. Cover four quarts of raspberries with white vinegar and let stand for two to three days.

2. Drain the vinegar, pressing all of the juice from the berries as you do so.

3. Add one pound of sugar to each quart of the drained liquid.

4. Boil for ten minutes and then bottle.

The result is a concentrate that is added to ice water at a ratio of one cup of concentrate to one quart of water.

Vinegar? How does a drink with vinegar go down? Surprisingly well. After a couple swallows, you have forgotten the vinegar entirely. I thought it was really refreshing though, I think I would cut back a little on the concentrate when I make it.

During their day, shrub's were commonly given to farm hands working in the field to refresh them. Think of a shrub as the Gatorade of its day.

the summer threshing

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Sunday was the annual summer threshing day at Carriage Hill Farm. If you have never seen wheat being threshed with a steam engine, you have really missed an impressive event. I've created a short video so that you can see and hear the process. Basically, a steam engine is used to drive a thresher via a long belt. Workers load dried wheat into the thresher where the wheat kernels are separated from the stalk. The kernels are drop into a bin that is emptied into a wagon while a conveyor piles the wheat stalks beyond the far end of the thresher where it is collected to be used as fodder for the farm animals.

Carriage hill uses a 6 horse power wood fired engine to power the thresher. A dedicated team of approximately 12 volunteers operate the engine and thresher, assisted by the farmer and his assistant.

The crew started in the morning and worked hard until lunch time. For lunch, the rest of the farm staff had prepared a traditional summer threshing meal for them to enjoy. They needed the energy because after less than an hour of rest, they were at it again until evening came.

I'll show you the threshing meal in another post. Meanwhile, enjoy the video and marvel at the hard work and ingenuity our ancestors employed to feed a growing nation.

i win! i win!

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Remember this still life image from last week? Looks like the hard work paid off. The photo was honored as the photo of the week at Light Stalking. If you have not checked out their inspiring and helpful photo website, you should.

You can see the image and it's results here: Light Stalking.

This is my second image to be picked as an image of the week. My foggy morning image, "Reflected Expanse", was given the same honor last month. In just a year, my photography has come a long way and I can chalk it up to the following:

1. I shoot a lot. Almost everyday.

2. My camera goes with me everywhere and I rarely miss an image because I left my camera at home.

3. I have become active on flikr, Light Stalking and other photography communities.

4. I study. Through the library, online, and by asking friends, I have been actively investigating new techniques and learning the basics.

5. I ask for honest feed back and criticism. It is always nice to get positive comments but the critical guidance is what has allowed me to grow as a photographer.

6. I follow my curiosity. When I wonder how somebody got a certain shot, I go and find out.

Some of the photographers that have been inspirational and helpful to me with their generous time and advice include: Renee Stewart Jackson, Tom Dinning, Rachel Davies, Kathleen Connolly, and many many others. It is almost unfair to make a list because I have so many influencers, teachers, and supporters.

I may not be as good as I would like to be … yet. However, I am working hard and surrounding myself with selfless friends that are willing and able to help me get there.

friendly surprise

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

I started visiting Carriage Hill Farm last October and by the beginning of the last year, I thought I had pretty much gotten to know the farm inside and out. To my surprise, I didn't really know the farm at all. As Spring and Summer arrived, I learned that there was so much more to discover. New activities, new events and new people to get to know.

Today, I met two new (to me) volunteers at the farm. A mother and daughter team that had a very loving and tender relationship. I really enjoyed seeing them together and wondered a little about the bond between mothers and daughters.

I have often referred to the farm as a living still life. The key word here is living. The place is full of life. Sometimes fast paced action and sometimes like this pair, tender and thoughtful.

Month: July 2011