Wellspring

Wellspring: a noun.
An orginal and bountiful source

Did the tree grow out of a well or was the young tree walled up to keep it from wandering off?

The Loom and Freethinkers

I got to spend some time yesterday in the lovely little hill country town of Comfort, TX.  Just northwest of San Antonio and just off Ih 10, this small community was formed by Freethinkers back in the mid eighteen hundreds.  I found this information about them online.

 

"Freethinkers" Of the Early Texas Hill Country

By Edwin E. Scharf

Between the years 1845 and 1860, a large contingent of German Freethinkers immigrated to the Texas Hill Country. Unlike the thousands of Adelsverein-sponsored German farmers immigrating to the United States and Texas to escape overpopulation and economic problems, the Freethinkers, being ardent advocates of democracy and freedom from religion, were fleeing primarily from political and religious tyranny. They came to the United States seeking freedom from dictatorial monarchies and clerics.

The Freethinkers refused to accept political absolutism and the authority of a church, religion, or its supposedly inspired scripture. They insisted on the freedom to form religious opinions on the basis of intellectual reasoning powers and not on blind, unquestioned faith. Freethinking became fashionable in the German state of Prussia during the reign of Frederick the Great, who ruled from 1740-53, within a period known as the "Age of Reason."

The town now is a lovely mixture of art and culture.  Lovely cafes and restaurants and eclectic shops full of antiques and Texas hill country flair. Where handmade and unique are appreciated and the artist is celebrated. 

A lovely little stone house or maybe a shop on High Street with an apartment above would be a lovely way to spend my days.  I'd have a tin ceiling and lovely old wood floors.  The front door would be a little narrow like they always are and it would open into the store instead of opening out. (I never seem to remember that, no matter howmany of those doors I open) I'd have lots of old wood furniture with the edges worn to rounded silk from years of use.  There would be a shop cat that would be sublimely oblivious of all her admirers.  And all the time in the world to make photographs and knit and create and drink tea with friends and ..... Comfort, you are well named.

Peanut Brittle Tradition

The holiday season is always a time for baking and candy making at my folks house.  This year I got to help Mom make some peanut brittle.  I managed to not burn myself by pouring molten sugar and nuts down my leg and it ended up tasting great as well.  A win, win!

Here's Mom's recipe.

2 cups of raw peanuts, with skins on
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of Karo syrup
1 tsp of baking soda

Before you start cover a cookie sheet with foil and grease it with butter.  You need to do this first so its ready for the molten (straight out of a volcano) sugar and peanuts that will arrive shortly.

Mom uses a well seasoned cast iron skillet and we assume other pans work as well and might even be easier than lifting the heavy skillet, but the danger is part of the fun ; )

You add the peanuts,sugar and syrup in the skillet and heat on medium heat stirring all the time to keep from burning the nuts.  Once it has started to boil, you cook it for 16 minutes.  The sugar and syrup will turn a carmelly brown and you'll smell the peanuts roasting. Keep an eye on it as you stir as you don't want it to get too brown.  Once your timer dings sprinkle the baking soda over it and mix it in.  It will foam up and fear will creep in but you can do it.  You move with your molten hot iron over to the waiting cookie sheet.  engage your arm muscles and pour the screaming hot sugar and peanuts onto the cookie sheet. Find a place to set down the skillet quickly and then spread the brittle out with authority so the peanuts are in one layer.  Once that's done tap the cookie sheet on the counter (have pot holders under it) carefully because its hot.  This will release any air bubbles.  Then you wait.  If the you've cooked it for long enough, if its not too humid, if you didn't cook it too long, if you didn't suffer 3rd degree burns, after its cooled, you'll break it up.

You prepare yourself for the ultimate test.  Pop a golden brown bit of deliciousness into your mouth.  The candy is crunchy, sweet, melt in your mouth goodness and the roasted peanuts add that salty edge.  You allow yourself a small piece.  The pretty pieces will go in gift boxes and bags for friends and family.  The stray bits are gathered up and shared amongst the cooks.

Another holiday season is launched successfully.  Thanks Mom 

Speed of Light

I'm back from a few days filling my eyes and head and heart with new places.  I visited parts of the Hill Country I've never seen before.  I stayed in a little log cabin on a hill without phone service or internet and spent the days running the back roads, looking.  Just looking, to see what I could see. To see what caught my imagination. I found this train car left abandoned in Llano,TX.  It belonged to a tour company at one time that gave scenic train rides.  The company went under and abandoned the train car on a stranded track in the middle of the small town.  It was strickly enter at your own risk and just creepy enough to warrant the climb up into it. The doors were locked at each end of the car to deny entrance.  The light however, flooded the car.  I could hear the racket of the rails and see the back and forth shifting of the riders from years before.  How fast might they have traveled then? Hard to tell.  In my imagination they now travel at the speed of light in their abandoned rail car.  They can tour the world, gawping at the sights, just like I do. Windows wide open to the passing world.



Looking for the story

Even his shadow finds his perfection boring.

I'm taking some time this week to go on a "see what I can see mission".  This is my favorite kind of shoot.  Like Forrest and his box of chocolates, "you never know what you're gonna git".  I'll hit the road with an open mind and heart and see what appears.  Like this surprise from a few weeks ago.

Not exactly what you'd expect to see on a river bank in the hill country and all the more thrilling because of that.

So, I'll spend a few nights in a cabin in the hill country.  Shooting dark skies at night and run the roads during the days to see what might pop up.  Aliens? Wildlife? Quirky hill folk?  Anything could happen.

My Dad mentioned something the other day that has stuck with me.  He said I was just like my Grandmother, Mom's Mom.  Always wanting to "go see".  I mentioned it to my sister and she remembers always taking Grandma on rides on Sundays, always going somewhere.  I never got to know my Grandmother as she passed when I was very little but this is a lovely way to feel the connection despite that.   I'll think of it as my "bear that went over the mountain, gene".  Apparently I come by it naturally.

I'll be sure and share the best finds with you all.  Until then, keep your eyes open.  There are stories happening all around you.

"my attention is upon it"

I was just reading through the latest Studios magazine, drooling over other folks creative spaces, and ran across a quote. Karen Eberle from Orcas Island,WA described how she starts her work process and she says "I enter the studio, turn on the lights, and walk toward the CD player to make a selection. The music for today is French. I light one of my alter candles and repeat a quote from visionary author Jan Phillips: "I have come to do the work and my attention is upon it." I am at peace.

This really struck a chord with me. As a photographer I'm not always going to a specific place to work. I am in many different physical places but when my "attention is upon it" it is always the same magical place. I tell myself "I am aware of the beauty around me" and I can feel the shift in my perceptions. (this is when I need to be careful around cliffs and when its a good idea to have a buddy along to keep you from walking into traffic) If you happen to be with me you'll hear me mutter about the gorgeous light or urging a cloud along. Catching some fleeting bit of story telling or a memory sparked is what makes the magic happen for me. This is why I get antsy if its been too long since I got out to shoot. I need that perception shift on a regular basis. Thanks to Karen Eberle and Studios magazine for helping me remember that today.

Summer Garden

The heat has arrived for the summer here. That means the last of the tomatoes are coming in from Mom and Dad's garden. If Mom had her way that would have stopped a week ago. Dad however can't stand to let one little bit of one go to waste. I think their opinions are swayed by the division of labor in the canning process. I ended up with one little squash on a plant I grew and that was donated to a neighbor for the kind act of mowing my grass while I was on vacation. So this summers tomatoes will have to be savored in hot sauce,tomato sauce, tomato relish,and just regular old canned tomatoes. Summer saved up in a Ball jar. Ever ready to lend that home grown wonderfulness with the pop of a seal.



Don't look now Mom...Dad's picking figs!