Weekly Photo Challenge: Surprise

December 23, 2012 / Janna Hill / 9 Comments

Surprise surprise surprise! The infamous words of Gomer Pyle echo in my memory but to my own surprise they don’t annoy me like they did some forty years ago. That is probably because I have matured just a little. I am no longer burdened with the need to be cool and now find myself longing for a simpler time, an era where trust and naivety could walk freely among crowds, if there ever was such a time. Maybe there was and it rests on a reel of black and white film stored somewhere in sunny California?

Or in a box of old photographs in Texas…

Or under a live oak tree with a tire swing…

Or maybe, just maybe in a little dog’s dreams of Christmas.

I wouldn’t be surprised if all of the above are true.

Amazed at old photographs. Even when you’ve seen them a hundred times.

Little girls are always full of surprises.

I’m surprised she let me put the cap on her head.

This weeks photo challenge is (you guessed it) SURPRISE.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far

September 7, 2012September 8, 2012 / Janna Hill / 7 Comments

I took this photo last week while at Magnolia beach in Indianola Texas. The birdwalk here appears to be abandoned with vegetation creeping up the planks. That doesn’t necessarily mean it has been, vegetation takes over in a hurry in this area. In case you’ve never heard of a birdwalk it’s like a boardwalk designated to bird watching. I enjoy watching birds but I barely know a laughing gull from a brown pelican.

Anyway this is my submission for the weekly photo challenge Near and Far.

Abandoned Birdwalk

Weekly Photo Challange: Urban

August 25, 2012 / Janna Hill / Leave a comment

Talking Trash

Busy Brick Streets

Old Men & Overalls

Breaking for a Burger

These urban snapshots are from the 2011 Bluebird Festival which is an annual celebration held in Wills Point Texas. It is a pretty big event for a population of less than four thousand. Every April for nearly twenty years now the town center is corridored off so that visitors can mosey along the red brick streets without having to watch for cars, unless they’re looking for the antique car show. Colorful tents line the boulevards with out of town/out of state vendors displaying their wares. Music bounces through the air mixing with the carnival screams one block over and every so often the church bell across town chimes in. The chattering ranges from friendly banter to crops and gossip until a hideous horn warns the crowd to hold that thought. For a moment all that can be heard is a rhythmic clanking of metal against metal. Soon the sound fades and the merriment resumes. The sweet smell of cotton candy sends small eyes searching for its origin while others seek out the delicious fatty flavors of what is considered real food. It’s a people watcher’s paradise and a lemonade stand is never far away.

Wills Point is the official Bluebird Capital of Texas and the proclaimed Gateway to Lake Tawakoni. It is located in Van Zandt County which is the bona fide Gateway to East Texas. We like gateways and wear those titles proudly.

Autumns Approach

August 23, 2012March 15, 2013 / Janna Hill / Leave a comment

In this part of Texas we are enjoying some milder temperatures. The mornings are in the mid 60’s range and a dewy haze fills the forest that is my front yard. I spotted a few green acorns this evening and understood Autumn is approaching. Panic was my first reaction for there are many goals unmet. But if just for today I shall sigh and think on the beauty of the first green acorn I’ve found, remembering they are the start of a mighty oak.