A Word A Week Photograph Challenge – Water

The water in this fountain at the Spanish Governor’s Palace in San Antonio, Texas, has such an abstract look because of the reflections and fluidity in the water.

To see other interpretations of water, check out Sue’s blog here.

Signs of Life

What Is It?!? Week 17/52

Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. – Henry David Thoreau

Oh, how I wish I had more time to go a-fishing. Don’t we all? Well, a day late, but here nonetheless, your 17th weekly “what is it?!?” mystery picture is finally ready for you to guess. What do you think it is? Can you tell?

What Is It?!?

What Was That?!!? (Last Week’s Picture) – Week 16/52

Fabio started the guessing game, “Schelley, let me try this one. It seems that you finally have heard our cries and put up something easier this week. Is it the back of a chair? If I am wrong, it will not be a surprise. Please bear with my ignorance…PS: Despite my complaints, frankly, I love this part of your blog show. Bravissimo, Schelley!!!” It almost pained me to say that this isn’t the back of a chair. But I’m so glad you enjoy these little challenges! And then isotel came along and figured it out. “I think it’s a … key?” Ding ding ding! Yep, it’s a key. Great guess! Sébastien even got it right. “This has to be definitely a metallic object..A cog or key?” Correct on two counts: metallic and a key. Double ding ding dings! Sarah said, “Well I never would have guessed it was pollen! I got this one, a key, but not quick enough” Triple ding ding dings!

So I guess that was an easy one, eh? Yes, what you saw was a key. A key that I found cleaning a drawer. A key to what? I have no idea. So even though the challenge was easy, the key truly is a “mystery’ subject! 😀

Macro Monday | 4-28-14

To see other Macro Monday entries, click here.

Winter Transition to Spring

Cloudy, dreary skies of winter welcome the crisp, blue green days ahead. Blossoms on a tree, little sparks of life, transition from winter to spring. (Two images)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Letters

Letters, letters, letters. They are all around. In this image, I share my literal interpretation of “letters,” an old fashioned post office receptacle in Disney World. This represents that old (outdated?) way of communicating, actually writing something, putting it in an envelope, and mailing it. The art of letter writing is sadly disappearing in today’s society. I’m guilty. It’s just too easy to send an email, right?

To see other interpretations of Letters, check out the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge here.

The Colors of Spring

Flower Turned Abstract

Converting this image to black and white totally changed this flower; it suddenly took on an abstract look.

Wordless Wednesday | 4-23-14

The Legend of the Cherokee Rose

I am proud to say that although only a small percentage, my bloodline includes the Cherokee tribe. Through the United States Censuses, I’ve been able to track my ancestors back to Illinois, Missouri, and Georgia, before being forced to Oklahoma. Recently, my 11-year old son completed a history project and paper about Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act and how the Cherokee nation was forced to relinquish its lands east of the Mississippi River and migrate to present-day Oklahoma. This resulted in the “Trail of Tears,” because of its devastating and deathly results. Over 4,000 of the 15,000 Cherokee people marched from their homes died from hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced march, basically with nothing on their backs.

This background all leads to the legend of the Cherokee Rose, which I now have growing along the fence in my back yard. See below for the story of the Cherokee Rose.

In 1838, when the Cherokee began their march on the Trail of Tears, the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and crying so much, that they were unable to help their children survive the devastating journey. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother’s spirits to give them strength. The next day a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mother’s tears fell. The rose’s petals are white, symbolic for their tears, a gold stamen center represents the gold taken from Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem represent the seven Cherokee clans. The wild Cherokee Rose grows along the route of the Trail of Tears into eastern Oklahoma today.