Smell the Flower

Today we have a couple kids taking the time to smell a flower. Its a special time and a special moment.

Enjoy

Dan

More Summer Outdoor Fun

Backyard camp out with the girls. These photos come from Bremerton, probably just after the war. Looks like a good time, juice in paper cups, hot dogs and roasted marshmallows.

Enjoy

Dan

Eating in the Great Outdoors

Nothing says summer fun, like eating outdoors. Its a guaranteed good time for everyone, especially for the person with the camera. People tend to be themselves when consuming tasty morsels out of doors, so the photographer can easily capture the real person, secondly small picnic tables or patio sets, lead to some very nice product placement. Both can be witnessed in today's set of photos.

Enjoy

Dan

Cicely's Family (for a change)

In honor of Quincy's Grandma's visit later this week, here a few McGuire photos.
Enjoy
Dan

Cicely's Mom with her Grandpa in a German Salt Mine

Cicely's Mom with her father from a couple years earlier.

Finally it's Great Grandma McGuire.

Ellensburg, Circa 1999

I took these photos back in 1999, on a sunny summer's evening. Ellensburg seemed to be a more innocent place back before, Fred Meyer and bikini espresso bars. I miss that place, new Ellensburg seems more suburban, like Monroe, but without a racetrack. I guess the rodeo grounds will do. It's as if, it does want to admit to what it really is, a small college town, in a rural county. Instead, they believe the carpetbaggers and confidence men that have swung into town and told them suburban Monroe or worse yet Yakima is a goal, not a pitfall.
Still there are good people trying to keep Ellensburg unique and real, so I wish them the best of luck. So, next you are heading east on I-90, stop in to Ellensburg, pass on by the bikini espresso and stop into the Tav and have a brew and a Supermother and then check out the Clymer and Gallery One or an Antique store.
Enjoy
Dan

Just a Couple of old Pictures of Kid

This is Rhys Court, he's one of my mom's cousins, which make him, a second cousin once removed or something like that. I'm confused... Anyway Rhys Court lives in Winthrop and apparently likes old cars (thanks Google). So check out the old Chevy truck and Rhys Court.

Enjoy

Dan

Grandma-Great

This is my great grandmother (my mom's, dad's mother), who we called grandma-great. I think it was my older sister who coined the name. Anyway she was a very small lady with a very thick German accent, from time to time she scared me. I remember not understanding a word she said, I was very young back then.
I do recall receiving a rosary from her when I was 4 or 5 years old, but most of all, I can remember going to West Seattle to visit her in the "home," with its' bright hallway, and its' linoleum floors reflecting the light back to the celling. In that hallway, I can still see her and three other very old ladies with walkers comings toward me, oohing and ahhing. It was a frightening moment, I wanted to run from them, but my parents pushed me forward. That may have been the last time I saw her.
In the end, she was a kind women and she smiled whenever she saw us.
This photo is from 1973.
Dan

At the Lake

Here are pictures of folks hanging out at a lake.

Enjoy

Dan

The Truth about Paul Bunyan

Paul Bunyan is he the lovable giant lumberjack, our own early 20th century American creation myth, or is he a giant right-wing, anti-labor, glutenous eco-terrorist, you decide.

Consider Babe the Blue Ox, good natured side-kick, responsible for Lake Michigan, among other places or is Babe the number one cause of methane gas releases in his day. Methane is a greenhouse gas and because nobody thought to rid the world of this giant ox, cuddly Polar Bears and Emperor Penguins will die.

Babe aside, its obvious that a giant guy that could do the work 50 men, could be no friend of the labor movement. Mr. Bunyan's mere presence in the old Northwest kept wages low.

Then consider prior to Paul's invention of logging, the wilderness between Maine and the old Northwest was full of old growth trees and woodland creatures frolicking without a care. Now in a post-Paul Bunyan America, this same land is home to the rust belt, pollution spewing metropolis' and corporate farms.

Now Consider this, is the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in Bemidji, MN cooler than the Paul and Babe of the Tress of Mystery?

Enjoy?

Dan

Bemidji's Paul and Babe

Trees of Mystery's Paul and Babe.

Tennis Anyone?

These are photos of a couple of people playing tennis. It's more blogging excitement! I believe that one is an uncle and the other maybe my grandfather. These photos come from a strip of 50 plus photos, the strip is the size of 20mm negatives and reminds one of a proof sheet. The third photo is highly damaged, but is a ghostly image of a serve.

Enjoy

Dan

How Does One Follow Historic Photos of the Grand Coulee Dam, Well with Pictures of Dogs, of Course!

Dogs, dogs and more dogs. Dogs of all shapes and sizes. Dogs are good fun.

Enjoy

Dan

The Grand Coulee Dam

Today is the 75th anniversary of the start of construction on the big Coulee Dam. July 16, 1933 3,000 people watched a spike driving ceremony at the dam site. Like it or not it, "the mightiest thing ever built by man," changed the state and region forever. To celebrate this occasion, today's photos are of the Dam. The oldest are from either 1937 or 1938, and show the dam under construction. The color shot is from 1950, I have been lucky enough to be at the dam when the spillway has been opened wide, it is very loud and turbulent. The final photo is from 1993.
Enjoy
Dan

The Mission at San Juan Capistrano

Here are photos from my trip to San Juan Capistrano back in May 2001. The Mission was founded 1776. It is a beautiful and peaceful place, so I suggest you stop on by the next time you are in town.

Enjoy

Dan

Sacred Garden and Bell Wall

Corridor

Detail of Bench

Living Quarters

More Photos with Green Green Grass

What can I say, other than apparently these people must have supported the
arts.

The Artist Redux - Plus Pics of Random Things Other Than Jessie Jackson's Hot Mic

You may remember this artist from posts such as, "the Artist," or you, being one of the three readers of this diversion (including myself), are indeed the artist in question. Well happy to say this artist is having another show this month at the same location. If you have been to his website already good for you, if not your grass is probably already dead. But if you would like to see it now here is it: http://www.dempseystudios.com/ . I'll be photographing the opening once again so look for some photos. Oddly enough the photos from the last opening ended up on some odd Japanese website, so this time I am hoping for a Maltese website. Wow, all I can say is the dream is very much alive.

Anyway I've also included a couple photos today of random street corners and one my Uncle. With stuff like this, I'm sure to have the greatest blog in all the land in a manner of only days.

Enjoy

Dan

I think the dog's name is Tippy