The Weatherman Says....

     Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't like the Weatherman, or I guess the politically correct version would be Weatherperson.  All they do is talk, talk, talk, get the public to run and spend money that they don't have to stock up for the "Big Storm"; that goes 100 miles north, where they aren't prepared and you are stuck eating Beanie Weenies for the next two weeks.  Sure they hit the nail on the head with the large snow storm a few weeks ago up North...Thank God it was up North, but a broken clock is correct at least twice a day!  They do not hold a candle to a broken clock...  The Weatherperson has ruined many of my weekends, with the Art Shows.  No rain in sight, only a ten percent chance of rain and I wind up looking like a drowned rat by 2:00 pm.  Or the other one, which I don't mind as much, other than it affects what I display; so therefore there is less of a chance of selling.  "There will be an 80 percent chance of rain, thunder storms through out the day, a good day to stay indoors".  So what do your customers do...stay home, I put out less stock so nothing gets ruined.  Sun shines all day and no one is out wandering about.  So I hope that explains my love of the Weatherperson.
     So like any fool who is suffering from Spring Fever in February, I am going to put some faith in the almighty Weatherperson.  It has been a beautiful week, I fought the urge all week to leave work early, or stay home and play hooky.  Some of my best photos were acquired on a "Sick" day!  But I responsibly stayed at work, saved my time and the Weatherperson says Mother Nature is going to reward me this weekend!  Tomorrow is suppose to be Sunny and 73 glorious degrees!  How can you not have be bitten by the Spring Fever Bug with that kind of weather??
     As many of you know, my camera and I have cooled off our love affair a lot since Don's passing.  It's just not the same going out riding without my navigator, my honey, my friend.  So, I have been trying to raise my spirits lately, get my positive Happy attitude back.  I would be lying if I said it was easy to do.  I manage to do well at work, my coworkers are awesome, my guys don't give me chance to brood, if they notice a weak moment...they quickly slap me out of it...sometimes literally!  They will never no how much that means to me.  My days go by quick, I can't help but smile at them, the way they let me harass them and abuse them daily.  But when my work day is over, I often go home to the empty house.  God knows Gracie and Sam are starving for my attention and affection.  I walk in the door with lots of plans to get things done and then all motivation leaves me.  I enjoy being alone in my home.  But I think sometimes the memories are holding me back, swallowing my time.  I often feel like I lose myself once I come home from work.  I can lose hours at a time.  God Bless my friends who call almost daily, or chat via text or Facebook and the email I look so forward to.  They will never know how they are helping me to recover.  Don't get me wrong, my parents are always there, always asking me to stop by after work, or to call and chat.  But, it's just not the same.
     Anyway, the Weatherperson has raised my hopes.  The Camera battery is charging as I write this and my intentions are to get out of the house before the sun even thinks about rising, so that the shadows of doubt cannot make me change my mind or steal my motivation.  My co-pilot will be little Miss Gracie herself.  I truly do doubt her ability to read the maps or Google for directions, but she is good company, energetic and one of my favorite photo models.  So beware, there will most likely be a few Gracie pics on Facebook tomorrow.  I'm not really sure where we are going or where we will wind up.  I'm thinking sunrise on the beach, with breeze and the sound of the surf coming in.  From there...who knows??  I guess wherever they old blue Chevy wants to take us, without overheating.  I need to give her some attention too, but you can't possibly give up Sunny and 73 in February to stay home and work on a truck...It's Just Not Right!
     Please wish me luck on regaining my love for the outdoors and my camera.  I often refer to my Photography as my Sanity.  This could get ugly, if I can't rekindle this flame.  Y'all enjoy the day!

Time For A Little Road Trip, Dirt Road Therapy and Maybe Some Healing

     So far, today has been a good day.  Gracie, one of my fur babies, she's the little poodle, and I headed out early this morning around 6:00 am or so.  I would like to say Bright and early, but Lord knows there has not been much bright in the Georgia weather lately.  Speaking of weather, I have noticed a lot of alerts about river flooding and such,  I know the Altamaha over flows its banks a lot in Everett and I was speaking to my friend Mike, he performed the service for Don.  I tried to give him a little something for his time and he wouldn't have anything to do with it.  But he and his lovely bride, Angie enjoy my photos of the Lumber City Bridge, they have a couple prints from when the water was low.  So I decided to ride up there in search of a "high water picture of the Lumber City Bridge which spans the Ocmulgee River" so I can give them something special.
     So Gracie and I headed out Highway 32 and stopped over by Zirkle for some dirt road therapy, a run in the woods and sure enough the water along the Little Satilla River was high.  It was a nice pleasant drive.  Of course, it would have been better if Don had been with me.  I never worried about truck trouble, breaking down or how far we were going whenever he was with me.  This morning before I left, I caught myself, checking the oil, water and power steering fluid, which is a good thing.  But it is something I never had to worry about.
     Lumber City is about a hundred miles or so from Brunswick.  We hit all the small towns, Patterson, Alma, Hazlehurst and of course Lumber City.  I could not believe how high the water was.  I had to flip a couple u-turns, I could hear Don in my head saying "You can't do that", oh yes I can.  I got there just in time to catch a freight train running across the bridge.  I wasn't even sure if they used it anymore....see you can learn something new everyday.  I did manage to get some good shots and then we continued on up to McRae, I wanted to photograph the windmill also.  (If you are interested in seeing some of the photos you can check out my blog "The Beauty That Surrounds Us" at:  http://wildlifepersonalities.blogspot.com/  .  That is my photography Blog.
     I think our trip was it long for Gracie, she was getting restless and a little whiny.  On our return trip we came straight down Highway 341 through Baxley, Jesup, Gardi and a quick stop by the Altamaha River in Everett City.  But the Police wouldn't let us close to the river.  The road was closed about a mile before the park due to flooding and all the woods were flooded and the drains were running fast.
     We finally arrived home around 4:00 pm, all in all it was a good day. I did get some good pics and I most certainly thought about and missed my Don, but at least my eyes weren't leaking all day and I was able to smile at my fond memories.  Maybe healing is possible...I wish it could always be this easy.