SOMETIMES THINGS HAPPEN TOO FAST TO BLOG ABOUT THEM

Nope, I don't stop here often myself anymore...just like you! 

It seems there is just more important stuff to do, and mostly, these days, photography has first priority. No, not over family, but in things I really want to do. Oh, I may still want to go on a hike, but the primary reason is the chance to capture a few photos. These days, in East Tennessee, the leaves are turning, and the squirrels are busy putting on fat and storing up food for the long winter ahead.

We can see it all play out from the "screened porch", our little "tree house" overlooking the backyard. 

If I'm not up to a long hike, then I'll just travel around looking for something to catch my eye, and if it isn't in my town, I'll run up the road 10 or 20 miles and look for things I don't normally see in my circle of life. Like this old 1956 International Howe fire truck in Oliver Springs. Which reminds me, there the "October Sky" festival is going on there in a couple weeks. Lots of photo opportunities then I bet!

Some days I hook up with my bud Douglas D. (Danger) Mills and follow him around taking stills of what he's taking movies of, which is for our work on a Princess Production DVD for a lady in Roane County. 

Yes, that's poison ivy in the background!

One morning at 5:30 AM Doug and I were at the highest point above Harriman, Buzzard's Bluff. From there you can see a large part of the Walden Ridge Valley which stretches from here all the way to Chattanooga. A slow moving river of fog drifted below us, making the valley floor, with its street lights, appear like an underwater wonderland! 

Purchase this photo at http://paul-mashburn.artistwebsites.com/

It was beautiful and while my stills turned out well, Doug's time-lapse was stunning! The camera was taking a still frame every second or so, and then is played back at a normal 30 frames per second. The river of fog truly progresses down the valley in the scene as an actual river. It's beautiful to watch the fog move and to see the clouds form and move out of frame.

The DVD will show what wonderful things there are to see and do in our area.

More of my Buzzard's Bluff shots, and area photos, can be found in this Flickr set.

Back down the mountain, Doug and I might hang out at the local community college and shoot and film a ballgame, a gathering of children playing flag football, or of people moving between the campus buildings. While Doug might be looking for the money DVD shots, I'm looking for shots of him doing what Doug does best; that's being one of the best videographers ever. His 25-year work on a series unique to East Tennessee, "The Heartland", is proof of his abilities. The series logged around 1900 episodes!

I was doing just this (shooting Doug filming) back in February of 2009 when I stumbled and fell, breaking four ribs. Without letting on how much pain I was in, I calmly drove Doug off Walden's Ridge and back to his car. I drove by the ER in Harriman and plopped in my recliner, where I stayed for about two weeks; not knowing until my cancer scan turned up the fractures and showed where my right kidney actually bleed internally!

There are lots of things going on around Roane County, and they are constantly calling me name, and saying, "...bring your camera!"

Last week there was "Hauntin' In Harriman", which is basically a classic "ghost tour", and every city worth its salt has one. Harriman's is traditionally the second week in October, just as the leaves start their annual color change, and just about the time everyone starts thinking about Halloween.

I tagged along, tripod in tow, sweating up and down "Cornstalk Heights", taking ghostly looking photos of the actors that play out the stories told at several stops along the way. Again, I was doing stills, which will be used in next year's promotion, while David McCarthy shot video for his "Final Cut" class at Roane State. 

It was very exciting and I was pleased with my results. You can see some of the best by clicking HERE!

Then there was this past weekend. Ol' Herman Cain dropped by Roane State to speak to the area "Tea Party", and I was on hand, armed with a new 70-210mm zoom lens. Thanks to my local connections, I was able to stay very close to Mr. Cain as he met and greeted those welcoming him to the county, to the Fox NEWS team as they prepared and interviewed him for the Mike Huckabee Show, and as he spoke to the faithful! The lens paid off and I had a ball being with close friends and watching a little history go down in our humble county.  See more Herman Cain photos HERE!

Just as I was getting into it and preparing to follow Herman to his campaign bus, my cell rang and it was Judy, back from her "lesbian cruise", as I called it, to Greece. She went with about forty area women on a "women only" tour of the Greek islands.

She apparently had a ball, as evidenced by these select few photos. She did pretty well herself!

So, now we're all back together, safe and sound, and I can get back to doing more of what I like...shooting historical photos of our Princess Theatre. The project is coming along wonderfully, and I have had the privileged of documenting the journey from the inside out! I can't wait to she her in her full "art deco" garb, and see all the smiling faces flowing in and out her doors once again.

So, if you don't hear from me for long spans of time, I'm just busy with Princess business. But, you can keep up with what I'm doing, and how the Princess is doing by CLICKING HERE!

THANK GOD FOR LITTLE GIRLS

Judy, my mom, and I visited the girls today and found them all (including their mother Tia) adorable! Tia seemed to enjoy the little break in the action and watched her girls proudly as we made grandparent fools of ourselves!

Kinsley cuddled, grinned, occasionally flashed her dark eyes, and slowly moved her arms and legs while laying on my shoulder…it was wonderful to finally get to hold her. The best part of having the new baby may be that Lily is just jealous enough to want to be held and loved on more often! I took full advantage of it all and had the best time!

Mom enjoyed holding her newest great-granddaughter and watching Lily play. Lily has never been as animated as she is now with Kinsley around. She often came to me to hold her as she pretended to be hurt and crying like a little baby. This is only natural and won’t last long, but I plan on drinking in all the extra loving I’m now getting from her while it last! I also had to read several books to her, and she loved my pirate voice and my fire truck sounds!

Lucky for me, most of my soreness is gone, because Lily gave me a good workout!

Can’t wait until the next visit!

Yes, the soreness is almost gone, and today was the 26^th day since my blunder upon Buzzard’s Bluff!

I’m also celebrating the fact that I slept in my bed last night for the first time since then. I wasn’t actually flat-out, but I was in the bed propped firmly upon several pillows. It will probably be another week before I can resume sleeping on my right and left sides. If I try that now, I wake up in short order in lots of pain. However, for now, I’ll take sleeping in a “reclining” position in my bed instead of in the living room recliner.

See ya soon!

THIRD ANNIVERSAY OF MY NOSE DIVE!

Well, today is the third anniversary of my fall and it’s been 15 straight days in the recliner!

I can’t believe how fatigued I get trying to do the least thing, and after a shower and a shave I’m totally wiped out! It takes me a good 15 minutes of sitting down to get my heart rate back down and to rid myself of that spent feeling.

I did try the bed a couple of nights ago, thinking that if I laid flat of my back I could be just as comfortable as in my recliner – wrong! Somehow the recliner distributes my weight differently and actually rests my back. The bed seems to put undue pressure on my back and I wake up about an hour later in pain.

Oh well, I got used to the recliner during my shoulder surgeries, so I’m content to ride it out there.

What upsets me now is that I’ll probably have to call off my April driving trip out west off, and miss spring wildflower season in the woods here.

I still haven’t gotten to see my new granddaughter, but here is one of her first photos. She is Lily sister and they named here Kinsley Hope. Love my girls!

UPDATE ON FALL

Haven't slept in a horizontal position since the fall...some 9 days now!

I sleep in the living room in one of my 5 La-Z-Boy recliners (2 on one couch, 2 on a love-seat, and one real recliner), just to mix it up a little, with either my Guinness or Coors lounge pants on, an old sweat-shirt, and a pair of wool hiking socks to keep me warm.

Baylee has assumed the run of the house, alternating between the laundry, computer room, and the foyer rug. She seems to change positions only when I grunt and struggle to my feet in the dark, trying to make it to the bathroom. Since she is solid black, all I hear is the “tick-tack” her claws make on the floor as she passes. I put both eyes on the cable box and finally focus in on the time, and calculate how long between snatches of sleep, and how much longer I have to catch up on what I’ve missed.

Monday evening I registered at the hospital and got several x-rays made of my chest. I was then told to come back Tuesday morning for an MIR on my head. Seems I forgot about hitting my head until Judy and I discussed the details. So, the doctor figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out too.

Turns out, it did hurt (or at least would) to check it out and it would have hurt so much that I “passed” on the experience. First, the guy at the x-ray office pissed me off by telling me I needed to re-register, and I flat refused and turned and walked away, telling Judy I would be at the car! She stayed and discussed the procedure with him and the guy said I would be required to lie on my back, perfectly still, for 30 to 45 minutes! Since we knew that wasn’t possible, she joined me at the car and we had a good breakfast at the Cracker Barrel.

Later, at home, I woke from my nap to hear that the doctor had called to say I had 4 broken ribs! “Oh, it’s quite evident they’re broken alright,” nurse Judith told Judy. "They're not displaced, but clearly broken!"

Prognosis…6 to 8 weeks of pain!

FALLING HARD AT BUZZARD'S BLUFF

I’m out of commission for a few weeks…either broke or cracked some ribs on my right side. I was with a locally known videographer who wanted some footage from atop “Buzzard’s Bluff” in Harriman, Tennessee. As I was taking a panorama series of shots, my right foot rolled to the right shifting my 250 pounds downhill! I followed, landing some 2 to 3 feet on the next ledge of rock. I do not remember exactly how I hit, but I do know the right side of my face hit hard, and then I felt a sharp tearing pain in my ribs beneath my armpit. My right arm was folded up and against my rib cage, and my legs were still up on top of the ledge from which I fell. This position indicates that I did not break my fall in any way. I hit, and Doug Mills (the photographer) said I bounced! I pulled my legs from off the rocks above me, and lay very still, assessing my situation. At first I could not take a breath and the pain was tearing at my chest. (See photo with yellow arrow!)

I heard Doug and a couple of guys, who had been there shooting clay pigeons, running in my direction. The man, whose name I’m sorry I didn’t get, told me not to move, a suggestion I easily complied with, and pulled up my shirt to see if “anything was sticking out!” I think that was the first thought of fear that struck me, but he said “there’s no blood”.

His bluntness was actually welcomed, and I muttered, after taking my first real breath, “How embarrassing!”

In a few minutes he pulled me up to a sitting position using my left arm. I again assessed my health, and stood up. It was excruciating for the first 5 minutes, but then I seemed to walk it off, and even drove us back off the mountain, using my left arm.

I should have gone straight to the hospital, but a little part of me was too scared to want to know how close I came. However, I sustained a serious injury that will be confirmed tomorrow at my doctor’s office. I’m sure I’m in for a scolding, but for a fellow who has never spent a night in a hospital, having been born at home, hospitals are terrifying!

So, I’ll eventually be back, but in the mean time I’m breathing slow calculated breaths, grimacing from the pain as I move! Believe it or not, the worse part is a hiccup! Killer!

ON BUZZARD’S BLUFF

Ron had to get his car’s oil changed today, so I picked him up at the Ford place and took him on a road trip around Harriman before a planned lunch at Ruby Tuesday’s.

We first explored a small road that twisted its way up Walden’s Ridge northeast of Harriman, but it did not wind up where I wanted to go. So, we’ll try another back road out of town next trip.

We then decided to see if the old road up Walden’s Ridge southwest of Harriman, through the West Hills Subdivision, to, what’s known locally as, Buzzard’s Bluff, was open.

Walden Ridge (or Walden's Ridge) is a mountain ridge and/or escarpment that drops off on the eastern side of the Cumberland Plateau. Walden Ridge is about 74 miles long, running generally north-south, and forming the western boundary of East Tennessee.

Walden Ridge is higher than the Cumberland Plateau, and its eastern slope, descends over 1,000 feet from the plateau to the Tennessee Valley. Walden Ridge continues south into Alabama where it becomes Sand Mountain, which is kind of cool since my Grandparents moved, in a covered wagon, to Tennessee from that area in the early 20s. It’s kind of a neat connection back to my past…don’t you think!?

Buzzard’s Bluff is an easily recognizable outcrop of sandstone that juts out of the ridge just above where Interstate 40 drops down to the valley floor at Exit 347. If you are heading west on I-40 and you pass this exit, look off to your right and along the ridge line to your north. You will make out the rocky face of Buzzard’s Bluff.

I built a house at the foot of this rocky point back in 1978, where Corey’s mom still resides. From there, I used to watch hang-gliders silently floating over the house to a large field about a mile from the base of the mountain. Once, I used the scope of my .22 to get a closer look and some dude freaked out, thinking I was about to shoot him! He made a sharp evasive maneuver to his left and was quickly out of sight through the tall timber. I’d love to hear his side of that tale!

Anyway, back up on the mountain today…the road up is just about as rough as I remember it from 25 years ago! The chain that usually blocks the way was down, so we ventured on out to the bluff.

Stupid people, who have no regard for what nature provides them, have busted bottles, beer no doubt, all over the place and almost every inch of the outcrop has been spray painted with initials, names, “I heart you’s”, dates, and vulgarisms. It’s a great shame that such a beautiful place has been desecrated in such a manner. The area should be a beloved little nature pocket with numerous hiking trails and picnic areas.

Sometimes at night you can see bonfires flickering off the bluff, with the occasional flash from a camera. You can bet there is a party going on, which would be fine, IF they would just take their mess back off the mountain with them.

Here is a shot from 1980 (fall leaves) and the same place today…note the red paint in today’s shot! A damn shame!

It’s things like this that make you understand the reason the Bible says the earth has to be purged by fire…it has to get hot enough to burn up all the crap we leave behind I suppose – glass, pop tops, and rusting tin cans!

Standing there on the edge, you can just about imagine how it was for some Indian brave, on a long hunt, to sit there and contemplate what he beheld. To him it must have been a holy place, a place where the Great Father placed his foot as he stepped down from the heavens.

Today we seem to have no regard for the beauty of this great land, and will go out of our way to make it as ugly as possible. Mostly, I think, it’s an effort to leave a lasting mark on the land. Wouldn’t it be better to leave a beautiful place rather than a scratched or painted name on a rock?

Anyway, Ron and I enjoyed the view for a while and then made a promise to come back in the fall, when the weather was clearer, the colors were brilliant, but we won’t look down at our feet.