Springfield, MO

Artfest on Walnut Street

Saturday morning began mostly cloudy and a bit nippy, but the sun soon broke through. The weather for the bulk of the weekend was beautiful. Plenty of folks came out to enjoy the sunshine -- a few even bought art.

There were two main entertainment stages plus numerous street performers like this juggling and percussion combo that performed for tips across from our booth. (I like percussion, but after a couple of hours of non-stop drumming, I longed for the peace and quiet of our Ozark holler.)







Few of the old houses on this section of Walnut Street remain single-family dwellings. Most have been converted to shops, offices or apartments. Walnut is right on the edge of the ever-expanding Missouri State University campus.








A booth shot of Jo's pottery for Lisa at Greenbow.









Not all the residents of Walnut Street participated in the hustle and bustle of the art fair. A few were engaged in more sedentary activities.

It is with deep regret that I must announce that work is beginning to interfere with my computer time. (Bummer!) Last Friday's thunderstorms frying the modem on my computer didn't help with my keeping current with posting and commenting either. Jo and I are right in the middle of our spring art fair season. Between traveling to shows, trying to replace some of the inventory we've sold and making minimal attempts at routine yard, garden and housekeeping chores, there just isn't enough time left for as much blogging as I would prefer. I'll post and comment as time allows, but will probably be a bit scarce online between now and the first weekend in June.

Springfield, MO

Photo Tips

There is a porch running the full length of our house on the south side. Sunday morning while sitting at the computer, I noticed movement out on the porch. A roadrunner was investigating the porch. The roadrunner is a regular feature around our place. I've seen him several times over the past couple of weeks, but always at distances impossible to photograph with our camera. This shot would only be highly improbable.

The smart thing to do would have been slowly and quietly getting up from the computer and fetching the camera, but of course, that's not what I did. Instead, I yelled for Jo to "Come see". Jo heard but couldn't make out what I said, so she started shouting back wanting to know what I said. All the shouting convinced Bucket there must surely be a visitor outside so she tore off through the house barking loudly. Roused from his nap if front of the stove, Rusty was clueless but assumed he should join in the cacophony. Needless to say, when the riot subsided the roadrunner was long gone -- probably into the next county.

Photo Tip #1: When intending to photograph a roadrunner, "Be Quiet!!!"

Later Sunday, I decided the below freezing temperatures forecast for overnight indicated I should split a few more pieces of firewood. (There's no need to get too far ahead with wood splitting at winter's end.) One of the log sections I split was full of photographic subject otherwise known as ants. I'd only taken a few (not very good) photos when the camera indicated its battery was low. Back inside the house I popped in a fully charged battery pack, but when I returned to the split firewood, I discovered that this photo shoot was over. Most of my subject matter had been eaten.

Photo Tip #2: When photographing insects, do not leave a robin guarding your photographic specimens.

Photo Tips