Around here, Autumn was very strange. On Halloween, for example, the day was cooler than it would turn out to be on our {brown} Christmas. Hearing that the temperature was going to drop 20 degrees F - in other words, down near normal - my wife and I went off on a drive. We came across the tiny town of "Tab" - population 50, with one employer .... this grain elevator.

[ashurbanipal]

Much of my photography is of ‘mundane’ scenes motivated by the thought “capture today before tomorrow comes and everything changes”. My wife tells me that there are ‘ghost towns’ around here, but I have told her to do more research before we visit one; her sister thinks this sounds “romantic”, but I don’t want to drive an hour only to find a spot that was occupied by people but now has been plowed under as part of a growing farm.

That is definitely a danger! I can think of several spots between my house and the "family farm" forty-five minutes away that have disappeared just in the past year.

[reh321]

That is definitely a danger! I can think of several spots between my house and the "family farm" forty-five minutes away that have disappeared just in the past year.

My first "Ah-Ha" moment came in 1967, when we revisited the Chicago suburb where I had been raised, and I discovered that a locomotive that I associated with freight trains there when we left town seven years earlier was no longer in use. This caused me to notice how many things were disappearing one at a time - or whole communities at a time.

[ashurbanipal]

My first "Ah-Ha" moment came in 1967, when we revisited the Chicago suburb where I had been raised, and I discovered that a locomotive that I associated with freight trains there when we left town seven years earlier was no longer in use. This caused me to notice how many things were disappearing one at a time - or whole communities at a time.

Mine was when I moved back to my hometown after being away for several years. Places that had been cornfields for as long as I can remember were now whole subdivisions. There was one farmhouse in particular that I always thought was pretty, and I couldn't even recognize the area even though I knew exactly where it had once been.

[reh321]

Mine was when I moved back to my hometown after being away for several years. Places that had been cornfields for as long as I can remember were now whole subdivisions. There was one farmhouse in particular that I always thought was pretty, and I couldn't even recognize the area even though I knew exactly where it had once been.

Unfortunately, some developers have to build something in the image they have in their minds. 6-1/2 years ago we moved from Western Massachusetts, and I hired a former developer to sell our house there. He and I struggled - I wanting to sell the house-as-it-was and he wanting to sell the house-he-wanted-to-turn-it-into ...... until the night six years ago when he didn't notice that the temperature plunged one night; the resulting broken pipes and water flowing from first floor to basement made the whole question moot.

[ashurbanipal]

Unfortunately, some developers have to build something in the image they have in their minds. 6-1/2 years ago we moved from Western Massachusetts, and I hired a former developer to sell our house there. He and I struggled - I wanting to sell the house-as-it-was and he wanting to sell the house-he-wanted-to-turn-it-into ...... until the night six years ago when he didn't notice that the temperature plunged one night; the resulting broken pipes and water flowing from first floor to basement made the whole question moot.

That's terrible. Seems like around here (judging from the houses, anyway) the image in most developers' minds is money. Cookie-cutter houses and developments devoid of character.

[reh321]

That's terrible. Seems like around here (judging from the houses, anyway) the image in most developers' minds is money. Cookie-cutter houses and developments devoid of character.

Which is why we need to preserve those unusual ones with our cameras.

[ashurbanipal]

Which is why we need to preserve those unusual ones with our cameras.

Hear, hear! It's also why my wife & I bought a house in one of the older neighborhoods--we're surrounded by unique homes. Some might be in need of maintenance, but at least they're interesting!

[reh321]

Hear, hear! It's also why my wife & I bought a house in one of the older neighborhoods--we're surrounded by unique homes. Some might be in need of maintenance, but at least they're interesting!

"Interesting" is a word full of meaning. My wife and I moved into a house once that turned out to have been built in 1890. In the years that followed we insulated the house {for a few weeks about this time of year, it looked like it had been attacked by a woodpecker}. Then we discovered that it still had knob-and-tube wiring - it took two different electricians to get rid of all of that. I dreaded any change I made to a room, because nothing was square. After living in the house 1982-2003 we actually sold it for less than we had purchased it for, despite the money we spent on it, but it was educating. I am guessing that these tiny towns have a number of houses that are just like it.

[ashurbanipal]

"Interesting" is a word full of meaning. My wife and I moved into a house once that turned out to have been built in 1890. In the years that followed we insulated the house {for a few weeks about this time of year, it looked like it had been attacked by a woodpecker}. Then we discovered that it still had knob-and-tube wiring - it took two different electricians to get rid of all of that. I dreaded any change I made to a room, because nothing was square. After living in the house 1982-2003 we actually sold it for less than we had purchased it for, despite the money we spent on it, but it was educating. I am guessing that these tiny towns have a number of houses that are just like it.

The house we live in now was built in the 1890s. Fortunately the knob-and-tube had been redone by a previous owner (although there are still disconnected remnants of it to be found here and there). Definitely nothing square here, either, unless it's accidental! However, the materials are miles above what they use for any new construction, even compared to houses at double the price. The worst parts we've run into have all been due to ill-considered attempts to "modernize" the place. I'll be happy if we can break even on it, though; we'll still be ahead that way compared to what we were spending on rent before.

[Archimedes the Dog]

Love the shots, especially the second. I miss taking grain elevator shots from when I lived in the Midwest!

[reh321]

Love the shots, especially the second. I miss taking grain elevator shots from when I lived in the Midwest!

Thank you for the compliment.

Our daughter moved back to Indiana from San Diego, but if I understand correctly, it was the seasons - not the scenery - that she missed.

[Archimedes the Dog]

Thank you for the compliment.

Our daughter moved back to Indiana from San Diego, but if I understand correctly, it was the seasons - not the scenery - that she missed.

I miss those too. Fortunately(?) I am moving to Boise this year which has seasons.