Sears Kit Home

This post is in response to the Photography 101 prompt “architecture.”
Which do you prefer – black and white or color?

Sugar Loaf, NY

(Click an image to view it larger or as a slide show.)

Early in the twentieth century you could order most all the essentials for modern living from the extremely popular Sears, Roebuck and Company Catalogue. It was like the Amazon.com of 1910. From the catalogue, you could order clothing, livestock, sporting goods, sewing supplies, appliances, medicinal remedies and more… even Kit Homes.

A Kit Home came with plans for assembly along with most of the materials needed to build a house. I took these photos of a Sears Kit home, in Sugar Loaf, NY. If I’m not mistaken, this one is model number 118 which was eventually called The Clyde. It was first offered in the Sears, Roebuck Catalogue in 1908.

I found a photo of a catalogue page offering this model here.

I also found a couple of blog posts about this particular model on oklahomahousesbymail.com, and on searshomes.org.

In my opinion, the Sears Kit Homes were the forerunners of modern prefabricated structures and Ikea furniture!

Pop Of Color?

Muddy,
     melting,
          dreary 
               wetness
punctuated
         by 
       a
           pecking,
                   poking       jab 
                                 of red.

copyright ©2015 Terry Boswell

(Click on an image to see it larger and start a slide show.)

This post is in response to the Photography 101 prompt “Pop of Color.”

Here in New York State’s Hudson Valley there’s not much color popping this time of year. Even the fire hydrant across the street from my home looks drab, so once again I’ve relied on my neighbor’s chickens to help me respond to a Photography 101 prompt!

Enduring Handcraft, Forgotten Hand

The mark of the craftsman.

“Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth.” Psalm 18:5

light shadowed
doors within doors
echos of faces faded
obscure hand’s work endures
“Their sound hath gone forth
into all the earth.”

Copyright © 2015 Terry Boswell

These are the doors of Lisbon Cathedral, also known as the Patriarchal Cathedral of Saint Mary Major, in Lisbon, Portugal. Metal spiral patterns adorn the surface of the massive doors which hold two smaller doors within them. In the shadows above the doors there is a cross and the Latin words, “In omnem terram exivit sonus” – “Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth,” Psalm 18:5.

While editing these photographs, I was thrilled to find the words “Vicente Esteves, Lisboa” along with roman numerals stamped into the metalwork.  I tried to find information about this man who must have made the doors or fashioned the metal work, but I found nothing.

I began thinking about all of the unknown craftsmen, whose work survives centuries, sometimes millenia, their names and faces forgotten.

After editing the photos and writing most of this blog post, I continued to search for information about Vicente Esteves… Nothing.

Next I scrutinized the roman numerals. I could easily decipher the XXXIII, 33, at the end, but was having a hard time making out the first few letters. At first I thought they were MIDMI, but that made no sense. After a while I realized that they were the letters MCM and the entire number was MCMXXXIII which is…

… 1933! Not quite what I was expecting, but some of the mystery was solved!

I’ll still consider Mr. Esteves to be one of those craftsman whose work endures. In less than 20 years this work of his will be 100!

To see the upper portions of the cathedral click here.

This is my response to the Photography 101 prompt, “mystery.” I chose these photos because of their contrast of light and shadow, and because I find doors mysterious. They are portals for the imagination. The more exotic the door, the more mysterious.

This is also my response to the One Word Photo Challenge: Beaver. Thank you Jennifer for the challenge!

Winter Warming

Sun warms lengthening days.
Soiled snow liquefies.
Buddha emerges
from the
freeze.

Copyright © 2015 Terry Boswell

This week the Buddha in my backyard, covered with snow until a few days ago, made his spring début amidst mud, and melt, and a winters worth of sunflower seed hulls scattered from the feeders.

In response to the Photography 101 prompt, “warmth.”

Big And Bigger

It’s all relative…

Two photos, two poems, one oak tree…

Sledding with delight
down a snowy hill,
small girl pauses
under the spread
of a giant
oak.

Copyright © 2015 Terry Boswell

Vast fluff clouds drawn
in infinite blue,
like a five-year-old’s
crayola sun radiating,
massively framing
humbled hills and oak.

Copyright © 2015 Terry Boswell

This post is in response to the Photography 101 prompts, “Big.” and “The Natural World.”

Both photos address the theme of scale and bigness.

The second photo also addresses the theme, “The Natural World.” I chose it for this theme because of its panoramic feel and directional elements. I think the tracks in the snow cup the large cloud above, completing the circle that’s created by the smaller clouds radiating outward.

It was serendipitous that these two themes followed each other and I happened to be a little late responding to the first! 🙂

One Word Photo Challenge: Teal

Tranquil dark lake,

still mirror, reflects and floats

leaf, twig and water lily.

Copyright © 2015 Terry Boswell

I included this image cropped three different ways. I like the first version best because it excludes areas that were overexposed, in the branches, red tree, and rocks, shown in the second version. I also like the abstract quality of the first photo. The way the image is blurred where the water is disturbed, at the top of the photo, and then progresses to clarity where the water is smooth and still lower down, adds interest to the composition that the third version lacks.

Which version do you prefer?

This post is my response to the One Word Photo Challenge: Teal. Thank you Jennifer for the challenge!

It’s also my response to the Photography 101 prompt: Experiment with Composition.

And it’s my fourth post in the Five Days Challenge. I was invited by Amy, from Snapshots, Snippets And Scribbles to participate in the challenge, and for each of the five days I’m supposed to invite one person.

Today I’m inviting Terri from The Beespeak… If you would like to participate, post a photo every day for five days and write a story to go along with each photo. I’ve written a haiku for today, but your stories can be fiction or non-fiction. They can be short paragraphs, multiple pages, or poems. Each day, please invite one person to carry on the challenge. The challenge is not mandatory and can be refused. I hope you accept and have fun!

Solitude

Long Island sound, Sherwood Island State Park, Connecticut, 2015.

A solitary gull
gliding upon nature’s breath,
small but significant,
animates the stillness of
snow, sky, sea and earth.

Copyright © 2015 Terry Boswell

In response to the Photography 101 prompt, “solitude.”

This is also my third post in the Five days challenge. I was invited by Amy, from Snapshots, Snippets and Scribbles to participate in the Five Days Challenge, asked to post five photos, one per day for five days, and to write a story to go with each photo. For each day that we post we are supposed to invite one person to participate.

Today I’m inviting Terri from Perspectives On…. If you would like to participate, post a photo every day for five days and write a story to go along with each photo. Your story can be fiction or non-fiction. It can be a short paragraph, a page, or a poem. Each day, please select one person to carry on the challenge. The challenge is not mandatory and can be refused. I hope you accept and have fun!

Blissful Reward!

Happy and content, backyard diners.

Climbing aboard.

Dangling with a tasty reward in paw.

Reaching for the prize.

Swirling, twirling acrobats,

leaping long and

l

e

n

g

t

h

e

n

ing,

snatch a bit of seed.

Darting, daring, leap once more,

swirl and twirl and snatch again,

furry fingers fly.

Hugging, holding, griping fast,

up over down

d

a

n

g

l

ing,

nibble.

Moving muscle rewarded,

bliss-

full belly in winter.

Copyright © 2015 Terry Boswell

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Reward,” and to the Photography 101 prompt “Bliss.”

This is also my second post for the Five Days Challenge. I was invited by Amy, from Snapshots, Snippets and Scribbles, to participate in the Five Days Challenge, asked to post five photos, one per day for five days, and to write a story to go with each photo. For each day that we post we are supposed to invite one person to participate.

Today I’m inviting  Robin,  from Robin’s Real Life. To participate, post a photo every day for five days and write a story to go along with each photo. Your story can be fiction or non-fiction. It can be a short paragraph, a page, or a poem. Each day, please select one person to carry on the challenge. The challenge is not mandatory and can be refused. Hope you accept and have some fun with this!

Winter Stream

dark thin ribbon runs

fluidly through fluff frozen

white water blanket

Copyright ©2015 Terry Boswell

This little stream is across the road from my home. It usually dries up at some point in the summer, but flows and never completely freezes in the winter. I took this photo a few weeks ago on a foggy day. Today it still looks much the same. Spring has not yet arrived in the Hudson Valley, NY.

In response to the Photography 101 prompt “water” and to day one of the Five Days Challenge presented to me by Amy from Snapshots, Snippets and Scribbles. I’ll include the details in my next post.