Carthage and Bluegrass

This sign says it all:

Another Wednesday evening concert in the little village of Carthage.  This particular concert had me tapping my foot, clapping my hands, and bobbing my head for two hours.  It's hard to take pictures when you're doing that.  But I did okay.

Meet the Atkinson family bluegrass band.  And Nate--he's the mandolin player on the left.  He also plays fiddle, really well.  Here he is, below.  Too bad you can't hear how he played; it was awesome.

Below is the patriarch of the family, and the banjo player.  He played great.  In fact, the whole band played great.

Many who came to the steel drum concert the week before returned for this concert.  That gave me some opportunities to take some candid shots of the audience.

The bass player (below) married into the family; she played and sang beautifully.

The ladies sing a cappella

Pink must have been the clothing theme of the night; I spotted several girls wearing that color, and couldn't resist taking their pictures.

Love the below!  Talk about candid!

I saved two little pink-clad girls for last, because they were just so incredibly cute.  I couldn't decide which images to choose, so you get them all.  Enjoy the little-girly-girl show!

Okay, I think I just adore this last shot--their expressions, the twirling legs, the flying hair.  Just cute, cute, cute.  :)

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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365 Project -- #267-273

This is the time in my week when I look back at the images I've captured

the week before, and choose my seven favorites.

These seven--one for each day of the week--are featured below.

September 24 - September 30

After I nearly "crashed and burned" with the previous week's pictures--it was a tough week in almost every way you can imagine--I believe I have made a comeback with this week's photos.  :)

All of my featured images are from over the September 24-25 weekend, which consisted of two very busy and exhausting days (unfortunately fitting with the weekdays prior).  However, both days held a good measure of relaxation and just plain fun.  I'm glad the Lord ordered those days, hectic though they were, for me.

I also have a THEME for my photos!  It is... drum roll...

Picking, and Picking

I begin with our apple-picking trip to Stovers-U-Pick in Berrien Springs, Michigan, about 1 1/2 hours away from home.  Fernando stayed home to get Danny to his college class, and I drove Joseph, Jacob, and Thomas up for the day.  One of my "borrowed" daughters, Gabrielle, shared our trip.  (Car conversation was so much more interesting!)

Several families from church came, and we ended up spending most of the day with Gabrielle and one of the families.  Below is the barn at Stovers.

[267] -- Stovers

Their orchard is laid out nicely, with wooden signs marking each different apple variety.  Apple trees have such interesting shapes.

[268] -- Jonathon apple tree

Well, it rained all morning while we were picking--of course, it cleared up just as we were getting ready to leave!  Below is what I saw all over the orchard--legs!  (Those are my guys picking Northern Spy apples, yum.)

[269] -- Rainy day picking

What a pretty sight all those apple trees were!

[270] -- Ground cover

Of course I brought my complete set of camera equipment, which meant a trip out in the drizzle with my macro lens.

[271] -- Ripe for the picking

Then, on Sunday evening, Jacob and I met my dad and mom at an area church for some picking of a different kind.  The Wintons were appearing in concert; they are a Christian bluegrass group, a father and his two sons.  Simply put, they are amazing.  Since I grew up on bluegrass and country, their music melted my heart and I felt I had come home.  Although I was exhausted, I had a foot-stompin' good time.

Here is a picture just for your reference, so you know what they look like:

The Wintons

Below, one of the brothers (Cody) plays the dobro.

[272] -- Playing the dobro

And below is Jesse, who won the California state picking tournament in both 2010 and 2011.  He and Cody played their "version" of Dueling Banjos toward the end of the concert, and I had a hard time trying to watch their fingers fly over the strings!  You can see the blurry motion of Jesse's hand.

[273] -- Fastest picker in the West

So, the weekend was filled with picking--apples and guitars (thankfully, no noses).  I hope you had a wonderful week, and I look forward to seeing what you've been up to.  As a side note, I will be out of town later this week, and will post images very late again next week.  But I promise I will have some beautiful images--I know this in advance!  (Um, that would be "Lord willing...!")


Capturing the moments of life.

Christine

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