Jubilee Door of Mercy

I planned on having more doors for this week, but the weather didn’t coöperate so only one. Pope Francis has declared this Church Year as the Jubilee Year of Mercy. In the Baltimore, Md. Archdiocese seven churches received the honor of having one door dedicated as a “Blessed Door”. One door at The Shrine of St Anthony in Ellicott City, a Franciscan Friary was one of the seven churches.

My photo is of Father Michael, OFM opening that door – in reality it is a gate into the central courtyard of the Friary.

Today’s images do double duty, For Norm’s Thursday’s Doors, and Nancy Mreeill’s Photo a Week Challenge

for Norm’s Thursday Doors – December 17, 2015

for Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge: Religious buildings

Doors at the Friary

Doors to the Friary Chapel

At the Shrine of Saint Anthony, Ellicott City, Maryland

for Norm’s Thursday Doors – December 10, 2015Norm’s Thursday Doors – December 10, 2015

The Old Grey Horse

That’s me, the Old Grey Horse

I’m just the guest author today, and I have a great horse story for you.

The mane part of the tail I’m going to tell starts years ago. (Don’t interrupt me, I’v a horse and will use words the way I know). I was living with a couple of friends of a farm, but they preferred to stay near the barn. Not many thought of me as a ‘good looking’ horse – I was grey, a rather prematurely grey so the hansom looking horses would leave me to myself. I on the other hand would wonder all over. The far reaches were almost 3 furlongs from the barn (no I don’t know how far tha is in people speak, I’m just a horse). Down the hill from the farm was a lake, I only know that because I have lots of horse-sense.

I’d wonder all over munching on grass and weeds, it was lots better than the stuff my people served. They told me it was more nutritious whatever that meant. The fresh air and grass were delicious. One day I heard the hum of an engine and well tuned Abarth exhaust system, an a Triumph TR-3 coming up the road from the lake. Later that day I heard it going the other direction. This became a daily ritual so I decided to get a closer look. I made it a point to be at the fence morning and evening. And the driver started to notice me standing at the corner of my fence.

As time went on he would slow a bit and wave at me, and I made it a point to be out for him. We didn’t know names, but he became my new friend. A couple of times he would stop and talk to me, but I’m a horse and don’t really understand ‘people speak’ but we continued with our freindship. If the weather was good I’d take the long walk just to see him, and when the weather was warm enough he’d have the top down on that TR-3. I thought that if I was a person I’d like to ride with him in that lovely car.

What a fine day! I always preferred back roads over super highways, even on the way to work, so crossing the headwaters of a lake and winding uphill past farms made going to work almost worthwhile. Then one day I noticed an old grey horse in the pasture near the road. Everyday he seemed to be closer, leaving the rest of the horses back by the barn. On the way home I began seeing that horse would be right at the fence watching me. So I’d slow up and wave to it. Because it was grey I thought of it as an Old Horse.

Meanwhile back at the barn my owner bought another horse and I was introduced to an attractive Filly. We became friends and, well great friends, and after a while along came a small colt. I began to think of my friend in the sports car so when the colt was able I took the three of us all the way out to the road – the whole 3 furlongs and proudly showed off my new ‘best friend’ and our new colt.

Then for a while I didn’t see the old horse, and I began to feel a bit sorry for it and wondering what happened to it.. Then to my surprise it was standing by the fence with another that looked a bit younger and between them was a small colt. I thought I could even see a proud smile on the ‘old grey horse’ so I realized it was just grey house and not really all that old. I think he was trying to say, “I’m not an old horse, I’m a proud dad!”

for Sunday Photo Fiction Dec 6th, 2015

All washed up

Roiling, rolling, rolling
Though the streams are swollen
Keep them doggies rolling
Rawhide

Michelin, Perelli, GoodYear, B.F. Goodrich; it doesn’t matter, we all try to keep rolling but we all end up in one of a few ways. Some of us go bald, then blow-out and followed by loud words, none of the are repeatable, but often repeated loudly. some of us just come apart and leave pieces on the highway. I’ve seen some of my buddies just get a bit thin, then lean against the garage wall till they just dry-rot. They often end up hanging from a tree to the delight of little kids that swing in them hour after hour. Finally after the rope wears out and the kids become way too large and old the tyres get flung into the beach in the hopes that they disappear. They never do, they join the other detritus and ruin the environment.

for Sunday Photo Fiction Nov. 29, 2015

What goes up – must come down

Cee’s challenge this week is “Anything that flies…”, and with a large archive of photos taken at the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Championships this was a bit dificlut, mainly in making the choices of what to put here, I have hundreds of images.

The flightline, a couple dozen ‘birds’ (we call them ships) are awaiting tows. All of them will be launched within an hour.

One of the ‘ships’ behind the tow-plane. It will be towed to an altitude of about 2500′ then stay aloft for an hour or so using nothing but the up-drafts under the clouds., and fly a course of over 100 miles.

---

“SM” (Sugar Mike) landing back at the ‘gliderport’ after completing the asigned task. Don’t fret, those trees are about half a mile away, and the plane is about 10′ above the runway.

CEE’S BLACK & WHITE PHOTO CHALLENGE: ANYTHING THAT FLIES FROM BIRDS TO AIRPLANES

From the old Master Painter

Cee sure comes up with interesting subjects for her Fun Foto Challenge. This week she’s given us the subject “Anything Painted“. I dug through the archives for some old, and some of the new shots to come up with my submission.

I found this artwork on the side of a building on Laugavegur in downtown Reykjavik, Iceland.

Aged paint on a barn door on a farm in Carroll County, Md.

Rust and Paint on an old Railroad Car.

More old paint, this one is on the “Boathouse” at Wilde Lake, Columbia, Md.

for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Anything Painted