The grass is always greener

...on the other side of the fence. Tastes better, too!

Photo by Lois Anne.

Rainbow Springs State Park

Do you like this?


Or this?


Or this?


Photo by Lois Anne. Fooling around in Photoshop by Jacob.

Not so modern muffler shop

The building you see is one of those old timey gas stations. On the other side is an outdoor lift. Other than a fresh coat of paint and a nice sign, not much has changed over the years. Perhaps the word, "modern," refers to the product and workmanship rather than the building itself.

The photo was taken with an old Nikon EM - all manual film camera, using old Kodak film.

Along for the ride

Rainbow Springs - It's a butterfly world!

A memorial on a rural lane

On a small rural lane in Anthony, you'll find this memorial to five young men, ages 18-20, who were killed in a car crash in January 2008.

One of them borrowed his father's 2008 BMW. At about 3:45 am, they drove down the runway adjacent to Jumbolair Estates, the home of John Travolta, at speeds approaching 200 miles per hour. At the end of the runway is an 85 foot embankment. The car soared into the air and crashed into a tree. All five were killed.

Mom and her baby

We found these two cuties at a small horse farm northeast of Ocala, near Jumbolair, the home of John Travolta.

More of Rainbow Springs

Rainbow Springs swimming area

Rainbow Springs is a Florida state park located about 20 miles southwest of downtown Ocala, along the Rainbow River. This is the swimming area which is a natural spring, and thus the water remains at 72 degrees year round.

There are alligators in these waters, however, so swimmers need to keep their eyes open.

We will be posting more photos of the park in the coming days. You can read all about it here.

Watch where you're walking

Have you ever been walking along, holding your camera, looking for the perfect shot, not realizing you might be walking where it is forbidden? Well, I did. Right here. It says "Pet Walk." But I walked right through it. Luckily, I was not arrested!

A paean to auto racing

Yes, those are real race cars up there. Located on Silver Springs Boulevard (Hwy 40) about a mile east of I-75, this Sunoco service station is a paean to auto racing. Notice the various NASCAR symbols.

Forest High School

Forest High School has been open for business for several years, moving from an old, dated campus. It is a huge facility, and I'd guess takes up 10-20 acres. From what I hear, it is an excellent school with a great staff.

Stop before surgery

It is always a good idea, I think, to stop and consider what you're doing before you undergo surgery! And to know where a pain clinic is!

Monroe Regional Medical Center

This is the main entrance to the Monroe Regional Medical Center, arguably the largest and the best hospital in the Ocala area.

You can read all about it here.

One pool, two views

Which of these two shots do you prefer? The were both taken at the same time; late afternoon. One was taken with an old film camera, using Kodak 200 film. The other was taken with a digital camera.

P.S. This is not a trick question. There is no right or wrong answer.

Temple B'nai Darom

Temple B'nai Darom (which means Sons [or children] of the South) is unaffiliated but I have been told it falls somewhere between the Reformed and Conservative Jewish traditions. B'nai Darom was formed by a group who broke away from Temple Beth Shalom (a Reform synagogue) in the 1960s, although they trace their roots to Jewish settlers who came to the area over 100 years ago. There are no Orthodox or Conservative temples in the Ocala area. Rabbi Harold Jaye holds a doctor of philosophy degree from Brandeis University and has served as a professor of humanities at Central Florida Community College.

The Carriage Trade

The term, "carriage trade" refers to the wealthier members of society. It is natural then, that this store, called The Carriage Trade, is the proud purveyor of quality goods.

The store is very large, and features used furniture of all kinds, as well as knickknacks and paintings, etc. We haven't been inside for awhile, but it used to have a hair salon and a restaurant on the second floor.

Some of their furniture is of the antique variety, but all of it is solid and substantial and fairly costly.

We've shopped here on several occasions, but have yet to make a purchase.

I have no idea why some furniture has been moved out front on the sidewalk.

Car at the mall

This was a "demo" car at the mall...one of those people ooh and aah over until they look at the price tag. I played a bit in Photoshop to give a little reflection in the mall floor.

* * * * *

The Pixel Perfect Award has been given to Snapshutter at Twin Cities Photo.

This prestigious award is given after careful thought and consideration to a photo blogger who exhibits exceptional photographic skills in terms of artistic creativity, composition, sharpness and exposure."

Snapshutter qualifies on all counts. Please check out his blog by clicking the link above.

We want to thank Hilda of Manila Photos for nominating Snapshutter for this award.

Family barbecue

This is what you do when the kids and grandkids drive 300 miles from Ft. Lauderdale just to go swimming and eat.

Twisted palms and awards

These two palm trees seemed to have a thing for each other. So we decided to create a painting for them using the Triqui Paint action.

And we were very grateful for the kindness of Asta at Hyperenergy and Other Obstacles for awarding us the bottom two awards! Thank you, Asta! Then, Mary at Mary's Detroit Photo Blog gave us the same two awards, but she made them into her own beautiful creation!

Thank you both very much. Please check out Asta's and Mary's very interesting and exciting blogs!

Stained glass downtown

It's just an old brick building, housing various businesses in downtown Ocala. For some reason, it contains a very beautiful stained glass window.

Flying the flag in the historic district

Here we have another restored house in Ocala's historic district near downtown. It is quite nice, and features the ubiquitous American flag. So many people think flying the flag indicates patriotism. Not necessarily. Anyone can fly a flag. Patriotism involves much more - summed up perhaps by commitment to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Often the biggest flag wavers lack that commitment.

Ye Olde Jukebox

Some of us remember the days of jukeboxes. You put in a dime, chose your favorite song and then would invite your sweetie to do some jitterbugging: At the diner; or soda shop.

This lovely machine is available at Kane's Furniture Store. I don't know the price. But who'd want to buy it? It's "out of order."

From our Secret Garden

I'm not sure what this is, but it grows in our Secret Garden...

Seven Sisters cat

There may be more to this cat than meets the eye. It was a fixture at the now defunct Seven Sisters Inn, which as everyone knows was haunted. Perhaps the cat was sold at auction along with the buildings and furnishings?

Butterfly plant comparison

I've been shooting a bit of film recently and doing some comparisons between 35mm film and digital.

One of these photographs was taken with an old Nikon N8008 with an old crummy 35-70 lens. The film was processed at a Walgreen's drug store. I scanned it on an old Epson 3170 scanner.

The other photo was taken with my Nikon D300 with a state of the art 18-200 Nikon VR digital lens.

Both photos were given the same amount of processing: contrast bump and a bit of sharpening.

It really isn't a fair comparison but can you tell which one is digital and which one is film?

What are you looking at?

A friendly turtle giving us the once-over at Ocala's Sholom Park.

Flower bed

Life is not a bed of roses. But sometimes one finds a bed of flowers.

Off The Top Barber Shop

Off The Top Barber Shop has been in business in east Ocala for 32 years. Bill (in red) has worked at the shop for 25 years; Joel (in purple) for almost as long; and Marty (in black) has also been there for 25 years.



Joel relaxing after cutting my hair



Bill hard at work



I took a photo of Marty inside at her chair, but unfortunately, it did not turn out. Next time, Marty.

Lois Anne on the run

Lois Anne loves to run on the Marjorie Carr Harris Cross Florida Greenway, a six-mile, paved loop through three different terrains - a mostly grassy area; an area of rolling hills and pine trees; and a forest with relatively steep hills.

I call this Lois in motion. And I think she does well for a young lady who's been married to me for over 52 years!

What to do when not photoblogging in Ocala

...so long as the crosswords are easy and the novels entertaining!