Backyard America

Three months have gone by since I moved away from Florida to "Smalltown America." Past posts have given you insights to my newest surroundings and the pace of life I am living. Admittedly, I am starting to enjoy this slower tempo. Somehow I am slowing down with it. I have slowed down enough to where walking is a new and enjoyable activity. Most of the time I don't have any particular destination and sometimes I wish I would get lost in the woods. But, there is always that city person in me that fears the wild things. Heck, bugs are enough to keep me from wandering too far. At the first entanglement in a spiderweb boobie trapped across a trail, I am instantly reminded that I am in the wrong domain and head back indoors.

Living in Kernersville has offered me some insight into a life that I somehow wanted as a kid. I always wanted a go-kart or 4-wheeler, but because we lived in a neighborhood the roads were not safe for a kid on a toy car. The daydream of living in a place like this faded sometime during high school when I discovered FFA.

I look forward to what the North Carolina seasons have in store. According to a few co-workers, the annual Halloween party is often held in a warehouse complete with hay covered floors, beer kegs, lighting, smoke, a pig roast, live music, and the prerequisite ticket to entry - an elaborate costume. I imagine by then the temperature will have dropped a few degrees and the leaves will have changed all sorts of colors. Shortly thereafter winter will creep it's way into the forecast. Friendships will have grown and the life I got to see on TV will play out in front of me. Calendars will resemble the vistas near the mountains. 4th of July celebrations will feel different. Battlegrounds surround the towns we visit. Food will have a new taste. The air will smell unique. A walk in a neighbor's backyard...well, that might be dangerous around these parts. ;)

Yesterday I wandered across the street to our temporary neighbor's house. I had always expressed an interest to him in taking photographs around his property. He kind of just laughed and more than likely thought to himself - "Ah, dayemn city bo-ah. Nuttin' butd juhnk 'e-rouwnd heyer. Dohn't knowa why yewd wanna take pidchers of dis junk." But, I suppose that's just what happens when you have lived in a place for a long time. His yard is truly a treat. To the west is a sloping field ending in forest. In the evening time the sun tucks neatly below the ridgeline of trees leaving nothing but gold across the fields. To the north is a forest with trails leading to a secluded spring. Off to the east...well, development is moving in. There are new roads and new houses being built. And finally, towards the south is the residence where I am currently living. In his backyard is a fearless white German Shephard. If you wander too close you risk an unwelcoming introduction. "Boss" - as he so appropriately named - is the keeper of the apple trees, woodshed, sunflower rows, and all others tempted to wander close to the back porch. I crept silently and approached from the east. Boss didn't hear me or see me, but I carefully found my way into the auto yard where the real gems were. There are 2 or 3 MG's, 2 International Scout pickup trucks, and a few other cars that have long been forgotten. The appeal they offer to the photographer is to die for. Perhaps that's why I nearly forgot Boss was within a chain length's reach. I moved quickly. I brought the most modest equipment with me - a monopod and vintage Nikon FG loaded with 100 speed 35mm Reala film. My wandering paid off beautifully.

As I wrapped up my impromptu sunset photo shoot, I stopped and stared at a property that will probably someday go away with the advances of people like myself. Just up the street is an old tobacco barn slowly being reclaimed by the earth. It might never make it to become a piece of rubble. Perhaps one day McDonald's will reclaim that land to sell more of it's "wonderful" food. Some of the road is covered in gravel. The people that have lived here for so long cannot keep this town the way it has been forever. I can appreciate this place with a set of outside eyes and it has truly been a great experience for me to photograph in it's true setting. I hope to wander out into those fields again before we move out of our rental home and capture more of the essence of what makes this town so humble. Perhaps a few prints in a rustic frame might be a nice gesture to thank our neighbor for allowing me to wander in his backyard in "Smalltown America."