Hi, I'm Lucinda
The photo was taken with my new Canon EOS 450D (with a tamron 18-200mm lense), by me in the mirror. It's a little overexposed, but at my age, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Bare Bones Bio:
I was born in Louisiana, USA in 1956, youngest of four girls. In 1967 we all moved to New Jersey when my father was transferred. I've always loved to read and soon gravitated towards Sci Fi, Fantasy, and nonfiction (mostly English History). The last was influenced by watching Masterpiece Theatre. I had the opportunity to go to the UK and Greece on 10 day Easter trips through my high school, which instilled in me an itch to travel. After one year of college,(I learned a lot, but unfortunately not much from my professors and text books) I joined the Air Force and went to Japan and England. I married a fellow GI (Bill), in England, got out of the Air Force (Bill stayed in)and went back to the States. Bill and I then lived in Rancho Cordova, California (where we had our first son, Charles),
Biloxi, Mississippi (where we had our second son, James), Oxfordshire, UK (For me, thank you Bill), and San Antonio, Texas (where we live now). Bill is retired from the Air Force and drives a Big Rig for J. B. Hunt. I am an office manager for a carwash. Charles and James graduated last May from University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas A&M at College Station respectively. Yeah!!!
Interests:
Reading - Mostly nonfiction history, though I have widened the field somewhat. I also like journals and diaries and have been reading "The Diary of Samuel Pepys" on and off for a while now. I'm currently on Vol. VII 1666. (I haven't gotten to the great fire yet). My fiction tends to run to fantasy, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Neil Gaiman to name a few.
Music - I grew up on rock, folk, musicals, classical, and Gilbert and Sullivan. I still love all that and have added jazz, blues, bluegrass, celtic and a little country. I don't play any instruments and can't sing (the singing talent in our family seemed to lessen with each new sister and I'm the baby of the bunch), but I'm an enthusiastic listener.
Art (Drawing, Photography and Oil Painting) - One of the regular pastimes of my sisters and I growing up was paper dolls. We used typing paper to make swimsuit clad paper dolls with pattern book heads. Then we spent countless hours drawing and coloring clothes for them. Depending on the current story, they could be clothes from Regency England, Colonial America, or Star Trek. I also drew faces from the hairdo magazines and was happy if they looked fairly human. I now draw and have recently taken up oil painting. I'm a definite amateur at photography. I've taken pictures since the mid 70s when I went to Japan, but they are mostly of my travels, kids and cats. I've got a lot to go through to see which ones are worth posting. I bought my first digital camera last April (09) for my birthday (I ordered it in April, received it in May, for my birthday in June. (I don't believe in being too literal about such things) I bought PhotoShop in June. I've still got a lot to learn on both, but it's a lot of fun.
Other - My sister Gail and I love The Teaching Company lectures. We both buy history, I occasionally buy literature and she occasionally buys math and science and we watch each other's. I'm also a tad fond of cats.
I could gush, and probably have, about all the talent I see on RR. I find myself using the words wow and beautiful far too much. I guess I should pull out the Thesaurus.Â
Comments (32)
Richardphotos
I bet it is not unoccupied, as it is home to many creatures.superb shot.Hill Country Texas?
helanker
Super shot of this abandoned little house. Love the cacti I see all over..Wonder if they make fruit.
myrrhluz
Yes, the Hill Country, Texas. :) Helle, the cactus is prickly pear. I found this about its fruit on wikipedia. "The fruit of prickly pears, commonly called cactus fruit, cactus fig, Indian[6] fig or tuna in Spanish,[7] is edible, although it has to be peeled carefully to remove the small spines on the outer skin before consumption. If the outer layer is not properly removed, glochids can be ingested, causing discomfort of the throat, lips, and tongue, as the small spines are easily lodged in the skin. Native Americans, like the Tequesta, would roll the fruit around in a suitable medium (e.g. grit) to "sand" off the glochids. Alternatively, rotating the fruit in the flame of a campfire or torch has been used to remove the glochids."
jayfar
A wonderful shot Lucinda.
magnus073
Very nice capture Lucinda, and this one has a truly sad tone to it. Can't get over how as Helle pointed out it is teaming with cactus all about. It seems to have anything in this area would require constant care to stay ahead of the elements.
durleybeachbum
I could do without the prickly garden! Althugh it would make a great hedge!
jocko500
wow look at the cactus. it too over the land. a hobo love this one i get. anyway a wonderful shot
emmecielle
The fruit of the prickly pear is very tasty! They are abundant in Sicily! Fantastic capture, Lucinda! :)
flavia49
beautiful capture
Faemike55
Very cool capture Shame that the house is abandoned
vaggabondd
have you ever seen the show extreme make over lol. I think this house could use one. great shot my friend :)
sandra46
MELANCHOLIC VIEW GREAT SHOT
goodoleboy
OMG, a stellar pic of the old structure in an advance stage of deterioration, Lucinda, not to mention the unkempt grounds which surround it. I'm trying to figure out how the transmission lines could have contributed to its demise. Maybe the electricity from the lines zapped the owner, who, having expired, could no longer care for the cottage and grounds, which led to their decrepit state. Incidentally, tons of prickly pear cacti around my corner of the country.
0rest4wicked
Well there goes the nieghborhood. Even though, one human dwelling gone to waste becomes a paradise for the insect world!
Minda
Great capture lucinda..
mgtcs
Marvelous capture from this amazing old cabin my friend, most impressive environment, just a single image tells many stories, Thank you for sharing all the beauty you see my friend, well done!
npauling
You wouldn't want to come outside of this house in your bare feet with all the prickly pear. It has seen better days but your capture tells the story more vividly than words. Excellent.
wysiwig
In Mexico the prickly pear is known as Nopal and the leaves are considered a delicacy. Always a little sad to see houses like this. It was someone's dream once. It looks like they left some furniture behind. Nice capture.
sharky_
Lost in time...sad. Aloha
dochtersions
It's so exciting to make a walk in your company, dear friend. Here I like the cactus also. It's a surprise to see it here, and I love the wilderness, which this barn is a part of. You did show it in a very beautiful way, and mood, Lucinda ♥ !
whaleman
The prickly pear cactus colors must have been the original inspiration for the house color. Very nice!
mariogiannecchini
Super shot of this abandoned little house!Fantastic capture, Lucinda! :)
drifterlee
Spooky old house. Cool scene!
jendellas
All those cacti, great capture!!!
psyoshida
I feel the same as Mark upon seeing abandoned houses like this. They do evoke an imaginative storyline as to how they turned that way though. What interesting plant life around it too. Great shot!
mickeyrony
With all these cactus would have Hiiiiii tombs. Great job and many thanks for sharing ((5 + +)) Avec tous ces cactus ont dirait des tombeaux Hiiiiiii. Beau travail et mille mercis de partager ((5++))
blondeblurr
Here in OZ the Real Estate agents would call this a 'renovators delight' - and I like to add, that it would be my specialty - have done a few in the last decades! But that's besides the point, you really caught the essence of the way it is right now and it's not pretty, but quite enchanting, perfect for Halloween ;-) amazing story details on the cacti. BB
anianiani
Awesome..
gunsan
Back to nature, like we all are heading, and everything around us
bmac62
Your falling down house caught my eye Lu...as I posted one a couple of hours ago too. Lots of atmosphere here...:)