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The idea for this project was conceived while on a trip to the local river one morning for photographing what presented. While roaming about the pink shoe was spotted, some photos were made and edited then allowed to reside in digital cold storage. Why did I photograph a shoe…..location, color, who knows.

Throw in geography and history and a love of old place names, the Animas River in particular came to mind. It was once known as Rio de Las Animas Perdidas, River of Lost Souls, the photo was named Lost Sole.

Later that year the black shoe was spotted along a recently mown county road, it too was photographed and became Lost Sole #2.

Shortly after, the Lost Soles Project was born with three very strict rules. First, the shoe must have once belonged to a member of the human race and have gone feral. Second, the scene or shoe are not to be touched, moved or disturbed in any way. Third, return visits are allowed and encouraged, however, do not feed the shoes!…..or is that bears?

Now you have the back story of my useless photography project. Its just for fun and giggles.

Unfortunately, both of the shoes have succumbed to the ravages of time.

Even though I captured both of the photos above, it is hard to believe they are only about an hour apart. A good friend of mine stated that the clouds looked “grumpy” which is fairly accurate given the wind and rain that followed.

Half an hour later it was nearly clear and sunshine again.

The river was just beginning to rise which caused the water to be somewhat murky, it went on to rise several feet into minor flood stage.

Just weather as usual here.

This post is just me having a momentary bit of imagination. I spotted this seed husk a couple years ago, which really surprised me as I was not aware these trees grew in the wild. I have been seeking this tree for some time, alas, it remains a mystery. Alright, I have that out of my system so will try to act like a proper grownup……or not! Gotta have a bit of fun with this life.

Confession time. I have a quirk in my make up that can be summed up as, “if it flies, floats or runs on rails, I will stop to look at it”. Chances are good a photo or a dozen will result. Hence, this photo of switching operations on the Central Missouri.

It is always interesting to see the little bits of history folks leave behind. This collection of old license plates is located on the side of a machine shed / work shop in the area. I used to visit occasionally with Marvin, the man who owned the farm. He was still active around the place even though he was somewhat over 80 years old.

I have often wondered whether or not there was any significance to placing the license plates here or if it was merely something to do with them. Guess that will remain a mystery, though, a unique quirk from the past.

Disclaimer, you were warned about my thing for fog in the early AM. So here we go again. This field was along the usual back road commute to work at a former employer. Being a portion of ancient river valley, a cut off meander, the land is very conducive to forming low fog under the right conditions. Plenty of photo opportunities with little traffic to worry about if a stop was needed.

In this instance the lines of corn sprouting just seemed to invite me through the opening to see what earth and sky had been up to during the night.

I know many would say its just a snapshot, which is absolutely true, the entire process of stop, shoot and go taking mere seconds. But those critics are missing the memory, the sheer joy of being alive at this exact place and time and seeing first hand there is a Creator busy making little things of beauty and sharing them for all to see. We need only open our eyes and look.

This photo was made on a very hot summer afternoon. Air temperature was 105°, this pavement had been soaking up heat for around six hours. A turtle came out of the roadside ditch and started across, moving at a pace that was most likely a new speed record for common snapping turtles. I stopped to allow a safe crossing and snapped the photo. The turtle made it across safely after a brief stop to cool its feet, five drivers went on their way and I keep this snapshot as a reminder. When I am feeling heat for doing something, I need to stop to examine my motives or choices, then let nothing deter me from doing what is right.

One fine morning last year, (which in this story means bright sunshine, clear skies and river valley fog), I set out with a specific destination in mind. In the half hour it takes to arrive on location a slight breeze from the west entered the mix.

Rather disappointing. The tree at the extreme right is the buzzards roost featured in a previous post.

Same location, different day, with clouds and no fog.

For now, imagination will have to do the heavy lifting, this is more the idea.

Seen in a local, well known, general merchandise outpost. Two years later and I still don’t know if it is a deliberate choice or a conceptual ambiguity.

Cees Fun Foto Challenge  brings some photos of dilapidated barns. All of these are within a short distance of home. I can remember when the first one wss still in use before the advent of big round hay bales. The other buildings are a discovery from last spring. They stand in the floodplain of the local river, so they get washed out every year or so.