Ghosts Come to Life

As you may have gathered, I love old cars. Many are aging works of art and are looking better in their 50s than they looked in the '50s. This DeSoto Firedome, I believe it may be a '57, proudly bears the fins that are today emblematic of a long-gone era in car history.

Car enthusiasts are amazing. They often take a rusting hunk of forgotten metal, a mere memory of a car, and with great skill and incredible ingenuity breathe life into the ghost of an automobile. Go to a cruise night near you and ask to see a car's restoration journal documenting in pictures its journey back from the grave. Many of those into car restoration have such a journal. You will be amazed. You will look at restored cars, and their owners, in a whole new light.
To see and learn more, visit Fins and Chrome. To find cruise nights in your area go to Google and search "cruise nights (your city)." It's that easy. Now, grab your camera and play.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Firefighters Have Wow Factor

London, Ontario, firefighters stopped by a London school recently to show the kids attending the summer camp sessions a fire truck. The little ones were awed. So big, so many doors and so much stuff hidden inside. The children were uncharacteristically quiet. Firefighters obviously have the Wow factor.

How to grab it with a rabbit.

Photo Tip: With digital cameras you do not have to show yourself to get a picture. This little rabbit is oblivious to me. Why? I am on my kitchen floor, totally out of sight, with only the camera looking out the window. The lens is pressed right to the glass to minimize glare and I, watching the monitor on the back of my little Canon SD10, can view the rabbit nibbling his way closer to my home. Now, if there had been a bird or two at the bird bath. . .

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Daisies Begging to be Photographed, Honest!

O.K. I know what you are thinking. "Another flower picture?" In a word, yes.

I apologize but I just could not help myself. Man these things were made to be shot by my little fixed lens camera. They were begging to have their picture taken. I had to buckle.

It is a nice picture, right? You just have to agree.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Home County Folk Festival...Unstoppable

A tradition for the past 35 years, nothing stops The Home County Folk Festival held annually in Victoria Park in downtown London, Ontario. Billed as an event for the whole family, bringing together generations with music, dance, arts, crafts, and food, it is clear one kid hasn't got the word. Prepared for the rain, he brought a large umbrella; he was also prepared for the folk music as he was hunkered down under the umbrella with a notebook computer running computer games.

This year the festival presented an energizing mix from folk/rock to blues, bluegrass, Celtic and Acadian delivered by a rich brew of regional, national and international artists. It took five stages to handle the more than 132 performances presented over the three day event. If you missed this year's festival, watch the Web and mark your calendar for next year. With luck, it won't even rain.

Cadillac Was King

This is another in my posts celebrating the Thursday evening Hyde Park Lions Club Country Cruizin' nights held at Steve Plunkett's Fleetwood Farms. The events are free but those attending or showing cars are encouraged to give a donation to the Special Abilities Riding Institute in Arva. The institute offers horseback riding for children with disabilities. 

Expect to see several hundred cars at each event, mostly beautiful Detroit iron, but there are always a few vintage English sports cars and other memorable vehicles to be seen. The historic Cadillac, above, is part of Steve Plunkett's private collection. Leaving the grounds Thursday night, I noticed this classic beauty sitting in front of Plunkett's newest building, which was constructed to house Plunkett's most interesting cars. 

How Plunkett chooses which dozen or so cars to include in his top tier of classic Cadillacs is a question. If all this sounds interesting, for directions and more details, visit: http://www.countrycruizin.com.