vt

spent some days in and around south royalton, VT, checking out the one-horse, two-bandstand town that is where my dear friends have steaded the home, dropped the cash and cracked the books on law school.
"downtown" so ro
at the joseph smith birthplace, with blaring hymnal sounds coming from the woods. this granite is from barre, and was hauled in one piece, over mr. button's mudhole to this site. it's as tall as jsmith was years old when he was "martyred" for the cause. mormon pilgrimage site with tight shoes.

rode around in lots of trucks and convertibles; mr. jeremiah vernon piloted this one, and mr. tobias fischer swiped this rad bag for me and brought it all the way east from the scenic mountains and teal-beamed structures of fresno, CA. cool.
another cool bag.

meat tags

bbc just did a piece on a guy in north carolina that tattoos a lot of "meat tags": tattoos of vital information in a replica image of soldiers' dog tags. the acknowledgment and preparation for death, for practical purposes and by emulating the tags themselves, takes a toll on this skull chalise-drinkin man: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8913507.stm

summers past

from whence i sprang- my grandmother at the beach with my aunt & uncle (presumably in scarborough...), and my grandfather in a one-piece. happy august.

stumped

as foretold, the stump collection- sign of life cut short, etc. etc. ^mount feake cemetery, waltham, MA.
iowa city had a curiously high percentage of stump gravestones, as well as a great deal of actual stumps and logs around. here are a few; one is under the superstition-worthy (and likely painted) BLACK ANGEL. i wasn't plucky/foolhardy enough to kiss it.

this cool hand was in a cemetery in andover, MA on the phillips academy campus. nothing like a shawl to calm one down before a job interview.
in maine at the moment. a bounty to come once near cords and scanners and such. til soon, summertime.

last of the spraypaints- iowa city aristosnack advocacya bit of yellow tragedy, green harbor, MA.
went to maine for the weekend to do all sortsa things. one of those things was a stop by randy reiger's storefront, the nupenny toy store. it's at 82 parris st. in portland. randy makes amazing sculptures that are 1950s rocket ship and space-race ephemera. they're great. stop by and peek in if you can. big props to ma taylor for knowing the spot!

FIGS from a tree near where the pigs live in new orleans. now i'm in iowa; spent the day yesterday picking raspberries, plums & peaches in alleys and admiring stump gravestones in iowa city. more to come, from the homefront.