Category: Mosaic Of Life

All the other things about living life outside the main stream.

Mosaic of Life #98 About Jimmy Madison…

Mosaic Of Life
Here’s to you Jimmy and Dolly, thanks for the ride…

This picture was taken on our “President’s Row” trip in 2011. We visited 6 president’s homes.

Jimmy was a quiet guy. He didn’t stand out like so many of his playmates who were much taller and more vocal than him. He was intelligent but didn’t go around bragging about that. But, He was what was needed at the time to make this democracy project a success.

I think some of you probably know who I am talking about? I don’t suspect you call him Jimmy, but instead use his God-given name of James. I am talking about James Madison, otherwise known a “The Father of the Constitution”. I am a little hesitant to say this, but I kinda think I am much like him. I, too, am a little guy who has more than my share of intelligence. Like him, I call myself a wordsmith, but nothing on the level that he played on. I used to speak softly, that is until I went deaf and speaking loudly became necessary to speaking at all.

Being a U.S. history nut, I have read several books about Madison, who is one of my favorite heroes, and have visited his humble home in Virginia a couple of times. Where all his founder buddies like Jefferson and Washington had large plantations and slaves, Madison’s home was not so showy. Madison was about 5’6″ where Jefferson and Washington were 6+ feet in heights.

Mosaic of Life #33 – Mississinewa 1812

Mosaic Of Life

The Battle of 1812 is not high on a level of importance as wars go. It was primarily about Great Britain riling up the Indians who were losing their homeland to the invaders. Except for the annihilation of many tribes in the Northeast, the war didn’t change much, but the reenactment at Mississinewa, Indiana is the biggest one of that war.

This particular battle was mainly about ineptitude. Most of the men who signed up for this battle were kids 18 – 20 years old, who were poorly trained and led by the “Indian Hater” William Henry Harrison. (these are my Native American roots speaking out).

The reenactment is advertised as the biggest event on the War of 1812. I am adding a gallery below to give you an idea of its magnitude. As far as smoke and cannon booms, it is my favorite. (click any image to see a larger slideshow view)

Mosaic of Life #95 – Red, Yellow, Green

Mosaic Of Life

I spent the last weekend organizing my iPhoto Library so that it’s easier to find what I want here at RJsCorner. Putting 18,000 photos into about 20 different boxes is no small challenge, but due to my Aspie traits, I am up to it.

During all this work I came to the realization that I have an affinity towards stoplights. The art and structure, especially this one, fascinates me. This picture was taken while I was visiting one of the Wright Brother’s sites in Dayton Ohio. There is so much to see in Dayton, I will have to get back for another visit.

Mosaic of Life #101 – Ghosts Of The Past

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I’ve gone through thousands of small towns in my fifty years of traveling America. One of the things that always catches my attention are the faded signs of the past on an abandoned building. I am always tempted to stop and try to find out a little about the sign, as I’m sure it has an interesting history. I did try once, but all I got were shrugs and “I don’t know”. So, instead, I tend to make up stories about every sign I encounter. I’m pretty sure this picture is from a town in my area that was probably once a well traveled tourist path. But, now it is likely just local people going about their daily business.

It saddens me that small-town America has almost disappeared. The Interstate Highway system is the primary reason, but there are several others that also contributed. In 1900 60% of the population lived in rural areas and 40% of those lived on farms. By the time I was born it was down to 17% farmers. Today that number is now less than 2% farmers and 15% who still live in rural areas.

About 25 years ago, when I started to seriously travel America, I only used State highways. I liked the diversity of small towns. But there came a point where more and more small towns were becoming shells of their past. For many, about the only business left in the town was the local post office, and maybe a gas station/thrift market. As the years went by this became very depressing to me. Finally, about 10 years ago, I started taking Interstate highways. That has finally become the norm for me.

Just like everything else in life, things have changed to make small-town America a thing of the past. But it does no good to spend our future lamenting the past. The sooner more people realize this, the better off we will be.

Mosaic of Life #93 – The Sanitary Restaurant – North Carolina

Mosaic Of Life

If I were to open a new restaurant today, I certainly wouldn’t call it the “Sanitary Restaurant”! I’m sure there are some places that are proud that they don’t get any serious violations by the health department, but I’m also certain they don’t mention it as a reason to eat there.

“Eat here because, it’s sanitary”

As I have mentioned, one of the expected highlights when I get along the East coast is oysters. During my four years in New Jersey, I fell in love with oysters on the half shell, primarily the Chesapeake Bay version. Before a 2019 North Carolina trip, I had read about the “Marshland’s oyster trail” and was looking for at least three meals of treasured oysters. I had researched several restaurants along the route, but when I visited, I failed to find any open. I was certain that when I reached New Bern, which is in the heart of oyster country, I would find my beloved oysters. New Bern seems the epitome of a seafaring touristy town with dozens of restaurants. Of all those places, I found only one that had oysters on the half shell, and it was closed. It only opened on Thursday through Sunday.

Oysters were meant to be one of the primary purposes of the trip, but I found myself leaving the marshlands without having even one of them. But then I came across the “Sanitary Restaurant”. It was in Morehead City, NC. So, I thought, “what the heck, let’s give it a try”. When I asked the person at the front station if they had oysters on the half shell, she proudly announced that that was one of their specialities. I had heard that NC oysters were larger than most along the Atlantic seaboard, and when they arrived that was indeed true. I also ordered one of their specialities, Bogue Sound Clam Chowder. Needless to say, I was so happy that the restaurant had grabbed my attention.

This restaurant reminded me very much of the NJ place I frequented. This NC version was also almost 100 years old, and was extremely proud of their heritage. When an older lady came to my table to ask if I enjoyed the meal, we got into a lengthy conversation. I found out that she was one of the many owners in the family business. She told me to make sure I saw all the pictures about their history. She was also proud of the fact that one of the chefs had been there for over 40 years!

Here are some of the pictures of pictures I took. (click on any picture to see a larger version)

Mosaic of Life #87 It’s All About Timing…

Mosaic Of Life

Sometimes you get lucky and click the shutter button at just the right instance. That pretty much describes today’s mosaic. Several of the reenactments I have visited have booming cannons, but I never realized how dramatic they were. Yes, when these types of pictures were taken, I could hear the cannon, but my mind never saw the flash as dramatic as it was. But, then again, I really could not “hear” them, but instead felt them across my chest. But to me, that qualifies as hearing.

This picture was taken at the Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous in May 2019. That is just down the road from me. Maybe I will go again this year. If you are in the area, I think you would enjoy going too. If you want to see more about it, click HERE.

Here is how they describe it.

Here are a few more pictures to entice you.

Mosaic of Life #86 – The Most Mysterious

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Just when I think I have photographed the most complex “Into The Depth” flower, another one come to take the “Most” title. If I were to make an abstract painting that described the complexity of my mind, it would probably closely resemble this picture.

Just so you know, this picture was not modified in the least from when it was taken.

Mosaic of Life #78. Lego Beauty

Mosaic Of Life

I have found out that Lego is not just a bunch of blocks, but instead it is a creation yet to be discovered. It took about 4 hours to build this 771 piece LEGO Icon Succulents. It was a very peaceful 4 hours. Yes, I know this is a “kit” that has probably been sold to thousands of different people. But this is just what I needed almost a year ago to finally push me in a different direction. It was the beginning of the process, and I’m certainly glad it happened.

Mosaic of Life #61 Re-enactments Are My Thing

Mosaic Of Life

One of my favorite places to visit in all my 50 years of travels has been re-enactments, particularly those that celebrated events in the 1800s. The above mosaic celebrated the Fall seasons in Northern Indiana. This historic reenactment captures 18th century life at Fort Quiatnon which is north of the present day West Lafayette/Purdue University.

The activities at this reenactment include: French and Native American music and dance, fife and drum corps performances, military drills, and many other activities such as story telling, bead bracelet making and tomahawk throwing. If you care to go, it happens the first weekend in October.

I love the fact that there are so many who come to this event, and others like them, are dressed in period appropriate garb, such as the two young ladies above. I kinda wish I had done the same, but it only happened once (at Ft. Bridger, WY).

There are hundreds of these types of events that take place across the U.S.

Here are some additional pictures:

Mosaic of Life #20 Shaker Seeds

Mosaic Of Life

During my travels, I have visited many historic sites. I think Shaker sites are my overall favorite, especially the one closest to me near Lexington, KY, called Pleasant Hill Shaker Village. There are no longer any active villages, but many have been preserved as national historic sites.

My initial introduction to Shakers was their furniture, but garden seeds were probably what they were actually more famous for.

Mosaic of Life #58 – A Beautiful Entourage

Mosaic Of Life

These flowers remind me of something entirely different. What makes this bouquet so beautiful is the variety of individual plants that make it up. Yes, a dozen roses tell a story usually involving love, but a beautiful variety of flowers such as above shows us that diversity of life is where all the beauty resides.

Going off on a related tangent, streaming video makes it possible to go back in time to revisit all the great TV shows of the past. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I am currently watching Northern Exposure, which ran from 1990 to 1995. With all these old classics now available again, I have discovered that the TV shows I rate as the best usually have a very diverse cast, and they all seem to get along so well. That is so different from what I see in my daily life.

Being a deaf Aspie, I have two strikes against me, at least as described by the “normal” world (of which there is no such thing). I am stuck between two worlds, and neither seem to be able to see me as I am. There is the deaf world and the hearing world, and there is the neurodiverse world and the neurotypical world. Since being a deaf Aspie makes me a 1 in 160,000 sort of thing is just a normal occurrence now. But that’s OK. I am finally comfortable with who I am and no longer feel obliged to fit into the mold of those who see me as a “strange bird”.

Mosaic of Life #74 – Chaos (Double Memory)…

Mosaic Of Life

This mosaic was taken on the shores of the Great Lakes. Indiana only has a minute segment of shoreline, but what it has is beautiful indeed. It is at the very southern end of a 317-mile Lake Michigan. Most of the weather in this part of the country comes from Canada, so I suppose that is the reason that many of the rocks and pebbles accumulate at the southern end. To me, this mosaic kinda looks like organized chaos. I especially love the blue rocks scattered among the others.

Whenever I think of the word Chaos I am reminded of one of my favorite SciFi movies called Tron. It is about an inventor who got transported onto the Grid (otherwise known as the Internet today). Everything there was digital in the movie and many of the scenes were impressive, at least considering the movie was made in 1982. “Chaos, Good News” was one of the most remembered quotes from the movie.

Of course, this is not the only SciFi movie I have watched. In fact, I am a junkie when it comes to this genre of entertainment. More on that later.

Mosaic of Life #73 – Old Fashioned Containers Tell A Story

Mosaic Of Life

One of my favorite things to look for when I visited local or regional museums were containers. Back in the day before TV commercials, magazines, and such, the primary way to get attention to their products was by creative packaging.

This picture was taken in the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. I will give you more details about the park in a future mosaic. For this mosaic, I just what to focus on the containers I found there. Each one tells a story of it’s own.

Mosaic of Life #70 – Red and Green & White All Over

Mosaic Of Life

One of the advantages of living in a college town is the number of artsy sources in the community. Last month I visited the IU Biology Dept green house for the first time. I was warned ahead of time that it is a “working” green house, so expect hoses and wet concrete. Most of the flowers were one steel-grated tables, not elaborate presentation as most conservatories are. But, that was perfectly fine with me.

I don’t know when the green house was built, but it was likely 50 or more years old. There were some plants there that were enormous. This mosaic is rightly in the “Into-the-depth” category, but I was also impressed by just how green the leaves were in the surrounding area. And, of course, you can’t miss the green house windows at the top of the picture.

I took over 100 photos that day, so you can expect some more “Into-the-depth” shots in the coming months.

Mosaic of Life #28 – Surreal Landscape

Mosaic Of Life

The last time I was at the Grand Canyon was when this picture was taken in 2005. I have been there on two other occasions. What was special this time was that we stayed in the lodge on the south end of the canyon. We could lie in our bed at the national park lodge as see the canyon about 50 feet away. It was like the other two times I had visited there in that it just didn’t seem real. The grandeur of it was just beyond imagination. One of the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” things I regret not doing was to take a trip to the bottom of the canyon and look up, instead of down. If you ever get a chance to do that, you absolutely should, or you, like me, will regret it.

Mosaic of Life #27 – Heinz Museum – Pittsburgh

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When I planned on visiting the Heinz Museum in Pittsburgh, I imagined it would be all about ketchup and other condiments. Yeah, that was included, but a big majority of the contents were about documenting history. During my visit I discovered that the museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute. If you want to see a video of the museum, click HERE

The museum in itself made the two days in Pittsburgh well worth the visit. But there are other sites you must see if you visit that city. The Primanti Brothers Bar & Pub, which is only a few blocks from the museum, is well-known for their hamburgers piled high with coleslaw and french fries on top. I tried one but would never order another one. 🥴 I guess the sandwich fits right in with the gritty nature of Pittsburgh.

Another place well worth the visit is the Point State Park where the three rivers come together (Ohio, Allegheny, Monongahela Rivers). When we were there in 2008, that park was in the middle of a major renovation. There is a small, but worth the visit, museum with an impressive diorama and other historical artifacts in the park.

Below are some pictures from our two-day visit. I will leave the Carnegie Museums for another post.

Mosaic of Life #8 – High Plains Barn & Silo

Mosaic Of Life

I mentioned a few posts ago that I am hankering to do another purely analog mosaic, but before I do that I need to close out my early attempts in that mode. I have been across the high plains States numerous times, but like Indiana, many traveling through the High Plains just breeze through it without stopping.

The most prominent thing about this area of the country is that it is WINDY. Maybe I should stop here and give you my definition of “High Plains”, that is Nebraska, southeastern Wyoming, and South Dakota, and central Kansas. In hindsight, it was a mistake to write off this area as not worth my time visiting. I’m pretty sure the picture that this mosaic was based on was near Colby Kansas.

On a side tract, one of the most memorable museums I have visited was in the small town (population 5,500) of Colby, Kansas. It was called the Prairie Museum. I will have a Mosaic/post of this museum in the near future. I put the picture of my departed wife here to show you just how windy it was when we visited. 😎

Getting back to the mosaic at hand, this was one of my last attempts at analog art. I was discouraged by the fact that the sky was so poorly done. I just couldn’t let this one stand as my last attempt. I will be practicing with my technique before I put another analog mosaic on my mosaic wall.

Mosaic of Life #32 – Veggie Flowers Are…

Mosaic Of Life

Just because I am trying to nurture my artsy side here at RJsMosaics doesn’t mean that my logical engineering side is stifled. I decided to use the 2017 photo of my veggie garden to highlight the yellow flower that is prominent at the top of the picture to show you the beauty of veggie flowers. Yes, they are for the most part very short-lived and die off quickly when the veggie, in this case zucchini, starts maturing, but that doesn’t decrease their beauty.

I think that veggie flowers are just as beautiful as the flowers that were in my wife’s flower beds.

Mosaic of Life #62 – Peoria Riverfront Museum

Mosaic Of Life

Peoria is a city in central Illinois, and has a population of about 100,000. Its Riverfront Museum has some of the most unique art around. When I was there, the main floor was dedicated to Lego art, several are shown below.

With this post, I am going to clue you in on a secret I have learned after visiting at least a hundred museums around the country. It seems that every town or city with more than a population of 1,000 has it local museum. I would say that about half of those type that I have visited were worth the trip. The others were just various local pieces thrown together in one room.

Then there are the large cities, meaning those with a population of 200,000 or more, are primarily made up of Renaissance and similar art pieces they have managed to collect through trusts or inheritance of wealthy people. If they give enough, a room in the museum is named after them. These types of museum have become dull and boring to me. It’s the “same old, same old” every time. Due to my humble upbringing, I can’t help but wonder how all that money could have been used for clinic/housing/feeding of those at the other end of their spectrum.

Then there are those cities between about 70,000 to 200,000 who thrive on their creative juices. They, like this Riverfront Museum, find things that are visually pleasing, but don’t cost a fortune. Those are the museums I mostly sought out during my 50 years of traveling across America.

Mosaic of Life #60 – Ft Wayne Museum of Art

Mosaic Of Life

For those of you who don’t know Indiana, that is probably most of you, Ft Wayne is in the northeast corner of the state. It is the second-largest city in the state with a population of about 260,000, although it seems much smaller than that. I had been in Ft Wayne several times but had never visited it Museum of Art. I’m glad I finally got there in 2019.

I don’t remember if it had the usual Renaissance paintings that most of the larger cities have, but I definitely remember the abstract wing as shown above and below.

One thing I am drawn to is art using wood. Since I spent six years designing and fabricating unique country painted furniture, my love of wooden art shouldn’t be surprising. As shown in the mosaic #60 above and many others dedicated to reflections, glass also draws me in.

The third thing that drew me in to this museum was reflections, by that, I mean the way the light on the art object put shadows on the wall behind it.

If you are ever in the area of Ft Wayne, it is worth the trip to visit the Ft Wayne Museum of Art. Ft Wayne is also the home of Sechler Pickles, and their pickled green tomatoes are to die for.

Mosaic of Life #10 – Wounded Warrior??

Mosaic Of Life

When I took this picture in my wife’s garden in 2017, I didn’t immediately realize that the butterfly had a serious portion of his left wing missing. I know that if an airplane had that much wing destroyed, it would seriously hamper its ability to fly. I can’t imagine how that happened, but I like to dream that he got it while defending his family. 🙃

Mosaic of Life #53 – Four Things That Draw Me In…

Mosaic Of Life

Now that I am beginning to populate this new artsy site, I have discovered that there are certain types of artsy that draw me in more than others. Those are Containers, Flowers, Texture and Reflections. I am a regular visitor of historic sites and almost all of them have an old-fashioned general story filled with containers.

Flowers are probably the main reason for RJsMosaics. Their beauty, variety, and mind-boggling intensity fascinate me. The closer I look, the more I am entranced. Texture, specifically brick walls, as shown in today’s M53-mosaic. I don’t really understand this one, so I will let it go without much explanation. Reflections fascinate me. When I visited Ottawa, Canada, that solidified this as a favorite. There will be many pictures coming in that variety.

I don’t know if there are others out there that share the love for these categories, but if there are, I have put those four as subcategories that appear at the top of each post on the home page. Just click on the name and you will see more pictures in that category.

Mosaic of Life #52 – The World’s Most Beautiful Junkyard

Mosaic Of Life

As soon as I saw this place, I immediately stomped on the brake petal. I knew I HAD to have a picture of it. It has remained on my wall since that April day in 2015. When I read my first book about the “Mountain Men” as a teenager, I have always dreamed that in a previous life I was a mountain man. When I say the movie “Jeremiah Johnson” in 1972, that thought was permanently welded into my mind.

As the picture says, it was taken near LaFruto in southern Colorado. Like so many other times, the only regret I have was that I didn’t take a closer look.

Mosaic of Life #34 – The Reenactors

Mosaic Of Life

I spent most of my roadtrips in 2020 going to reenactments, and I must say the guy in the picture above is my favorite for authenticity. I often wonder what he does in the 21st century version of himself? There will eventually be many posts reporting on specific reenactments, but for this one I just want to point out some of the best of the best reenactors.

Mosaic of Life #51 – Old Quebec, Canada

Mosaic Of Life

A major stopping point during our 2011-month-long trip across eastern Canada was Old Quebec. It was the part of Quebec that has been completely restored back to its 1600s roots. That is except for the 21st century add-ons. Above is a picture of the main square in that area.

Old Quebec was a very festive place as shown in the picture gallery below. The painted murals on the walls were of the magnitude and beauty I have ever encountered. I ended up spending quite some time just trying to take in the details. Even though I could not hear them, the various musicians around the square were a pleasure to watch.

Of course, this area is adjacent to the St. Lawrence River as it was the river was a major highway in its time. There were plenty of nice restaurants and shops in the area, so I had trouble keeping my wife out of them. We found a parking space relatively close to the area and after plugging in about $10 worth of coins we got an hour and a half on the meter we were ready to tackle the only major city in the French-speaking portion of Canada.

I made sure that I got a few pictures of a young french-looking young lady in the area. I watched her put up her hair on top of her head before taking pictures. She carefully composed a half dozen shots before she moved on.

I still have this thing about how all the signs in the rest of Canada are in both English and French. But when you get into the Quebec Province the English signs quickly disappear. But that was 13 years ago. Maybe they are now bilingual, but I kinda doubt it. That’s just the French being their usual pompous selves.

Below is a gallery of pictures I took that day. Click on any picture to get a larger version.

Mosaic of Life #9 – Stone Walls

Mosaic Of Life

I have always been fascinated by stone walls. This one was at one of my favorite places to visit at Pleasant Hill Shaker Village near Lexington KY. This mosaic was made via the analog method using marking pens. It was very tedious work drawing all the stones, but I think the result is one of my favorites in the analog mode. I will limit this post to artsy, and reserve the story of Pleasant Hill for a future post, or posts.

Mosaic of Life #47 – A Favorite Homestead Picture

Mosaic Of Life

This picture was taken in January 2014

This picture was taken at our 21-year homestead that I left almost 3 years ago. Due to my deafness and resulting loss of balance, snow was always a hazard for me. Over my life I have taken a half-dozen serious falls while attempting to navigate these conditions. Despite the broken ribs and back compression fractures, this is one of my favorite posts looking out our living room picture window.