A Good Day

I slept fairly late this morning, got up, took a hot shower, put on my jeans and a favorite tshirt, put a hot battery in the Nikon, and headed out.  Today was the Soule Live Steam Festival.

When I got out of the car, I could hear the music of the calliopes.  Even though it was fairly warm, the plumes of steam trailed into the air.  As I got closer, those unmistakable smells of the engines reached out to me, burning wood, machine oil, and sawdust.

I love the Live Steam Festival.  I look forward to it every year.  The engines themselves are fascinating.  I also love the people.  I like to watch the parents with their kids.  I like to watch the hard-core fanatics talking and exchanging information.  I like to watch the men group together and talk, gesture, explain.

This year, I did two things that I haven't done before.  I went to the Railroad Museum, and I made a sand mold.  The Railroad Museum was a lot better than I was expecting.  They had this tremendous wall of railroad lanterns that was beautiful.  To my surprise, there were all sorts of people there selling railroad related items.  Two vendors were just selling model trains. I took photos of their tables.  The colors were interesting.  Amtrak had these little "junior engineer" paper hats out for the kids.  You have no idea how tempted I was to get one for myself....

The Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum where the Soule festival is held is getting better every year.  They have more engines, and this year, they had a tremendous number of traditional crafts on display.  People were happily learning about loom weaving, broom making, wood carving, and printing.  Some of those crafts were actually hands-on.  In the machine shop, the belt-driven machines were being operated by students from a local community college.  I stood for a long time and watched them turning steel rods on the lathe, making things in the blacksmith shop.

For several years I have thought about making one of the sand molds they pour every year at Soule.  Either the tables were crowded or I was in a hurry.  This year, I just decided I was going to do it regardless.  It was relaxing.  I made an owl, but I didn't stay for the 4:00 pouring.  I have to go back and get it tomorrow.  I can't wait to see the end result.  I hope it came out well.

I spent the rest of my afternoon fiddling with the pictures.  Even though I have shot that area pretty thoroughly, I got one or two pictures I was happy with.  The most important thing was how nice it felt to be out with the camera seeing something I don't get to see everyday.  I feel more relaxed now that I have in a long time.  I wish there were more things like this to do.