Forward
Perhaps it’s a path you yourself have taken, the building where you’re starting a great new job, or the curve of your partner’s pregnant belly. It could be an image that shows a physical move, or something that evokes a major life change. (michelle, The Daily Post)
This picture says FORWARD to me:
I looked for other shots to interpret forward but kept coming back to this one. See the derelict house beside the trees further down the site line? As the produce wagons filled with onions move forward from the house, I recall a fascinating bit of the local history. Legend has it that this was one of the houses set adrift in the fields of Holland Marsh, Canada when the region was flooded by Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Ghosts of the devastation, these houses moved through the fields and across the roads, into adjoining properties, finally settling only as the flood subsided. Some, like this house, were so ruined they were never moved back to their original foundations.
I spent a few hours one day with a pal trudging through this part of Holland Marsh initially attracted by the ruined house, then the rich black soil and aroma of the onion fields. Curiosity pulled the farmer who owns this land into his truck and out to us. He shared the legend. We shared our photos.
Check out the incredible story of the DePeuter family who spent a night stranded in their home as it floated aimlessly for two miles around the marsh bumping into houses, greenhouses, barns, hydro poles, etc. Three of their children became seasick as the house ‘bobbed like a cork.’
Other interpretations of this week’s challenge that appeal to my eclectic eye:
- Heart to Harp
- Scottseyephotos
- Canoe Communications
- Apronhead
- Lucid Gypsy
- Chittle Chattle
- Modes of Flight Blog
- Just Snaps
- Wind Against Current
- Flickr Comments
For more great “forward” interpretations, go here.
27 comments
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25 February 2013 at 1:47 pm
pearlsandprose
Great post, Cheryl. The sepia tones are perfect for this image.
Had never heard this story before and am amazed that the house stayed intact. Nowadays, they collapse.
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25 February 2013 at 7:27 pm
Cheryl
Incredible irony here, Carole … so ‘temporary’ in construction it floated away yet did not collapse. What does that say about today’s standards!
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24 February 2013 at 3:45 pm
Heart To Harp
Even without the story, the photo supplies mystery: what’s in the truck, where is it going, why is it leaving, who is left behind….. The story of the floating houses due to Hazel adds to the drama. There are still Hazel stories on the Carolina coasts…communities scoured off the maps with wind and flood. I had no idea it affected people as far away as Canada.
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24 February 2013 at 4:41 pm
Cheryl
As far away as Canada PLUS as far inland from the Atlantic Coast as the Great Toronto Area and north to Holland Marsh, Ontario! Thank you, Janet. Your feedback on my photos is always very much appreciated!
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24 February 2013 at 5:36 am
2013 Weekly Photo Challenge Blog
PING!
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24 February 2013 at 9:35 am
Cheryl
Thanks for the mention!
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23 February 2013 at 8:59 pm
3rdculturechildren
PING!
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23 February 2013 at 9:12 pm
Cheryl
I appreciate the pingback … glad you stopped by.
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23 February 2013 at 6:56 pm
Jeff Sinon
Great composition Cheryl, and I really like your post processing on this one.
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23 February 2013 at 9:11 pm
Cheryl
Thanks, Jeff. Of your 8 weeks in, 4 particularly grabbed my eye!
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23 February 2013 at 9:25 pm
Jeff Sinon
Thank you Cheryl. Pretty neat what you can do with some water, food coloring, and a fancy margarita glass. I had to work fast to get this too. It was only about 10° or 11° out on my deck the day I made this and the water in the glass started to freeze pretty darn fast. 🙂
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24 February 2013 at 6:21 pm
Cheryl
I did something similar at http://jpgmag.com/photos/2839450
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24 February 2013 at 9:03 pm
Jeff Sinon
Very cool!
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23 February 2013 at 3:50 pm
What's (in) the picture?
PING!
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23 February 2013 at 5:29 pm
Cheryl
Thanks for the mention, Chris!
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23 February 2013 at 3:12 pm
Time To Be Inspired
I like your photo and thanks for sharing the link to that amazing story! Bet not too many houses built today would stand up like the DePeuter home.
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23 February 2013 at 5:28 pm
Cheryl
I agree, Terri … today a house would be crushed by the Hazel-quality floods, let alone bob around like a cork, settle and then be moved back to it’s proper place!
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23 February 2013 at 2:42 pm
mrscarmichael
perfect.
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23 February 2013 at 5:31 pm
Cheryl
Thank you, Candy!
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23 February 2013 at 12:15 pm
Flickr Comments
PING!
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23 February 2013 at 12:58 pm
Cheryl
Thanks for the ping … love your interpretation of this week’s challenge!
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23 February 2013 at 11:52 am
Mirth and Motivation
PING!
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23 February 2013 at 12:59 pm
Cheryl
I appreciate the pingback!
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23 February 2013 at 11:14 am
dorothymcdonall
I keep meaning to head out to the Holland Marsh for some photo gathering. You’ve reminded me I want to do this soon. … Great shot and story. Be well, Dorothy 🙂
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23 February 2013 at 11:17 am
Cheryl
Enjoy, Dorothy. Hope you post the pictures …
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23 February 2013 at 10:47 am
Mary
Great photo selection. Everything is going forward, the wheels, the driveway, all pointing to the horizon. You can feel the beak weather of the post harvest scene, and your telling of the rich soil and the smell of the onions reminds me of how tilled fields smell before winter tucks them in for another year.
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23 February 2013 at 11:16 am
Cheryl
Only thing being left behind in all that forward movement, Mary, is the derelict house.
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