Quiet Life Recently

Although I carried handguns with me when I ventured into the wild in both Juneau and Cody in truth I had not fired anything at all since I had left Tennessee.

My Mountain Boy and I this week drove two days in a row to a gun range in Manchester to sight-in a new DPMS.

It was bought used but was new to both of us and it did not have a scope on it.

With funky sights my Mountain Boy shot pretty well and I shot just OK.

The next day we had a used scope mounted on it and we both ended up having a very good time shooting up innocent paper targets.

These two are both mine.

I actually shot the orange target first and the yellow second.

It feels unnatural, I get tired quickly, it takes me far too long to get settled and comfortable and to be able to see through the scope properly, but LC is a patient teacher and I had a very good time.

Shooting is second nature to LC, but for me it is not because I have not done it enough.

It is one of those physical challenges that I would like to become consistently good at rather than occasionally good at, and now that we together have found our way back to the range I welcome the challenge...............

LC shooting before we put the scope on the gun.

The sights kept slipping and we earlier than planned called it a day..................

I do not really know what kind of person chooses to drive such vehicles but every once in a while in Cody and every once in a while here in Tennessee I come across a strange "Look at me!  Look at me!" vehicle.

I saw this interesting, creative, gregarious vehicle sitting in a parking spot in the Manchester city square..............

On a very mild and very cloudy day the other day I ran errands in town.

On the way back to my truck I stopped for a few moments to take pictures of this church.

As with most Southern towns Tullahoma has many churches.

The proverbial buckle of the Bible Belt.

This beautiful church looks as if it is located on a quiet side road in back of town but that appearance is deceiving.

Rather it is actually located right on Jackson Street, which is the major four lane artery that runs straight through the center of town.

As non-stop and endless traffic whizzed by me on the noisy street I (for once) ignored the noise and stood looking at this church.

It is beautiful.  An oasis of serenity and peace in the midst of organized chaos...............

This tiny building is tightly sandwiched in a too-busy area filled with bigger cinder block buildings, busy parking lots in back of businesses that front onto Jackson Street, and I was drawn to its mini-me stature, its unmarked simplicity and the painted green and white valence above the front door and window.

Curious, I walked across the side road eager to get away from "busy" now that errands were run, but also curious to learn what this building was all about.

The front door was locked and when I looked through the glass door saw only old padded arms chairs surrounding a long imitation-wood table.

All of the worn furniture had occasional paint splotches and had the appearance of some kind of informal art studio.  Perhaps where classes are held, or where local amateur artists get together to paint.

I am not certain but I smiled to myself when I saw this place.

A quiet and small and sweet and curious building standing serenely in the middle of noise and chaos...........

An old refurbished store not far from Jackson Street.

This concrete decoration on the outside of the building is testament to its history..............

A welcome bright and colorful painting on the outside of yet one more commercial building................

One of our regular back yard visitors.

When I see them up close they look like over sized rats.

But when LC and I stand on the back porch and watch these numerous characters jumping endlessly from branch to branch and tree to tree, hopping in the grass in the yard, running across fences and car ports and power lines, they are nothing short of "wonderful in perpetual motion".

Jamie continues to love to terrorize the hapless squirrels who enter our yard and loves to send them scurrying for their lives, and we both love to watch these wonderfully animated and naturally comic characters.....................

I snapped this picture from our back yard tonight. 

Sunset through the trees with the sky on fire.

Life has been quiet recently...............

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.....................Henry David Thoreau