Friday, June 5, 2009



Today and tomorrow I am posting pictures from the world of of children at play...perhaps they are the children I hear in the fields and farmyards from days past.

There is nothing like the untethered child! So innocent, uninhibited and creative. Often they haven't heard yet that they should be reserved, weigh their thoughts before they speak, not to tell what is really on your heart...you might get rejected. That is the freedom of being an untethered child.

Before Nintendo, XBOX and PS3 there was the local toymaker. It must have been a lot easier for a child to believe in Santa and the Elves in those days. You could really believe that elves were hard at work making tops, wooden balls or rope toys. The toymakers of old were Santa's Elves...the top meant as much to a pioneer child as the Nintendo does today.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

As always, beautiful photos. Is the 1st one taken at the same time as the couple working on the weaving loom?

And I love your "Children at Play" idea! Looking forwarded to seeing the photos.

Heather said...

What do I say, Dan? You know my heart...

I always look forward to seeing your daily choices and reading the purposeful thoughts to accompany them.

Wonderful.

And..yes...I really do like that HDR?? formatting.

Cynthia L. H. said...

Very nice. I can hear the laughter, too.
:^)

The Muse said...

Dan, I am still dreaming of your photo of that colorful old home, sporting its mystery inside and out..and these images have become a part of that dream. They seem so right together. Playing together in such colorful harmony.

Dan Felstead said...

Bobbi
Yes, it was taken at the revolutionary war re-enactment weekend. This particular person ws making toys used during that time period and he was very serious about his craft. From now on when I hear "Toymaker"...I will think of him.

Dan

Dan Felstead said...

Heather,
I thought it was interesting how the light fell on the cross...That was not manipulation...it is how the original photo was shot and yes it is HDR.

Dan

Dan Felstead said...

Cynthia...thanks for visiting...I know you are busy and I appreciate the time you took to look in on the blog.

Dan

Dan Felstead said...

Muse,
You have such a great way of saying things.

Dan

septembermom said...

There is such joy watching children laughing and playing outside. That purity of joyful experience needs to be rekindled for all of us. Beautiful photos once again!

Dan Felstead said...

Thanks Septembermom,

It was fun as a kid spending the time outside...before the intoxicating temptation of videos and games.

Dan

Heather said...

Beautiful. And so well said, too.
It must be interesting to watch a toy maker at work - of course, they've mostly been replaced by mass-produced, assembly line toys (from China). *Sigh*

Dan Felstead said...

Heather it was neat to watch him work. He was a very intense individual...not much conversation...focused on the work at hand.

Dan