There are those times . . .

when a quick shot, even a snapshot, can capture something worth keeping. This image appears among those displayed on my website at Fine Art America. Click on Jim Cotton's Rural Photography This piece is entitled, "Suspended".

Just walking along a little stream's bank, when I thought: well, that's kinda nice, and shot. It makes one think of those wall hangers skilled metal artists create in copper, brass, or bronze. 

I don't use Photoshop, only the bare-bones program the iMac provides on iPhoto. Found along some little run flowing in Venango County, P. A.

The Last "Row" of Summer

Found this beautiful canoe somewhere in central P. A. awaiting to be paddled across an inviting pond.

Thurston Classic, Meadville, Pennsylvania

Last weekend, the annual Thurston Balloon Classic was staged in Meadville, PA. Always a popular attraction for folks in the northwest part of the state, it begins on a Thursday night with a "night light-up" with as many as a dozen balloons participating.

They are, of course, anchored, but the burners are lit and create quite a pleasing spectacle one doesn't see often or everywhere. Part of the display includes synchronizing the firing in sequence. Nice family outing.

The Boys of Summers Run

It’s “Live!” says Amazon.com. 

The Boys of Summers Run, the third novel in this series about farm boys and Little League Baseball is now published and available for purchase. Currently, it’s $2.99 and formatted for all your different Kindle e-book readers. Set in rural P. A., this work is what Barnes & Noble used to list as a “Heartwarmer.”

Written from the country and back roads of rural America, it honors old-fashioned values and manners yet presents timeless and pertinent insights for today’s families, especially those concerned with raising well-grounded boys into leaders and true gentlemen. 

(Yes, there are some chapters set in Montana, depicting how not to do such.) 

Here’s the link:  The Boys of Summers Run

Camera Shy . . . Daisy, the Border Collie

Daisy, a Border Collie, is featured in The Boys of Summers Run, the latest in this series by James Cotton, a novel of farm kids and Little League Baseball. Click the Summers Run link on the right to read sample chapters from this "feel good" novel. Soon-to-be published, it will be available initially as an e-book, then softbound. Launching this month!

Winter's Wood

Your winter's woodpile may have started out last fall looking as good as this one. All ricked up and ready for blowing snow. Found near Titusville, in Crawford County, northwestern PA.

The Ideal Barn?

While one is leafing through the seed catalogs now showing up in the mail or catching up on the Farmer's Almanac for 2014, might as well dream about the perfect barn. Here's a good one to copy.

Note the lean-to on the right, the excellent cupola boasting a rooster weather vane, and the sliding doors top and bottom. The top floor of this one has hosted guests, parties, and perhaps a wedding reception or two.

Hurry, April

PNC Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, view from the third base side

"Ruffy"

Get acquainted with Ruffy by clicking the Summers Run blog on the right.