Sunday, April 14, 2013

Taking a Photo Break


Hard at work…

unlabeled photo from the collection of Bill Bean


...or hardly working?

from the collection of Bill Bean unidentified man resting while plowing field with team of  horses


A man—obviously at home with his land and his horses—works the field in possibly the same way that Maud Woodworth Bean’s father William might have done, once he settled in what was then a very rural section of Los Angeles County, California.

While you are contemplating how very different life must have been in that crazy region of southern California almost one hundred years ago, my family and I are hurtling southward, at a speed unattainable back in that age. We’re headed to a coastal town not far from there (well, in a cosmic sense) to visit a potential college choice for our daughter: University of California at Santa Barbara.

Said daughter—whom I’ve taken to calling “She Whose Name Must Not Virtually Be Mentioned” in my infrequent online trespasses—has plans to double major in anthropology and archaeology, and to pursue higher education internationally to focus on her intended specialization in Ireland.

The toss-up, right now, is between UC Santa Barbara and my own alma mater, University of the Pacific, which institution we visited last weekend. A third acceptance has yet to be received, or we’d be adding another destination to our college-touring itinerary.

In the meantime, as we spend time surrounded by landscapes not much different than those pictured here, I fervently wish the indecision were already over and we had some definite answers.

Answers to questions like “who is this guy?” wouldn’t hurt, either.

14 comments:

  1. Super photos. I especially like the second one when he takes a break. ha!

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    1. I'm thinking a man has got to really know his horse to perch in a spot like that!

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  2. Oh I enjoyed your taking a break photos! Best of luck finding the proper College home for your daughter. I had one who wanted to visit The U of Hawaii her senior year...she settled for the University system 60 miles from home. I hope you weekend was a pleasant one:)

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    1. Thank you, Far Side...it was indeed pleasant and productive! Of course, a trip to check out University of Hawaii would have been nice, too. Thankfully, that wasn't on our short list...

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  3. Did you know that that guy is breaking the sod? That was very hard work..he has a good looking friend along.:)

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    1. If it's anything like working the clay soil we have up north, I can vouch for that statement!

      Yes, Far Side, now that you mention it, he did have a good friend along. I had to go back and take a second look, up close, at the original photo. Of course, you would notice that :)

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  4. Probably taking a well-needed break in photo number 2. I agree with Far Side -- breaking sod was also back-breaking, as the farmer tried to hold the plow steady through clumps of resisting soil and often rocks that rattled the bones. These are fascinating photos of life from an era of hard physical work most of us can't even imagine.

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    1. Judging from the other photos in this grouping, Linda, I think there were a lot of those bone-rattling rocks to deal with in that soil. Until we check into all those minute details, we have no idea how much different life was then!

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  5. Looks like a pretty fancy house in the background.

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    1. Okay, Iggy, you made me look! I know my eyes aren't the greatest, but I guess I'll have to blow up the copy on PhotoShop and see if it's any clearer. Is it the spot in that clump of trees?

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    2. In the second photo - right near the gent's foot.

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    3. That's what I thought. It looked like the only possibility. Of course, I still can't make out any further detail, magnifying glass or not!

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  6. Oh, a college inspection trip! How really exciting! Your daughter has a really interesting choice of major . . . it's as if she's decided to dig even deeper than you do, in genealogy! : )) My nephew is in the throes of deciding colleges, too, and he's already been accepted at Bowdoin, Tufts, and Middlebury. I hope whatever choice your daughter makes, she likes it there.

    I can sympathize with the man in the second picture. He's met a brick wall.

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    1. I can relate to brick walls, too, Mariann! But you know he's going to hop back down and get back to tackling it again, momentarily.

      What an impressive list of acceptances for your nephew, Mariann! Best wishes to him as he continues his education.

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