Rowan's Tree: A Year-Long Photo Project

On September 26, 2016 we lost a wonderful friend in the form of a Golden Retriever named Rowan.

He was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer and died at the age of nine.

Anyone who ever met Tom Solinsky knew Rowan, and he brightened the days of many people as he smiled out of the side of Tom's Jeep.

Rowan Solinsky, friend to all
Photo by Tom Solinsky

On the day of his death, we gathered with the Solinskys and some close friends and performed a rogue burial and tree-planting in Rowan's favorite park.

After that day, I went to the tree on an almost weekly basis to document it's first year of growth.

Going so often to the site of Rowan's grave helped me process the grief I feel from losing him. Documenting the tree also gave me a physical reminder that, while Rowie is no longer with us, his body is helping create nutrients for this tree to grow, which means there's still a piece of him in the park, and will be for years to come.

I've selected the best examples of the seasons here:

I've created a slideshow (less than a minute long) of the entire project through the year. 

Original music by The One and Only Bill Davis

I have admiration for other artists and their bodies of work and ongoing projects, and I often overlook my own. While I regret the circumstances, this project was a positive and productive way to move forward through the sadness of losing such a great friend-dog.

Did you complete any self-appointed projects in 2017? Share your successes and challenges in the comments.

Tennessee Parks and Greenways Land Celebration

I had the good fortune to get invited to the Tennessee Land Celebration hosted by Tennessee Parks and Greenways. Formerly Sunset on the South Harpeth, the day-long event was full of activities and presentations, and I had a great time taking advantage of the perfect day. The open bar and taco bar weren't too shabby, either.

There were plenty of animal presentations throughout the day, beginning with these beautiful snakes.

The scarlet king snake is one of the many harmless snakes found in Tennessee and throughout the southeast.

This pretty guy is about fifteen years old. Snakes in captivity can live up to thirty-five years.

The markings on the scarlet king snake are meant to mimic the markings of the coral snake, which is a venomous snake. Coral snakes have yellow stripes where the king snake has white.

This snake was totally chill and had no problem being passed around and handled by different people.

The ball python was a crowd favorite.

A closeup of the ball python.

I'm not into snakeskin, but it's easy to see why these animals are coveted for their skins. This corn snake has stunning markings.

The kids loved the snakes!

This little girl posed patiently with her brother for photos, but she was so ready to hold the snake on her own.

Success! She loved holding the king snake.

I loved the presentation of the birds of prey. The first round featured a baby barn owl, a red-tailed hawk and an American Kestrel.

The barn owl was pretty shy. She's only ten weeks old here.

This red-tailed hawk is also young. She's lost most of her fluff, and her tail feathers are in the middle of molting. Her adult tail feathers are just starting to come in. 

Ian Turner is a professional falconer, and he'll be releasing this girl into the wild when she's full-grown and ready to hunt on her own.

The American Kestrel is a fierce hunter. 

Although she's much smaller than the hawk and her talons aren't as dangerous, her beak is a force to be reckoned with.

She's at the end of her rehabilitation and is ready to GO.

It was awesome to see her in motion.

I was thrilled to get this beautiful fanning of her tail.

I went on a guided nature walk on a path through a meadow edged in well-kept woods. It was supposed to be a bird walk, but I had more of a butterfly and insect walk. I was with folks who are really knowledgeable about local flora and fauna, and I learned quite a bit.

A HUGE praying mantis.

This mantis could easily have taken down a small bird. 

A black swallowtail butterfly.

An eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly.

I loved the archery! I am definitely not a good shot!

It was so fun to see one of the attendees holding a falcon before the second Birds of Prey presentation. This little girl was in awe.

A wonderful day with so many learning opportunities and activities!

I also took a guided horseback ride, but it was only my second time ever on a horse, so I figured I'd pay attention to her and what I was doing. She was beautiful, and so big. Tennessee Walking Horses tend to be tall, and she measured 16 1/2 hands, or 5'6" at her shoulder.

While I walked and photographed and ate tacos and hit the bar, there were other presentations and activities going on, including a farm & garden presentation by Lauren Peterson of Lupine and Poppies, hay rides, a temporary tattoo station, family yoga and several drawings for prizes.

To round out the day, Catie Offerman and her talented band played their classic country and fun originals. I loved that her original lyrics made you keep up and think as she sang them, and her arrangements were spot-on.

It's not a Tennessee event if there isn't some live music!

We're so lucky to have organizations like the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation protecting our beautiful natural areas. It was really fun to have a casual day of photographing, being outdoors, and meeting proprietors of local businesses. Feel free to follow Tennessee Parks and Greenways on

Facebook 

Instagram

or donate to them directly and become a member.

If you're interested in booking me to photograph your event, contact me here.

Ducks, Races, and Livestreaming

Saturday, August 26th I was on camera detail for Very Entertaining Records for two performances, but before I went to work I spent some time with Bill and a couple of our friends for an early afternoon sail.

We had some ducks follow us for a while (the pretzel snack they were tossed might have had something to do with it), and they had no problem with the attention from the camera.

Ducks in a row. Sort of.

You can just see a hint of purple in the wing feathers of this duck.

I enjoyed seeing the differences between the ducks' feathers.

Ducks on Percy Priest Lake.

Loons, herons, and ospreys are among the other types of birds we see regularly on the lake.

The wind was pretty mellow at this point, and these guys had no problem keeping up with us.

The ducks lost interest in us after a short while, and then the wind picked up and we were off!

After a lovely bit of sailing, we came back in and headed to the Nashville Speedway at the Fairgrounds for The One & Only Bill Davis to sing the National Anthem.

The race track is a solid part of Old Nashville - they're celebrating it's 60th anniversary this year - and a point of contention for some local residents. Racing can get really loud, and you can hear it for miles (we live 4 miles away and can hear the races on occasion), so there are plenty of people who would be happy to see it torn down. However, the Speedway has persisted, and it was fun to do something outside of my normal zone.

We stuck around for the first few races, then I had to get ready for the evening show.

Some of the trophies and awards to be handed out.

In addition to the races being outside my normal zone, I've been delving into live video, which is apparently all the social media rage.

I posted both the National Anthem at the Speedway and the Dutch Whisky show at Dee's live on the Very Entertaining Records Facebook page. You can click the links below to catch the replays:

National Anthem sung by The One & Only Bill Davis

Dutch Whisky live at Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge

There's nothing like having a productive weekend, especially when it involves doing so many different and fun things. I also enjoy finding new ways to use social media to the advantage of the artists I work with. I'm so grateful to have such a diverse and challenging career.

Need some advice on how to use social media for your business? Contact me here to set up a consultation.
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Kicking off the New Year at Fall Creek Falls

2017 is well under way, and I've been staying busy with clients, photo shoots, in-depth social marketing management, and new projects. It is really exciting to be this busy, especially as I'm entering my second year of being fully self-employed. 

Of course, I have all sorts of plans for the New Year, and am focusing heavily on marketing and expanding my music business network. Today, though, I want to share some images from our New Year's weekend. 

My best friend and her husband came to Tennessee to spend the holiday with us, which was so much fun. We had the opportunity to attend Bluegrass Underground at Cumberland Caverns, as well as the Underground Countdown at Fall Creek Falls State Park for New Year's Eve. 

The suspension bridges over the rushing waters are always a hit!

We love showing off the beauty of our adopted homeland, and either of these two destinations are a sure-fire way to get people to fall in love with Tennessee. Both of them, though, were the perfect combination to make a fun weekend awesome. 

We attended the Friday night Bluegrass Underground show, and were lucky enough to get a private tour of a part of the cave used for tours and educational purposes. I took one photo in the cave, but this is the first time I've ever seen the stage from this angle, and, though it's not my best work, the iPhone photo works just fine to show the view.

The crowd looks so small, but it was a packed house!

On New Year's Eve, we spent plenty of time lounging about the cabin and eating a delicious soup Bill made, but we did make it out to get some air and take in the sights.

One of the deer we saw every day outside of the cabin.

It's hard to really get the scope of the terrain, but this view of Bill, a few boulders below me, gives you a little idea.

Overlooking Buzzard's Roost. Photo by Bill Davis.

Buzzard's Roost

If you've ever seen Fall Creek Falls, whether in a photo or in person, you know they are usually a "bridal veil" falls; the New Year's weekend was rainy, so the falls were rushing like mad, and so huge!

Piney Falls

View from a suspension bridge.

For the Underground Countdown, we dressed up and had a ball! The music was a Bluegrass tribute to The Grateful Dead, so we were certainly the most dressed up people there, but we loved the compliments and the chill, welcoming vibe of the crowd.

It was a perfect evening to dress up and ring in the New Year!

New Year's Day was another great day for exploring the last falls in the park, Cane Creek Cascades. The suspension bridge was a little bit of a challenge between the drinks from the night before and the dizzying rush of the water below, but we all made it to the other side!

Cane Creek Cascades

Bill looking over the Cane Creek Cascades

The view over the cascades.

The opposite view from the suspension bridge.

A view of the cascades from the other side of the suspension bridge.

All in all, it was a perfect weekend with wonderful friends. As the year continues, I hope everyone is feeling the excitement of the possibilities of new beginnings.