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on guard.......bynum general store is where dave dyer played his heart out.

several weeks ago i played a very cool gig here with dave dyer and bernie petteway.

low key is what comes to mind.....easy going...laid back venue.

some of the areas best musicians have played on this little stage in the middle of nowhere.



jerry.....on the right...has run this store and show for a dozen years.

tift merrit made the place famous with her performances and a cd full of artwork.

the post office closed a few years ago...and we played one of the last gigs there..closing this fall.

the rural nature of the place and the relaxed vibe will be missed by musicians for sure.

locals brought blankets and familys to fill these seats.

i shot a few pics while dave played a brand new tune.

bernie doing some heavy listening and some super sweet interpretation.









i'll admit the dog almost intimidated me.....looks like one not to mess with.

at the end of the road near the store is an old bridge across the haw river.



i walked there before gig time and looked around.

the bridge in the distance replaced the old one and diverted the traffic away from bynum.



leaving this area a little more quiet than normal.....that's actually a good thing somehow.

i peeked over the bridge and we locked eyes.  I knew if I tried to change my lens I'd miss the shot.





so....for a very relaxing day trip...find bynum....hang out on the bridge and maybe you can
hear the music from the past reverberating among the rocks and trees and wildlife.

nikayla........a serious budding musician with style.

she attended a rock and roll camp over the summer and came back a changed cat.

more from this new rock star soon.

colin.......man of many hats.

he started out as a bass player....started working on guitar...now harmonica.

watch out bob dylan....neal young.....and john popper......colin is coming soon.

lydia is new to guitar but not to hard work.

she'll show up on the musical radar not far down the road.

so will sean........singer, guitar player, budding song writer, and actor.





sallie branch is almost ready for some country music and a performance.

she's really improved this fall.....wait 'till you hear this.......super.



this is lucie.......who's a large fan of rascal flats.

she had the tee shirt from their recent raleigh concert and as a singer picked up a few tips.

bamboo artist mckenna fellows wears a different killer tee shirt every week.

she knows how to impress her guitar teacher....hard practice and cool garb.

new stu katherine is going to be fantastic....plays, sings, and wows you with her brain power.

serious brain power......a sign of a good musician.

kristi........also athletic, smart, and crankin out some country hits on guitar.

volleyball and basketball keep her active....music and guitar keep her happy.

brian kirk.........super star of the future.  amazing musical taste and work ethic.

this guy will be famous...watch this face.

and this one.....manon......young but smart and gaining ground rapidly.



she'll be perfoming soon.....and for a lifetime.

austin fisher.......super star writer...great player...amazing interpretive skills...super guy.



here's a song idea we recorded a few weeks ago and there's more coming.



elizabeth......brains, brains, serious brains and plays guitar really well.

super cool......serious cool attitude....super sense of humor.

a new bamboo artist you'll hear and see a lot of.

speaking of hearing a lot from....morgan habig has some serious stuff coming soon.

serious stuff....we'll catch up with her next time.  wait 'till you hear this...

around the first of this year david dyer took his band the crooked smile band to meet with jesus.

the sound, vibe, and cool local peeps made us want to go back....and play some more music.

the band is rehearsing and getting ready to go to nash county, nc and record a live performance.

nash county arts council....nov 4.  be there and add your indelible stamp on the project.  more later.

down in costa rica last spring i spent some time looking for wildlife.

from the beach to the jungle life was everywhere....

i found that trying to photograph butterflys isn't easy.....

they refuse to pose or stay still.

...and i'm not good enough yet to capture them this way...but now and then he shoots..he scores!



this fish was trapped for awhile in a small tidal pool...much to my delight.

look close and you'll see small crabs feeding on the fruit from these palm trees.
when you walk by you can hear this clatter and noise as they eat up and walk around.

i worked hard for a few minutes to dial in on this little bee....having brunch.

a small lizard wandered into view.

parrots flew around my head.

then i saw them dining a little while later.



as i looked down from shooting these birds i realized these horses where walking my way.

i was the only human around......i felt very lucky to be there with a camera.







after awhile this male seemed to let me know my time was up...

i can take a hint....he called me wilber.

i wandered back into the edge of the jungle and stumbled upon these leaf cutter ants.

i went back three days in a row to try to get some good shots....ants are hard to photograph kinda.

when you stand there the column moves and the leaves wiggle....how do you capture that...

so i tried some close up stuff..







now that's a work ethic...

so.......i leave the daylight behind............

and introduce you to some nightlife.  this is "bug lady".  she gave us a night tour...listen



she handed up spiders and insects.....like this orb spider.

i tried to focus and shoot by flashlights and her headlamp....

she spoke softly and made our skin crawl....

not me sister......don't be passin that thing my way......

we found things all around us in the dark...

honest...this bug was as large as your hand...no joke...

and this toad/frog/beast was as large as both of your hands and both of mine combined.

it was big enough to be a door stop.

and finally........i found this creepy creature waiting for me when i walked up to my door one night.
from leg tip to leg tip about 7" across....if it had moved i'd have freaked out....

so.......back here in the states...this time of year you must watch out for other creatures...like this..

they come out at night and creep you out...they scream...they appear out of nowhere...

like this devil wild cat...demonus felinis....known to bite and scratch the unsuspecting human.

catch them on a bad day and even if they're purring...that's a ruse...they'll bite ya.

so..beware my friends of our local scary stuff this halloween season.....

be cool.......think happy thoughts and the ghosts go away.....i hope...........boooo!!

finally....some very random eyecandy.  moo.

chuck....buddy you looked so happy warming up for the recording session...ran into the photo.

me and surf daddy here are longtime super buds and he sent me a few shots someone took of him.

some cat was trying out a new telephoto...snapped super dave in action.....

i can hear him "woohooo"-in it from here.  i think this was out at lake wheeler....?? or somewhere in florida.

rock stars after a big night....honest. rock and roll dogs...truth.

arachnid....

yumm.......

finally a parting shot of a pumpkin colored flower and some possibly poisonous little red berries...
have a safe, fun, memorable and rememberable halloween.  let your hair down...not your friends and loved ones.