On many mornings, this view greets me when I top the hill on U.S. 221 about five miles south of Willis. I think about this scene whenever anyone asks me why I came back to Floyd County after 40 years.

The "blue" effect came by setting the white balance on my camera to "tungster," an old photographer’s trick from my film days when one wanted to alter the color balance. I then saturated the colors in Photoship.

The danger when you assume, the old saying goes, is that all you do is make an “ass” out of “u” and “me.”

That thought came to mind last night when a reader emailed to complain about Monday’s comments regarding the Floyd County Board of Supervisor’s approval of a “shell” building they will have to buy in 2007 when the owner bails out of the sweetheart deal (see the story below this one).

“About what we would expect,” the emailer said. “Another outsider coming into Floyd County telling us how to do things.”

The last week or so has been old home week around here. During the open house at The Jacksonville Center as part of the Spring Into Summer festivities last weekend, my high school journalism teacher, Ruth Hallman, dropped by the studio for a visit.

These days, while driving the roads of Floyd County (and most anywhere else) I listen to high-quality digital sound on XM satellite radio — a far cry from the scratchy AM radio that brought the outside world to my ’57 Ford in high school.

Back in the 60s, AM radio ruled and it took a good radio to pull in the 50,000-watt clear channel stations from far beyond the borders on Floyd County.

Closed up the home in Arlington for the summer, packed the last cat into the back and the Wrangler and headed South (Southwest actually) for the next three months or so.

Can a photographer make a living in Floyd County? Good question. Can a photographer who also does high-end digital printing for other photographers make a living? Better question with better odds for success.

The next three months will tell. Stay tuned.