
Double Bayou Dance Hall (May 25, 2005) — Image by kenne
Double Bayou Dance Hall (May 25, 2005) — Image by kenne
Mike Durbin Talking To Blues Friends (Ken & Mary’s Blues Project, May 2017) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
The Blues Project
They called it a project,
a Blues Project, but really,
it was a party — a party for
family and friends to share
happy times, talk about living life,
and a love for good old blues music.
Once this party began
there would be no stopping it,
even when forced undercover
of rain, friends laugh and
talk about déjà vu the
evening had become.
Just sitting on the front porch
doing that front porch thing
telling stories now embellished
by all the good times dancing
and singing the night away
in the woods off Old Houston Road.
The Blues Project may be over
so listen, the night will lead you
to the music, the stories told,
and smile one more time
for each house concert was just a
rehearsal for what our tomorrow’s will bring.
— kenne
Kenneth Harris shares the story of how Ken & Mary’s Blues Project came about. (May 20, 2017)
The Musician — Photo-Artistry by kenne
The musician talks to you with
rhythm, and words that find their way
into the secret places of your soul
turning on the truth of being human.
— kenne
Blues Musicians Jamming In East Texas — Image by kenne
— kenne
East Texas Sunset — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Growing up, I recall an old-timer
Who was poor, but knew the truth
The difference between right and wrong
Telling me to take whatever comes,
Moving on down the river
Like a drifting boat —
Drift on my friend, drift on.
— kenne
“Wine for Two” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Wine for Two
(May 2008)
Picture this,
the setting sun
beaming streams of light
through the trees.
Occasionally moving
with the breeze,
sending beams dancing
across the glass tabletop.
Captured for the moment
in two glasses of wine,
only to be released forever
to the hearts of each lover.
A visual of the mind
seeking a mindless void
for each heart to fill
but a fragment of the matrix
The new field of vision
changing the way things are seen,
the glasses in the picture
forever changed to one.
kenne
East Texas Southern Magnolia — Image by kenne
Magnolias in My Blood
Now, everybody knows
I love the desert southwest
it’s tall saguaros and
sky island ponderosas —
I found a home out here.
Still, every once in a while
I need a fusion for my
born and bred
southeast blood —
magnolia blossoms will do.
— kenne
Panels in Kenneth Harris’s Fence, Porter, Texas — Images by kenne
(Click on any image to see in a slideshow format.)
Currently, Ken’s fence has 31 panels and growing. I took photos of eight before the music started at Ken and Mary’s Blues Project, May 20, 2017, in Porter, Texas. His fence has got to be one of the most creative fences in Texas. Great work, Ken!
— kenne
Spider In Its Web — Image by kenne
“Said the cunning spider to the fly, “Dear friend, what shall I do,
To prove the warm affection I’ve always felt for you?
I have within my pantry good store of all that’s nice;
I’m sure you’re very welcome; will you please to take a slice?”
“O no, no,” said the little fly, “kind sir, that cannot be;
I’ve heard what’s in your pantry, and I do not wish to see.”
— from The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt
Ken & Mary’s Blues Project — The Last Waltz
Computer Art by kenne
Down the east Texas road,
there is rain in the wind
as the musicians’ setup
for an evening of the blues
with friends gathering
the last time at
Ken and Mary’s Blues Project,
the best house concert ever.
In recent years we’ve missed
some of the concerts in
the woods having moved
to the desert southwest,
then last February, we received
word of the “Last Waltz”
for the Blues Project —
plans were made immediately.
With Coleman cooler,
yard chairs and
cameras in tow
we walked over old
bottle caps toward the
Blues Project stage,
to be greeted with
hugs and kisses — Welcome!
Mary announced the food
was ready, and Ken shared some
background on the beginning
of what became the Blues Project.
Not long after the music began,
lighting lit up the darkening clouds
with thunder adding to
the magical evening.
Other than an occasional
drop or two, the music played on
until, as if the plug was pulled,
the dark sky began to fall.
A rain delay was called
as the tarps were brought out
to covered the equipment.
Using our smartphones
we could see radar showing
the rain would be lasting
for an hour or more.
As has happened in the past,
the musicians gathered inside
to continue an evening of music.
Most of those who remained
were inside or on outside porches,
knowing the best of the evening
was yet to come —
jamming the night away
on a hot, humid night
in the piney woods of east Texas.
It may be the last waltz
for the Blues Project
but that doesn’t mean
the party is over,
the music still plays on
and on, and on — may
we stay forever young.
We’ve got to go, but our friends will stick around.
— kenne
Wine for Two in East Texas — Computer Art kenne
Wine for Two
Picture this,
the setting sun
beaming streams of light
through the trees.
Occasionally moving
with the breeze,
sending beams dancing
across the glass tabletop.
Captured for the moment
in two glasses of wine,
only to be released forever
to the hearts of each lover.
A visual of the mind
Seeking a mindless void
For each heart to fill
but a fragment of the matrix
The new field of vision
Changing the way things are seen.
The glasses in the picture
are forever changed to one.
kenne
Lady Bikers at an Ice House in East Texas in a “Show Us Your Tits” Contest — Computer Art by kenne
The Perfect Trilogy
— kenne
Blackberry Season In East Texas — Photo Essay by kenne
— kenne
Ken & Mary’s Blues Project (On a humid east Texas night the rain forced everyone to move inside) —
Images and Video by kenne (Flickr Images)
— kenne
Darkness settled over Ken & Mary’s Blues Project as Sonny Boy Terry and Rich DelGrosso finished their set, October 17, 2009, Porter, Texas.
Original Stage at Ken & Mary’s Blues Project (August 2005)
This Christmas Eve was sunny and warm in Kingwood, Texas and as I have done in past visits, I went for a photographic walk in nearby East End Park. It’s just what I do.
— Henry David Thoreau
Images by kenne (Click On Any Titled Image To View In Slideshow Format)
“There is no point in hurrying because you are not actually going anywhere. However far or long you plod, you are always in the same place: in the woods. It’s where you were yesterday, where you will be tomorrow. The woods is one boundless singularity. Every bend in the path presents a prospect indistinguishable from every other, every glimpse into the trees the same tangled mass. For all you know, your route could describe a very large, pointless circle. In a way, it would hardly matter.”
― Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail