Sanders, Kentucky, USA

Under the gable: K + B in Love. The interior of this declining barn (no longer needed for farming) may now look like a parking garage, but the exterior has become a lodge for the spirit of place. How do you personalize your landscape? [2022]

Newport, Kentucky, USA

Joy to the world of Newport, with one wall devoted to promoting the name of the town. Instead of pictorial icons, it establishes "on the levee" as the most place-defining characteristic of the town. As for the other wall, its purpose is entirely different. [2022]

Carrollton, Kentucky, USA

How do we honor our veterans? Here's one method: We personalize attention-getting banners and hang them from every pole in town, thus turning our streets into an outdoor portrait gallery. Over the last twenty years, this has become a national trend. Remember: Veterans Day is tomorrow. [2022]

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

While you are seeking shade to ameliorate the heat, turtles are seeking sunshine to maximize every degree. That's because you are warm-blooded, and they are cold-blooded. The way these turtles are competing for space on that log reminds us, though, how much we have in common. We all want to be in the same places. Their log is our Manhattan Island. [2022]

Milton, Kentucky, USA

Early in the history of Virginia (yes, Kentucky was part of Virginia), a town was necessary in this vicinity. That's because a connection, a ferry, was needed between the two sides of the mighty Ohio, and there was a convenient set of river terraces that gave way to towns. It wasn't long, however, until natural history, caught up with settlement history. [2022]

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

The northeastern seaboard dominated America's urban geography in the early 1800s. But by mid-century, a network of river cities in the trans-Appalachian west began to challenge the existing order. By 1840, Louisville was solidly among the "top 20" urban places in the U.S., and it held that status for at least four decades. Why? Location on the Ohio River. [2022]

Hebron, Kentucky, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Ferries: From Kentucky to Ohio: There are few crossings where you can still make the trip by ferry boat. When you find one, treat it like a shooting star, and take a ride. Geographers like traveling the 'blue highways,' but ferries are even better. They get you off the blue highways and even deeper into the past. [2017]

Sonora, Kentucky, USA

If it were in their front yard, it would be a yard sale. If it were on the driveway in front of their garage, it would be a garage sale. If it were from the trunk of their car, it would be a boot sale. If it  were nothing but junk, it would be a junk sale. As you can see, though, fleas are for sale here, so we can call it a flea sale! [2019]

Flemingsburg, Kentucky, USA

Seats of government, including county seats, are supposed to inspire confidence in the law. How is that achieved? In the case of courthouses, with elevation. First, the bell tower makes you look up to the law. Second, the ascending staircase lifts you off Main Street and puts you down in an Athenian temple, a reminder of the ancients who invented democracy. [2017]

Oldtown, Kentucky, USA

What grade would you give this landscape tableau? How about a B? Look closely and you will see why. In fact, about one out of every seven people buried in this churchyard bears the same B name as on this headstone. [2017]

Tollesboro, Kentucky, USA

Roadside Sermons for Holy Week: "Let Jesus come into your heart. Read Revelatian [sic] 3:20." Don't just read it as you pass by, sing it! "Into my heart, into my heart. Come into my heart Lord Jesus. Come in today, come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus." Once you sing it, you will never forget it! [2010]

Covington, Kentucky, USA

Look again. Here we have not just a rainbow, but a double rainbow. It's a twofer, a metaphor for the year ahead, a year that gives us a 2-for-1 2 and a 2-for-1 0. Or, if you prefer, a year that gives us a 2-for-1 20. Now, have a look at the order of colors in the second polychromatic arc. You have a Happy New Year to figure out what is going on here. [2019]

Upton, Kentucky, USA

Roadside space is usually an unexploited resource, but not here. It's a place to discard ancient vehicles, a place to store firewood until you can sell it, and a place to attract your attention after driving for too long on country roads  But you don't really care. You just want to know something about the Hill of Terror! [2019]

Hillsboro, Kentucky, USA

Unlike so many historic wooden spans, the Goddard-White covered bridge is open to vehicular traffic, for which the Goddard United Methodist Church in the background is grateful. It is actually rare to be able to photograph a covered bridge and a church together. [2017]

Georgetown, Kentucky, USA

Faux Human Characters:  Fancy a double-stack cheeseburger? This rendition of the Big Boy character was born in 1957. You may remember him from Bob's, Elby's, Frisch's, Elias Brothers, Shoney's, or about two dozen other restaurant chains. [2017]

Oldtown, Kentucky, USA

Red, white, and weathered: These are the colors of covered bridges. This one is weathered. It's the Oldtown Bridge, which is not located in any park but which is still valued by its state and county: It was rebuilt in 1999. Its name invites the question: How old is it? 128 years. How old are you today? [2017]

Georgetown, Kentucky, USA

Do you see the octagram? Oct = 8, as in October, the eighth month of the year. But wait, October is the tenth month of the year, you say. Not for the ancient Romans. Their year began with March. Count it off. October is month eight. What was the seventh month of the Roman year? [2017]

Sharkey, Kentucky, USA

How do you dress up a barn and please your neighbors? Add a quilt square to the sunny side. If possible, plan it so the shadows from a nearby hardwood add yet another layer to what would otherwise be a mundane element of the cultural landscape. [2017]

Frankfurt, Kentucky, USA

Although Virginia hated to see it go, Kentucky became a state of its own (the 15th in the Union) 226 years ago today. What did it inherit from Virginia? The title of Commonwealth, one of only four in the country. Here is the Commonwealth's 20th-century capitol building. Happy Birthday, Kentucky! [2017]

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Merry Christmas! According to the Book of Common Prayer: "It's the birthday of Christ, commonly called Christmas Day." The oldest name for the holiday, though, is The Festival of Lights, in commemoration of the angels who lit up the night sky. See one here? [2017]