--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My wife Ann and I had been digging during…" description: "\"My wife Ann and I had been digging during the day, transplanting lilies from the front of this abandoned farmhouse back down the road to where we live...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/larry-towell-57835_abandoned_my-wife-ann-and-i-had-been-digging-durin_2409712.jpg" --- # My wife Ann and I had been digging during the day… ![“My wife Ann and I had been digging during the day, transplanting lilies from the front of this abandoned farmhouse back down the road to where we live. We finished. She was tired and laid in the grass. I took a picture. The house is now gone. The walnut trees have been bulldozed and burned. I saw…” quote by Larry Towell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/larry-towell-57835_abandoned_my-wife-ann-and-i-had-been-digging-durin_2409712.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/larry-towell-57835_abandoned_my-wife-ann-and-i-had-been-digging-durin_2409712.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/larry-towell-57835_abandoned_my-wife-ann-and-i-had-been-digging-durin_2409712.jpg) > “My wife Ann and I had been digging during the day, transplanting lilies from the front of this abandoned farmhouse back down the road to where we live. We finished. She was tired and laid in the grass. I took a picture. The house is now gone. The walnut trees have been bulldozed and burned. I saw this picture the other day for the first time in years and realized how photographing life within a hundred yards of my front porch had helped me focus on everything I cared about.” [Larry Towell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-towell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing everyday surroundings through a camera sharpens focus on personal values and community loss. **In simple terms:** Photos sharpen focus. Key Takeaway Use photography to clarify priorities. Themes memory photography place loss focus Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type artistic contemplative When to use this quote - documenting change - grieving loss - community storytelling - creative reflection Key Concepts visual storytelling mindful observation Questions to Reflect On - What does this image reveal about your values? - How can you capture meaning in daily life? A Different Perspective May romanticize loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Down the road](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down-the-road/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Front porches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/front-porches/) [Lilies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lilies/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Photographing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographing/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [When I’m photographing I see life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/when-i-m-photographing-i-see-life/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [How do you write? You write, man, you write, that's how, and you do it the way the old English walnut tree puts forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/how-do-you-write-you-write-man-you-write-that-s-how-and-you-do-it-the/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“Walnut Trees of Altenburg: The greatest mystery is not that we have been flung at random between the profusion of the earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hollis/walnut-trees-of-altenburg-the-greatest-mystery-is-not-that-we-have/) [James Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hollis/) > [There rises the moon, broad and tranquil, through the branches of a walnut tree on a hill opposite. I apostrophize it in the words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/there-rises-the-moon-broad-and-tranquil-through-the-branches-of-a/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [I first saw the site for Disneyland back in 1953, In those days it was all flat land - no rivers, no mountains, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-first-saw-the-site-for-disneyland-back-in-1953-in-those-days-it-was/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [On my cornice linger the ripe black grapes ungathered; Children fill the groves with the echoes of their glee, Gathering tawny chestnuts, and shouting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/on-my-cornice-linger-the-ripe-black-grapes-ungathered-children-fill/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [My mother took my picture to a model agency and the rest is history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-everhart/my-mother-took-my-picture-to-a-model-agency-and-the-rest-is-history/) [Angie Everhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-everhart/) > [I'm boreddd! So I guess took a picture of myself :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-boreddd-so-i-guess-took-a-picture-of-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All the writers on our show went in and got in the bed and took a picture in Cher's bed, even though she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mullally/all-the-writers-on-our-show-went-in-and-got-in-the-bed-and-took-a/) [Megan Mullally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mullally/) > [The cash was comin fast, money grew like grass. People hungry for the blast that don't even last. Didn't want to be involved but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kool-g-rap/the-cash-was-comin-fast-money-grew-like-grass-people-hungry-for-the/) [Kool G Rap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kool-g-rap/) > [I met your baby moms last night. We took a picture together I hope she frames it! And I was drinking at the Palms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-met-your-baby-moms-last-night-we-took-a-picture-together-i-hope-she/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I just took a picture of my feet then side my best friend and me why because it will never stop kick someones ass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mrcountry/i-just-took-a-picture-of-my-feet-then-side-my-best-friend-and-me-why/) MrCountry > [The bloke didnt even notice it took the picture ahaha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-marie/the-bloke-didnt-even-notice-it-took-the-picture-ahaha/) Taylor Marie > [Your mama so fat, I took a picture with her last christmas and it's still printing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-mama-so-fat-i-took-a-picture-with-her-last-christmas-and-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm just disappointed the folks never took a picture of me when I was five years old jumping off the barn into a haystack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-funk/i-m-just-disappointed-the-folks-never-took-a-picture-of-me-when-i-was/) [Wally Funk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-funk/) ## More by Larry Towell > [If there’s one theme that connects all my work, I think it’s that of land-lessness; how land makes people into who they are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-towell/if-there-s-one-theme-that-connects-all-my-work-i-think-it-s-that-of/) [Larry Towell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-towell/) > [Be yourself and look outside of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-towell/be-yourself-and-look-outside-of-yourself/) [Larry Towell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-towell/) > [Poetry is my first love. Photography often fails to look into things. It looks at things. Poetry is so much more truthful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-towell/poetry-is-my-first-love-photography-often-fails-to-look-into-things/) [Larry Towell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-towell/) > [... photojournalism has its tremendous rewards and it's wonderful work. In what other work can you wander aimlessly with a camera around your neck,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-towell/photojournalism-has-its-tremendous-rewards-and-it-s-wonderful-work-in/) [Larry Towell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-towell/) > [People aren’t photographing for history any more. It’s for immediate gratification. If you’re photographing to share an image, you’re not photographing to keep it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-towell/people-aren-t-photographing-for-history-any-more-it-s-for-immediate/) [Larry Towell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-towell/) [Explore all 6 Larry Towell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-towell/) ## More Abandoned quotes > [“I'm surprised when I walk right into yet another abandoned hunters' camp. Tattered plastic sheeting still hangs askew here and there. Blackened aerosol cans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/i-m-surprised-when-i-walk-right-into-yet-another-abandoned-hunters/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [It’s hard to feel attracted to someone who has abandoned her sense of autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/it-s-hard-to-feel-attracted-to-someone-who-has-abandoned-her-sense-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [In Russia there is an emigration of intelligence: émigrés cross the frontier in order to read and to write good books. But in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-russia-there-is-an-emigration-of-intelligence-migr-s-cross-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Early on in my life, I had a broken soul. I was abused by my father, abandoned by my mother and ended up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/early-on-in-my-life-i-had-a-broken-soul-i-was-abused-by-my-father/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [We should be recklessly abandoned to Jesus, and just turn it over to Him. Through the support I think the sacrifices will be made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-orrico/we-should-be-recklessly-abandoned-to-jesus-and-just-turn-it-over-to/) [Stacie Orrico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacie-orrico/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The whole force of the respectable circles to which I belonged, that respectable circle which knew as I did notthe value of security won,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/the-whole-force-of-the-respectable-circles-to-which-i-belonged-that/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Barack Obama became president, and he abandoned Iraq. He left, and when he left Al Qaida was done for. ISIS was created because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/barack-obama-became-president-and-he-abandoned-iraq-he-left-and-when/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [“The desperate loneliness is nothing compared to the torture of falling in love and then being abandoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-nuest/the-desperate-loneliness-is-nothing-compared-to-the-torture-of/) A.J. Nuest > [Through it all, this wild life on and off the road , through Jordanian deserts , Spanish islands, German prisons, Caribbean tax scams, halls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-burdon/through-it-all-this-wild-life-on-and-off-the-road-through-jordanian/) [Eric Burdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-burdon/) > [I've never been keen on open adoption. It doesn't seem to solve the main problem with adoption, which is that somebody feels she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-ve-never-been-keen-on-open-adoption-it-doesn-t-seem-to-solve-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Blacks abandoned morals, fathers, and real belief in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/blacks-abandoned-morals-fathers-and-real-belief-in-god/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [I just feel abandoned. And I feel, I don't feel represented by the Republican Party. I have always had to defend the social side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/i-just-feel-abandoned-and-i-feel-i-don-t-feel-represented-by-the/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) > [While society cannot provide employment for its members, the production/work/income nexus has to be abandoned as a justification for our present parsimony to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/while-society-cannot-provide-employment-for-its-members-the/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) Browse all 932 Abandoned quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My wife Ann and I had been digging during the day, transplanting lilies from the front of this abandoned farmhouse back down the road to where we live. We finished. She was tired and laid in the grass. I took a picture. The house is now gone. The walnut trees have been bulldozed and burned. 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