Summer Old, Summer New

July means traditions like summer, Independence Day, and, more recently, the results of the 2014 Kentucky Living photo contest.

You’ll find the top 29 of the nearly 5,000 pictures you submitted. The images cover the old and the new of Kentucky, from the quiet of a deer pausing in the forest to the crashing of a drummer on a trap set.

The photo contest itself shows how traditions are constantly updated. Many of us knew a time when capturing photo memories meant waiting days for a set of glossy paper prints. Now it’s nearly impossible to find a store that will process a roll of film. In the Kentucky Living photo contest, nearly all of the entries come in electronic form.

We’re putting new twists on fitness. The Fun Runs story tells how people are jazzing up foot races with a literal splash of color. Or by dunking themselves in mud. Or even dressing like a zombie.

Daniel Boone pioneered the Kentucky wilderness, and Elizabethtown’s Haley Mills is breaking new ground in the water. Catch her in the photo performing an incredible loop in a kayak. Read about her passion for new ways of communing with the water, like expedition kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding.

Switch to another part of the new to understand light bulb technology. The new lighting is more efficient and lasts longer, but it means more choices to sort through. The Future of Electricity and the lighting chart will help you become an expert.

And don’t forget to get out and about for the holidays and vacation.

At Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg you can check out a surprising development in technology. The Worth the Trip column tells how the Shakers developed a better broom.

Keep going to the events calendar for your guides to 4th and other July activities from Threshing Days in Brandenburg, to trekking Cumberland Falls, to Shakespeare in Louisville.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July enjoying the old and the new in Kentucky.