photography

Gardening Glow

/ still a dreamer / 13 Comments

Finally! A bright, sunny day! We’ve had so much rain lately, and there hasn’t been much inspiration or sunshine to even go walking, let alone take pictures.

I grabbed the opportunity one dry morning and walked, admiring all my neighbors’ landscaping and planting efforts. These are my favorite photos among those I took.

There are a fair amount of gardeners here who know what they’re doing with perennials and shrubs. They plant creatively and with great timing so there is always something blooming throughout the summer. I consider this a true art.

What I also appreciate is the appearance of entire gardens growing wild, even though how these areas are planted, in most cases, was carefully planned.

I did a fair amount of gardening at the first house I moved into on this side of the state, almost entirely with annuals. Admittedly, it looked very pretty, and complemented many perennials already in place, but my humble efforts still left me in “aspiring gardener” status (in my opinion.)

Cheers to all the gardeners in my neighborhood and beyond for their contribution to making this world a lovelier place.

The Middle of Winter

/ still a dreamer / 12 Comments

Nature will do her best to never fail us. She will shine in her own way, in her own season, in her own time. Grateful.

And a poem that just came to me. It seems fitting. By Donna Ashworth.

UNSTOPPABLE

Unstoppable they called her
but I saw her stop
I saw her stop many times
sometimes I thought she had
stopped for good
but no
she always found a way
to rise again
to resurrect
not the same, never the same
unstoppable they said
but I think it was in the stopping
that she found her power

– Donna Ashworth

Early Shades of Fall in September

/ still a dreamer / 11 Comments

The sun has not shown its face all day, there is a chill in the air, and I felt a call to go walking. The Delaware River, rippling in the breeze beneath a moody sky, has a flawless beauty in every kind of weather.

The last roses of summer tangle with a shrub with red feathery flowers under a tree slipping into her bronze foliage.

This small ancient barn and its weathered doors still hold some fascination for me. They are such a willing photographic subject.

The tracks heading north out of town and the surrounding greenery were recently treated to a little freshening up for a townwide event. Once upon a time, these tracks were used by trains hauling grain from the town’s mill to destinations both north and south.

I recently saw some advice – “Walk Happy.” I like that advice.

Something Different

/ still a dreamer / 4 Comments

A friend and I went out for brunch on Memorial Day to the Sky Cafe in a nearby town. They have great food, and source much of it from local farmers, always a plus. They are located at the Sky Manor Airport, a small one that is a home and a landing spot for many small planes.

I know very little about planes other than your standard flights and that I was once in an 8-seater “breakfast flight”, one of the scarier moments of my life!

However, these small planes have a charm all their own. While I was respecting the “No trespassing” sign at the edge of a parking area and using my zoom feature, a pilot approached us and gave me persmission to go up and photograph the planes.

He then asked if we’d like to see a couple planes in their hangars. We said yes, and were soon getting an up-close-and-personal view. The pilot’s name was Bill, and he indulged all our questions and shared more about what flying a one or two-seater plane entailed.

I don’t know that I can retain all he shared, but he successfully convinced me (not my friend), that flying in that size plane would be terrifying. I am a great admirer from the ground! And we both absolutely loved meeting his rescue dog, Angel.

This time chatting with a local resident reminds me of how wonderful it is to live where I live … where people can just strike up a conversation, share stories, and it’s so easy and relaxed. It’s how life should be.