Tag Archives: Photography
Trent’s World, the Weekly Smile
Looks like a front is going through.
The day before the midterm elections feels stressful. I feel like I can’t turn the TV on, can’t check social media. Too much conflict, too much negativity.
On my way home from an early morning run to the grocery I noticed dramatic clouds. And me with no camera.
Barns and cloudy skies make me smile.
I hurried home, but the drama was gone by the time I unloaded and put away the groceries.
Still, the sky was interesting. And I was restless.
The seasons are changing, the crops have been harvested.
So off I went, camera in my lap, to see what I might see. Sure it would never be the extraordinary sky I saw earlier. But you never know what you’ll find.
At first I was disappointed, mostly muddy grey skies, not the dramatic navy blue ribbons I’d seen before.
Time to hunker down for winter.
But when I got out of the car on a dirt road to grab a shot of a barn I saw the whole sky above me and actually said out loud – “Wow!”
This was my ‘wow’ moment.
And that inspired me to keep looking. And you know me…
Everywhere you looked was something wonderful.
…looking for barns amid wild skies makes me smile.
Couldn’t resist this one.
What made you smile lately?
Well yes, she makes me smile too.
So they aren’t forgotten
Something horrible happened in this beautiful place.
We’ve all seen them, those markers of loss by the side of the road. Do you wonder about the person they represent? When a new one appears do you feel a sudden stab of emotion?
I do.
Sometimes these memorials act as reminders to drive safely.
I think I’ve always unconsciously noticed the markers, but ever since my dad was killed on a Georgia freeway I’ve been more aware.
And more curious.
I don’t know who this was, or what it symbolizes, but I nod hello when I go by.
Because I know we as a family wanted the spot that dad died be marked. A life changing event happened there and it seemed wrong that the road returned to normal almost immediately after. That thousands of people passed by and no one knew what an extraordinary place it was.
Somehow you want people to know.
Sadly, turned left in front of a truck.
So for a few years I’ve stopped at roadside memorials, wherever it was safe to do so, and taken a picture to document the name and dates.
The driver lost control, she was ejected from the vehicle.
And back at home I’d try to find something out about that person. Sometimes I’d find a report of the crash, or the obituary.
See the gash at the bottom of the tree? I think she became an angel right here.
And then, each time I passed the memorial I’d remember that person, sort of an acknowledgement of their existence, a bit of sorrow at the way they left.
State trooper hit by vehicle pulling a trailer, dragged to his death.
I think that’s what the families want, to keep their loved one alive in the minds or hearts of people.
It’s not always a religious symbol.
I feel sad for all of them, but none so much as the young ones. The young drivers, the children who happened to be in the vehicles.
A young driver, he crossed the center line on a curve.
There seem to be so many of them.
Nothing permanent, just left the flowers from the funeral. Motorcycle hit a deer, then a car hit him.
So what, are you asking, did we do at the site of the crash that killed dad? It’s on a very busy piece of freeway, about an hour west of Atlanta, right at a truck weigh station. We knew we couldn’t safely stop there for much more than a moment.
Some crashes happened so long ago, but family never forgets.
So we concocted a plan.
We bought three bags of daffodil bulbs, loaded up into the car with a pic and a shovel and drove there one rainy afternoon. We pulled over as far as we could, piled out of the car, hacked a hole in the soil, tossed the bulbs in and covered them up as fast as we could while cars and trucks streamed by.
Some are so recent.
In the fourteen years since, I’ve rarely been in the South at the right time of year, and never have I taken the more than hour drive from the lake over to the crash site to see if they’ve survived.
The loss of small children breaks my heart.
But last spring I went.
And the road was still as busy, several lanes of trucks and cars flying by. Lots and lots of trucks on all sides of me. I couldn’t really take a long look. But out of the corner of my eye, as I passed the site I saw something.
Waiting in the dying light to offer solace.
Just a simple flash of yellow, there below the guardrail.
I’m not sure how many daffodils were in bloom, I think more than one. To be honest it could have been a yellow solo cup, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that for a brief moment, driving down that freeway, my heart sang and I smiled.
So many stories lost.
So if the daffodils really bloom, there along the highway every spring, then I have to think a few other people have noticed them as they speed past. And maybe they smiled too, and wondered at their meaning.
And I think dad would have enjoyed the beauty and mystery of that.
Hope.
Wordless Wednesday – Katie style
This is a new park, Davis Lake Overlook, and it’s really pretty!
Katie here. Mama says it’s Wednesday so I should be wordless, and you know what I did? I laughed at her! Sometimes mama is a bit dense, you know? Cause I have never met a wordless sheltie. Nope, we all have a lot to say and we exercise our freedom of speech regularly.
Even on Wednesdays.
Come on everybody! Follow me!
It has been raining a lot. All weekend I was stuck inside with my parents. Nothing to do but bug them, and I even got bored doing that. Trust me, my parents are not very exciting.
Golden light streamed down on us.
And they are sooooo predictable. It was “No, Katie, go lay down” all day every day. No one wanted to play with my piggie except me. Oh sure mama or daddy tossed it to me occasionally, but they weren’t really focused on me.
And for a princess that is just not acceptable.
A princess deserves to have the spotlight at all times.
So you can imagine how I was feeling on Monday when mama said she was going to go for a walk in one of her parks. And it didn’t look like she was taking me! I cried and ran around her feet and finally she realized how selfish she was being.
Light made the colors glow.
She changed her plans and took me to one of my new parks. The rain had stopped and the sun was out and everything was beautiful! I was so happy! Mama and I met a guy out there taking pictures too. He said I was beautiful and as a reward I let him pet me.
After this guy left we had the park to ourselves!
After he left mama let me run around off leash. I love when I can do that. I trotted right ahead of mama, which wasn’t that hard, cause she was always stopping to take pictures of stuff. Once I turned around and she wasn’t there! I got so scared I ran back looking for her.
Are you over there mama?
Turns out she had gone down a little path to take a picture of some yellow trees out in the swamp. I headed down that path too, but my feet got wet.
Out in the wetlands the trees pointed to the sky.
So I waited for her up on higher ground. After that I kept a closer watch on mama. Sometimes she forgets all about me.
I’ll wait for you up here mama!
We had a super wonderful time together. I sat for her lots, and she got plenty of great shots of me, but mostly she was interested in how the light was sliding through the leaves and making everything (including me) more beautiful.
Perfect.
Ever since we were there on Monday it’s been raining. So I’m stuck in the house again. I’m sure glad I got mama to take me out on our one good day, especially while the woods are still pretty with all their fall color.
Mama says when it gets nice again we’ll go on another adventure, or at least a walk somewhere. I can hardly wait.
I bet it will be pretty back here in the winter too!
Meanwhile I’m going to go look for my piggie and see if I can interest anyone in a rousing game.
Talk later, your bored girl, Katie.
Piggie in the tunnel!
We could all use a smile.
Reflecting on current events.
Trent, over at his blog trentsworldblog has decided that we could all use a smile, so he has resurrected his weekly smile post in which he invites us all to post each week about something that has made us smile, and then link back to him.
I think he’ll post a recap, but I need to go back and read the instructions (you’ll find those at his Weekly Smile blog).
There’s gold in the woods. And a bit of peace.
As I sit watching the horrific news out of Pittsburgh this morning I have to admit I was feeling guilty for feeling good after my short trip to northern Michigan.
Sometimes you just need to walk away.
For me going into the woods is like living on my own personal private island. No TV, no email, maybe a bit of blog producing, but that’s all about looking through images I’ve just taken and then letting the fingers do their thing.
No stress there. Usually no tears.
The logging museum shows life in a simpler time.
And yet the world carries on even while I’m not noticing. Pipe bombs get mailed. Mass shootings happen. Candidates snipe at each other. No one tells a complete truth.
Is there really only one way?
Who even knows what the truth is anymore.
Sometimes a person needs the welcoming woods.
As Carol says in her latest post, we’re all probably overloaded. By everything.
So I think Trent’s idea is wonderful. Let’s look for at least one thing that has made us smile this week.
No television out here.
For me, it was being in the north wandering among the last bit of fading color. I was only there for a little more than one day, and it was drizzling rain most of the time.
Still. In the last few minutes before I climbed back in the car to head home the sun burned through a layer of cloud and the woods glowed.
It was just for a moment.
Glowing in between the raindrops.
But it made me smile.
Follow the path for soul renewal.
Nancy Merrill Photo Challenge: Reflection
When this week’s prompt showed up in my email on Thursday I knew exactly where I’d find my shot, luckily just a few miles up the road from my hotel room.
A mirror finish on this lake reflected the dock as well as the golden trees.
This is Glory Lake, one of two small lakes at Hartwick Pines. Though there was no sun Friday morning I still gasped as I turned the corner and saw the reflection.
Short and sweet
I’m on a quick ‘up north’ trip with a friend. We wanted to make a specific destination in time for sunset, figuring the lowering sun would enhance what remaining color was hanging on the trees.
It was sunny when I left home, but as I headed north more and more clouds accumulated. I wasn’t worried, I figured the sunset would be more interesting with clouds.
But as I pulled within four miles of our destination the sky turned a blank grey and it began to rain. Fog floated up between the trees.
Not looking good for finding color.
I figured trekking through a wet field to the top of a hill in the rain to see the nonexistent sunset was going to be a waste of time. But I’ve learned to never give up, especially when you’re so close. So we trekked.
And as we began to top the hill I knew we were right to make the trip; I could see color out there in the fog.
See what’s over the hill?
And when we got to the top?
Stunning, even in the rain.
Amazing.
It’s supposed to be sunny here tomorrow and we’ll have a few hours to explore before we head home.
Can’t wait to see what we find.
On the road again.
What’s down that path?
Dow Gardens was started in 1899 by Herbert Dow, founder of The Dow Chemical Company. The Gardens, originally developed on eight acres of flat, sandy land, provided a creative outlet for Herbert Dow and his interest in agriculture and design. He created gardens, ponds and hills according to a simple philosophy that we still follow to this day: “never reveal the gardens’ whole beauty at first glance.” –from the Dow Gardens website.
When I left you last, during our Walktober, we were about to explore a winding path in the Dow Gardens.
A curvy stroll.
Didn’t you wonder where it went? It’s just one of many secret garden rooms at the Dow Gardens in Midland Michigan.
The elevated walkway we visited for our Walktober sits in Whiting Forest, right next door to the gardens, and in fact the $5 ticket to the elevated walkway also got us into the gardens. So of course we went, even though by then we had already walked a lot, and it was getting colder and wetter.
Not letting a little cold rain stop us!
And we were not disappointed, not at all. The first frosts of the winter season had already done their damage and the formal flower gardens were just memories, but this place is designed to intrigue even when flowers are no longer blooming.
The original land was flat and only eight acres, but the garden now has all sorts of hills and knolls, with pathways, bridges and ponds tucked into the landscape covering one hundred and ten acres.
Even cement bridges end up looking interesting. Don’t you want to go see what’s up those steps?
There’s a definite Asian influence in parts of the park…
I loved these round steps, and the red bridges.
…and lovely old trees everywhere.
The big heavy limbs of this tree were their own art.
Though the flower gardens were gone to frost, there was still color just about anywhere you looked.
A big old maple tree next to the herb garden where I spent time smelling lemon verbena. Heavenly.
There were ponds reflecting beautiful landscape…
Even on a rainy day this was stunning.
…and stairs leading to the next hidden glade.
This just begged to be climbed. So we did.
And then, just to add to the whole experience, there’s the house.
This is just one angle of it, there’s a whole lot of house you can’t see from here.
We know we’ll be back to take the tour of the house. It looks fascinating.
I’ve only shown you a fraction of what there is to see in these gardens. And you’re seeing it on a dreary cold dank day. Imagine it when the sun is shining. Or in the spring when the flowering trees are in bloom, or in midsummer when the secret gardens are at peak. Or in winter when the trees hiding their secrets show off their profiles as a distraction.
It’s only an hour from me, but even if you’re further away, it’s worth a trip. Come on up and visit Michigan and while you’re here, stop for a few hours or an entire day at Dow Gardens!
No matter the season you, like us, won’t be disappointed.
There’s a few statutes too.
Walktober in the trees
We began our adventure under a dark and ominous sky.
There’s a new park, located about an hour north of here, billed as a walk in a tree canopy. Intriguing. Plus it seemed perfect for a Walktober.
So this week we went.
Come on! Let’s go explore!
We thought if we went during the week crowds would be less. And maybe they were; if you want to go on a weekend you have to purchase your tickets in advance so the crowds must be pretty thick on Saturday or Sunday.
The ramp circles up from below, so the walk is accessible to anyone using a walker or a wheelchair.
But even on a Friday afternoon, and though the sky was dark and the wind was brisk, plenty of people had ventured forth to explore the new park.
A busy day at the park.
Walking between the pods.
Along the elevated pathway were two pods made of curved wood. The docent said they were designed to represent curled queen anne lace flower buds.
The Docent likes bugs. (That’s a pin on her hat, it’s not real.)
One of them was connected to the main path by a net which had people lined up to cross.
Looks fun.
And out on the end of one of the walks was a play area filled with similar netting for people, kids and adults alike to rest or roll around, depending on your mood.
Lots of fun.
It was pretty up there, I think it would have been even nicer very early in the morning on a sunny day with the light playing down through the trees.
Not really in the canopy, but still fun.
Down below the structure are paths, some paved, some softened with fallen leaves and pine needles, through the forest.
More my style.
There were fewer people there, and immediately I felt more at home. Walking among the treetops was fun. Walking between the trees was comforting.
Viewing those still up top who were enjoying the view.
There wasn’t a lot of color yet, most of it was on the ground in the form of fallen maples leaves.
Even on a rainy afternoon the color was nice.
Truly beautiful.
It wasn’t really raining much, just damp.
It did seem odd to see umbrellas out on a walk through the trees. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone walk through the woods under an umbrella.
But it made for some fun photography.
Not exactly what I was going for, but I sort of like their blur.
We had a really good time walking in and around the trees.
Fun times.
If you’re ever near Midland Michigan check it out. The elevated part isn’t that long, but it’s interesting. And if you have children they’ll have a blast.
Subtle colors enjoyed by people who bring their own colors along too.
But make sure you also take time to wander the woods that surrounds the structure. That’s where the real magic lives.
Walking the ropes.
PS: Look around, I bet you have somewhere pretty or interesting or both near you. Take a walk. Take a couple of pictures. Post it and link it to Robin’s Walktober post (or any of her posts). We’d all love to come along on your Walktobers!
PPS: Our park in Whiting Forest is located right next to Dow Gardens, and our $5 ticket gained us entrance to both. I was going to include that walk in this post, but I think it deserves it’s own. So stay tuned. Here’s a hint:
Where does this curving path go?
Cee’s black & white photo challenge: Steps
Descending lighthouse steps.
Change Is Hard 