the PUMPKIN place

post #358
       While on the island of Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts -- see previous blog post -- I was taken to MORNING GLORY FARM, in Edgartown. When I returned to Kentucky, I discovered that my daughter has the book about the place, with photos taken by Alison Shaw, my photography teacher when I did a weeklong photography workshop on the island in 2004.  Anyway, we went to the farm stand (a large building) for lunch. What an amazing place. And they go all out for pumpkins.
         Normally I wouldn't do a whole post about pumpkins and seasonal decor in another state, but, since today is Hallowe'en weekend and it was so much fun to be there, this post is inspired by their "art." Enjoy!!

a cornucopia display

overhead

in the yard, with pumpkins in trees

pumpkins everywhere

        I do wonder what the place looked like before Oct. 20 when I made these photos!

        I wrote last week that I had to change planes in Philadelphia -- with a 2 1/2 hour layover.  This is the view out my window as we took off from Philly, on a chrsytal clear night. The city lights were even more sparkly than this iPhone photo shows.
          I'm always glad to be headed for my Kentucky home.

a wave break....

post #357
     

       True confessions -- I've been away from home a week, visiting friends and family mostly in Massachusetts. I spent several of those days on Cape Cod AND Martha's Vineyard.  This is a trip I have talked about doing for 2 years, and I finally got it together to do it. Today I can't resist celebrating my finally being there by sharing some photos of waves and water!! The weather really was as good as it looks. We mortals can always respond to the serenity of breaking waves and the constancy of the tides under calm skies.  
       The first set of photos above: Lucy Vincent Beach, on MV, open to the public after Columbus Day. It comes with memories for me of my photo workshop on the island in 2004 with Alison Shaw. (We visited her gallery but just missed seeing her. Guess I need to go again....) Lucy Vincent is a very special beach. Thanks, Patty, even though I know you already wanted to go there after Columbus Day anyway...

     The next beach I was able to experience was the one in East Dennis, on the north side of Cape Cod. I arrived just in time for a race with the setting sun.  Again, here's a place rich in memories for me, as is being with Henry and Susan and their family.

an eleventh generation Cape Codder....

        This walk on the beach was such a lovely beginning to great catch-up visit.

        The other beach we went to, the next day, was Nausset Beach, at the outside of the elbow that Cape Cod presents on the map.  The sand was warm enough for bare toes but not so hot as it becomes with summer sun. Susan and I saw a seal also enjoying the waters.

waiting for more waves in the in-coming tide

See the seal???!!

one of several memorial benches, with evidence of rotating sets of liberated feet

       I'm preparing this page during a layover in the Philadelphia Airport, on the way back to Lexington. Wondeful diversion for me. I guess this fits with my recent "beauty in the world" theme. We obviously need to preserve, protect and honor even the ocean whose vastness alone does not guarantee its health and happiness. It doesn't hurt, as part of that effort, to have fun!
       

a work in progress

post #357
     I am still feeling contemplative these days and truth seeking. I am not able to understand how it's all right to fan the flames of differences between people. Or how we can possibly imagine that more guns will bring anything except tragedies. The framers of our constitution certainly never envisioned AK47s. I am grateful as always for conversations with friends, an opportunity to speak our ideas out loud and be listened to.  Every year of my life there is so much more to figure out. No sense in getting stuck on some unexamined point of view!
      I always love to look around me, to discover what there is, and literally see other points of view. I want to post some photos this week that might show the way I work. Sometimes a certain photo might not be particularly striking, but it is on the way to seeing whatever is there more clearly. I hope to make more sense eventually from what I am saying now.

 

across that same road, from Margie and George's porch

a detail from the photo above

another detail nearby

Three more photos, somewhat connected by subject matter or texture or design:

a nearby field

another morning fog in the same field

a morning web

the harpist after the recent Cave Run Symphony orchestra concert, and her magnificant harp

                                             Thank you, Elaine Humphreys Cook


     There's nothing like the creative mind of a child to see things in new ways: thank you, Thea!  The world needs all of us to keep using our creative minds to go beyond our perceived limits of imagining what our inner worlds could encompass.

        I do feel I will have more to say and see on what I am mulling over in this post so inadequately. Thank you, dear readers, for your patience.

beauty in our lives

post #356
       It has been raining here all day long -- after at least a month of steady warm and sunny days. It's wonderful the woods are getting a soaking as we head into fall where fire is a bigger problem if fallen leaves are dry. As I write this, Tropical Storm Nate is getting pretty close to eastern Kentucky. 
       I made the four following photos several hours ago as I left where I used to live. The only way out is by this beautiful driveway -- made even more beautiful now that I'm no longer responsible for getting leaves out of the ditch along the side of it....

headed out

looking back toward where I had just been

another view forward -- this time through the windshield!

around the curve, looking back

What I left behind -- after a birthday party for my daughter. These lovelies and tasties were brought by friends who have Forgotten Foods Farm, LLC.

the morning after -- my daughter, her daughter, and her brother -- sweet!!

     This last photo for today was made recently, while I checked the milkweed plants. There's something about the moon that brings out whatever love I have for mystery.  Also, I must confess, with the distressing travesties being carried out in D.C. that expose the weak links in our democracy, it never hurts to be in the presence of a beauty that is reliable and true to itself.

scenes from my neck of the woods

post #355
     We're all starting a new month, and, here in northeastern Kentucky, in the Appalachian foothills, we're closer to fall. I continue to share these photos as a way of giving a different perspective on this lovely place than the ones sometimes held up to define us.
      Last week David came with his tractor and fold-down bushhog to do my small field. I'll now feel less hemmed in by broom grass all winter! Thank goodness! I loved it that three days after he worked here, I ran into him in tiny Elliottville, nearby, in his sports car. Even though his car looked so different than his tractor, I loved his versatility. He's kind enough as well to have some patience for my photomaking.

good by sweet grasses and flowers - though I asked that one very small section not be mowed, for the sake of butterflies and seeds for the birds

He even does the steep hillside by the pond. I can never believe it can be done, but to him it's no big deal.

      Before he had arrived, I heard David coming over from the neighbor's fields. I quickly took these two field photos before the iron weed would be gone:

Leaving my side road, I spotted this deer silhouette on the "main road".  Took this through the windshield with a quick grab of the camera since there was no one behind me.  The first deer had already passed by.

  

        The mystery flowers have now been identified -- thank you, Sue Ella. They are sedum, of which there are many varieties. And they are also called "HOUSE LEAKS", since they need the water provided by dripping gutters in addition to regular rain.  Sure enough, Margie's are located under a gutter.

      This last photo is not taken by me, but it is a wonderful tribute to the annual STORY TELLING FESITVAL that is held every end of September.  The location: Cave Run Lake, near Morehead, KY, under a huge tent.  The weather: absolutely perfect both days. These friends: loyal and longtime. Stories: essential for our lives ongoing.