It would have been a beautiful Derby weekend.

post #488
          It's still spring here because we've been experiencing a long cool spell. Many trees show a slow road getting to that deep summer green. They're not there yet. Yesterday was beautiful -- my birthday, for one thing. Calls with friends and family, but still mostly #HealthyatHome.  SO, to prolong spring even more, I want to share some of the most recent spring views as the pandemic continues its harsh path through the reality of our lives while the efforts of so many citizens to take one for the team have helped us all out. Thank you all, including the ones who aren't always sure they are making a difference by seeming to do nothing.

OUT AND ABOUT, favorite spots, in the car, by myself:

rear wheel drive sculpture

Closer to home:

coming home after a walk

One birthday, three friends (a surprise) in three different cars, tea and sympathy  -- and laughter from way more than three stories of our long history of these families helping each other out. Thanks for the surprise and the company!!

bluets again, all over everywhere

DISCOVERING THE LAST BLOOM IN A PATCH OF DWARF  IRIS IN THE NEARBY WOODS.

          Can the red-winged blackbirds be found? There's one in each photo -- a summer rerun at the pond:

the other birthday in the family, T. is now 9!

having to redefine "close" with family, for the time being

Two hours ago, at home:

         Most Kentuckians continue to be so grateful to Gov. Andy Beshear, for his clear commitment to helping as many of us as possible to stay alive.  He and his team put common sense science and compassion ahead of political games and, well, to be blunt, greed.  
          And let's hope that if we do have the Derby instead in September, however unlikely that is, that we have an equally beautiful day for it. It's quite the tradition in Kentucky.

May moments caught on my iPhone

post #386
       Two weeks in May, when we finally had spring and quickly moved on to summer!

The dogwoods finally bloomed, in the woods edges nearby.

many bluets this year -- sometimes known as Quaker Ladies

          I needed to pick up some framed photos, in Paris (Kentucky) at Frames on Main, and on the way home, on Route 460, I discovered the Montgomery Green House -- with a single sign and a dirt road to the top of the hill.  LOVED IT and the sound of cows in the barns. While checking out, I was surprised to be recognized -- by some retired teachers who had been checking me out... It turns out they had heard me years ago do a presentation about Counting on the Woods. Who knew.

        The first week of May is big on birthdays around here. My granddaughter and a friend decided to share a birthday, with each one, however, decorating her own cake.  Luckily all the families were able to switch days at the last minute, from Saturday to Sunday, because of all the rain on Saturday. This made the requisite walk in the creek even more fun....

beach theme!

         I recently had my first appointment at the brand new St. Claire Medical Clinic. It is full of windows and space with lots of seating -- and since I was there mid afternoon on Friday, I kind of had the place to myself at one point.  All in all, a VERY IMPRESSIVE change, and, I hear, much appreciated by those who work there.

        Later that same afternoon I took a friend for a drive, and we cruised the Fish Hatchery out near Cave Run Lake.  Something has happened to all the Canada Geese who used to live there, eating the fish that were "maturing" in multiple rectangular ponds, but today we saw only three "families". Each had several fledglings. Because my car doesn't have a trunk to protect my camera from the heat I had not brought my good camera.  So this is what I would call "an evidence" picture. We were there:

A recent evening walk along my road.... lots of pollen this year:

pipeline views....

         Well, truth to tell, I also had a birthday during this time, and after an unknown-to-me orchestrated effort by friends and family, I received as much personal mail in my mailbox over ten days as I have received in the previous 5 years of my existence!  Thank you all!!  I have two things to show here -- first a collage of many of the different stamps that arrived!!  Real stamps!! Forevers and forevers!

          The other came from my friend and neighbor, Jean, who delivered this card to my mailbox one evening.  I could NOT figure out what was inside the envelope. What a lack of imagination I sometimes have.  It is hard to describe this work of art, so here is a photo, again with my iPhone.  Wonderful, wonderful, and hilarious. In fact, I think the photo might have been sharper were I not laughing even when I made the photo.

   I do enjoy the ease of my iPhone, and so here, to express my thanks to it, is one last photo, made while my overworked sometime companion was getting a charge. Thank you 6s, and I hope you are having some fun along the way, when you aren't either lost or forgotten.

This is what my iPhone sees while charging in the kitchen.....

recent photos, mother's day, and a birthday

post #335
        Sunday hello, sun here today, for mothering moments and other such sundries!

       I know that this day celebrates them that raise us, as they say, and it gives me a good excuse to feature some recent photos of my granddaughter, Thea, and her mom, my daughter Rebecca, now living nearby!

some photo shooting along our path, with the dogs -- the black one older, the other a puppy

a birthday moment, with other kids and their parents

         Then, starting home from town very recently, with my camera in the car, I realized there was some amazing evening light going on. I hadn't planned to make photos on my way home, but how could a photographer resist this confluence of that light on sky, trees, and water!  I'm including a few of the photos I took at the same time as this first one in order to share how it all came about.

The Photo

I had pulled over in front of a retail building, and the road home is on the left.

Here I'm getting closer to what I want in my photo.

I made this photo as a record of where I was and how the storm sky looked just before I got back on the road to continue home -- after those magic moments.

       In fact, we've had lots of rain here recently. I made these next photos in a favorite spot along the ridge where I live. 
       I'm sure there are some beloved moms buried in this Cox family cemetery. I don't want to say anything Hallmark-y, but I know we each have our own particular feelings on Mother's day -- and every day -- and I love hearing these individual stories. May I suggest that we honor the day by telling someone our stories or by asking to listen to a story.

    Remember - share stories!