Spring flowers, in between showers, plus cliffs and my kids

post #283
        I had hoped to do my guest photographers post today, but three of them are in the throes of end of university semesters, and therefore have somewhat of an excuse for not getting their photos to me in a timely manner. I will keep trying to herd these cats, for next week or the week after. In any case, spring is fast turning into summer, and I just happen to have some recent spring photos to post!  We have been having our fair share of rain, so I feel lucky to have the photos I did manage to make this past week....
       First, a few from around the house....

mourning doves at the well-ness center....

the steps, under the dogwood

       Our county has a nature center that includes a section of the path designed for wheel chairs as well as regular foot travel. It all starts at the Laurel Gorge Heritage Center. 

along the first section of the path, with rhododendron (not in bloom in May)

a view of the limestone cliffs, from the path

a colony of pink lady's slippers!!

Notice the difference in the shape of this pink lady's slipper bloom with the yellow one that follows:

These yellows are somewhat less common than the pinks.

       Several moments of fascination for me, seeing what I see when surrounded by these wonders:

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        Since today is mother's day, I want to end with a photo of the two people who taught me so much about life, about mothering, and about love. I share this photo with unending gratitude -- and with a reminder that you were each as cute and fascinating long ago as you are now....!

 

finally, signs of spring from flowers to goldfinches

post #133
      What follows are some photos from this favorite time of year.  We are having a late spring in eastern Kentucky, but supposedly some warmer days are coming soon.  I expect a pent-up burst of leaves on the trees and blooms on the flowers during the next two weeks. 
 

We're not quite to this amount of green yet this year, but VERY CLOSE.

Quaker ladies

wood-betony

same house as above, seen through redbuds

Jason doesn't provide his neighbors with this design every year, but I am fascinated when he does by the art potential of manure spread on a hillside!

a goldfinch going through the change, from winter gray back to summer gold

mayapple

daffodils, eager and ready show off

early lilacs in our yard

redbuds

a worm-eating warbler on her nest, on the forest floor -- a rare sight that I captured without knowing how rare it is, at 8:30 p.m.

pink lady's slipper

    

exactly two years ago, with the sun coming from under early morning clouds!

Back to Appalachian ABCs

post #84
       Back to the book!  Today is I, J, K, and L.   So I am searching through the photos I already have to provide some possibles.   'Tis more of a time-consuming task than I would like to admit, between the distraction of remembering where and when I was at the time of the photo -- i.e. time spent telling stories to myself --  and my imperfect labeling system.  I do know I am not the only photographer to let the number of photos get ahead of the sensible filing of them.... though the truth is I do take advantage more than I should of having a decent visual memory.
       Please note: I took the lettuce photo away from the G section to use here today, and I put a different photo in G, for garden....Remember that the section words in italics are ones I have added, with photos, for later discussions with George Ella about the book.

 I  i    --       iris                  ice

iris

ice, on the pond, and the photographer's shadow, too!

icicles, a favorite photo of mine from our waterfalls, taken by John Flavell

J  j       --         Jack-in-the-pulpit          jeans

Jack-in-the-pulpit, deep in the woods

jeans on the line

K  k     --           killdeer                   kitchen knives               kitten

                       [My slide of Killdeer eggs, from Counting on the Woods, is not filed correctly,
                         so I have not found it yet.  I WILL FIND IT EVENTUALLY, then scan it to
                         digital and post it here.  Please stay hopeful.]

kitchen knives

kitten

 

 L l    --      lady's slippers           leaves, leaves, leaves             lettuce

yellow lady's slippers, deep in the woods

leaves in the fall

tobacco leaves

maple and vine leaves

leaves in autumn, out the back door

leaves in the woods in spring

lettuce, in the cold frame

    As always, suggestions are encouraged and appreciated.  I hope others are also thinking about what photos they would show were their place to be viewed through the alphabet!  

more 2011 favorites, some with stories, part 2 of 3

post #71

      

      It has been a good idea for me to look through the 2011 images with the idea of sharing some of those which have brought me pleasure.  Last week's post was portraits (broadly defined) and this week's is growth and change.  Things change in nature all the time.  Sometimes very quickly.  The art is in catching it with light.  Some of these photos have stories that go with them, so today I am showing the image first, to be enjoyed without any words, and then adding some words of my own if I can't resist doing so.  Many of these images have been shown in earlier posts.

     I saw these plants in the Denver Botanical Gardens, in June, and, besides beauty, what I saw was  change, with the stages of growth in plain, dramatic view.  

      The lady's slipper, a few days later, farther on the way to glory.

      These stairs tell about both growth and change, new blooms every year for a house that once was there.

  

      Lettuce grown by my husband, the gardener in the family, delicious and beautiful, not yet bitter or gone to seed.  I am thankful for the fruits of this work.

      An old-fashioned horse drawn hay rake, ready to be recycled, a treasure without a home to go to, for now sharing spokes with the black-eyed susans.

 

      With the rain ceasing, the grandson escorting, all of us taking part in this passing during the two miles to the family cemetery, we honor Dempsey on his funeral day.

     
       Stories.  Deep in the woods, near a creek, this chimney remains from a family who once lived there, by all accounts a tenant farmer.  Every year the signs of daffodils tell as well of their having been there.  I make a photo when I can, knowing this monument will not be there forever.  
      This is what I strive for, some combination of art and witness.