My laptop is definitely happier to be working from home.

       I am finally home, after 12 days driving around New England visiting family, good friends, and a few special scenic places.  I drove from Kentucky to and from NYC with a good friend, and we laughed a lot. She stayed in NYC, and I went as far as Maine!  

        She and I did some serious driving through periods of heavy rain, especially in Pennsylvania the first day of our trip.  I see tonight  -- when I am finally able to put together last Sunday's blog -- that there are currently tornado warnings in those very same places! I was fortunate that my friend is an intrepid traveler AND a very cool headed driver.  

         As for the delay in this week's blog, it was all about not being able to transition smoothly from one network after another on my laptop in all the places I visited.  I'll be asking a lot of questions soon about what mistakes I was making as I changed networks so steadily.  I will be making today's effort short, because there are still some "production issues".

         First Smith College and the rock garden behind Chapin House, my "dorm" for 3 years.  None of the college buildings were open to the public last week, including the greenhouses, but the rock garden was lush from the rainy spring and summer in Massachusetts.

The heron is a sculpture in the greenhouse pond.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Maine, where my cousin Sarah and her family live:
    

     This is the view of the cove from the house .  There were a dozen of us cousins gathered there for a few days; we do this every few years. Both my sisters were there.  The lobster tradition continues, as does a good game of dominoes.

 

     We did get out and about a bit:

 

 

dinner prep! 

BLUEBERRY PIE

 
            There will be more, but not yet. (That means more photos, I'm afraid, and not more blueberry pie....) I will be adding a video at the end next time, from Hamden, CT, near New Haven, where everyone on the block seemed to excel with some plant or other.  Lovely, lovely.

            May we all be spared from harboring anger toward our neighhbors, and may we be there to support each other and fill the room with kindness.   Also, Bon Appetit --  Ann                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

 

 

Slight delay

Dear devoted visitors, 

     Yes, tonight is two weeks from my last blog entry, but since I have been in New England most of these two weeks, I am, as we say, wore out.  My post will be a day late -- so tomorrow night, July 26, I will share some photos and observations from my wanderings and visitings.  I still don't have perfect dealings with the GPS on my phone, yet here I am in Northampton, Massachusetts tonight, as planned, and I will be home this week!!!   

     I hope everyone is well, as well as vaccinated (PLEASE PLEASE) and thanks for your interest in my work.    Ann

Once again it's two more weeks! Summer is a-goin' in -- a hurry

        I stay amazed that light around us changes so much even when we are not paying attention. I think that being aware of light and working with ambient light is one aspect of my creative life that keeps me grounded. It's like checking out the temperature of the water without a narrow purpose. Even the darkening evening sky is part of that constant awareness. As I am writing this, the sky is blue, gray and pink, blended with nuance but without fanfare in the sky over me.

        Today's photos are all recent, and perhaps they seem to be random, but they are the light that I see and respond to. 

        This first photo is along Sideway Road, past where my house is. For some reason unknown to me as yet, the field has not been mowed this year:

the day lilies -- in their prime -- from inside my home

This is the phoebe who, from above the lilies,  monitors my coming and going from the house.

family outing, totally unexpected, as the sharpness (not) of this photo reveals

I do love this photo, which I would label "Barbed wire, new gate, and hay ring." To me there's something about these combined layers that mirrors poetry.

        OK, now two Rebecca photos, one by her and one of her-- the first one PROOF that the rhododendrons bloom this year, down by the waterfalls! (The blossom is showing signs of a recent heavy rain.)

photo by Scott Pryor, waterfall really looking just like it does here

        Now, to end this collection, another 30 second video, of the first curve on my former driveway, after it passes over the cleared area for the pipeline.  Lots of ice storm depris can still be seen. Notice the scarcity of flat surfaces.

        Once again, I really enjoy sharing these photos and stories on this blog.  Two weeks from now will be July 25, and I will have photos from an altogether different place.  

        Also once again, I want to encourage EACH ONE OF US to have a vaccine, FOR THE SAKE OF ALL OF US.    Ann

two weeks later...

        dear everyone -- Two weeks seems like a long time, but I know it's just a blip. I have been out making hay - not really -- but I do like making hay photos this time of the year.  I can also walk up and down my Sideway Road in the evening, since it's neither too hot nor too cold.  And, so far, not too buggy --  no cicadas to speak of! 

       Since I do have a bunch of recent photos, and one short quiet video, I'll get started.

 

sharing yellow lines -- the field in this photo looks like mine does now

 

field of hay and the moon!

hay rising on the hill

hay getting more seasoned

hay -- with wind

 

 

 

two photos from the swampy area along my road:

pond cattails also growing

Here's a tribute to my namesake, Queen Anne's Lace -- though actually I just happen to like this photo, made with my iPhone when evening was turning into night.

Preston's tractor overnighting at my neighbor's  house

I call this a Kentucky Yucca tree. Ha ha. I have no idea how it stands firm in its bank. 

     And now the video!  I had planned to have two videos, one before the hay was cut and one during, but Preston arrived and got to work while I was at the dentist!  Next year he wants to come earlier, in May, so stay tuned.  

 

 

 

By the way, I don't have any reason to go to the trouble of making a single bale of hay, so I am mainly keeping the field open and "fed" by the decomposing that takes place. The turkeys enjoy it too... and the deer and other animals. I hope this very basic video works its wonder once again.  Enjoy --- and come again in two weeks, on July 11. Maybe I will even have had another video opportunity by then. You even have time by then to go get vaccinated if you aren't already.  Take one for the sake of all.   Ann

 

summer switch

        I hereby declare that I love doing this weekly blog BUT, this summer, I am going to an EVERY OTHER WEEK schedule.  SO the next post will be June 27.  I did this change one other summer, and, as I told a friend, the world didn't stop then, and it won't this summer either.... There's just too much else going on -- or at least that's how it feels after the many, many months of lock down.  We now get to be cautious on the move....or in the garden. 

        Here are a few photos arising from recent times:

 

This is the first daylily to have bloomed, outside my door.  The view shows that daylily closing up for the day and for forever. I do absolutely nothing to take care of this patch. Yet, so far, every year, they return to excel again.

 

 

 

I made this photo in May, but I'm not sure where.  Usually I remember every photo and where I was at the time. If anyone viewing this post knows where I was, please let me know! Thanks!

This photo location is well known to me  -- it is across from my mailbox.  In the last two days, the tree has bent all the way over to the ground.  I wonder who will soon cut off the top now that there's no longer any need to get into the swamp to do the job. 

 

 

 

I went out in the world, to Lexington, on Saturday, and stopped by Melva's house en route to talk about some photos. Her welcoming cactus seemed very beautiful to me. I understand, however, it's extremely prickly and can easily cause pain. Melva has an all encompassing green thumb!

I treated myself to lunch at the Pho Saigon restaurant, in Lexington. The meal was fantastic, both beautful and delicious, and very few people were there. I am a fan of Vietnamese food, and I once had a ten day visit to the beautiful country itself.

    Then this morning, our Quaker Meeting  (in Lexington) had its first in-person gathering, with some of us remaining on Zoom.  I didn't know about this project the teens presented, but I thought it wonderful and couldn't resist a quick screen shot.  Everyone is still masked, so I don't know who anyone is, but thank you so much, thank you all, for this beautiful and joyful banner.

    I am going to add one last photo after I post this much, of the hay in my relatively small field. We may have a stretch of dry weather this week, so the tractor that comes to mow my neighhbor's field does mine as well. 

There's a second batch of phoebes in my carport.  The parents take turns sitting on the roof of my car, resting up, if bird parenting is anything like people parenting! The nest this time around looks to me like a large cupcake.

        PLEASE REMEMBER THAT I WILL RETURN AFTER TWO WEEKS, and I hope each one reading this has some laughs by then from something that happens and time to feel connected to those people important in our lives.  Ann

 

Bonnie's flowers and family, later, after the burial

    I went by the house later, to photograph the flowers Bonnie's family had kept up with during her illness.  Bonnie loved her flowers, and her family, many of whom were still there. I have shown other flowers of hers other years, but this was now.  It will never be quite the same, so we can honor her in this way.

 

Bonnie's sister, who, I believe, did most of the flower keeping. She's on the porch, and I really like this photo of her.

    May we all enjoy the beauty of flowers and of each repeating season. I'm grateful so many people I know take such good care of the outside spaces they have.  I have a sister who knows all about plants and who has been sharing her knowlege of native plants for years. My other sister has invasives on her mind, and she plants trees when she is not chainsawing. I can not manage either of their obsessions, but I am glad, at least, I can take photos of gardens and woods.  Thank you, wildness.

     Three more photos:

            The first is one I had to try hard to make, but then I didn't do the work until now to get it off the camera and on to the blog.  I love my little pond, which, at the moment, seems loaded with red-winged blackbird activity after these dogwood blossoms came and went.

        Two weeks ago I promised another iPhone video, which I will indeed try for tonight. Again, if it's not there when you visit this blog, it will mean EITHER that I didn't get it to work OR it's still downloading.  Enjoy your family and friends. Don't believe the lies about who is our legal president. (It's Joe Biden.)  Thanks as always for visiting here. Be safe. And vaccinate!

                                                                    along Mauk Ridge

book covers, more spring beauty, and Bonnie's passing

           First, finding the right image for a book cover, either a photo or a painting, can be the work of many minds. As an example, I have wanted to show the book cover that was once chosen for a reprint of Wendell Berry's poems,  Farming: a Handbook.  Wendell asked me if I had any photos that might work, and this was one of them.  The cover design, however, is done by the publisher, in this case Counterpoint Press. I thought it might be of interest here to see the original photo along side the cropped version.  The size of the book and its shape are all part of that design work. The photographer gets paid solely for the image and has to accept whatever design it's now part of.        

        The cover design person and I have our names in small print on the bottom of the back cover. I'm not complaining! It's an honor to be there. And I get to think about Wendell and that book the many times when I drive to town.

        

 

more curves in the land

siblings in the daisy field

 

Last Thursday I went to visit my very ill friend, Bonnie, who was at home, being cared for by family and friends.  I have shown the gravel road to her house in two of the recent blog posts.  She died there late this afternoon, with many of them able to be there with her.  I really appreciated the call to let me know.  I thought I would include here a few photos I took recently, although I'm sorry not to have any of the flowers she loved which her sister had been tending these many weeks for her. She was always an extremely hard worker who loved farming and keeping up the home place and more. And telling truths. I'm so grateful to have known her.

   

 

I was having a long quiet visit and conversation with Bonnie's sister while Bonnie rested. The strawberries came from the garden, and they were delicious.  I ate them slowly, one by one, while we talked.This will be a hard week. Bonnie had just turned 64. She's one of nine siblings.

 

some of her cattle: the greeters

 

note:  I have another video to share, but it is too late to add it now, so I will share it next week. I thank everyone who mentioned to me that they enjoyed the one from a week ago.  I will also hope to share some additional photos I've made over the years at Bonnie's.   Ann