happy times, mid August, 2021

           During the last two weeks, there have been happy moments along side the heat and the rising COVID illnesses because of not enough vaccines being given and the tragic damage being done by The Big Lie, along with all the other lies.

        Twice I have been surprised by the evening light.  I love its random showing off appearances. 

        I went to an art exhibit I didn't know existed, in the downtown Lexington Public Library, which I didn't know had reopened to the public.  

        We had a week of kids and cousins, not large in number, but an important summer tradition. The weather gave us some limitations this year, but lemonade was made from the hot lemons.   

        Tonight I am just going to put some photos on this blog, and, once again, I hope, at the end, there will be a short video.   

        

 

    

 

I get such a kick out of this bookworm!!!

 

photo by Rebecca Wright

multiple puzzles completed:

This last photo was made this afternoon in Louisville, for the trip home for the Denver cousins. I drove them there, and since they were unaccompanied minors, I had to wait until the wheels were in the air before I could leave the airport.  This is their plane.... It did leave soon thereafter. I then drove home!  Five hours of driving!! I should be in bed by now instead of postlng all this on my blog, but sometimes I can't help myself.  Here's hoping each of you has had some happy moments this month.

some fun in these very hard times

post #493
          I'm so aware that our nation, and perhaps the world, is in a particular time of transition -- which rightly implies upheavals, routing out systemic evils, and even guaranteeing  the very air we breathe and depend upon. It makes no sense to hide ourselves away. Rather we should be talking and planning and risking new perspectives. I say all this not only because I'm thinking about it every day, but also because I want to share some recent photos that have tickled my fancy, as the expression goes. I hope these first rather straight forward six photos provide a moment for sparkle and joy. These are the only photos I made at that time, since this wasn't staged -- I had just arrived for a short socially distant visit. Thank goodness for sun, fun, love and family! 

The sky is so forever interesting.

Then there are trees, also so interesting:
 

redbud tree

on the deck, under the black walnut, a moment in time without some seed or flower or nut falling on us --- and just the blue sky above and the blur of a bird

The following is the label I have attached to my mailbox:

             The Post Office is just one more thing to keep our eyes on in this time of the constant testing of the strength of our democracy.  Along the way there's so much to be grateful for, including the hard work of postal employees.  My rural mailbox is amazing, and yet it seems we can't take it for granted, which is cruel to contemplate. It's also possible that its essential role in mail-in voting is the target. Here again, at the least, are my thanks for the long hours and the heavy work postal workers do in all kinds of weather. Here also is the hope that more of us can vote safely this year with universal use of the post office. I already have the ballot I sent for.
             Stay safe everyone, VOTE, don't forget the virus but don't let it be the boss. Just outsmart it.  And wear a face mask, especially in crowds. We will all need to be working together for a long while yet.

California, #3 of 3

post #425 -- am publishing this 425th weekly blog a whole day early! girls gone wild!

          On the last evening of my California visit, Liz showed me the area of Mill Valley which is made up entirely of house boats, a whole small village of them. I never even knew this place existed! We walked up and down all the piers, and I loved it!  Lots of color, lots of potted plants, lots of surprises....

       This photographer (me) malingers, while her friend leads the way....

cat serenity:

The whole time we were walking up and down the piers the tide was low: 

whimsy, again and again:

      At first, I assumed that this duck was a carving, with feathers placed around it, one more work of whimsy. But when I looked more closely (thank goodness I did) I saw breathing!  I assume someone worked hard to make the duck feel so welcome, though, of course, perhaps it was a breathing piece of art! I know that a bird will stay on a nest if there are eggs newly hatched, but, in any case, I was touched by the beauty of it all.

      The morning of my return home, it was raining as I took the wonderful bus at 7 a.m. from Mill Valley directly to the SF airport. This meant I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge en route, headed toward San Francisco and beyond. I had time to take this one photo, with my iPhone, while the bus was moving across the bridge. I couldn't believe how it turned out. I share these words about how it happened because it's such a thrill to capture one's emotions in a moment that unexpectedly presents itself. I was sad to leave, glad I had been able to come, so thankful for friends, and, always, grateful that I still love making photos. The seeing seems to help me make sense of so many things.

 

My plane from SF was delayed three times, so, essentially, I spent a day in the airport, and I didn't see my checked bag for a day and a half.  But, hey, my two planes were took off and landed safely, and the airline put many of us up in the Hilton Hotel across the road from the Chicago airport. I slept in a Murphy bed! with a great mattress! Once we actually were flying somewhere, I couldn't help taking photos of moments when sky, clouds,and light from the sun banded together.

     

A totally different look outside the next day on the way to Lexington:

A last note: I saw this large photo during my visit, in a restaurant in Ukiah, and I wanted to make some joke here about how I got slowed down by some construction problems getting across the bridge..... However, I realize that my humor might not make enough sense to share.  (Sometimes my humor doesn't make any sense, but other times..... ) Seriously this photo shows the Golden Gate Bridge under construction, in the 1930s. It was way ahead of its time, and it changed the whole region. Everyone, here's to adventures, every single one.

Colors all around, late May and early June

post #389
     After two posts that have had so many words, I'm eager to celebrate the color that's all around us.  Of course, I live in eastern Kentucky, and I've spent the last few days with family in Denver, Colorado, so please just go along with me and enjoy some of what I have been seeing. Today's photos are all made within the past few weeks:

a wisteria vine on my gallery/home that every year refuses to give up the ghost

Memorial Day in Kentucky means visits to the family cemeteries both small and large. 

a field that's ready to be mowed but waiting in the wind for dry weather instead of thunderstorms every afternoon

I saw this brief but beautiful sky one night, from home,

and this textured sky the next, on the way home.

Denver section, selections:

 

If no kids happen to be around, then ask Riley to pose in the late afternoon sun, to show the roses in their place. I hear that this year this beautiful display has happened before the Japanese Beetles do their annual invasion.

KIDS, at a school event, waiting and playing and being all together:

Three photos from an evening walk in the neighborhood:

The neighbor across the street says this catalpa tree is one of the most beautiful trees in town. She worries that it could so easily be removed if the property is ever sold to someone who would prefer to have a bigger house instead of a bigger tree.  Ever since my friend, poet George Ella Lyon, published her first book of poetry whose title is Catalpa, I have been attached to these trees. 

a second view

To end, it's back to the roses, the next evening:

Well, there's still another last one, filled with color, T. waiting for word about breakfast:

 

         Of course I am grateful to be able to be in these places, with friends and family, and for these occasions to get out and about.  I'm also grateful for visitors to this blog! I really enjoy sharing these various locations and these photos all the while focusing on my attachment to Appalachia.