the world with redbuds and with war/hunger/falsehoods/and you name it

          After the Quaker Ladies photo,  I'm sharing some of my redbud photos over the years.  Can't help myself. Mid April wonders.

         While driving around my Kentucky county these last few days I have been totally aware of redbud trees in bloom everywhere!!  Oh my goodness, so beauiful, so amazing and so counter to human beings harming each other day after day.  And, it could be argued, that even by our not working hard enough to solve the ongoing impending changes in our climate, we are harming both people and the planet with our collective greed and ignorance.               

        However, I don't know if this year's redbuds bordering these narrow country roads and along the edges of our woods are what make me so happy this day. Perhaps they simply remind me of the power of beauty.  I don't want to forget that it's certain that there is harm ahead which our world has yet to experience. I ask myself, is there instead a way for the power of beauty and fairness to lead us, somehow, in turning harm into harmony???

        

redbud companions on the ground:  Quaker Ladies, or Bluets

 apple tree companions as well

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of my very favorite roadside redbuds -- though this year these trees were not as lovely as in 2018.

near Winchester, closer to central Kentucky

new branches, showing the redbud way

 

         To finish off, two more photos from Kentucky -- the first one is my MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL photo, from a small airplane's point of view.  This is h a r m.

This is closer to  h a r m o n y.

 

        I'll hope to post again in two or three weeks.  Be good to each other, and love the season around you.  Ann

         

an ever changing neighborhood

          I think our long cool spring has transitioned directly to the full warmth of summer. Fields are ready for the first mowing, and there are a variety of farm procedures in action.  Last night I even followed the setting sun and made some photos with a camera with few frames left --- definitely not my best professional behavior.  Even so, I enjoyed being out and about making photos. However, these first three photos are ones I meant to include two weeks ago.

revisiting a mayapple patch along the road -- I then used the patch I found hiding in the woods to take the up close mayapple photos now that they were in bloom.  I didn't want anyone driving by to wonder what I was looking for -- or hiding -- under the foliage.....

        

 

one blossom per plant

        
         Yesterday I got adventurous and took a back road off of a back road, and it was a bit more precarious than I had expected, with lots of storm damage to navigate as well.  Thank goodness at least there was not any traffic, just several other cows along the bottom of the hill.

 steep flower bank on the other side of the road

last night's evening sky, along Route 504

         

 

 

And now let's see if I can load up a video of the same views, and watch how my phone did what it could for its last filming before it needed to be recharged.  As usual, I'm so used to working by myself that I forgot to add any voice over or words of wisdom.    Ah, life's sweet challenges....

I return here around 9 pm tonight, and, if the video hasn't reloaded yet, I will try a redo. In the meantime, I went for a short walk in the cool of the day, as the Jean Ritchie song says that sings those words....  with thanks to George Ella for recognizing what I was trying to convey with the quote.

A week away from Appalachia in April

         I am so glad to be with family, no matter where they are, but I do love Appalachia in April.  There are wonders everywhere.  This year, because of weather and that prolonged severe ice storm, things are running a little behind. Since I am not there today anyway, I decided to share some photos from earlier years. 

        

on the way to town last week

last gasp from last year's cattails, beside my small sweet pond

a trillium in bloom, in the woods, near the creek

 

redbuds

abundance

spring leaves near the second waterfalls

 

barn to house, at the home place, photo by Rebecca Wright, 2019

  

    Then, for part two of today's post, there's this week away, leaving Cincinnati for Denver, the photo showing left to right Ohio, the Ohio River, and Kentucky -- if so inclined, see the two ball parks on the Ohio side of the river:

AEO greeted my arrival with a hospitality question, and then she fixed a pitcher of water with sliced limes -- and we got into bubbles and light, and a bit of refraction action.

local humor

She assembled what I said I might like to eat...

Riley: "You made me spend the afternoon getting cleaned up, so I darn well deserve to sit in ANY chair I want to for now!!!

        So, ending with family, wishing for everyone to have a supportive one of whatever kind. Enjoy the spring you have as well, wherever you can find one!

another spring theme, with a very random collection of photos

        Spring is a favorite time of year for many of us, in Kentucky as much as in other places.  I am inclined to have a little fun, though, with these ten photos that don't usually see the light of day. Celibrate the season, and be thankful for all the essential work it does.

I wish Kentucky were at least a purple state...

annual northern flicker visit, en route, and rooting

dogwood 1, with blooms

 

 dogwood 2, with dog, but no blooms yet

blue herons, busy with their nest egg(s), in New Haven, CT  (See bank below.)

 

 

 

roadside bank, moss and more moss

down by the big waterfall, which we would have a hard time getting to this year

 

 

 

 a true wall hanging, seen from my front door

 

     

I can't resist sharing this old photo that I happened upon this weekend.  With spring on my mind, the title that came to me is something like "four spring chickens, now no longer spring chickens but still laughing anyway."    

thanks for the visit, Ann

The eyes have it!

        Today's post is about spring, yes, but it's also about why an eye is so essential for a good photograph. I am grateful for mine. And it's wonderful to have a daughter and now a granddaughter who also have a good eye! Of course the eyes are helped by the concurrent ability to notice stuff, see something by itself or as it relates to a bigger whole.  I love living where there is so much to reward a good looking around. 

         First, just a few images via my eye, with their titles. There's never only one way to frame it, but it's fun to work with the balance from the start.  (I'm still pulled by real views, not ones I have set up, or altered.  It may be a luxury -- or old fashioned -- to stick with that deliniation, but that's what floats my particular boat.)

on the way

black and white in color

blue heron at Grayson Lake

tail detail

        NOW, some spring photos by my daughter, Rebecca Wright, in 2019. I'm not adding titles, because, obviously, they are not my images, but I might give a name or two because spring here was a forever time ago.

 

(garlic drying, from the garden)

(jack-in-the-pulpit)

(house and BARN)

(newly picked strawberries)

 

        

     One important purpose for today's post, actually, was to feature a photo by my daughter's daughter. I enjoy both her and her photo eye so much. You Go Girl!  Here is her photo of a crocus flower, from yesterday:

        I love her light, I love spring, I love that today's post is up before 7:15 p.m.!! Sometimes it happens. I'm always grateful for such unexpected moments.