bird break, time for spring flowers

post #482
          More visiting birds next week, but today spring is wanting a turn.  I have some photos from this week, and several friends and family have sent me photos as well. So here are some of these. In a truly difficult time of "never before" we can be warmed by the always happening, this year, next year and again.

in my yard

in Tom and Molly's yard

I remember the house that 40 years ago was at the top of these steps. Now, every year,  these beauties are what happens.  My name for this photo, with George Ella Lyon's help, is LEGACY.  It's located on the way to town; it's a tradition.

             Three photos from my daughter, Rebecca:

peonies rushing to push back out of the earth

Maybe every dogwood tree deserves an actual companion dog....

        Friends Leatha and Will took a drive today to go see the blooms in the Lexington Cemetery, and they were kind to share some of its loveliness.

      Now a spring photo from England, by Sarah Fletcher, who shared this photo on Instagram today. I love the front sheep, posing, and the back steeple, with all that munching going on in between!  Always good to see so much blue sky over there,....

Saintbury Church in Willersey

Though these also aren't flowers, this photo continues to intrigue me. It's a drive-by on my way home from the grocery store. I call this the neighborhood deli, with four smart ass diners....

     
          To end today's hiatus, I'd like to give a shout-out to our wet-behind-the-ears governor who has been so impressive as he manages to set a tone of compassion and caring and perseverance to all Kentuckians, regardless of their politics. He is truthful, reliable, sensible, and direct about why he has made decisions that might at first seem daunting to his constituents.  Every day at 5 pm he has been showing what real leadership can be. It has been awhile since we've experienced that, so many of us are particularly grateful for his presence.  Thank you Gov. Andy Beshear!!!

some Feb. 24s

post #420
          Last week's picks from exact years ago was so much fun for me that I am going to do it again. It's actually helpful to review these earlier moments and be reminded that some things stay the same and some things change. And I suspect that's what the rest of my life will do, as each year becomes part of whatever path I'm busy discovering I have been on.
         In any case, here's some of the fun:

2018, February 24 --

This photo is at my gallery house the same day as the next four photos taken by my daughter at what is now her house.

photo by Rebecca

photo by Rebecca

photo by Rebecca

photo by Rebecca

THE YEAR BEFORE, 2017:
 

creek training, while I was photographing near the waterfall

NOW another year earlier, 2016: 
 

I now have a car that has room for bumper stickers. I will try to find this one in my piles somewhere and paste it on. Please, everyone, trust in the wisdom of this proverb.

This barn stood for ages while becaming increasingly wobbly. One day on my drive to town, soon after taking this photo, I found the barn demolished. There is now an empty space. I often see the shadow of its stories when I go by, the years of hay or cattle or horses, and the hard work of farming not occupying the same place in the lives we currently are leading. I love the lines of snow on the roof, like in a poem.

ONE MORE YEAR BEFORE, this time 2015:

These steps make up for all the work they require by being very photogenic....

I remember distinctly being totally taken by the way the shadows of the trees worked with the bare tree trunks, providing there was both sun AND snow at the same moment in time.

sharing the woods with others

         On a personal note, I would like to pay tribute today to my step-sister Haven, on her birthday. She passed away last month after many years with a less common kind of breast cancer that she took to task with every means possible over 8 or 9 years.  She was a tiger, and she had earlier written several books on how to live a saner, healthier life.  And she loved California where she had lived for almost 50 years.  I send my love to her husband, Robert, and to her son, Steve, his wife Piper, and their two very young children whom Haven was grateful to have been with as much as she could.

stone steps

post #272
       Recently I have spent a lot of time with my front steps.

I would sweep them, 

  watch snow cover them over, 

     sweep again, 

        shovel off ice, 

           admire their sturdiness

              and beauty, 

                 remember the dogwood petals 

                      that fall and cover them in April, 

                          and so forth, onward and upward. 

       And not so long ago it took a lot of concentration just to walk up them, during my time with a sore hip -- lead with the right leg, pull up the left to join it, one step at a time.
         This morning I realized I haven't ever done a post featuring these steps -- a fine example of taking something right in front of me for granted! I photograph them all the time, so what is there not to love here. It is also a way to celebrate the fact that my leg is now better, and I can run up the steps, take them two at a time, or just enjoy them along the way.


 FROM INSIDE, LOOKING OUT:

 THIS WINTER:

Jason says these are deer tracks!

LAST WINTER:

Melva to the rescue

SPRING AND SUMMERS:

FALL:

        
         There are more step photos, and there will continue to be new ones. It should be noted that the rocks for these steps came from an old chimney, which is what gives them their distinctive texture. Our hillside is now their resting place.