Rainy Fall

Tags

accident, Autumn, Autumn leaf color, B&W photographs, black and white photography, fall, Fall color, lawn mowing, nature, nature photographs, nature photography, rain

Just because those of us in Hillbilly-land are waiting with such anticipation to take pictures of the glorious Fall colors, the golden hues of Autumn have decided to be late this year.  All around us in this area everything is still green, with just a hint of Fall color here and there.

 After a little mishap I have been spending the last month or so getting back to normal.  Most of the physical damage was on my left side, but I have been careful and healed nicely.  There are only the residual problems that come with broken ribs, which take forever to heal, and I still can’t grip things with my left hand.  Handwriting anything is out, but I can finally type with both hands, so I’m mostly back in business.  Yay!

We have been getting lots and lots of rain here, with just the occasional sunny day.  What that adds up to is that the grass is still growing rampant, while mowing has to be a rush-job between rains during the short times the sun is out.

But, it’s nice to still have a green lawn, although City Boy would beg to differ with me — he is the one having to mow it.

Believe me, I have offered to mow it many, many times, but he has never quite trusted that I can do it correctly.  Now that I actually have not been capable of doing it at all for the last month, it has truly become his and only his chore.

He has been wondering how I can stumble around holding a camera and taking pictures, when things like cooking dinner or doing dishes has been a hardship for me.  Amazing how that works, don’t you think?

Well, for one thing, the shutter button is on the right side of my camera, and it’s the left hand I have the problem with.  And cooking and doing dishes involves getting food and water on a person’s hands, which I have not been able to do with my left hand, so that’s the way it goes.  Now that I can at least do these things again, City Boy is really looking forward to me cooking chili tonight and making banana bread for him.  It’s the least I can do for his first day of handing the reigns (mostly) back over to me.

Actually, City Boy has been a good boy and I have really appreciated his help and understanding while all this has been going on.  I married a wonderful guy, and not because I’m a good guy-picker, but because I got lucky that he came along when I was doing the picking.  Amazing how that works, don’t you think?

And, actually, he picked me, but we’ll just keep that between us, winky-wink.

So, Fall has come in around here with a whimper.  But, the weather people say that the colors are just a few weeks later than usual because of the unusually warm Fall we’ve had so far.  Well, that makes sense I guess.

Until some photo-worthy color comes in, I’ll post pictures I took just before the monsoon started.  After all, even with all of my limitations of late, I never became unable to manage taking pictures.  Amazing how that works, don’t you think?

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Bugs and Slugs of Fall

Tags

Autumn, bugs, fall, grasshopper, insect photographs, insects, nature photographs, nature photography, Pest (organism), spider, spider web

Today was a good day to wander around taking pictures, and the insect population was teeming, so I took advantage.

This little critter crawled right up to me on a rock at my feet where I was sitting.

We used to call these “stink bugs,” I think, but I had no idea he was in the picture until I processed it.

Reminds me of what it looked like when our kids would slosh red kool-aid on our light colored carpet.

I think this poor little sow bug (we used to call them “roly-polies”) was about dead — he was barely moving.

During all this bug photographing, Lucy just HAD to be let in the house, so I let her in.  When I finally finished taking pictures, I went inside also.  The weather was so wonderful it was hard to go in!

Walking through the living room I noticed a dead leaf on the carpet from one of the plants on the mantle, so I snatched it up to throw it away.  Just as quickly, I yelled and gave the cold, slimy thing a toss in the air, and it landed on the front of the fireplace.  It was definitely not a leaf, nor was it dead.

I stopped to take pictures, only because I was in no hurry to pick the thing back up, and then I scooped it onto a paper and took it outside in the back yard.  Hey, I don’t have anything planted out there it could destroy, so what the heck.

I know, the usual thing people in Hillbilly land do is dump salt on them and watch them die in agony, but I wasn’t up for that today.

I figure the nasty thing probably rode in there on Lucy and dropped off onto the carpet.  I have the best luck with that kind of thing (eye roll).

Hope you all are having a wonderful start to your Fall, and that your weather is gorgeous!  Take care and enjoy your bugs!

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From the Wabi Sabi Ranch

Tags

Breezes At Dawn, Life In the Bogs, Maryland, nature, nature photographs, nature photography, photograph, Photography, photography blog, Robin Simmons

Up to now, this blog has been leaning more and more toward my growing interest in amateur photography, although it didn’t start out that way.  My original intention when I started this blog was to highlight the down-home Ozarks lifestyle.  And my photographs, however inexperienced and crude, do highlight that.

As I learn photography and become somewhat better at it (I still have LOTS to learn), I want to also highlight some of the bloggers who are really talented at their photography and for whom it is a passion.  I have learned a great deal and a multitude of skills from these bloggers.

The photographs in this post are taken by Robin, whose blog is Breezes At Dawn.  Robin recently moved to her home on the Eastern shore of Maryland with her husband, who she calls M, and lives on some acreage with a lake and a dock, plenty of flowers and foliage and a multitude of animals and insects.

Robin refers to her home as the Wabi Sabi Ranch, and it is fertile ground for many photographic opportunities, which she takes full advantage of.  Robin has a good eye for picking out things that will make a picture beautiful, stunning, interesting, and/or just plain neat.

Robin is about to enter her first Fall and Winter seasons there at Wabi Sabi ranch, so it will be so interesting to see the photographs in her future blog posts during these upcoming seasons.

Last Fall and Winter Robin was at her former home she calls Breezy Acres.  For those of you who would like look at Robin’s stunning pictures from there, her other blog is Life In the Bogs.

Robin also has a tutorial or two included in Life In the Bogs and Breezes At Dawn, which help us have a clue to a few of the ways she gets the fantastic results she does with her photographs.

A place to purchase some of Robin’s wonderful work can be found on her page at Redbubble Portfolio.  These photographs would look wonderful adorning any home.

For now, Robin has given me permission to feature some of her work from her blog, so sit back, admire, and enjoy!

Check out Robin at Breezes At Dawn for your daily dose of inspiration, fun and loveliness.  I’ll end this post to you wonderful bloggers with her own sign-off:

“Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just be.” — Robin

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Summer’s Over and Fall’s Cookin’!

Tags

Autumn, blessings, change, change of season, cool weather, Dick Willingham, fall, harvest, nature, nature photographs, Summer, tribute

Ah, Summer.  It’s still here for a lot of us.  Warm, humid weather, sunshine.

Why, just a few mornings ago I was out taking these pictures of the summer flowers, skies and grass in my neighbor’s overgrown yard.

The neighbor just moved in and thinks he’s been hoodwinked.  He does not feel that it is his responsibility to mow his yard, and argues with the city about it.

At any rate, things are suddenly changing.  Almost like clockwork, with Fall officially beginning Sunday, it’s just now starting to look a little more like change is in the air.

In the early morning sunlight this week I’ve noticed things that are usually green are starting to turn shades of red, orange and yellow.  Leaves are starting to fall a little, the air is getting cooler at night, the Fall smell is in the air.

Fruit trees are ripe for a final harvest, and fruit is starting to litter the ground.

Even an old acorn cap, probably from last year, has joined the menagerie of falling objects from trees.

But, after all, we’re still getting the occasional 90 degree day.  That’s why I take pictures in the early morning still, so I don’t sweat all over my camera.  There are still vestiges of Summer holding on as long as they can.

I am one of those holdouts.  I like Fall, but I also like the sunshine and outdoorsy feeling of Summer, and have not been in a hurry to let it go.

But, with the change of season also comes the promise of good and different things, so saying goodbye to Summer and embracing Fall starts us on the path that opens us up to all the wonderful things ahead.

In the past several months I’ve had an ongoing mantra of promising I’ll do better at blogging.  I’m not sure what has happened, but I’m trying to figure out why I have just had the blues for the last several months.  

There have been some very bright spots, though, and I am grateful for the blessings of wonderful people and great relationships.  There is not a problem in the world that can’t be made better by these blessings.

At the risk of letting my overwhelming pride turn me into a bad blogger, I wanted to share this video with you.  This past week my family and a host of friends celebrated the life of my Uncle Bud with a party — jazz band playing, food, fun — it’s what he wanted rather than a funeral.  But, the video is the tribute to Uncle Bud done by KYTV, the NBC affiliate station here in southwest Missouri.  This is my final blog about Uncle Bud, but far, far from my final thought and memory.

http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-former-ky3-anchor-dick-willingham-passes-away-20130915,0,2768607.story

A great weekend is coming up, and I’m looking forward to starting fresh.  Just like the seasons change and another one starts anew, so we each can do the same thing.  It’s what makes life interesting!

Have a fabulous and blessed weekend!

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Poms To Beat the Blues

Tags

being kind, Bird, Colorado, death, Dick Willingham, Fruit, grief, kindness, loss, nature, nature photographs, Pomegranate, Rocky Mountains, sadness

Of course, there is a story behind the pomegranates — it’s not a long one, but worth telling.  The kindness of others is always worth talking about.

Yesterday was a not-so-easy day.  I wanted to go to the hospital to visit Uncle Bud (if you are not up-to-date on what’s going on there, catch up here), but City Boy was working and had our only vehicle.  He was sure he wouldn’t be home until too late for me to see Uncle Bud.

Uncle Bud with his daughter Susan in 1977 while on a Rocky Mountain vacation

When I talked to Aunt Ann yesterday, the news was not good, and I was in a funk.  I had a feeling I was not going to see Uncle Bud again, at least not to where he could see me.

My mother had taken ill with some bug, and I was also concerned for her, so I was trying to stay busy to beat the blues.  Lucy, our dog, started barking loudly and consistently, so I knew someone was approaching the front porch.

Sitting there by the door was a box.  I figured it was the vitamins I’d ordered.  But it wasn’t.

A friend who has been following my blog almost since the first day I started it had sent me some pomegranates from her own trees where she lives.  When I opened the box and saw the little card and the pomegranates, I just started bawling.

The timing couldn’t have been more needed and excellent, and the sheer kindness of this blessing made my broken heart melt.  I had really not had any problem with the weepies until I opened that box.

7 lbs of beautiful pomegranates were sitting on the dining room table when I got the call later that evening that Uncle Bud was gone.

Uncle Bud used my 110 pocket instamatic camera to take this picture of a 17-year-old me (who rarely wore those funky glasses) while I was vacationing with his family in the Rocky Mountains.  If a person stood there holding a peanut in the air, a bird would eventually swoop down and grab it.  

The kindnesses you do for a person may not seem like that big a deal to you, and you may feel like the recipient probably doesn’t consider it anything special as well.  But you don’t know what is happening at that moment in someone’s life, and you may be granting anything from a brighter day to saving their life.

My heartfelt thanks and many hugs to Cindy for the lovely pomegranates!  Cindy and her husband travel extensively, and she posts the most fantastic photos of her travels.  Home is a place Cindy calls “The Holler,” and it has many wonderful things and places that she photographs and posts as well.  Stop by Cindy’s blog for a visit — you’ll be glad you did!

Many blessings to you all, and I wish you a happy and peaceful Sunday!

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Pollen — It’s Everywhere!

Tags

Allergy, Fall Allergies, Flower, flower photographs, flowers, nature photographs, Pollen, Pollination, prayer garden

With summer ebbing and getting ready to come to a close, allergies are kicking up a storm with a lot of people.  Beautiful flowers are hard to resist, and difficult not wanting to have around.  

Busy little bee, helping to pollenate flowers (sneeze) before summer’s end.

Caked with pollen, these flowers should have no problem spreading the cheer.

Here, have a big sniff of my lovely scent (sneeze, sneeze)

And yet, even with all that going on, I find myself drawn back to this Prayer Garden time and time again.  I know that pollen is part of what makes it so I can enjoy the peaceful, wonderful beauty here year after year.  It’s well worth a few sniffles.

Hurry, go out and enjoy summer in all of it’s glory while it’s still here — Fall will bring its own set of amazing beauty soon enough!

Have a great evening and be blessed!

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In the Prayer Garden

Tags

end of summer, flowers, Garden, In the Garden, nature photographs, nature photography, Plant, prayer garden, Summer

It is the end of the summer, and the Prayer Garden is getting jungle-like, purposely a little overgrown.  It is wonderful how well-planned this place is — there is always something beautiful to be seen here, no matter what the season.  

I come to the garden alone

While the dew is still on the roses

And the voice I hear, falling on my ear

The Son of God discloses

And He walks with me

And He talks with me

And He tells me I am His own

And the joy we share as we tarry there

None other has ever known.

“In the Garden” — lyrics by  C. Austin Miles (1868 – 1946)

Be blessed!

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Sharing the Same Sun

Tags

Evening sky, fall, morning sky, nature, nature photographs, Summer, Sunrise, Sunset, winter

As the sun welcomes us to a new day, peaking up over houses, trees and all of us here on earth, it’s nice to think that all of you out there are under the same sun.  I’m seeing what you’re seeing, feeling the warmth that you’re feeling, and loving that it makes us feel closer to even those who are far away.

As Summer begins to close, we are still a long way from the bare, dead foliage of winter.  Winter is lovely in its own way, but the living things that abound in Summer give a feeling of fresh life.

Even though the warm morning sun is shining right down on them, the plant life in our yard seems to be getting ready for Christmas, changing into hues and colors of red and green.

But who wants to be ready for Christmas now?  I’m still celebrating the end of Summer!

Pretty soon Fall will arrive, and with it the harvest, the celebration of plenty.

The cold of Winter is far enough away that we don’t have to think about everything being bare and dormant just yet.

So, as the sun goes down on another wonderful Summer day, I’ll think of you as you enjoy the same setting sun and the same warmth as I am, and I’ll feel like you’re right here.

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The City Yard

Tags

bees, Bird, butterfly, Evening sky, fruit tree, nature, nature photographs, plants, rural Ozarks, Summer, sun rays

Wandering around in the yard on an overcast day after a stormy night may not sound like the most interesting thing in the world to do, but you may be surprised at all of the teeming life that can be found in a city/country yard.

Poor Mrs. Butterfly looks a little ravaged by last night’s storm.

But the bees don’t miss a beat getting right back into the swing of things.

Mrs. Bird perches on the fence-top to oversee all the action.  This photo was taken from a distance away so it’s not as good as I would like, but this little bird is a frequent visitor to our back yard fence.

In a city/country yard the last thing I would have expected to find is a shell, since there is no body of water even close to our house, other than the water pipeline and occasionally the bathtub.

“Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.” — Lord Byron

Have a lovely night and beautiful day tomorrow!

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The Weather Of Life

Tags

depression, feeling positive, flowers, Joseph Addison, nature photographs, positive attitude, positive outlook, storms of life, Sunlight, sunshine, trials

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.” 
― Joseph Addison

No matter what happens or how things are now, sunshine, smiles and flowers are scattered from place-to-place in our lives, in different forms and from different people and things.  A smile, a favor from a friend, children’s laughter, something suddenly working right that hasn’t for a long time — little things that make life’s pathway nice.  

Life has it’s ups and downs — sometimes it is sunshiny with blue skies and fluffy clouds, and all is right with the world.  Our world is cheerful and happy when everything is so wonderful and peaceful.

But sometimes dark clouds and storms roll in, obscuring the sunlight.  Some storms are but short, gentle rainfalls, while others last and last, bringing torrents of wind, lightning and thunder.  But, we know that nothing lasts forever, and even while it is storming, we can count on a time when the storm will be over and the sun will show itself again.

It rains on us all, the good and the bad, the just and the unjust — when we weather the storm, beautiful skies and flowers await us.  And, because of the rain the storm brings, the flowers will now flourish.

Whatever our storms are, whatever trials we face, I pray that they are short, steady rains, and that we are even better for the trials we’ve had to face and have come through.  May God bless you with lots of Sunday sunshine and flowers tomorrow!

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