The two gardens Jill and I visited were visually delightful. There were landscapes, small gardens, fountains, stately trees and flowers of every hue of color. I enjoyed photographing them and found that going in close to some of them revealed intricate patterns and colors.
Ever Changing Color /
At Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in addition to amazing and vast gardens they also have a light show several times a week. It is set to music from the Beetles to Back depending on the night and it is spectacular. The water can soar into the air or dance across the sky in twists and turns. There are many smaller fountains and occasionally they are topped with fire. It is constantly changing, these two shots are seconds apart. Very neat if you are in the area, recommend it for the day but I would come after lunch. You cannot leave the park and return and the food is fine but one meal was enough! .
Sunday Scripture: Photo from Zion National Park /
Yup... /
….I am a sucker for reflections and this one was so nice at Winterthur Gardens in what was the old swimming pool.
And they are??? /
This little creatures are about the size of a quarter, or perhaps a tiny bit smaller. They seemed to stay still on the ground and hard to see among a bit of leaves and stones. The color in the photo does not show clearly with the sun shining on them, then they are more translucent or white. When you would get close they boiled up and darted in every direction but would soon land and congregate again. Jill discovered them while I was off taking a photo of the falls at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee. The best guess from some sources seems to be the Spring Azure.
Pelican /
I photographed this Brown Pelican in the Florida Keys. “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, wasting time….”
Wildflowers /
I shot this photo in the parking lot edge of a lake near my house. Not another “Garden Week” but insert beautiful flowers into your day. According to my ID app, it is a Sulpher Cosmos.
The Other Falls /
This shot is back at Frozen Head State Park for the second waterfall we hiked to that beautiful spring day. This one, Emory Gap Falls, was appropriately found at the end of Emory Gap Trail. It was a bit of a disappointment. It was touted at twice the size of the first falls, and it was if the whole cascade was included but the first drop was similar with less water than Debord Falls and to even reach it you had to scramble up a rock face that seemed to have no path. The hike was pretty but the falls less than advertised. Still, I would go again on another day with more water flowing over the rock face, well, even better.
Learners Permit /
This is a young, immature Black-crowned Night Heron who just caught lunch. Now, how to eat this without losing it? Shot in the Everglades National Park
Sunday Scripture: Photo over Gulf flying back to Key West from Dry Tortugas National Park /
Really /
If you listen very carefully to this photo you can hear John Denver singing in the distance.
Flag Day /
Oh, say can you see,
By the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there.
O, say, does that
Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?
Portrait Project #30 & 31 /
I am a bit embarrassed with this couple because I have forgotten their names. I really need to make notes! But what I do recall is that she lives in Memphis and was in Knoxville for a film project and on the way back to western Tennessee they stopped at the Cumberland Mountain State Park where Jill and I were on a hike around a lake. We were standing on a large flat rock just looking at the scenery and they arrived. We chatted a bit, learned some of their story and they posed for a quick photo. I will do better on the names and stories. Or at least try to do better.
Driving the Tennessee Cumberland Plateau /
Getting off the interstate in this region of the country is rewarding for the scenery and the old Americana you will discover. This sign is from the Pure Oil and Gas Company that operated from 1895 originating in Butler Pennsylvania. They began gas stations in the late 1920’s and soon used the motto “Be Sure With Pure.” Operations ended in about 1960 when they were bought out and most stations closed or converted to Union 76. So this sign, Ricks was not open, would be at least 60 years old.
Frozen Head State Park /
About an hour drive Northwest of Knoxville, Tennessee, in the Cumberland Mountains. is Frozen Head State Park. It is named for the dew that often freezes across the peaks, several over 3000 feet, in the region. The park is rustic and the forest full of lush growth and streams. Jill and I had a lovely picnic and then hiked a trail to two falls, this is the first, Debord Falls on the Panther Branch Trail. It was a nice day, warm but not hot and still lots of wildflowers along the trail. This is but one of lots of options at the park.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid /
No, not the movie but real life. This is a shot from a trail at the Capitol Reef National Park in Utah and somewhere in the mountain in front is where the infamous outlaws actually spent a lot of time at one of their hideouts.
Sunday Scripture: Winterthur Gardens /
Garden Week Six - Children's Garden at Winterthur /
What a delightful place this must be for young children or for old men, ahem, who still think a bit like a child. The Children's Garden is full of secret little spaces, toadstools to sit on, a nest to climb in, swings, and bridges. But the centerpiece is a wonderful, imaginative stone cottage with all sorts of play activities, tiny nooks, gnome-sized doors, and high thrones to rule from. All surrounded by enough plants to make the "hundred acre wood" come alive in the minds of A. A. Milne's generations of readers. If you have a child of elementary age, this is a place where real imagination is unfettered. And not a mouse in sight.
May I pour?
Garden Week Five - Not Planned! /
Actually the one that was planned will occur tomorrow. I got home after a long slog of a drive very tired and by the time I got to this project thunderstorms started popping up all around - So enjoy these four flowers from the spectacular gardens.
Garden Week Four - The Proposal /
At the top of the stairs in the photo I shared yesterday leading from the pool, you turn right, across a portion of the house and then down a bit to a balcony overlooking small ponds, water courses, ferns and flowers under a canopy of huge trees - just a beautiful spot of complete serenity. We stopped here and Jill said, “Isn’t this just beautiful?” Well, that was my cue for in my camera bag -clutched all day tightly to my side, was an engagement ring. I took the ring case from the bag and while on my knee asked this amazing woman if she would marry me. She said yes and we both shared a few tears of joy over what God has done in our lives. After a few minutes I went to the front entrance and asked one of the staff to come and take a photo. She was happy to do so. We found ourselves surrounded by flowers and beauty but all I could see was Jill. We celebrated at a lovely restaurant in Kennett Square, named Portobello. After our scrumptious meal, a desert arrived from Carin and Evan (Jill’s daughter and son-in-law) as a delicious surprise. Wedding plans are well underway for a small wedding to take place in Knoxville, Tennessee in early August.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8 NLT
A partial view from “our” balcony
