In Awe of Autumn

November 2, 201114 Comments

We had visitors, best friends from sunny California who, thankfully, wanted to see and do it all here in our neck of the woods. And so it was that we went out every day for a week to experience the loveliness first hand. Of course this meant a lot of pictures!

I want to post them all, but to your relief I will hold back and try to post only the best. Please take a moment to click each photo for a clearer look at each photograph!

Today I bring you Autumn’s splendor

On a walkway outside Cathedral Caverns

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In front of a natural wall of rain soaked black limestone

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A Young Maple Grove above Huntsville, Alabama

Monte Sano State Park

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A small grouping of Staghorn Sumac* on the side of the road

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The Autumn here is beautiful, but fleeting. In one week a couple of frosty nights can bring it on in a matter of days, and just as quickly a bit of rain and wind can take it all away!

For us California Ex-pats, it is a stunning vision that we are just not used to seeing. It saddens us that it is here for such a short time. Thankfully, the color returns dependably each year, but sometimes, like this year, it is simply stunning!

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*NOTE: Poison Sumac has composite leaves with smooth edges, whereas the Staghorn Sumac has composite leaves with serrated (toothed) edges. That said, if you are uncertain about the plant, then by all means be safe and don’t touch it!

A Golden Goose?

November 1, 2011November 2, 20116 Comments

No,

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A Silver Swan*

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Huntsville Museum of Art

It took visiting friends to get me into the museum in downtown Huntsville! While there I also enjoyed the WWII quilt exhibit currently on loan.

The creator of the quilt used the Four Corners patch design to signify the troops from the four corners of the world who came together to fight against Hitler and other fascist leaders of the time.

Each of the songs embroidered into the quilt blocks was chosen for a specific soldier known to the ladies who made this quilt. (Image cropped due to upload issues, sorry, but if you click on the photo it will enlarge to show the whole! I have no explanation for this anomaly.)

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*Note: The curator explained to us that to polish the swan piece it must be ‘petted’ with gloves on, as the polishing compounds would embed themselves into the markings of the lifelike feathers.

Epilogue

November 23, 2010December 8, 201010 Comments

Now some of you know that I was planning to drive to Nebraska to visit my long-lost cousin Karen. Understand dear reader, that no matter how badly I wanted to get there, it just wasn’t going to happen. I called her and told her I would like to fly in to Omaha, Nebraska, but that I just couldn’t bear the drive… It would be another whole day there, and then two days to get back from Omaha to Home.

And so it was that the next morning I packed all my things into my truck, walked about taking a few last impressions with my camera, and then I just had to get going. Jayme had given me Ibuprofen for my back and I went out and got the engine started. I sat for a moment while the engine warmed, thinking about my stay and the long journey ahead of me. I was glad to have come, but eager to be home again.

Backing out of the drive I heard the gravel crunch under my truck’s wheels took one last look at Jayme’s home… and there she was in the window waving good-by!

I turned into the road and drove off the sound of NUVIna’s admonishing voice…

“Recalculating route!”

It was going to be a LONG way home…

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I would like to share with you some of the photos that would not fit into the previous posts.

A side note: Jayme, Glenco and I watched a special on Chihuly the famous ‘glass blower.’ Weeeelll… it turns out that he does not actually BLOW the glass himself but designs and then directs master glass blowers to turn out what he wants to make.

So now you’ll ask: “So what’s your point?”

My point is that Aaron wanted to try out a camera like mine so I let him. I told him what I wanted to see and then gave him cart blanche to snap away. He took hundreds of photos and then I went through and edited them down to what I was looking for. So, in a way I am to Aaron’s photos as Chihuly is to mouth blown glass sculpture… yes?

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Here are some of my favorites Aaron took for me at the lake

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Sand in the making.

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Liquid Steel

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At the end of the day.

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Again, a special thank you to Aaron for catching this loveliness for me to Chihuly-ize.

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And these photos are mine from the trip home.

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They all told me I had missed the fall beauty.

Their eyes were shut.

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I once read an old folk tale wherein a poor fisherman is offered three wishes by a magic fish…

I politely told him, “No thank you.” And went my own way.

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(Bob told me he could not see the fish… It is the stones, look again!)

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A little chapel ca. 1850 on the Tippecanoe Battle grounds…

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Arriving too late for the sermon, I nonetheless found the message inspiring…

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The Battle ground Memorial of Tippecanoe was the only stop I allowed myself on the way home. As I pulled up into the parking lot I had to fight the urge not to cry. Some would blame it on being hormonal, others might think me far to sensitive… I have no explanation for my reaction, not really… but feeling the way I did made this memorial icon seem dreadfully huge and out of place.

I do not wish to offend anyone. I am only trying to put words to how I felt at that moment.

I could not go in.

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