Jonquil
They brighten and cheer Colleen’s day when she sees them! She points to them with glee and enthusiasm. I look. They look like daffodils to me. What’s the difference? And the plant APP says narcissus. Correct! All one and the same, they are related to one another and not distinguished to well from one another. Really?! Well, that is what is says on the internet. The picture/example they showed had two toned pettals and otherwise looked like a daffodil. Okay! This is Colleen’s jonquil and I’m stickin’ with her identification. But she was pointing to a solid one color yellow flower that looks all the world like a daffodil to me. Hey! It is.
Along the way
I’m an outsider looking in… I do not miss it… at all!
It’s a long trip to NYC from where I am now. We don’t come this way frequently. There is plenty to see and do. I just do not relish the crowds and traffic. Waiting has no appeal. Jockeying for position in traffic is no fun. Walking into a crowded restaurant is yuck. I admit there are more choices and plenty of more interesting places to visit in NYC.
Overall? … been there done that. Ah! Colleen would and does love every visit we make. It’s still wonderment to her. Sort of. She has claustrophobia about people and jammed traffic. It does seem that bridges are a dominant feature of our travels.
Hmmm… April fool’s, and, it happens that it is Lisa’s birthday. No greeting or well wishes, i just had to punch in the date to schedule this post…
Snow Day
The weatherman and the New York Times have been on for days…. It’s gonna snow!! Big! All over the United States, coast to coast, a deluge. A storm for the ages! Eh!? When was the weatherman right? Ever? Last? … not this time either. Here is our snowy day. Early spring is in the air everywhere I look. No snowflake? There is an insult in this somewhere I fear. But, alas, no snow.
Just like a broken watch is right twice a day, it did snow!
Old friends
…Can you imagine us years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange to be 70… Old Friends, Simon & Garfunkel
Andy is my high school buddy. Colleen? We met in the third grade and orbited together `for five years without truly knowing one another. But, I never forgot her. And, never will… Chicago, AANS national meeting. Ethiopian meal with the cousin. When did we lose our hair and get old and fat? Who’s fat!? American Gothic, Van Gogh’s bedroom? Classics! I have seen them?! I was in their presence?! Memories fade. Colleen still checks the weather constantly. Me? I forget to wear socks.
Azalea woods
Winterthur. Springtime. Spectacular! We should do this more and again. We never do. There is always so much else to do and so much to see. I live near the beach and don’t go to walk there nearly as often as we should.
The azaleas are in full bloom. Peonies, rhododendron, and the hydrangea all contribute to the colorful display. Mr. DuPont would be happy to know his garden legacy is so appreciated. We certainly felt privileged to be there among his blooms planted so long ago that others would benefit so many years later.
Recovery
Instant garden. Color! It’s good for the summer into fall. I try to choose flowers that bloom all summer and will provide cheer and photo-ops. The Asiatic lilies will fade quickly, but the bang is worth it. Marigolds are for Colleen. She will do natural dying with the flowers. Eh?
Part of recovery has been getting out once again. We combine it with one of Colleen’s favorite activities – eating out. I am just getting better – slowly. Spring rolls! There is/was something appealing on that day to eat some crispy hot ones. Shhhh, while I was still ill in bed, Colleen got me McD. Yup! Big mac and chocolate shake. Hey, it helped.
Colleen was busy. She’s good. And, fast. She wove a baby blanket. She picked the fiber and color pattern. She wound the warp, picked out the weft, and wove this gorgeous blanket for our new granddaughter in just a few days. If you ask me, that is simply just amazing! Me? I watched with utter admiration for the process.
When
I compose about one post a day. I admit to being ahead of myself. It’s still April was I write today. Ha ha. Colleen laments that I do not compose long emails to her since I returned from Saudi (years, ago). Oh well. Things change. Or not. I still find that I write for you – Colleen – now. You are the inspiration, the muse, of my posts. I never did expect to intertwine my life so completely. Ginny pointed it out. Letting loose is not so easy. Or, you just let go. Either way, there is that weight that pulls with gravity and that feeling of falling free to wherever life takes you. Heavy? Ponderous thinking? I am just recalling your recent lament once again. No regrets. These days I go with the feelings. No one orders me and I am not at the random utterly chaotic beck and call of the ER. I still (occasionally) sleep restlessly because my id persists in raising unbidden anxiety. It’s hard to relax when I have always been wary and on high alert.
Peace reigns… after a fashion. There is beauty and serenity in the world. You will read my thoughts in about a month. We will smile. I will hug you. That is the best part, to be able to hug you at will, now.
Looking back
It is interesting how your viewpoint changes in an instant. For a year I have been happy with my images. Then I switched cameras. Suddenly, pictures taken a couple months ago look so different in Lightroom. Focus, composition, lighting – everything looks different – worse. I am better. Or, not. I learn primarily by yesterday’s mistakes. I admit to many. And, I am committed to improving my images going forward. Mainly, I just stopped paying attention. Without a viewfinder, I let the camera take the picture. I left a lot to automation and AI. It did not work so well – in my opinion. One simple thought. Selfies; no one is around, take off your silly mask. It is instantly a better picture. Duh! Anyway, I got a wake-up call while editing nearly 1000 images taken back in March compared to my current work using a viewfinder again. The point: using the LCD, I got lazy and stopped paying attention to critical focus and composition. As a result many of my pictures were poorly exposed and unfocused. Composition had gone to hell. 1000 images and most of them were not worthy. I had pressed the shutter and hoped for the best. I have regained my senses. I am better now. I will improve. Sometimes, less is more.
Red Clover
I knew to look for the clover. I had seen them last year. This was the best I saw on this day (trip). I have the previous ones. Ok, so why take them again. Because. That’s all the reason I need. I take them because my camera needs the exercise. Who knows? Maybe they (the flowers) changed? I’m just sayin’, when you see a photo op, take it.
Fields of yellow
Back in May, we made an excursion to the nursery to fill my container garden. And the flowers were in bloom. It’s like a poor version of the California super-bloom. I love a bright sunny day with blue skies and scattered clouds. One could never tell from this view that the world was awry.
Spring
In the midst of crisis we took the opportunity to social distance on our bikes. Folks were out and about tending to their own business. We took in the neighborhood and the flowers. Home, we took advantage of our imported Scotch (yes, all the way from Scotland). Ok, I don’t drink (alcohol) so we made our version of Bailey’s, mixing “good” Scotch with egg nog. Yes, Xmas egg nog preserved and unopened… til now. I spent the rest of the afternoon in an alcohol induced coma.
Forsythia
Beautiful! You need full sun and a full bush. Other than that, there’s nothing particularly spectacular about the picture. Once a year, bright brilliant blossoms bloom briefly. The rest of the year it’s a non-descript bush of little note. One note, once a year.
Bradford pear
They populate the roadside from DE to WV. They were all over NY. Bradford pear trees exuberantly bloom and blossom at this time of the year. It’s a short period of spring joy. Okay, by the time this post is published, their time will have passed. In DE, there are not so many specimens. But, my neighbor across the street makes me smile. She planted them and I am the visual recipient of her effort. Thanks so much!
Spring
The first buds, a pond, water, and geese – idyllic – a great scene – I noticed it out the window. My camera? I was not near the telephoto. I used the Sony RX 100 VI and electronic zoom. It’s soft. That would be my OCD and laziness rolled up in one. Instead, consider tie overall effect to be “painterly.” I could have done better. Then again, the message comes through. It’s spring and a new year has sprung from one of our warmest winters ever.
Delaware superbloom
Can you believe? Yup, we got home and driving along the road…our very own Delaware superbloom. It’s clover. Red! I admit that I have never seen red clover blooming. We saw patches along the road… till we came upon this field. No one else was there to appreciate it. There were no other cars stopped. There were no tourists wandering around and trampling the blooms. Nature put on a spectacular show and no one was there to see it. … maybe they are coming later.
Water sports
Put kids together with a water hose and there is sure to be fun. My mission was to get a photo. And the secondary concern was to avoid any situation in which the hose was pointed at my camera. Joy! Pure joy! Yup, it was chilly early spring. The kids got wet. Poor Rory was an ice cube when we dried her. She didn’t mind. And I got the shot I sought. Lucky me!
It’s BBQ time
Most of my posts are un-timed. Untimely? That is to say: there is no specific time frame involved. However, sometimes it makes sense to post immediately. This one involves the recent Memorial Day weekend. It’s the first grilled dog of the summer. It’s the first BBQ. I was just a bit early by a few days. Meanwhile, it’s always different. …except for the hot dog. There was a list of brands recommended by the NY Times. Ummm? A dog is … basically a dog. It’s the condiments and the char – coaled flavor that overwhelms. I’ve had them all… and it only really matters that they are beef. And this year the emphasis is on vegetables. You have limited options if you are cooking gluten free, corn free, and, vegetarian. Yeah, there are sausages on the grill. But that is because I have no restriction. It grilled up good on a perfect spring evening as the sun was gently setting. Good? You bet! And today? It’s cloudy and misty and foggy and a no good very bad day. So, this post makes me smile. Maybe tomorrow we grill again?!
Timing
Thank you. I got to enjoy this tree while it blossomed. All the perks without the work. By the time we returned about two weeks later, the leaves were out and the blossoms were faded. Timing is everything. But really it’s right place right moment.
Ocean City
We don’t frequent this beach. It’s crowded and touristy. I don’t need to be here. So we stopped on the way through. Just to look. It’s honky. You see neat stuff. Don’t curse. Oh, and you are not allowed to bathe bare chested. Well, that would be if you are a woman.
Don’t get me wrong. I got nothing against bare chests. Some people just shouldn’t…. It was chilly that day. But there are always those who insist that the weather is better than it is.
This poor guy was playing his guitar sideways. He needed a better speaker. He had no audience. No one who passed, paused. Maybe he was just practicing for the summer crowd to come?
Brilliant or Muted
Putting it all together, daffodils and forsythia are spring. I like the bright brilliance of the yellow flowers in direct sun. I enjoy the muted colors of an overcast day. It’s glass half empty or half full. It’s the same level in the glass. You choose.
Waiting for Spring
We passed fields of early spring flowers. I don’t know what they are. Leaning trees. I guess I don’t notice the leaning when the leaves are out. But in early spring I wonder how and why the trees progressively lean. Are they republican?
It’s not clover. It’s not a field crop. The flowers give a nice pastel to the field. It sure beats the monotones of winter.
First shot…last shot
First, middle, or somewhere in between. It’s funny. I sometimes get ‘the shot’ right away and then try to improve upon it. Or not. With digital, I just shoot and shoot. When I shot slides that cost time (for me to develop) and money (film cost). Nowadays I just shoot first. I do notice that I don’t shoot as many vertical compositions. It is awkward on my computer screen. Certain composition or framing is standard stuff for me now – like low angle, wide angle. Different day different flower. The graphics are still striking.
Dandelion
To be honest I’m not sure I’ve ever noticed a dandelion up close. Current observation stems from my fish days. I was doing macro photography at the end. Details! It’s what I began to notice. For instance, I never quite noticed the stamens in amongst the petals. Imagine that? It makes sense. That is the raison d’etre for the flower. And? How come they are weeds when all the other spring flowers are welcomed as they cover my visual landscape? Unbidden, they clutter my vision wherever weeds would grow? And it’s entirely too easy to grow them. You don’t try.
Crocus
Spring. The flowers come. This spring was late. We were in Washington DC on the Cherry Blossom festival weekend. There were no blossoms of note. Nothing had bloomed yet. Too bad. The show has been on my list of must things to do. Ah well, there’s always something else that turns up. Life is kind of neat that way. I always could make lemonade if they gave me lemons.
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