5-26-16 ~ North Mountain during a Break from the Rain

It's Time for Skywatch Friday
and
Weekend Reflections #348

For a few hours on Monday, the skies opened up, and Buddy raced to take me up on North Mountain to see the rhododendron and mountain laurel. We did not climb on the mountain...only drove to the first overlook before it started to sprinkle again. 

I took the first two pictures through the windshield as Bud was driving up the mountain. It is amazing to me that the glass can be so yucky but still allow a clear shot. The variation in the lighting as we drove around the curves is so interesting.

 These three pictures were shot from the overlook.  We were looking into what Bud calls  " The Great Valley of Virginia" towards the Blue Ridge Mountains. The last shot is of Lake Robertson, a favorite place for fishing, camping, birders, hiking, family reunions, and they even have a swimming pool.

Mountain Laurel

 Rhododendron

Unknown with Lots of Spikes on Stems

Purple, Pretty, Unknown

Before we got back into the car, I could not resist taking a picture of the rain coming down on the bubble at the door. What I wasn't expecting was to discover my bizarre reflection. My derrière leaves a lot to be desired. When I enlarged this several times my little camera became apparent so I knew it was moi.

5-7-16 ~ A Morning at Explorer Park and a Mother’s Day Memory

This morning Bud ran a grim 6 mile mountain race in Roanoke, VA, and it was one of the worst 6 miles of his life. Our Buick has been mysteriously stalling suddenly when stopped at stop lights, but today it decided to quit on this narrow congested dirt road while frustrated runners were honking their cars. We had already put in a new battery, but obviously that was not the problem. Maybe it has to be something with the computer...who knows. We finally got it started, but we were already running a bit late to pick up his stuff before the race started. The whole mess did a job on Buddy mentally and physically, and to add fuel to the fire it was a soaked trail from all the rain. His poor stomach was a mess the entire run which took him a horrible 2 hours to complete while I waited in the car with my sketchbook and the motor running. We were going to go to the big Strawberry Festival in Roanoke afterwards but bagged that for fear we could stall out in downtown traffic.  I did manage to get out and walk about with the Bud's trusty hiker Canon.

GREAT REFLECTIONS

(Never have I gotten shots like these on cars. To me, they are magical.)

SHADOWS

BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS

In Memory of My Mother on Mother’s Day 2016

(from my art journal)

This post is linked with:

Weekend Reflections

Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Pippa's Foto der Woche

I Heart Macro

Macro Monday 2

3-~10~16 ~ Springtime ~ I Love You

Since I am on the road visiting my best friend in NC, I have resorted to two pictures from last year that remind me these beautiful flowers will soon be blooming and there will be lovely colors everywhere around me.

This post is linked with Macro Monday 2.

February 28, 2016 ~ Pam's Basket and a Lady Slipper ~ Art Journal

"Knowledge is power..

   knowledge is safety...

knowledge is happiness."

~Thomas Jefferson

This pretty little basket was made for me some 30 years ago by our art teacher. Pam Tinsley back when we taught at Highland Belle Middle School.  I have used it over and over again through the years, and it is still in pristine condition. It is one of my favorite things in which to place fresh flowers.  I need to learn where to place my journal in order not to get all the noise in the photos. This one is full of it.

The Lady Slipper was sketched using Dr. Oscar Gumption’s book entitled Wildflowers of the Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Dr. Gupton was a professor in the Department of Biology at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, VA, during his lifetime. His son continues to be a friend of my boys.

This post is liked with 

Paper, Paint, Pencils, and Pens

and

Friends Meet Friends

Febr4uary 27, 2016 ~ Fresh Flowers and Photoshop Elements 11

“I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.”

~Emma Goldman

Flowers on My Dining Room Table

They are not roses, but they are still pretty.

Orchid Lines

This post is linked with Weekend in Black and White.

The Genie Is Out of the Bottle

 Some days I feel full of vim and vigor, full of life 

like these beautiful plants.

 Then there are the others when my back pain returns with a vengeance, my chronic anemia takes over, or I enter into one of my periods of “the down in the dumpies” or as the doctors call it...depression. At times I am not worth a hoot so I just stay at home reading, resting, and sometimes quilting. If I can get out, I go and visit my patients as I am a Hospice volunteer caregiver. I continue to substitute when I can.This is the first time I have had the strength to even mention it openly, but I guess it is time to share this tidbit with all of you. I am in the process of accepting the reality of my not being able to do many of the things I so loved doing. I do not want to focus on this, but rather just accept I have no control over it and move ahead with the rest of my life living it to the fullest. There are so many in far more pain than I, fighting far more serious illnesses, and who are hurting far worse than I. As a Hospice volunteer, I see this whenever I make a visit.  As I leave, I always feel uplifted. It makes me so happy to bring some love and companionship and to ones so ill and alone. I am very thankful for the blessings I have.  It was just time to let you all know so you could understand why I come in and out on my “Genie Bottle”... aka...my computer. O.K. Now, I have said it - shared it - and I’ve closed that book. It’s good to be back. My love to all of you.

Gardens of Many Colors

This post is linked with:

Floral Friday Fotos

Today’s Flowers

Hiding between Fence Posts

 I was out taking one of my “flat land” walks while in Richmond last week. My trusty little Canon Point and Shoot always accompanies me in hopes I will spot something pretty. If I had not sneezed from all the pollen, I would have missed this beauty hidden away in some fencing. It was so delicate and pretty dressed up in lavender.

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul 

and sings the tune without music."

~Emily Dickenson

This post is linked with:

Our World Tuesday
Macro Monday 2

NF Blo-Ma

Today’s Flowers

Good Fences

The Fragility of Life

I didn't notice it at first, but after processing this picture 
I saw a face with sadness in its eyes.

"When your back is to the wall, and your are facing fear head on, 
the only way is forward and through it.”
~Stephen Richards


This post is linked with:

Texture Twist

NF Blo-Ma

Springtime Flowers

This post is linked with:
NF BloMa
Texture Twist
Floral Friday Photo
Today’s Flowers