The snow came down for hours yesterday – silent, soft flakes. I’m tired of the snow, but it still works it’s magic. You can’t help but feel the world is enchanted for those few, quiet hours when everything’s covered in a pillow of pristine powder.
This fall is the best fall. Today is the best day.
I went on a meandering walk through my neighborhood this afternoon and discovered the loveliest views. It’s 65 and sunny. Neighbors are raking leaves, listening to music, and taking walks. The roads are quiet and the squirrels are out in crowds stocking up for winter. I was under the impression that most of the houses in my branch of the neighborhood were built in the early ’60s, but a few steps off the main road I discovered a Free Will Baptist Church and houses that must have been built around the turn of the 20th century.
After our car broke down, my grandparents graciously offered to sell us one of their cars. The only problem was that it was in Florida. So, within a week, we booked our one way flight to Tampa and prepared for a week of travel through the south.
We spent a relaxing few days in Bradenton at my grandparents house, enjoying Grandma’s beef with Amish noodles and watching a documentary about Florida on TV. On Sunday, we headed up to Orlando to attend church with Daniel’s mom before caravanning up to St. Augustine to be tourists for the afternoon.
A pirate ship!
After spending the night at my sister’s house in Jacksonville, we traveled up to Charlotte, NC. After a day of driving, we were fairly well exhausted, so we ordered takeout and watched trashy television into the evening.
The next day, we took a self-guided walking tour through Charlotte, admiring the Painted Ladies and modern downtown architecture, visiting a local Episcopal church, drinking delicious coffee, and eating at a local Greek restaurant.
It was the sort of trip everyone should take in the summertime. We paced ourselves and managed to see lots of friends and family as we snaked our way back to Charlottesville. I’m grateful that fate forced us to get down to Florida this year. Being with people who have known you forever is quite grounding.
I spotted a big fat bee enjoying a floral feast and got to snapping photos. I love how they dart around without fear, getting close to my camera lens then taking flight to find the next heaping bowl of nectar.
This journal has turned into a place for photos and little else. I talk plenty in everyday life, but I haven’t felt the need to reiterate here. I’ve always journaled in some form or the other, but with access to various social media platforms, I have so many ways to have my voice heard or reflect on my day in small phrases and brief conversations. Maybe I need long form, but maybe the quiet is fine, too.
Charlottesville went from black and white to vibrant technicolor in the past few weeks. I’m enjoying the spring blooms as much as I can because I know they’ll give way to lizard green leaves in a few short weeks.
A little behind on the photo challenge, but that’s ok. Once again, I failed to take images specific to the weekly colors, but I found a few photos that pass for blue and purple.
My first instagram pic was taken after last week’s snow; the robins were out in droves, flitting around, eating worms, and singing songs. My second picture was taken today! The high was 78 degrees and I went bare legged quite comfortably.
The leafy pictures were both taken at a park last weekend.
We went to one of our favorite local parks yesterday to enjoy the temperate weather. I’d really hoped to see a few things in bloom, some color reaching out and up from the brown landscape. But, since the spring blooms failed me, I decided to focus my lens on the muted tangles and vines in the fields and by the river. I like the subtle teals and reds present in almost all the images.
This week I kept forgetting what color we were going for, so I never specifically pinpointed yellow tones. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had exactly one instagram photo and one DSLR photo with clear pops of yellow. These pretty little flowers appeared in the planter outside our door this week; they didn’t bloom last year and we certainly didn’t plant them, so I guess it’s a bit o’ nature magic.
My DSLR photo captures the fine details of my mustard yellow sweater, which I wore on a walk last Friday afternoon.
Daniel noticed the first sign of spring daffodils on Sunday evening. This tiny bulb is braving snow right now; I hope it can manage.
Other images: wooden curly cue on fallen branch; fresh snow on leaves; spindly branches in fog
For this week’s challenge, I focused on bright spots amid the gray rather than on authentic neon tones. Still, I think I came pretty close. My instagram photo depicts the quaint yellow building in which I reunited with my friend, Taylor, for country cookin’ before thrift shopping in Ruckersville. The DSLR photo, taken in the back yard with my 50 mm lens, is a partially eaten rotting tangerine that Daniel threw in the yard hoping to attract wildlife.
If you’d like to participate in the one word photo challenge, visit my sister’s blog.
