botanical

i was convinced there wouldn't be much color left - the drought has taken its toll on the flowers and grass this summer.  but as always, the gardens are a haven of beauty.  as beautiful today as they were years ago and will still be in years to come.  i tried to imagine how they looked years ago through the eyes of film... in our digital age.

i found myself with an hour to spare friday on my way home after a speaking engagement.  me and my trusty 50mm....and the gardens.  i was hot and sticky...but an oasis of beauty.  i wish i had taken a photograph of the couple that stopped and asked me to take their picture - they were young and in love..... and taking pictures in the gardens while all dressed up.  i wondered if they had just eloped and were sending home photos to their families..... 

saturday....in the park....(all nods to chicago for the title)

spring has sprung...well, sorta

driving home friday i spotted bradford pears that have just exploded full and beautifully white.  one day the landscape was brown and gray and then suddenly, *bam* the world is more beautiful with white fluff everywhere.  

the sky was full of fluffy white clouds and the blue was crisp and holding on to the cold winds of winter.  and as i drove around, there were still people in sweaters, but i noticed more and more have crept outside to see the sudden burst of colors and the green grasses peaking out. 

then i met my sister and a friend for alice and dinner.  dinner was delish and fun, even though screaming babies and cigarette smoke tended to make some of the time challenging.  but it was a good evening. 

 sunday broke as we sprang forward....the skies were overcast but with the promise of spring here, i decided to drive to birmingham to see if the beautiful cherries were blooming.  alas, they were not.  it seems that birmingham is a bit behind montgomery (amazing what an average) five degree temperature difference can make.  but it does.  cherries will bloom in approximately two weeks (if temperatures stay consistent right now.)  good thing i carried the macro lens....even if i did all hand held.  here are some more of my favorites from the weekend.

 

a wider angle

this week, in addition to playing with my tripod, i forced myself to 'see' a bigger picture than i normally do. if you notice a lot of my photography, i like the details. the tiny bits and pieces that make up the overall subject. i wonder why that is?

you see, according to mr. meyers and mr. briggs (why do i assume they were men) i'm a judger. now before you scoff - not that kind of judge-y mcjudger - but the kind of person that gets bored completely to death if you go into long, intimate details about anything. basically i want the 'big picture'. tell me what i need to know - tell me what you need me to do - tell me where you want to end up. i'm your girl. maybe that's why martha stewart makes me crazy...seriously. i can't make any of her recipes because i feel like i've failed if i didn't garden, process and then cook it myself. but...as usual, i digress.

so, in light of that - why do i like the teeny tiny? so - i wanted to explore that through the eye of my lens. compose on the wider scheme of things. who knows - maybe it will help look beyond myself.

scattered, smothered and covered

no, not hash browns from waffle house...(though they sound rather tasty) today i listened to a lot of radio as i drove to and from birmingham. i went today to take a 'personality' test - my friends and i have been laughing saying they were going to see if i have one. (ha) but it was an interesting test - not unlike others i've taken in the past. the tests always try and validate your answers over and over so it will be interesting to see what strengths and weaknesses are displayed once my results are in.

as always, part of the test asked me to describe me as my friends see me, as i see me and as an employer sees me. always interesting yes? then i read the always lovely susannah's blog and it made me think too. our friends love us despite our flaws, often the love we feel for ourselves is conditional and sometimes spotty or discounted, and then well, few employers really love 'us' but instead love the work that we do. so, the images that came to me were varied as i struggled to answer the question.

then, susannah posed the question - would you love you if you met you? of course, i think most people would answer that question yes. right? and if yes is the answer - then i ask the question, if we like ourselves (or even love ourselves) then why sometimes do we hesitate to treat ourselves better or not forgive ourselves? and i have read your blogs so, i know okay? so, be real.

the other question i have - do you have a different work personality than you do 'home' personality? of course there are professional limitations - we can't be all crazy...but, at work i can be pretty driven and sometimes aloof when i'm crunching on a project. totally opposite of my home personality when i'm laid back and chatty. just stuff running through my brain.

but...the most fun i had to day was going to the gardens - oh how i missed them. today it was hot as hades and humid. (typical southern weather - hot, steamy and sometimes stormy) as i walked into one of favorite sections of the gardens (the reflecting pool) i absolutely gasped. i had forgotten how gorgeous the water lilies an be and this year, they are even more glorious than last year. so i went sort of crazy...snapping that is. here are a few edited so far...







and in case lilies are not your thing...