The freshly mowed hay and the wheat field appear soft and billowy but they require lots of hard labor to prepare, plant and harvest the crop. Have you thanked a farmer lately? Do you know a farmer? You should because your food does not come from Door Dash or Publix.
From yesterday - Peter Falk, The In-Laws. - the good version, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079336/
The reason I was able to take the two scooter kids that I posted yesterday was that I was parked along the road trying to capture this field. I do not think I really succeeded - or at lesst it is not quite what I hoped for when I viewed it that evening. It was stunning.
*Quote from one of my favorite movies, your guess?
The large wheel scooters are everywhere in Lancaster County, PA. And, yes, that is where we were last weekend. We took our youngest granddaughter camping and to the Sight & Sound Theatre to see the play, Esther. Well done with remarkable scenery. I took a few minutes one evening (this was not my trip!) and shot four or five photos and maybe a couple more on the phone that I liked over the weekend. This one was on a side road less than a mile from our campsite off 897. The two kids seemed to be about 7 & 9 and were enjoying a nice brisk ride.
The sun is nearly down but the work is not done. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania,
I ran this photo through a couple of filters designed to make it appear older. Not sure what I think of the process but I am posting it to give you a hint of where we were this weekend with our youngest granddaughter.
On a trail across a coastal Georgia swamp in the thick mists of an early morning. Everything is still.
“I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.” Isaiah 44:222 NLT
As we approach the heat and humidly of summer, at least in Raleigh, I try to recall the cool refreshment of a mountain stream.
The actual name in Rainbow Canyon and it is located in the northwest corner of Death Valley just outside the National Park a few miles. This canyon is used for low level, high speed military jet training, hence the nickname of Star Wars Canyon. If you were here when one came through you would be eye level with the pilot, for a nano second! There is not a schedule for the flights or we would have spent some time and waited. Seeing one of these scream into and out of the canyon must be amazing to watch —- and hear.
Yes, I know, an actual name! I read the sign nearby. These cool flowers are found at Brookgreen gardens.
This is another of the sandstone arches at Alabama Hills in California. This short trail, about 1.5 miles, leads past four nice sized arches.
I know that Flag Day in June 14th, what I apparently do not know is how to use a calendar. I simply missed a day and I had this ready to go, so, in honor of Flag Day, this is a view of Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. One that cost a lot of blood and tears to see the flag flying over that structure today. I was pleased with this photo as nearly the whole picture is shades of red, white and blue. Perfect for yesterday.
This is once again along Route 66 just north of Kingman, AZ on a lonely loop of the old route that connects to the interstate about 50 miles from where is diverges. Not much on this section but a couple of tiny towns and lots of scrub brush. We passed about 8 or so old stations and a couple of decaying motels.
This is a second pair of Burrowing Owls at the same location where the first set were photographed. These were slightly further away and on the opposite end of the the area. Still so cool.
“This judgment on Edom will never end; the smoke of its burning will rise forever. The land will lie deserted from generation to generation. No one will live there anymore. It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl, the great owl and the raven. For God will measure that land carefully; he will measure it for chaos and destruction.” Isaiah 34: 10,11 NLT
This little, yellow-faced, active bird is a Verdin. It is found in the arid Southwest in small shrubs and brush. The bird was feeding and singing but would not leave the safety of the tree. This is the very best of 20 photos and I am actually pleased with it as the Verdin is sharp and I like the natural habitat for the photo. This is only the second Verdin I have ever seen, great song.
Or at least that is what it feels like soon after you cross a few sand dunes in Death Valley NP. You can see the mountains but you quickly lost track of direction in wave after wave of dunes. But it is, besides hot, very beautiful with patterns and changing colors as the sun moves. And a surprising amount of green.
Once again at the Brookgreen Gardens in SC. It must be painfully obvious to anyone who reads what I write about the flowers I shoot that I know nothing about them. I rarely even know the name. Tthese were striking to me with the fallen petals from an overhanging tree coating the ground around these tulip-ish flowers. I need to buy an ID book of flowers.
This VW van has been sitting for a long time along Route 66 in Seligman, AZ. This is the town that provided the story that became Disney’s Cars. It is not the location they would pick, that was in New Mexico, Tucumcari, where a similar story was told but with better scenery. However, it was here the the genesis of the movie began with an interview with the town’s barber. His shop is still here and is 7/8 museum and a bit of room left for him to cut hair. Still active in his 90’s but post Covid he has not returned to barbering.
Check out the color of the VW van in Cars: https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/open-uri20150608-27674-cgj9fg_d8016c13.jpeg?region=0%2C0%2C2048%2C760
If you were to suggest a name having viewed this bird, cinnamon, might come to mind. Cinnamon Teal just seems so perfect. This one is feeding in one of the small ponds at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve in Nevada.
There are whole hedges of these flowers at Brookgreen Gardens and they make a spectacular background as you walk through the gardens but up close a single blossom is even more beautiful.
Not where is this taken, you may have guessed if you have been viewing pages recently that this photo is from the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California. Rather the question is where does this path lead and you cannot know that for sure until you crest the ridge and even then the path will often still be obscured. Much like our lives. We may have an idea where we are going or a plan but how far down the path can we really know? Twists and unexpected turns, career moves, accidents, illness, opportunities and challenges mean that life is a constant series of adjustments to changes. But you can trust in One who does know. It requires faith & grace and obedience to actually go. In my opinion the secret is momentum not simply the destination.
“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.’” Genesis 12:1 NLT
