The 366-day photography project: week 47

Note: It is summer again. The world that I share now is bright and colorful, full of dramatic colors. The pastels of spring are finished. They were sheer delight but fleeting. That is one of the reasons for taking photographs... to capture those fleeting moments. 

It is warmer now, and I keep myself busy in people's gardens. It is special work. Gardening is part taking care of customers and their needs, part taking care of the precious earth, and part therapy for me. Gardening is healthy. It offers stress relief. It is good exercise. It improves your mood. It's good for the brain. If you grow food, the food that you harvest is fresh, delicious, and highly nutritious.

Anyone can garden. Even if you have health issues and you cannot bend, sit on the ground, or do any of the skills associated with taking care of a traditional garden, you can still do gardening. You just need to make some adjustments. For example, there is raised bed gardening. That is a large box with soil. If you built a box with legs, that would make it easier for people who have physical disabilities or various health issues. If you have problems with deer, make sure to choose plants that deer find to be bad tasting or unpleasant, such as fox glove, daffodil, poppies, peonies, bearded irises, jack in the pulpit, snapdragon, dusty miller, crocus, catmint, black eyed Susan, and zinnia.

On Sunday, it was a radiantly beautiful day. It was father's day, and I remembered my dad. I remembered the fun that we used to have together and his way of saying "you are a no-good character" that made it sound affectionate, rather than insulting. I remember that he took my sisters and me to baseball games and to miniature golf. I remember that he and I used to read books about astronomy together. I miss my dad so much.

I walked to church on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful day. Because hardly anyone else is out on Sunday morning, I use the time alone to do vocal warmups and to sing a few songs before I get to church. When I arrive at church and we start on the first hymn, I like to be ready to sing. Hence, the vocal warmups. It's a nice way to begin the day.

There are all sorts of plants to photograph.

Daisies are always a delight.

It was a good morning in church. It was sad but it was uplifting at the same time. We remembered the 49 victims of the mass shooting in Orlando. During the prayers, the first name of each victim was read out loud. Father Earle spoke about prejudice in his sermon. Prejudice against gay people. Prejudice against Muslims. Prejudice against people who are different than the people expressing the prejudice. The sermon was very moving and heart felt. I also appreciate Father Earle speaking these truths that need to be told about the prejudice, still so much a part of our society, even if we try to ignore it.

We had dinner at my sister Vivian's house to celebrate my mother's birthday (June 19th) and to celebrate my sister's birthday (June 2nd). It was a delicious meal! We toasted my parents and Diane with sparkling grape juice.

On Monday, I was at Chet and Cheryl's garden. I found this snail and was fascinated by it and took several pictures of it, moving slowly through the garden. 

I continued my project to tame an overgrown garden. I've been working on this garden for several weeks and, slowly but surely, it is getting to look beautiful! It was a hot day, with temperatures predicted to hover at around 90 degrees,

I

Monday was a rare event. It was the summer solstice and the full moon, simultaneously. The last time that happened was in 1948. I went outside to take pictures of the moon. I didn't capture the strawberry moon because, when the moon turned a bright shade of red, it was raining.

Another view of the full moon.

On Tuesday, I was in a different garden. It is an art garden, decorated by the sculptures designed and made for Lee by her son Neil, who is now a well-known sculptor.

So much beauty, waiting to be uncovered in this garden. 

This is a plant in my garden, that just recently started opening.

The weeds on the side of the road are persistent. They grow in adverse weather conditions and through snow and through asphalt. It is quite amazing.

I went to Peg's house to work on her garden. She showed me her husband's hobby: oragami! He has created a world with colorful paper.

Seen next to a tree in Peg's back yard.

My black eyed susan is starting to open.

It opens a little more each day, showing its lovely colors.

On Thursday evening, I went to the Conservation Advisory Board meeting at Town Hall. I was asked to take a picture of (most of) the members of the board, standing in front of the ash trees. Some day, those ash trees will be gone, victims of the emerald ash borer, and we want to remember the trees. I was asked to make sure to get a picture of the entire tree, that it was OK for the humans to appear little in front of the trees.

Seen in front of Town Hall.

Also in the Town Hall garden.

The flowers are opening on the black eyed susan.

Here is a shasta daisy that I planted in my garden. I took the picture on Saturday.

Next week: Continuing to explore summer. A long walk along the Niagara River.

A Snail's Journey

Note: In my last post, a sample of the photographs that I took during week 46 of my 366-day photography project, I focused on the world of the garden. Today, I continue to focus on the smaller, more intimate world of the garden. So I will share a somewhat fanciful, not very scientific poem about the land snail that I photographed moving around in a garden this morning.

My shell is my beautiful, opaque world,
a safe haven amidst the weeds and thorns,
where, hidden, I can observe, undisturbed
the wind shaking the branches and the leaves.

Into my swirly shell, daylight floods in.
A creature of the night, I try to sleep.
Maybe I should burrow deep in the ground,
deep into the deliciously soft earth.

Or I could set out on adventure,
finding my way through the darkest jungle,
sailing through storms 'neath the skull and crossbones.
One adventure builds upon another.

But I am here, in this time, in this place,
I look for my own tiny adventure,
Bird songs from the coolness of the river,
the pattering sound of rain on a roof.

I stretch my head out to catch a raindrop
I open my eyes to catch a rainbow.
I feel the warm, nourishing soil, the earth,
as it covers the dead plants of last year.

I see the world, but does the world see me?
A tiny garden snail in a small place.
A small peaceful place of insects and plants.
Full of vivid perennial colors.

The 366-day photography project: week 46

On Sunday, June 12th, after an all-night bus trip, I returned home. Back to my garden. Back to all of the gardens that I tend. The walk in Illinois had been good. I enjoyed walking through countryside. It was good to see friends and to make new ones. I am very happy that I went and also very happy to be back to the gardens.

Last week, I shared images of the big world as I walked through the hilly farm country of north-central, Illinois, so, this time, I decided to take pictures of a smaller, more intimate world of plants and the things that gather in the plant world. I took many of these pictures at the gardens where I dig weeds and prune shrubbery.

Marigolds come in a range of colors.

This year, the peonies have been spectacular.

Evening primrose.

Clematis. This is a climbing plant in the buttercup family.

I later spot this bird sitting on top of a building.

Another day, another garden. I find this earthworm in the garden. A garden full of earthworms is a healthy garden. Earthworms are decomposers. They break down organic matter, such as leaves and grass, into things that plants can use for nutrients. The soil becomes enriched and we can grow food.

Seen by the side of the road. Very resilient little plant.

Here is one determined little snail.

Marigolds come in a wide variety of colors.

Feather found in the Grand Island Plaza, just before Zumba on Thursday.

The bright rose of summer, dressed in pink.

Thursday afternoon. Another snail, very determined to go somewhere.

The rest are images from Saturday. It was a warm, early summer day, a good day for photographing flowers.

I hope that you've enjoyed the week of brightly colored flowers.  I never tire of seeing the vivid colors and the resiliency of life.

Next week: More pictures and stories.