Daddy’s Girl

Posted by AR on July 12th, 2010 filed in Family Matters
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I don’t mind still being “Daddy’s girl.” I love my Mom, but Dad and I always did things together. He never hesitated to take me with him wherever he went. He showed me how to throw a softball, climb a tree, and dance. (He never played dolls with me though. That’s a relief!) I remember our first dance together. I had to put my feet on top of his shoes and let him swirl me around the room. If I got hurt, Mom would take care of me; but my Dad would tell me how to avoid letting it happen again. “Think before you take a step forward, and you’ll be okay,” he would say to me. There are times in the past when I wish had followed that advice a little more closely.

Big Time Cool Off

Posted by AR on July 9th, 2010 filed in Lighthouses of Lake Erie, Memories
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Here’s one for my former newspaper editor. The guy would always run a snow photo on the front page of the newspaper on the hottest day of summer. I confess that I’m torn. I’m so hot that I wish it was cooler but not this cold. I think when I took this photo it was around 18 degrees, and I was standing on the edge of a rocky gorge in northwest PA! The evening wind was whipping around my neck and my feet were frozen from being outside most of the day doing photography. . . . Extremes. Wonder why we always seem to be dealing with extremes?

On Top of Atlanta’s World

Posted by AR on July 8th, 2010 filed in Hiking Through Northeast Georgia, Memories
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I guess if you put a grid over this photo it would turn out to be all wrong, but I really like it. It was taken on the top of Stone Mountain—a place that I enjoy visiting at least once a year. A super tough walk to the top gives way to unbelievable scenery.

These reflecting pools at the top of the mountain capture the best image of all—the sky.

A Mitford Day!

Posted by AR on July 8th, 2010 filed in Memories, The Company of Friends
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How many times can I photograph this flower, right? It seems that everywhere I turn this summer, I see a cone flower. But this one is different.  This one was photographed in Jan Karon’s former hometown—Blowing Rock, North Carolina—the place where she wrote many of her novels in the Mitford series. Can I just say that I have never been to a more “perfect” town. Well, maybe Windsor in England, but that is totally different. I’m not kidding. The flowers were drop-dead gorgeous. Every yard contained a “Mitford-like” garden complete with winding pea-gravel walkways. It was pretty amazing and even overwhelming.

And I had to wonder if this little Episcopalian church the one that Karon had in mind when she wrote most of her novels? If I had stood there long enough, would Father Tim have walked out the front door? (smile)

American Barns and the 4th

Posted by AR on July 7th, 2010 filed in Memories, North Carolina
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Is there anything more American than a red barn on the 4th of July? Well, . . . maybe a white barn. This last week I was in Boone, North Carolina, (definitely a place worth seeing again), and I saw barn after barn after barn. But to Chipley’s disappointment there were no cows in the fields. The only problem I really had was the extreme light. It was waaaay too bright! “Bright” in the States is so different than it is in England. Extreme blues and at times very harsh sunlight make it difficult to photograph. Both of these equal contrast that is off the scale. But that’s okay; each day was beautiful and everywhere we went the people were extremely kind.