The picture I missed.....

About a week ago I started out early on my daily walk.  My camera is always with me these days since I find myself stopping and admiring all the flowers and bushes that are putting on their early summer show.  I am especially fond of black-eyed Susans, those wonderful yellow flowers with chocolate-brown centers.  They stand proud and tall along roadsides and always seem to  look fresh and cool in spite of the blazing sun that beats down on them all day long.

The morning held a hint of what was sure to be a high humidity day.  My face was wet with sweat before I'd done my warm-up mile.  Taking a quick drink of already tepid water from my bottle, I took off down the shady hill to the road below.  I knew I needed to keep on going and not stop.  Heat drains my energy quickly and I wanted to be sure and finish before my body yelled, "Quit!  I've had enough!"

I took a rapid visual check as I turned on my upward climb.  Roses, daisies, black-eyed Susans and other smaller flowers were still blooming on the rocky banks.  On the last pull up the hill I allowed myself to stop, catch my breath, and take out my camera for a few quick pictures.

Being careful, I stepped across the ditch and started looking for a good angle to get some shots of the black-eyed Susans that looked so inviting, peeping out of the rocks and leaves on the roadside.  Engrossed in getting the perfect lighting, I didn't pay any attention to what was happening about three yards up the road from me.

A still-spotted fawn had ventured out from the deep woods and was timidly making its way on pipe stem legs toward the other side of the road and the safety of its mother.  If someone was watching, they would have seen a rather clumsy looking older woman, bending over some flowers with her camera, grunting and groaning as she tried to get the light just right.  And right there, just a stone's throw away, a timid little fawn, staring at this strange creature.  And in that little deer's brain there must have been an immediate signal that flashed, "Danger! Danger!"

 Just as I turned to make my way back over the ditch to the road, I looked up to see the west end of an east bound fawn, bounding up the hill ahead of me, its little tooth pick legs moving at a rapid rate, trying to escape from that stranger with the camera.  The fawn paused a moment.  I raised my camera for a shot.   It disappeared before I could even click the shutter.

And that's the story of the picture I missed.

Consider the lilies of the field.....

Not a lily, but still something to consider.  A wild rose growing in the rocks by the side of my county road.

Impossibly pink.  Golden yellow center.  Leaves that give a wonderful contrast to the pale rosy beauty of the flower.

If I were designing a flower that spoke of late spring it would be the wild rose.

Its glowing color and simple form speak of shimmering days and star-spangled nights that lie ahead.

Summer.  Can you hear the flower whisper?  If you listen carefully you will hear it say," Summer.  It's just around the corner!"

Family

Here is my family in the early 50's.  It is the only picture I have where all of us are together.  Mother's Day and Father's Day always bring along with them memories of the time we were together. 

This occasion was my cousin Betty's wedding.  I can't remember much about that day except I know it was in June and this photo was taken in the side yard of my aunt and uncle's home.

My dad was thirteen years older than my mom.  He was born in 1897 and my mom was born in 1910.  When they first met he shaved a few years off his age so my mom wouldn't think he was an 'old man'.  When they married in 1936, he was nearly forty. 

My brother Derek arrived nearly a year later.  Dad was very proud of  his first born.  He and his cousin Hazel took off work when Derry turned one so they could celebrate the day in style.

Next came Paul.  I have a picture of him and Dad in the backyard of our house, shelling peas.  Paul was probably about three years old and he is paying close attention to what Dad is doing.  We all did.  Because we knew he'd expect us to remember what he had shown us the next time we were asked to help him out.

About three years later, I arrived on the scene.  My dad really wanted a daughter.  And when I was born he must have been very happy.  There is something special about a dad and daughter relationship.  And I felt that closeness many times.

I remember when I first went to school.  He would come home from work and before dinner we would sit  down and talk about my day.  "Did you learn to spell 'yeller ball'?", he would ask and laugh and laugh.  That was a real mystery to me but it still made me smile.

He worked very hard every work day but when he came home he always had time to play with us.  He would get his old baseball glove out of the front closet and take the boys out back and play catch.  Spending long hours in his vegetable garden gave him great  pleasure.  He loved his home and his family.

Sadly, we did not get to grow up much before he was taken from us.  I was only twelve, Paul was fifteen and Derek was in his second year of college.  We all felt our loss in different ways.

The boys are gone now too.  I am the only child remaining.  And so this Father's Day I remember my dad and how much he loved all of us.

Happy Father's Day Dad.  Happy Father's Day to you.   

River Days

Here Andy is with our daughter Nina, down at the river on a hot July day.  There is nothing quite as refreshing as a quick dip in a spring-fed stream such as the Eleven Point.  A wonderfully clear, swiftly moving river , it is a treat to sit on the bank and watch the ripples flow by.  The thing that I remember most about my days on the Eleven Point is just how very cold it was, even in the heat of summer.  You would stay in just as long as you could stand it.  Your skin would feel as if it had a rind of cold flesh on the outside when you finally got out of the water and grabbed your towel.  Sitting in the baking sun felt good.  We took Nina down to the river on this day, when the sun was blazing above.  Andy stuck her little toes in the water.  We knew better than to give her a complete dunking.  Even just a little taste of it on her feet was enough for her.  She is smiling.  And I think it is just because she is glad her dad didn't make her take a bath in that icy water!!!