You may remember me saying that I often head out the door in the morning without a clue as to the weather or the temperature. This morning, when driving to accomplish the mundane task of getting the oil changed in the truck, I was fortunate to witness the beauty of a foggy morning. By the time I got home an hour later, I had stopped twice to shoot the silhouette of trees and once, the beautiful view shed that Radford offers.
I know … the quality of the picture isn’t great, but the tree and the lights sure are!
Lights on a tree really do make me happy. I look forward to turning them on every morning and have them glow in the background while I sip my coffee and enjoy your latest blog posts and email messages. Or picture this: the lights on the tree in the evening, a lovely beverage and a book.
Ahhh …. contentment.
I took a different route to work this morning and the site of this church in the morning sun just caught my eye. So, of course you know that I just HAD to stop, turn around and take some pictures.
And STILL managed to get to work on time!
While stopping to shoot this guy …
I caught this …
And again, but closer …
I’m always grateful for time with friends … even more so when that time is spent in an early 20th Century farmhouse in Elk Creek, Virginia. Seven women, the cares of family, work and life left at home, gathered for a weekend in Grayson County.
Grayson County is in far Southwest Virginia and is the home to the Mt Rogers Recreation Area and the highest point in Virginia (5728 ft). The twisty, hilly road to our weekend getaway took us through the mountains and by thousands of acres of Christmas Tree Farms and pumpkin patches.
Our farmhouse (Shepherd’s Retreat ) was actually a Sears Home, built in 1909. Sears was one of the largest companies to sell mail order homes. “Entire homes would arrive by railroad, from pre-cut lumber, to carved staircases, down to the nails and varnish. Families picked out their houses according to their needs, tastes, and pocketbooks. Sears provided all the materials and instructions, and for many years the financing, for homeowners to build their own houses. Sears’s Modern Homes stand today as living monuments to the fine, enduring, and solid quality of Sears craftsmanship” (http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/history.htm).
While only an hour and a half from home, and 12 miles from the nearest gas station / small store, it was almost a step back in time. No cell phone, no internet, essentially no TV and definitely no college football!
The lack of technology was not a problem for this group of women. With no restaurants any where near by, delicious meals were prepared in a kitchen filled with light and the sounds of friendship.
Card games were played, and songs were sung. At times, the house echoed with laughter, talk and dancing; at other times, peace and quiet reigned as books were read, walks were taken and naps were indulged in.
The beauty of our surroundings had me reaching for my camera time and again.
(Ruth Babylon, the real photographer, took the last picture)
Frosty mornings ….
… led to gentle, warm sunny afternoons ….
… and gorgeous sunsets.
As the weekend came to an end, we felt grateful to share such treasured friendships. We were recharged and ready to get back to life outside the farmhouse. And isn’t that what friendship and freedom from the distractions of technology should do?
If you’ve seen some of my posts, you will know that I love my ride to work. I travel on 3 short but pretty roads. The first thing that caught my eye this morning was the sun’s reflection on the frost of this cedar tree.
There was something about that bare tree,
the questioning looks as I darted back and forth outside the fence line,
and the sunlight shining through the hair on their backs.
What a lovely, lovely way to transition from home to work.
It truly is a wonder that I get to work on time … but I do … really! As I drive the short route to work each morning, I often have to force myself to keep the truck moving toward the office.
As one who loves all seasons and most types of weather, I thought the morning was wonderfully cold at 29 degrees. The little bit of sun that was shining through caused the frost on the leaves to sparkle. I pulled over and ran along the side of the road (in my skirt and heels) snapping a few pictures. The girls in the field were curious as to what I was up to, and followed my movements.
It was lovely to connect with the out of doors before getting back in the truck, finishing the ride to work and spending the day closed up inside a building.
I have loved seeing this begonia continue to bloom well into fall … bright colors that surely fit into the oranges, reds and yellows of the changing leaves.
The blue, while not a fall color, is a lovely contrast against the brown leaves.
The afternoon sun brightens the yellow leaves that have fallen into the juniper.
Southwest Virginia … home of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a part of the larger Appalachian mountain range, and also of the New River, considered to be the oldest river on the North American continent. My current home in the City of Radford (http://www.radford.va.us/) is located in the New River Valley.
On any given day, I travel down roads that, especially during this time of year, are arguably some of the prettiest around.
In the summer, my friends and I kayak along this stretch of the New. During this time of year, I scramble down the river bank to shoot the old train trestle against the backdrop of the evening light and the changing leaves.
While visiting friends to drop off fresh baked bread or cookies, I’m rewarded by the beauty that I see outside their homes.
The ride to work takes longer than it should during the fall as I stop multiple times to capture the scenery. The first picture was taken from my office parking lot, while the next is the view over the houses near Radford University (http://www.radford.edu/).
The taste of a microbrew at The River Company (http://www.therivercompanyrestaurant.com/) across the New River is even better when this is what I see from the deck.
This gorgeous oak stops me on my way down to Main Street …
… while this is the view that greets me as I drive home from work in the evening.
Sure, there are things that I miss by living in the rural part of Virginia (restaurant diversity for example), but views like this one taken from Attimo Winery (http://www.attimowinery.com/) sure help to make up for it!
My camera and I are bound at the hip. I often stop when driving to and from work to photograph something. Sites that others may think of as mundane, to me are beautiful. My friends and family are patient with the vast number of pictures they receive from me … and they are never surprised to hear me say (during the middle of a phone conversation) “I’m out of the truck taking a picture”.
All photographers, including amateurs like me, know about light. Morning, evening … it’s all about light. But I am also intensely attracted to the shadows that objects and light create.
Whether it be the shadows of trees on the wall of the carport as I get into my truck on a lovely fall morning,
Or the view of a street sign as I pay my bill at the dental office,
and afterwards, while driving down Main Street.
The morning sun streaming through my lovely screened in porch creates wonderful shadows …
as it does for the wall near my kitchen door,
and the outside wall of a friend’s office.
Whether practicing my macro shooting …
or preparing to walk into my office each day …
the merge of light and shadow brings me joy.
Life on the Bike and other Fab Things 