280/365: pink clouds over Crex Meadows
Photographs of sunsets are certainly ubiquitous. But, sometimes, the sight is so unbelievably beautiful, I can’t resist. True, there were sandhill cranes clucking all around, but in this one moment, the swirly pink clouds had me spellbound.
278/365: top of the ridge, autumn
There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October.
– Nathaniel Hawthorne
276/365: white prairie asters
The asters have won my heart for the sheer exuberant volume of blossoms they produce, for being hearty and beautiful in a kind of workaday way, for blooming so late in the season when the garden is a mess and I’ve lost my gumption for it until next spring. We might all pursue our vocations with such earnest cheer.
273/365: blue sky / yellow leaves
An autumnal companion to this spring reflection. I never tire of the play of light, color, and movement on the water. This image to me shines with all the intensity of a bright, sunny fall day, full of unbelievably intense color.
259/365: autumn assemblage
New colors are seeping into the landscape to break up the endless waves of green.
I’m ready.
256/365: clematis seeds
The Virgin’s Bower clematis is an aggressive vine. Covered with small white, star-shaped flowers in summer, by early fall the whole vine is a hairy mess of seeds. I can’t help thinking of truffula tufts (or a raging case of bed head).
They have a certain disheveled charm. Then, after a while, they just look messy. It’s a fine line.
255/365: early autumn riot
This image expresses the tangled mess of nature and the absolute profusion of life that exists anywhere the natural world is left undisturbed if even a small space or a limited time. The energy and chaos and intermingling of so many different life forms, colors, textures – to me this is what nature is all about. It’s not an idealized concept of ‘landscape’ but it’s very real. For me, these scenes are full of hope – a testament to the how strong, robust & resilient nature can really be.
see ‘beautiful mess, part one’ here.
254/365: purple dome asters
Our garden has never had much fall interest so this year I’m excited about the new asters in the native plant garden. So excited, in fact, that I couldn’t wait for them to open entirely before photographing them several days in a row. There is something magical about emergence, being poised on the brink of discovery but with so much left unknown.
233/365: korean maple, late summer
In the dog days of summer, there are hints of a new season waiting in the wings. We feel it in the cool of the morning air, the gathering dark of the evening, and the urge to turn on the oven instead of firing up the grill.
This is a photo I’ve wanted to share for a while. Every time I tried to post, I struggled with what to write. I kept thinking of the freedom of the birds soaring through the air and how each of us desires that kind of peaceful, effortless grace as we journey through our lives. I kept thinking about my grandmother, the beauty of her spirit and the peace of no longer struggling with a tired body and a long illness. She passed away last month. I miss her so much already and I can’t quite believe she’s really gone. But I also can’t think about her without a tremendous swell of love, a smile for the person she was and all that she meant to me.
sandhill cranes
avant garden 365 