Last week we had a huge windstorm and snow the next day. And now we are back to Spring weather, and our apple trees are in bloom!
A New Find!
I have had a delightfully busy last few days; my Rapunzel group came to town and we had a wonderful time laughing and talking and eating and drinking and touring Prescott. Unbelievably, I did not take a single photo; there were so many cell phone photos being taken, it seemed like overkill to bring out my big camera. Before our group toured downtown on Friday, my friend, Nevin, wanted to quickly look through some antique stores to see if she could find a Blue Ridge plate or cup to add to her huge collection. It was she who got me started on my own collection about twenty years ago, and it was my friend, Joan, who gave me some pieces in a Blue Ridge pattern that I have had such a difficult time finding since then. Blue Ridge dishes (handpainted in the 1930s and 40’s in Erwin, Tennessee) are usually in a flower pattern- and there are dozens of patterns. The dishes that my friend, Joan gave me have a barn and an appletree- a much less common pattern called Weathervane and almost impossible to find. A year or two ago, I had found a platter and was thrilled.
Saturday, I was not looking for myself- just going along with Nevin, when she spotted a whole set for six in the Weathervane pattern. I gasped in astonishment- and bought it on the spot. Here is a peek into my china cabinet at my new acquisition:
What a perfect memento of a wonderful weekend with my longtime friends!
Butterfly Boys
When we visited Butterfly World Last week, Henry was fascinated by the butterfly that was resting on Justin’s shirt. This photo records the moment when he realized he was also wearing a butterfly!
Henry is growing up- he spent a lot of time taking photos with his mama’s iPhone.
A fun time was had by all!
Fly Me to the Moon
The huge full moon rose ahead of us as we navigated the Phoenix freeways on our way to pick up our daughter’s family at the airport 2 weeks ago. It was bright orange and so huge that I kept forgetting to give Lonnie directions as we headed toward the airport. By the time we got back to the hotel it was no longer huge and no longer orange alas, but I did go out to the parking lot to snap a few shots before heading to bed.
Dark Garden
multiple exposure
Lite Brite!
One of our children’s favorite toys when they were little was a Lite Brite. When I taught preschool, I had one for my students as well. You can imagine how excited we were to find a WALL of Lite Brite at the aquarium. I think Miles would have loved to play there a lot longer.
Toucan!
At the beginning of our visit with our grandboys, we went to Butterfly World and the new OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale. I fell in love with this toucan (I had never been so close to one) and spent a lot of time watching him watching us. He was in a fairly unreal environment, which I enhanced in post-processing.
Wearing of the Green
Life has been too busy and full of fun to do blog posts! We are just home from taking the boys to the airport in Phoenix, and the house seems very empty.
I did post these on Facebook, but never got around to putting them on the blog. Treasure hunts have been a tradition in our family since I was a little girl. This time, a leprechaun upstaged me and borrowed my treasure chest to create a treasure hunt for Miles and Henry on St.Patrick’s Day.
The festivities continued on into the evening with a non-traditional St. Patrick’s day Chinese fried rice dinner and hot fudge cake and ice cream to celebrate the birthday of their 2 year old golden retriever, Penny, who is back home in Alaska. Tons of fun!
The Boys and Friends
The boys are here, and life is good! We are busy with outings and play and just hanging out. I’ll share photos when I can.
My pig collection, probably only about a quarter or less of what I had when I was teaching, has been supplemented with Bun Bun, Ottsie, and Fro Fruie. I’ll be so sad when the boys are too old for stuffed animals!
Mobile Monday
I confess I’ve been playing more and more with my iPhone photo apps in the last week (mostly while watching TV at night) and have very little standard photography to share. My excuse is my busy schedule- I’ve had commitments and to-dos every day and it was much easier to take a few snaps or import older ones to the phone- all in the name of art. And- my grandboys (and their parents) are arriving tonight!
To my dismay, the lot across the street (where I often stand and shoot my “homescapes”) is being excavated and graded in preparation for building a new house. So instead of views of the hills and peaks, here are a couple multiple exposures of the construction equipment.
Art . . . or Time Waster?
I had some iPhone fun this morning with the Roll World app.
Over the last couple years or so of having to give my photos titles for my club, class, and various shows, I’ve come to really enjoy the process. I’ve gone from feeling it’s so pretentious (and yes, it kind of is. . .) to seeing that it can add something to the art itself. So- here goes. . .
Blue Meditation:
Into the Vortex:
Anticipation
Waiting for Spring!
Winter’s End
Just a couple more winter images before it’s springtime!
This one is another intentional camera movement shot from Eklutna Lake in Alaska- with a bit of Photoshop magic:
The image below is a composite of a few iPhone shots from icy Alaska- and snowy Prescott- edited with iPhone apps:
Tulips- Soft vs. Dramatic
I had a spare half hour and went back to some of my tulip photos from February. Being a Gemini, I sometimes seem to have a split personality when it comes to my edits.
Here are some soft and dreamy tulips:
And these, I think, are more dramatic:
I like each for different reasons. How about you?
Abstracted to the Max
I see a llama!
melinda anderson photography 